We believe in materials. Real, honest, aged materials. That is the shortest answer to the question of why our apartments and our Maison LAROGY projects look the way they do.
There are so many ways today to make a room look quickly "good". MDF tables with a veneer effect. Wallpaper that looks like brick. Vinyl floors that look like oak parquet. Plasters that look like lime. We use none of it. Not out of snobbery but because after ten years we have noticed. The eye recognises the difference. Even when the mind cannot name it.
What we always include
Real wood. Oak, oiled, waxed. Sometimes walnut, sometimes ash, occasionally beech. No veneer. If a tabletop is 80 years old and has survived six generations of families, that is proof of quality, not a defect. If someone asks whether we should "sand it down", no.
Lime plaster. It breathes. It absorbs moisture and releases it again. It looks better over the years, not worse. It makes the indoor climate measurably healthier than acrylic or latex paints. It cannot be "touched up" the way latex can but that is precisely the point.
Linen. On curtains, bed linen, kitchen cloths. Linen creases. Linen is not "easy care". But linen is the only textile that looks better after ten years than it did on the first day.
Wool. On armchairs, sofas, rugs. Wool is temperature-regulating, long-lasting, and partly self-repairing. Wool has a weight you feel when you sink into an armchair.
Brass. On lamps, door handles, cabinet fittings. Brass tarnishes. Some guests ask us to "re-polish it", we politely decline. A tarnished brass door handle tells a story; a mirror-bright one tells nothing.
Ceramics. On tables, in kitchens, in bathrooms. Ideally from small Viennese workshops, we know a few whose work we love and regularly buy.
Bakelite light switches. The ones that still "click". The ones you will not find in every DIY store. The ones that have worked since 1955 and will still be working in 2055.
Patina is time made visible in a room. It is the opposite of disposable.
What we never allow in
Furniture made from chipboard with foil coating. Doors that are hollow inside. Plastic sockets in a wall with stucco. Glass panels as a desk. LED strips under the bed. Curtain fabrics that gleam like polyester. Poster prints of mid-century still lifes. Coffee machines that roar like a hairdryer.
That may sound extreme. But once you have lived in a room where everything has a story, the way back is hard.
Why this also makes economic sense
Real materials cost more to buy. But they age better. A velvet sofa edge that is lightly worn after three years will still look better after another ten than a faux-leather sofa does after two. An oiled oak floor lasts 50 years; a vinyl floor, ten. A linen curtain lasts 20 years; a polyester one, five.
When you calculate the lifetime cost, dignified materials often work out cheaper than cheap furniture replaced on a six-year cycle.
Where we find the pieces
Viennese auction houses (Dorotheum, Glanz & Gloria, Aspena). Vintage dealers in the Josefstadt and Mariahilf. Second-hand shops at the Karmelitermarkt. Occasional auctions in Berlin, Brussels, Milan. Directly from restorers who refurbish old pieces. Sometimes through adverts in local papers, the best pieces come from estate clearances.
That is work. It is slower than a furniture catalogue. But it makes the difference between an apartment that looks like it came from a showroom and one you recognise the second time you see it.
For Maison LAROGY projects
When we design private spaces, we bring this material philosophy with us. That means. We take our time with sourcing. We do not do complete packages in two weeks. We come with concrete proposals and we can explain why this particular piece.
If that interests you, get in touch. We will come and have a look at your space.