Demeyer asks dozens of questions to get acquainted with his clients’ interests and lifestyles. The designer’s biggest strength is his ability to add a variety of personal touches throughout the living spaces—a way of feeling the home from within. For Coussens, this is noticeable in window shades crafted using his recycled jeans and other denim, and a bronze sculpture inherited from his grandmother that now graces a coffee table in the sitting room. “I like to use heirlooms,” says Demeyer. “I never ask myself if things are nice or not. They are important if they are part of a story.”
A natural entertainer, Coussens loves hosting—anywhere from four to 36 people. This raised a practical question for the home—how to create more sleeping space for overnight guests. Demeyer cleverly devised an en suite bedroom from two smaller rooms and in an unused attic space, designed a sleeping alcove with five beds, playfully concealed by green tartan curtains and his trademark fringe. “A lot of things in the house now remind me of childhood sleepovers at my grandparents’ house,” says Coussens. “That feeling of coziness, warmth, and safety.”
Discreetly placed throughout, Demeyer also installed drawings by local artists, historic photographs of the region, and even maps that tell the story of the surrounding area. “I like the sense of locality but with a twist.” These details contribute to grounding the home, not only in Coussens’s personal story, but to that of this region, which played an important part in world history. In 2023, this area of Belgium was recognized by UNESCO to commemorate more than two dozen World War I monuments and sites. Yet this home also speaks very much to its present. “We see the tractors passing by, and friendly hikers, and even people on horseback,” says Coussens.
To hear the tale of this house is a reminder of perhaps the most famous Ralph Lauren quote: “I don’t design clothes. I design dreams.” Together, Demeyer and Coussens have realized a dream, and Coussens gives the dreamiest compliment in return: “I’d do it all over again.”
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