A Double-Height Living Room That Breathes With Nature
Architect and interior designer Abdelrahman Elgarhy doesn’t just design rooms; he designs atmospheres. His double-height living area, surrounded by a forest of tall trees and wrapped in sweeping glass, is a study in openness, clarity, and emotional quiet. It feels both vast and intimate, free yet grounded.
“Honestly, the idea was to make the space feel open and freeing the moment you walk in,” he says. “I wanted the owner to feel like they’re stepping into a calm clearing in the middle of nature, huge, bright, and peaceful, but still cozy enough to enjoy.”
The architecture leans heavily on transparency and proportion. Towering windows stretch from floor to ceiling, dissolving the boundary between indoors and outdoors. Sunlight shifts across the space throughout the day, carrying the forest inside without ever overwhelming the serenity of the interior.
It’s open, but it hugs you back.
That balance, vast but comforting, is the foundation of the design. Warm materials, soft colors, and a minimal layout ensure that the openness never feels cold or empty.
At the center of the room stands the fireplace, a monumental sculptural form that becomes the emotional anchor of the space. “The fireplace is basically the heart of the room,” he explains. “It anchors all that openness and gives the space a focal point. It adds warmth, visually and literally, and gives the room its calm, grounded feel.”
Despite the dramatic scale and soaring height, the interior exudes quiet. Low seating, natural fabrics, and clean lines create a rhythm that supports the architecture instead of competing with it. Nothing shouts. Nothing distracts. Everything flows.
The emotional tone of the room is intentional. Elgarhy wanted a place that feels like a retreat from urban noise, a place where solitude feels restorative rather than isolating. “I wanted the room to feel open and free, but also like a private corner where you can disappear from the noise of everyday life,” he says.
The space is meant to make you feel calm, clear, and connected to everything outside.
It’s easy to imagine sinking into the sofa, listening to the quiet crackle of the fire, and watching the forest shift in the changing light. That stillness, simple, natural, almost meditative, is the essence of the project.
Based in Egypt, Abdelrahman Elgarhy is an architect and interior designer with a clear vision. Spaces should feel emotionally honest. Working with natural materials, minimal forms, and a deep respect for light, he creates interiors that feel open, warm, and connected to their surroundings. His work blends clarity with comfort, always rooted in the way people want to live and feel.
