Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Glass Penthouse With a Mountain View
With walnut walls, a full outdoor kitchen and an incredible view, this apartment maximises stunning and subtle luxury
Using the attic of this three-storey house in Königstein, Germany exclusively as a storage space would have been a complete waste of its breathtaking view of the Taunus mountain range and Königstein Castle. Instead of simply upgrading the existing space, designer Eberhard Horn decided to remove the pitched roof and redefine the building’s outline. The result was a light-flooded penthouse with a wrap-around balcony, and a summer kitchen on the roof terrace above.
The living area extends from the entrance, and the Bulthaup kitchen is the first thing that catches one’s eye.
The walnut also covers the TV wall, which partitions the kitchen and living areas. Screens are installed on both sides so that they can be seen easily from both the kitchen island and the comfort of the sofa.
In addition, this wall can be rotated around a central axis for the best possible viewing angle from the sofa or the chairs. Refined details like this can be found throughout the whole penthouse: another example is the ledge on the back wall of the living area. “The slim rail is primarily a design element, but it also serves as a storage rack,” says Horn.
The four-sided fireplace in the middle of the living area is definitely an eye-catcher. It can be fuelled with gas or wood, and its flames draw attention from both the dining and living areas.
The dining area is located opposite the kitchen. The large table seems to almost be outside. “With the large glass fronts, the boundaries between inside and outside have disappeared,” says Horn. The dining room can be separated from the outside by electronically controlled sliding glass doors, allowing the light to continue into every nook unimpeded.
“Like the sliding glass doors, all the house’s systems, such as the lighting and heating and even the blinds, can be controlled electronically, even from a mobile phone,” the designer says.
These blinds also guarantee that guests cannot glance into the bedroom from the dining area — the patio alone would not have been enough to screen the room.
Light is the central design element of these spaces. It enters through the extensive windows and gets reflected by the flooring. The latter is made by Dinesen, and consists of extra-wide, whitened Douglas fir planks. It covers the entire living area. The designers supplemented the natural lighting with light installations. “In here, the focus is on the lighting effects. It is not about placing lamps, but about placing light,” says Horn. The lamps by Davide Groppi seem like stars or celestial bodies in the room. The model in the picture is poetically named Moon.
Light is the central design element of these spaces. It enters through the extensive windows and gets reflected by the flooring. The latter is made by Dinesen, and consists of extra-wide, whitened Douglas fir planks. It covers the entire living area. The designers supplemented the natural lighting with light installations. “In here, the focus is on the lighting effects. It is not about placing lamps, but about placing light,” says Horn. The lamps by Davide Groppi seem like stars or celestial bodies in the room. The model in the picture is poetically named Moon.
The bedroom leads directly into the bathroom and its integrated spa area, which is equipped with a sauna and multi-jet shower (not pictured). The designers chose Mallorcan stone tiles for the flooring here. As in most of the apartment, the fixtures are tailor-made pieces designed by the Eberhard Horn Design Group.
The surfaces of the Spanish limestone sinks have been created according to Horn’s specifications. The water flows in an arched path from a Deque model fitting by Dornbracht.
The beautifully designed exterior offers even more opportunity for relaxation. The balcony runs around the entire apartment. It is secured with a glass parapet so the eye can wander undisturbed over the Taunus.
The various cosy seats are hidden from outside view. In winter, evergreen plants keep the garden lively.
“The roof plants make it impossible to look into the apartment from the outside,” says Horn. Smaller bushes and grass, but also trees, grow in planters. “The differing heights of the vegetation create a varied overall picture,” says Horn. The 18-centimetre-wide stone-grey deck boards by Mydeck are made of a resistant wood-plastic composite (WPC) and do not need to be varnished or waterproofed. The boards, which do not contain tropical wood, are connected with tongue-and-groove joints, without screws.
Again and again, the terrace around the penthouse opens out into small niches and cosy seating areas. White planters contrast with the greenery of the plants and the grey floorboards.
The seats on the balcony are shaded not only by the plants, but also by the large sun umbrellas.
The wrap-around balcony is not the only way to enjoy the sun and view. Horn has arranged the flat roof of the penthouse as a terrace with a summer kitchen, which is connected by a dumbwaiter to the prep kitchen one floor below. This eliminates the need for treacherous balancing acts to bring ingredients or dishes all the way to the roof terrace. The kitchen (not pictured) is fully equipped with a gas stove, a grill, a sink, bench space, and a large dining table.
A sun shade can be attached to the pergola. “The roof terrace is a living room, dining room and sun deck all in one,” says Horn. Family and guests get together at the large dining table, the spacious outdoor sofa invites you to relax and the various home-grown herbs on the terrace often end up right in the pot.
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
Tell us
What do you love about this home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save your favourite images, bookmark the story, and join in the conversation.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two adult children who still keep rooms in their parents’ house
Location: Königstein im Taunus, north-west of Frankfurt, Germany
Size: 350 square metres, excluding the terraces
Apartment type: Penthouse of a now four-storey building
Designer: Eberhard Horn and the Eberhard Horn Designgruppe
The fourth floor of the building can be reached by elevator or staircase. The moment you enter the penthouse you feel like you are standing in the middle of nature: floor-to-ceiling windows create a smooth transition from the interior to the surrounding balcony. From there, the panoramic view stretches from the terrace’s evergreens to the Taunus.