Paradis Apartment: an accommodation on the Belgian coast filled with art and design
During our stay in Ostend (Belgium), we had the chance to stay at a place that truly captured our hearts from the very first moment. A space that is not just a holiday apartment, nor an art gallery, nor a design store… but all of these at once. We’re talking about Paradis Apartment, a project born from the vision of Albane Paret and Micha Pycke, founders of Club Paradis, an agency specialising in communication, public relations and creative direction within the fields of art, design, architecture and hospitality.
Located on the eighth floor of a seafront building, with endless views of the North Sea and the most cinematic sunsets imaginable, this apartment completely redefines the notion of hospitality. Paradis is not just a place to sleep: it is an aesthetic, sensory and deeply inspiring experience.
“It’s not just a place to sleep: it’s an aesthetic, sensory and deeply inspiring experience.”
A home where art comes alive
From the moment you walk through the door, Paradis Apartment reveals itself as a meticulously curated space where every piece of furniture, every texture, every lamp or ceramic object has been chosen with exquisite sensitivity. Everything you see —and use— is available for sale. Staying here feels like living inside an exhibition.
The selection of pieces is as diverse as it is coherent. Among the names that define this universe are Muller Van Severen, destroyers/builders, Bernard Dubois, Coseincorso, LERRY Ceramics, Tekla, Middernacht & Alexander, Christoph Hefti, Rooms Studio, and galleries such as MANIERA, among many others.
The apartment also features works by artists such as John Baldessari, Nathalie Du Pasquier, Sam Durant, Armen Eloyan and Max Pinckers, in collaboration with the art platform artlead.
A hybrid space in constant motion
Beyond being a place to stay, Paradis Apartment is a hybrid project: a holiday home, a setting for photo shoots, private events, presentations and creative gatherings.
With its 97 m² layout and two bedrooms, the apartment can host up to five guests, yet its versatility makes it far more than a typical holiday rental. In fact, it has been conceived as an ever-evolving space. Each year, much of the furniture and artwork is renewed, inviting guests to discover something new every time they visit.
Here, everything is lived, far from the solemnity of the traditional gallery. Art becomes part of everyday life — it sits at the table, rests on the sofa, and sleeps in the guest room.
From Ostend to the world
Paradis Apartment could not have been anywhere else but Ostend, Belgium’s most iconic coastal city.
Historically known as the “Queen of seaside towns”, Ostend was, during the 19th century, the Belgian monarchy’s favourite summer destination. King Leopold II promoted major infrastructure and architectural projects that still define the city’s skyline. Its story is deeply intertwined with the sea — as a strategic port, a defensive bastion in wartime, and a hub of Flemish fishing life.
Today, Ostend has reinvented itself as a unique cultural destination, balancing architectural heritage with contemporary creativity. Infinite skies, ever-changing tides, independent art spaces, modernist buildings and a serene lifestyle coexist here in perfect harmony.
Albane Paret, born and raised in Ostend, wanted to pay tribute to her hometown through a project that brings together her great passions: art, design and hospitality. Although she now lives in Ghent, her connection to Ostend remains unbroken.
Together with Micha Pycke, she created this personal and professional “container” where everything coexists in harmony.
A new way to live and experience art
Inspired by figures such as Leo Castelli, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Gavin Brown — who, in their early days, blurred the lines between domestic and artistic spaces by organising exhibitions in living rooms, kitchens and hotel rooms — Albane and Micha propose a new way of understanding creation, communication and the experience of art. Far from the traditional white cube, they offer a more human, intimate and experiential approach, where art and design are not only observed but also inhabited, shared and felt.
Paradis Apartment doesn’t follow formulas but a personal vision: a place where ideas take shape without losing their flexibility, where beauty becomes functional, and where every object tells a story.
It is, in essence, a laboratory of ideas, a living showcase for contemporary artists and designers, and an emotional space where visitors can connect directly with the works, the environment and their own sensibility.
“Albane wanted to pay tribute to her hometown through a project that brings together art, design and hospitality.”
The beauty of what can be touched
There’s nothing contrived about Paradis Apartment. Everything flows with a natural ease that only arises when aesthetics stem from purpose and emotion. The open kitchen, designed by Atelier Ternier, invites you to prepare a slow breakfast while the North Sea unfolds in all its vastness through the windows. The living room, bathed in natural light, becomes an intimate retreat for reading, creating or simply watching the afternoon fade away. Each room conveys a sense of calm and authenticity — free from artifice or pretence.
Here, design is lived: a designer chair becomes the spot for a morning coffee; a sculptural ceramic holds fresh fruit; an artwork becomes the quiet companion of a serene morning. And yes, everything is for sale — from an art book to a unique lamp — because Paradis proposes a creative and contemporary way to bring beauty into daily life, blurring the boundaries between living, creating and contemplating. It’s a tribute to the everyday, thoughtfully designed, and to the inspiration that hides in the smallest details.
As Albane explains: “The apartment has been decorated with designs by artists we admire — and who are also our clients. We wanted to create a place that inspires, without falling into the cliché of a ‘home away from home’. We wanted something more”.
And indeed, they have achieved it. Paradis Apartment is a habitable dream, a creative manifesto and an ode to contemporary sensitivity.
(*) Photos by Ely Sánchez (CC/studio).
