smartphone and smart lock

The best smart locks: Security and convenience

House or apartment doors can be conveniently opened and locked electronically with the innovative smart locks. Anyone who has ever stood at the front door with full shopping bags looking for the front door key knows what advantages this can have. 

Elegant Italian villa with classical architecture featuring arched loggia, formal Renaissance gardens with manicured hedgerows, decorative urns, rectangular reflecting pool, and mature pine trees under blue sky

Villa, chalet, mansion: what’s the difference?

When perusing our property listings, you’ll see many terms used to describe stately homes, including villa, chalet and mansion. While all are quite luxurious, there are distinct differences between the three types of property. If you’ve always wondered what is the difference between a mansion and chalet, find out below.

Sunlit bedroom with large windows, sheer curtains, and a gray upholstered bed with white linens. Wooden floors and a bench add warmth.

Beds under windows: a design do or don't?

When designing a bedroom, your bed is undoubtedly the most important element. In some spaces, placement might seem obvious, while in others, you may have to give particular consideration to the room's features. Where to put a bed in combination with a window is a much-discussed interior design question. To get it right, you'll need to balance your design desires, temperature considerations and the natural light.

Rendering of a modern master bedroom in gray-green tones with adjoining dressing room

Five mistakes to avoid in your new bedroom design

Whether as an oasis of calm, a sea of tranquillity, or a facilitator of a good night’s sleep, bedrooms play a major part in our lives – in fact, we all spend around a third of our lives there. However, they are often undervalued during home renovations and can be overlooked in favour of redecorating the living space or kitchen. To help you avoid this, here are the five most common interior design mistakes when redesigning a bedroom.

Fallingwater - The famous house over the waterfall by Frank Lloyd Wright. A modern architectural masterpiece from the 1930s with characteristic horizontal concrete planes, a striking stone chimney and large window fronts, embedded in lush greenery and built over a natural waterfall.

The philosophy behind iconic Frank Lloyd Wright architecture

Deemed the ‘greatest American architect of all time’ in a 1991 survey by the American Institute of Architects, Frank Lloyd Wright was a true visionary. He believed in the power of connecting architecture with its inhabitants, stating once that ‘the mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilisation’.

People bike down a wide street in Paris, France. Buildings line both sides of the street.

The 15-minute city - infrastructural developments

Mayor Anne Hidalgo wants to completely redesign the city centre of Paris. In this way, the streets are to be made available only to pedestrians and cyclists and the inner city is to be made as car-free as possible. Not only would air pollution be significantly reduced, this would also considerably improve the quality of life of the people living there.

A beautifully designed tiny house featuring a modern kitchen with wooden countertops, open shelving, and industrial pendant lighting. The open-concept layout leads to a cozy living area with large windows, creating a bright and inviting atmosphere.

Minimalist living: What is it like to live in a tiny house?

Tiny houses, also known as micro or mini houses, represent a new living trend from the USA and have been enjoying increasing popularity since the financial crisis of 2007. Typically, the living space is less than 40 square metres - often considerably less. Not only the usable area is of modest dimensions, but also the minimalist and functional interior design. In addition, many tiny houses have a chassis and are mobile, making them suitable for a flexible and location-independent lifestyle.

What is a zero carbon building?

Energy consumption and energy efficient buildings have been a hot topic for some time now. Climate change is increasingly a concern in almost all sectors of life, but especially the construction sector; the focus on a sustainable future has never been more intense. As such, it’s likely that we’ve all read something around the subject of green buildings and sustainable buildings, but have you heard of zero carbon buildings? What precisely is a net zero carbon building and who is developing such projects?

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Professional in a gray suit and white shirt smiling confidently while holding a smartphone, standing in front of classical white buildings with arched windows and elegant architectural details.
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Engel & Völkers Germany

Vancouverstraße 2a

20457 Hamburg, Germany

Tel: +49 40 361310