A Bright Red Staircase Is Just One Eye-Popping Element in This New Build in Belgium

"I would never paint a wall white in a house," says Karina Soors. "It’s missing something. It’s like a blank canvas; you have to fill it in." With that approach in mind, the color-happy set designer and founder of creative agency Studio Woot Woot collaborated with Denc-Studio architect Bruno Van de Calseyde to build her multihued house on the outskirts of Ghent, Belgium. Designing the home for herself after a divorce, she realized it was the first time she could make all of the color calls, rather than compromising every time with a partner. As it stands, her home’s palette is a controlled cacophony of different shades.

Because the pool—a refurbished shipping container—came in one piece, the project began with its installation. Contractors used a crane to drop the structure in the ground before moving on to the 1,950-square-foot house. The home’s facade is a red that matches the outdoor furniture, and the pink-trimmed pool (which Karina painted herself) sits on top of a pink flagstone terrace. "You start with two colors that are pleasing for the eye," Soors says. "If you put them next to each other and then you look for a third color, that can be an accent."

While red is the obvious main character in the home’s exterior color story, the bright shade is also partially responsible for the interior radiance. "Sometimes we have clients that hesitate and don’t really know what they want," Van de Calseyde says. "Karina knew exactly what kind of staircase she wanted. She wanted something thin, something that light could go through, something colorful and warm." Alternating ceiling heights create lower-ceilinged spaces on upper levels, which gives the home a more spacious feel while highlighting the thin-railed, red staircase.