Interview with the founders of [rezidentz]

Dan and Elie Appelstein are cousins who grew up in Antwerp and built careers on two continents before returning to Belgium to create Rezidentz. The idea emerged from personal experience: years of navigating furnished housing in Paris, New York, and Montreal, and noticing the same gap everywhere — quality, flexible, genuinely all-inclusive furnished apartments for people who need to move and don't want to deal with the admin.

On the origin of the concept

'Travel changes how you think about housing,' says Dan. 'When you've lived in five cities, you develop a very clear sense of what matters: location, quality, simplicity. The rest is noise. We wanted to build something that removed the noise entirely.'

The Brussels market had clear gaps: traditional leases running three years minimum, no real furnished alternatives for medium-term stays, and a complete absence of the hospitality mindset that characterises the best hotels and coliving spaces elsewhere. 'We thought: what if you could have the apartment you'd want, for exactly as long as you need it, with everything sorted?'

On design

'Design is not a luxury — it's infrastructure,' says Elie. 'A well-designed apartment makes daily life better. You sleep better, work better, feel better. We decided from the start that we weren't going to compromise on this.'

They commissioned Zazie Maquet, a Belgian architect, to develop the Rezidentz design language: Japandi — a synthesis of Scandinavian and Japanese principles. Clean lines, natural materials, functional beauty. 'Every object has to earn its place,' says Zazie. 'Nothing decorative that isn't also useful.'

On staying in control

'We manage everything ourselves — sourcing, acquisition, renovation, operation,' says Elie. 'That's unusual. Most people in this space use third-party managers. But we wanted control over the product and the experience. The only way to deliver consistent quality is to own every step.'

On what comes next

'More properties in the best locations. More cities,' says Dan. The Antwerp opening — Nationalestraat, fully booked before the doors opened — showed that the model travels. 'We started in Brussels because we know it. But the problem we're solving exists everywhere.'