Name: Sieger Design
Location: Schloss Harkotten, near Sassenburg, Germany
How would you like to go to work in a castle every day? That's the reality for employees of Sieger Design, whose offices are at Schloss Harkotten, an 18th century hunting lodge (complete with moat!) in the German countryside.
Driving in the gates, I was reminded a little bit of the Von Trapp house from the Sound of Music. There's even a similarly impressive double staircase in the foyer (although the staircase from the movie was actually built in a studio, and is not part of the house where the exterior shots were filmed). In this setting, the firm's modern designs make for a delicious contrast.
On the first floor, there's an impressive conference room/reception space, which boasts a terrace that looks out over the baroque gardens, filled with modern sculptures created by artist friends of the Siegers. On the second floor are offices and a library; in the basement is a 'water lab', where designers can test out fixtures and sinks the firm designs for companies like Duravit, Dornbracht, and Alape, to see what the designs will look like when in use. The building to the left of the main house contains a showroom that displays products from Sieger's own line, as well as more offices on the second floor. Throughout the property, in carpets and on walls and furniture, is Sieger Design's signature color, a deep, regal purple that's almost blue.
Schloss Harkotten was built as a hunting lodge for Baron Von Kettler in 1752. It's still owned by his descendants, and rented by the Sieger family, who restored and updated the property when they made it their office in 1988. Today the firm has thirty employees working in product design, graphic design, and marketing consultancy.
The company was founded in 1965 by Dieter Siegler, who trained as an architect and later built a reputation designing interiors for luxury yachts. From there — designing interiors to meet the needs of demanding clients in the smallest of spaces — it was a logical step to bathroom design. In the 80s, Sieger Design began working with companies like Alape, Duravit, and Dornbracht to create bathroom fixtures in their signature streamlined style. From there, the firm has expanded to many different kinds of projects — they've created a TV for Sony, a line of cutlery for WMF, and even developed a bathroom design for Deutsche Bahn (German Rail). In 2005, the firm launched its own line, with clothing, furniture, and accessories in modern shapes and bold colors. Today Sieger Design is managed by Dieter Siegler's two sons, Christian and Michael; Christian works on the marketing end, while Michael is in charge of design.
In my visit to Schloss Harkotten, I had the pleasure of meeting with Christian Sieger, who gave us a tour of the premises and told us a little about Sieger's design philosophy. There's a lot of pressure in the design world, he explained, to make products as innovative and cutting-edge as possible. But if the products are so unusual that no one wants to purchase them, the manufacturers and designers are both out of work. In their work, Sieger Design seeks to strike a balance between cutting-edge design and the realities of making products for market. After all, Christian pointed out, if you design a faucet and it's so unusual that no one buys it, it's not really a faucet — it's a work of art that looks like a faucet.
Judging by the firm's success, it looks like they've done a wonderful job of balancing these two concerns. I'm sure it doesn't hurt to work every day in such an inspiring setting. I might have a serious case of workspace envy.
Resources of Note:
- • Many of the products you see in the photos are from Sieger Design's own line of furniture and housewares.
Thanks, Christian!
(Images: Nancy Mitchell)
• HOUSE TOUR ARCHIVE: Check out past house tours here.
• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.
• Are you a designer/architect/decorator interested in sharing a residential project with Apartment Therapy readers? Contact the editors through our Professional Submission Form.
Before & After: Emily Henderson Transforms a Senior's Studio Space
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
On Saying No to Paleo: Why Eating Isn't One Size Fits All
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
Love that old, European architecture! Glad to see it put to good use!
Wow. So jealous...
Where do I send my resume?
As the odd man out purist...I don't really like it. I feel like it messes with the integrity of the historical architecture.
I have to agree with Pennylain. I am not a fan. I like contrasts of modern and historic, but this is just unattractive for me. Love the exterior, though, and the wall color is great on its own.
I'm with Penny Lain, too. While I appreciate some of the bold color choices, the first photo in this post is a lesson in why scale is important and how track lighting is never a neutral. This building feels a bit like a supermodel showing up in a potato sack. Show those gorgeous curves and work that architecture!
(I also think that Europeans must cringe at having their historic buildings always held up for comparison to American movie images. Just like I would dislike my home being constantly compared to Graceland just because, ya know, I'm American. (The von Trapp family was Austrian, by the way, not German. A big difference in history, culture and architecture.)
Beautiful. Although, the modern design takes away from its charm. I currently work at an old castle myself, and love going to work everyday because it feels like i go back in time everyday.
I'm a stick in the mud. The giant portraits in gilt frames and fireplaces are my favorite things about these spaces.
This is a hunting lodge, a chateau, not a castle. ( a much later era than that of castles) Ergo, no moat.
The track lighting is actually a very elegant, minimally invasive lighting solution in the modernization of this space. If you look carefully, you will see that the tracks are suspended below the ceiling, and thus, they do as little damage to the ceiling as possible. (they also function to, in a way, lower the ceiling by lowering the light source)
The furniture everyone seems to object to -- i.e., the high table in the entrance -- appears to be post-modernist, often perceived as the ugly child of the '80s.
Personally, I can't resist the dynamic interplay between historic and contemporary. Creating an unapologetically contemporary space whilst respecting and celebrating the historical, incorporating it into the design, well, that is a true feat which has been successfully accomplished here.
Hello everyone - thanks for your comments. There is, in fact, a moat. You can see if off in the distance in the fourth photo in the slideshow.
Maybe the Company was the only one who could afford the space and therefore kudos to how they've decorated it. I don't think you could work in the Design Industry if you're going to be predictable. Having seen some of Sieger Design's own products the space is probably in line with the Company's philosophy. If it belonged to a regular homeowner then I wouldn't like this at all.
I get it---I reallydo---and I even suspect it "feels" better in person than it looks in these pictures. That said, I hate it. The last straw for me was the union jack draped over the nude female torso with one breast exposed. Makes me want to tell the designer, 'grow up and get over yourself!"
I love the height of the ceilings, the fireplaces, the exterior shots, the gilt portraits.
I even like the white walls to contrast.
I don't like any of the furniture or lighting choices.
The windows and double staircase of that exterior view are breathtakingly beautiful.
I love the gardens and the patio set up outside. What I don't like is that main room. The scale of the furniture doesn't fit the room.
Pretentious and vain! Egomaniac and showy.