A Classic Cozy Budapest Apartment

Name: Daisy and Matthias
Location: Budapest, Hungary
Size: 1700 square feet
Years lived in: Owned 5 months

Four years ago, Daisy and Matthias got the opportunity to move to Budapest. After falling in love with the city, they decided to find a property they could invest in, and fell in love at first sight with this apartment—despite the fact that each room had been painted a different bold color and that there was pink marble in the bathroom! They wanted to restore the apartment back to “more classic features,” and they’ve done it.

Daisy writes:

“The selling point for my husband was the built-in speakers through the apartment and the bright green wet bar, which I was not allowed to touch. With the help of our architect and project manager, Zoltan Gyura, we were able to add a new master bathroom with a curved wall, add closets in the master bedroom replace the hallway with hardwood floors, re-paint the walls and the original 1870s windows with original white color, re-tile the old bathroom and kitchen backsplash and restore the original wooden floors throughout the apartment.

The most fun was going shopping for furnishings. Hungary is full of talented artisans. Art Kraft made a floor lamp for me from an old Polish factory lamp and the coffee table was also from an abandoned factory. Brody Art Studio made the bench in the master bedroom from the old apartment roof beams when they added a new floor to their apartment complex. … [We have] also found really great pieces from our travels. Luckily, we have some incredible artwork painted by my mother-in-law.”

Our Style: Eclectic. Having lived in different cities all over the US, me being Asian and my husband Swedish, we incorporate a mix of our styles.

Inspiration: Travel, art, nature, flea markets

Favorite Element: The circular living room with the 13 1/2 foot ceilings.

Biggest Challenge: With massive structural walls, we had to live with the original floor plan. Each room flows into each other. Privacy is an issue when we have visitors.

What Friends Say: You should be an interior designer. But I didn’t feel validated until my architect asked me who helped me with the decor.

Biggest Embarrassment: Sponge painting gone wild! Years ago I sponge painted both a master bedroom and bath. Less is more!

Proudest DIY: Learned to upholster at Pacific Fabric in Seattle and re-upholstered four armchairs including the two in my living room.

Biggest Indulgence: Antique Turkish Oushak rug in the master bedroom.

Best Advice: If you hate it, paint it. It’s amazing what a coat of new paint color can do, especially on old tired furniture.

Dream Sources: Flea Markets

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