Mies van der Rohe collaborated closely with his then partner, the interior decorator Lilly Reich on the furnishings of the two houses. They drew in part on previously designed pieces of furniture while new spatial composition were developed for other sections of the house, for example the boudoirs.

Considering the fact that the two clients for these buildings were independent, self-assured and successful businessmen, the openness for a design concept that is identi-cal to a considerable extent is particularly striking. Aside from the rather inconspicuous detailing, the same switches, door handles, baseboards, tiles, picture hanging devices as well as the technical appliances in the kitchens and bathrooms were used. In addi-tion, the walls, closets, doors and baseboards were carried out in the same color scheme and surface finish. The use of the same space-defining furniture in the dining rooms and halls is unique. The built-in cabinets, sideboards and display cases likewise corresponded to each other as regards material and construction.

The nearly identical materiality of the houses is evident in the use of façade bricks, the equally detailed colored window frames, the finishing of all the banisters and terraces as well as, finally, the floor surfaces. It culminates in the Macassar ebony entrance doors. Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich developed furnishings for the entrance halls of the two villas, which, however, were never realized.

Nobert Hanenberg, Daniel Lohmann