Restraint meets richness

Perched high above Beirut, Lebanon in a building surrounded by a mosaic of mid-century and period architecture, an elegant apartment designed by Carl Gerges Architects stretches out in every direction, offering panoramic views that sweep from the bustling port to the misty mountains and the azure horizon of the Mediterranean. “It is a spectacular view,” says architect and designer Carl Gerges, who completed the project for a close friend. “As soon as you enter, there is an infinite view from the living room.”

With complete creative freedom, Gerges stripped the apartment back to its essence. At the heart of the new design are two monumental travertine marble blocks that structure the entire layout. In the open-plan living room, tactile boucle armchairs by Pierre Paulin, steel and marble tables by Poul Kjærholm and a deep olive-green sectional by Living Divani form a carefully curated ensemble. The green hue (a request from the client) threads through the home, reappearing in balcony seating by Mary-Lynn & Carlo Massoud and a bench in the bedroom, visually linking indoors and out.

To create a primary suite, Gerges combined two smaller bedrooms. “The client loves the comfort of luxury hotels,” he explains. The result is a spacious, serene retreat lined with pale French oak and anchored by an en-suite bathroom clad in warm Iranian marble. Throughout the home, curved and organic forms offer a gentle counterpoint to the clean lines that are seen most dramatically in the brushed stainless-steel bar and sculptural lighting, such as Achille Castiglioni’s Taraxacum 88 chandelier that floats like a constellation above. A collaborative spirit also infuses the project. Gerges’ wife, fashion designer Karine Tawil, contributed her curatorial eye, selecting refined objects like a rose-pink glass table by Lukas Cober, a Flavie Audi vase, and a Murano cactus lamp by Carlo Nason to add nuance and character.

Nowhere is the apartment’s emotional resonance more apparent than in the dining room, where sinuous Élysée table and chairs by Pierre Paulin invite intimacy and dialogue. A hand-carved Officina Rivadossi walnut sideboard, with ripples on the surface, grounds the space in craft and tradition. “I don’t do trendy,” says Gerges. “I prefer designing something timeless. It’s important to anchor a project and make it indelible.”