Would a pepper grinder convince you to buy a flat? For Memphis style lover Raphael Zerbib, who grew up in France, the sight of one by Ettore Sottsass in the kitchen of the place he was viewing was an omen of sorts, one that told him he was on to something– “it sounds irrelevant but it was just a sign,” he says.Since moving in, Raphael, who works in finance, has whipped the interiors of the two-bedroom flat in a converted Victorian house in Stoke Newington into order, with a low-key material palette and colour scheme keeping things calm. It’s all the perfect backdrop for his collection of art, contemporary furniture, Memphis Group pieces and bespoke commissions, like the coffee table by EJR Barnes, a friend and designer who also helped Raphael with sourcing.Here, Raphael talks to us about his love of furniture, what good design means to him and how he lives in the space.

Raphael: “I have always been passionate about furniture and design, and, even in my last place, which I rented, I couldn’t help myself from investing in pieces. It’s been great to have this space to play with what I like and leave my mark.

“I loved the location of my last place in De Beauvoir and it had a great terrace overlooking the canal, but it was a big new complex, so it didn’t have much character. The bathroom, for example, could have equally been in a hotel.

“A sense of personality to the space was a big priority when I was looking. And I wanted a good raw canvas on which I could then express my personality through colours, materials, textures and such.

“When I first saw this place it was flooded with llight, and I immediately liked it. I was also delighted by the proportions of the rooms and the tall ceilings. I like how there are four rooms – living space, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom – and they each have their own specific function, whereas my last place was just one big open-plan space.

“Although the whole place had a Scandi feel – the last owners were Dutch – and it was quite minimal, I still needed to do some work. So, for three months while I was living here, I had the walls re-plastered and painted, the floors restored throughout, redid the bathroom and had some carpentry done in the living room. A complete makeover, basically.

“Then came the furnishing part. I’ve always been drawn to design and, although my job has nothing to do with it at all, I studied a course in France that was also a programme for prospective architects. I think it was by doing this that I became interested in space, objects and design, and it’s just evolved ever since.

“My favourite piece in here is a 90s Memphis lamp that was the first iconic piece of design I bought. It was ages ago, but I paid a decent amount for it, and it was the first piece that really mattered to me.

“I love the Memphis style because I think their work is still culturally and artistically relevant. They decided to take a completely different direction, in contradiction with architectural and design movements at the time, to offer a new vision of what furniture could be, and presented a new way of living too.

“I would describe myself as a collector, and my tastes have evolved and expanded with research and time. I don’t like clinical, empty spaces – in fact, I like being surrounded by things. For me, there is a sort of poetry in putting a colourful 90s lamp next to a vintage French amphora, for instance.

“The mix of antiques and contemporary pieces is really the ultimate way to make this rich design legacy relevant – to make the past, present and future talk to each other through objects.

“My work isn’t a creative environment but my closest friends and the people around me are all creative people. I worked especially closely with EJR Barnes on the flat. We met a couple of years ago and we share a similar interest in objects.

“We started to collaborate and it was very exciting, because we came up with something completely unique and made for the space. I had a vintage coffee table for a long time and I wanted a change. Elliot made a new one – it’s kidney-shaped and made in a very heavy red travertine, hand-carved limed pine and polished steel.

“When we were working on it, we just experimented, with no clear view on what it was going to look like. It was a long discussion about materials and shape, and I think the end result illustrates the importance of both. Elliot called the piece ‘Bavette, the glacier, a silver room’, which is kind of crazy in a sense, but I think shows what a creative mind he has.

“It all furthers that dialogue between custom-made pieces, antiques I’ve found on the internet, or things picked up when I was travelling.

“The other element to that is the artwork, which is all quite diverse. The large abstract painting in the living room is by Jason Tessier, who has become a favourite of mine. There’s also a very large painting in the dining room by my partner, which creates a really warm atmosphere. It’s a couple having dinner and there’s a big plume of smoke above them – you don’t really know what they’re doing but it’s so inviting.

“Even before the pandemic I spent a lot of time at home, entertaining, having friends over for tea or dinner – I really like having people here.

“I spend a lot of time in the kitchen because I love cooking – it’s a nice counterweight to my work, because it’s creative and I get to use my hands. My kitchen is always messy because it’s always in use, and the idea of a super high-end kitchen didn’t appeal to me for that reason.

“Like everyone else, I’ve used my dining table as an office for the last six months, and it has made me think how important it is to have a home that you like, that you feel comfortable in. This place gives me that.”

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