Dezeen Magazine

A Wild Thing by Muller Van Severen at Design Miami

Muller Van Severen duo transplant their living room to Design Miami

At Design Miami this week, Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen have created an exact replica of the living room at their home in Ghent.

The couple, who run design studio Muller Van Severen, teamed up with Airbnb for the installation titled A Wild Thing.

A full-size replica of the room was created at the Florida design fair – while back in Belgium, the original property was put up for rent on Airbnb.

Muller van Severen at Design Miami 2017

Muller Van Severen's team populated the replica with all of the couple's furniture, which was shipped over. The result is an almost identical copy of the space, down to the light switches.

The duo said the found the space slightly unnerving when they first walked in.

"It's very weird," Van Severen told Dezeen. "It's like we travelled for hours and we're back in our living room again."

"I'm glad it's weird though, because otherwise it wouldn't have been right," added Muller.

Muller van Severen at Design Miami 2017

Features replicated in the booth include white walls and a wooden floor. Where the windows would be are lightboxes displaying the views of the home's driveway, and Muller Van Severen's nearby studio, outside.

Among the items recreated are a wooden bookcase. This takes up a full wall, and is filled with books and other personal trinkets.

Muller van Severen at Design Miami 2017

"It's a very important piece because it affects the whole room," said Van Severen. "The colour of the wood is done very well, and is the same."

Some of the duo's geometric furniture pieces are also presented in the space, along with designs they have collected over the years.

Muller van Severen at Design Miami 2017

The most personal object to them is a small wooden chair that their daughter built in their studio when she was six years old. "I thought it was so direct, so wild, so honest," Muller said.

To learn more about some of the objects, visitors can listen to audio recordings of the designers explaining the stories behind them. These are activated by hidden sensors that react to movement.

Muller van Severen at Design Miami 2017

"Your home is about what objects are, and the collection you make during your life, with a lot of stories and history," said Muller. "A living space makes a portrait for somebody, and that's what you feel when you enter a home with Airbnb."

Design Miami runs from 6 to 10 December 2017 at Meridian Avenue and 19th Street, Miami Beach, concurrently with the Art Basel fair and many other events across the city.

Muller van Severen at Design Miami 2017

Also for the festival, Studio Swine has installed a sculpture that produces mist-filled bubbles, Carsten Höller has created a pop-up club for Prada, and Studio Drift has choreographed a swarm of illuminated drones.