House like the owner`s business card.

Details LIVING
Details LIVING
Eclectic taste
Text by Liene Pālēna
Photos courtesy of
Ingus Bajārs
Interior architect:
Anna Butele, annvil.lv
• PLAYS OF LIGHT
Since the home interior is relatively dark due
to the dark grey walls and selected materials,
artificial lighting is an important interior
element, appearing in various forms and
degrees of brightness.
“I actually enjoy the slightly dark ambience
of the premises, but whenever I want more
light or whenever I have guests visiting, then
all of the lighting is turned on. Each room
has at least two areas with technical and
decorative lighting. I have dimmers installed
in many places, which lets me conveniently
set the light intensity to the level that I want
and lets me use all of these lights efficiently,”
says Jānis.
• VARIATIONS OF
ONE COLOUR
Jānis calls his bedroom the Green Room.
Green is the colour of life and the owner’s
favourite colour as well. One can see it in the
leather tiles on the walls, the bedspread, the
chair and the curtains. The Oriental carpets,
for their part, add a special aura to the
entire house. Incidentally, one of the things
that you immediately notice is the sense
of tidiness and order in all of the rooms.
Practically all of the surfaces, including in
the kitchen, are bare. Jānis says that this was
a conscious choice, because he doesn’t like
cluttered spaces.
Baltic Outlook
takes a tour
inside a
gorgeous
house in
Riga, where
one will find
an eclectic
mix of family
treasures,
travel
souvenirs
and gems of
contemporary
design
They say that a home is a mirror of its owner.
That is certainly true in this colourful private
residence, tucked away at the edge of a
sprawling Riga housing estate. The house’s
owner, Jānis Peide, is an inveterate world traveller and
a co-owner of the Imagehouse interior salon. Both of
Jānis’ passions – travelling and design – are manifestly
evident in his 230 m 2 home.
“I wanted a house where I have chosen everything,
starting from the floorboards and ending with
the décor. It was important for me to create an
environment with the highest possible degree of
natural materials such as wood, metal, stone and
• Jānis Peide inherited the masks that are hanging on
this wall from his grandfather, who brought them back
from Somalia, where he had worked as an ambassador
for six years.
glass. I am the product of two nationalities and this is
reflected in the space that surrounds me. For example,
hardwood boards were used for the flooring and
represent Latvia to me, while natural slate was skilfully
incorporated into the bathroom. Slate is used a lot in
Tallinn’s Old Town and elsewhere in Estonia, where I
was born,” Jānis explains.
The result is a dream home in an exciting eclectic
style, where ethnic items from various parts of the
world are shown prominently. Jānis has vivid childhood
memories of his grandparents’ apartment in Tallinn,
which was full of ethnic souvenirs that they had
brought back from various countries and looked like
a museum.
“I was brought up in that atmosphere, which is why I
really like a mixture of styles that incorporates modern
furniture together with Oriental and ethnic elements.”
48 | AIRBALTIC.COM
BALTIC OUTLOOK | MARCH 2016 | 49

Details LIVING
Details LIVING
• HEIRLOOM FROM
MOTHER
This Singer sewing machine once belonged to
Jānis’ mother and has been transformed into a
bathroom sink base.
“My mother also used it as a design element,
so I decided to continue the tradition and revive
this historic object.”
• THE MOST COMFORTABLE SOFA IN
THE WORLD
In the living room – right under the roof windows that let in natural daylight
and a Tom Dixon lamp that is two metres in diameter – the place of honour
has been accorded to what Jānis says may be the most comfortable sofa in
the world. The Flexform sofa is so comfortable that once you sit down on it,
you won’t want to get up for a long time. The sofa is also quite convenient
for reading one of the many literary classics that line the walls of the
family library.
• KITCHEN ADDICTION
To Jānis’ own surprise, the kitchen with a view of the garden has become
his favourite spot in the house. The owner spends a lot of time in that room
because he enjoys cooking meals there and using the kitchen counter as an
office desk.
• EVERY LITTLE THING
Jānis obtained many of the design objects for his
home at world design fairs. One of these is the
golden hand-painted ceramic Hope Bird, which
represents an optimistic approach to the future
and which was designed by Jaime Hayon. Along
with great works by famous designers, the house
is full of souvenirs from Jānis’ many trips abroad,
including a statuette of the Indian goddess
Lakshmi, which symbolises prosperity. After
haggling at length with a shrewd Indian antique
salesman, he managed to get the price down
from 200 US dollars to 30. BO
50 | AIRBALTIC.COM BALTIC OUTLOOK | MARCH 2016 | 51