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    DAB Studio adds contemporary touches to Dutch home from Amsterdam School period

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    An Ettore Sottsass gridded feature wall and a sculptural green ladder characterise this 1920s Dutch house, which interiors firm DAB Studio designed to reference the Amsterdam School.

    Called Collectors Home, the dwelling is defined by the intricate brickwork and stained glass windows typical of the Amsterdam School – a movement from 1910 to 1920 that paid equal attention to the architecture and interior design of a building.
    DAB Studio has renovated a Dutch home from the Amsterdam School periodLocal firm DAB Studio renovated the Amsterdam house’s interiors to reflect its roots while adding contemporary touches.
    “The building dates from around 1929 and was designed by Eduard Cuypers,” studio co-founder Lotte Bruns told Dezeen.
    Called Collectors Home, the dwelling also includes contemporary touches”His studio was considered the origin of the Amsterdam School because the ringleaders of this style, Michel de Klerk, Joan van der Mey and Piet Kramer, were all formed in his office,” she added.

    The team enlarged and rearranged the living room’s neutral-hued fireplace, which has smooth, subtle corners – “a recognisable reference to the Amsterdam School,” according to Bruns. 
    Dedesigned to be deliberately off-centre, the fireplace mouth was decorated with modernist black marble discs that echo the room’s rounded sconce lights, positioned on a marbled mahogany feature wall.
    A gridded feature wall characterises the living spaceAlthough the wall design was originally created by Memphis Group founder Sottsass for Alpi in the 1980s, the gridded arrangement of the wood recalls the “ladder windows” common to Amsterdam School architecture, explained Bruns.
    A recognisable Wassily Chair by Bauhaus designer Marcel Breuer sits opposite a sculptural, low-slung coffee table and a deep red Gubi chaise lounge, first created in 1951.
    DAB Studio sourced a range of furniture for the project”The clients’ love of both modernism and postmodernism was the starting point for our research,” said Bruns.
    DAB Studio made use of the home’s bay window by inserting a lumpy, vintage fruit-picking ladder into the space – a formerly utilitarian object from 1890, painted green and transformed into art for the project.
    A fruit-picking ladder functions as an art piece”The semi-circular window was a big challenge because it was too small to be functional and too big to leave empty,” considered Bruns.
    “The ladder’s colour complements the stained glass and the green background of the grass and trees in the garden,” she added.

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    Art features throughout the home, including in the timber-clad kitchen, where a red copper table lamp with a shaggy, gold-hued fringe illuminates the sleek worktop.
    Connected to the open-plan living room, the dining space was finished with a long, dark wood table, mustard-coloured silk curtains and bespoke glass ceiling panels.
    The timber-clad kitchen houses a contemporary red copper lamp”The interior has a free, creative spirit in which each element can stand on its own and be seen as art,” concluded Bruns.
    Founded in 2016 by Lotte and her partner Dennis Antonio Bruns, DAB Studio previously transformed the kitchen floors and ceilings of a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, with two types of wood.
    Also based in Amsterdam, Studio Modijefsky created a contemporary family home inside a local dijkhuis – a traditional Dutch dwelling set next to a dyke.
    The photography is by Alice Mesguich.

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      Barde vanVoltt gives historic Haarlem house a contemporary update

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      Interiors studio Barde vanVoltt has renovated this early 1900s house in the Dutch city of Haarlem to forge a strong connection between the building’s past and present, grounding the space with warm woods and tactile textures.

      The owners – a young family of four – wanted a home that would stand the test of time while telling Dutch practice Barde vanVoltt to “surprise us”.
      Barde vanVoltt had overhauled an early 20th-century house in HaarlemIn answer, the studio worked to create an interior that fuses the past and the present.
      “Stepping into this house is a journey through time, a reminder that architecture is a dialogue between generations,” the studio told Dezeen.
      “Meticulously preserving its historical charm, the house’s design seamlessly integrates contemporary features, creating a harmonious blend that transcends eras.”

      The studio added an extension to the rear of the homeTo address the narrow footprint of the house – a typically Dutch feature – internal walls were either removed, widened or replaced with glass panel doors.
      The back of the property was transformed with an extension and concertina glass doors to maximize the sense of light and space.
      The extension houses the kitchen and dining area”With the extension on the ground floor, we wanted to create contrast with the original architecture,” said Barde vanVoltt. “The understated square modern architecture, due to its shape and angular position, blends perfectly with the past.”
      “With the historic facade at the front, we took advantage of the space at the rear, extending the kitchen and living areas into the garden.”
      A vintage sandstone table centres the living roomThe practice carefully aligned the new design elements with shapes drawn from the architectural features of the house, with the new full-height door openings echoing the proportions of the living room’s original windows.
      In the attic, a guest room doubles as a playroom. Barde vanVoltt infused this once-dark space with natural light via a skylight, “allowing guests to sleep under the stars”.
      Barde vanVoltt retained Haarlem House’s original stained glass windows”Dutch houses are noted for their sloping attic roof lines,” the studio said. “For the children’s bedrooms, we followed this structural line and created custom bunk beds that combine sleep, storage, and space for play.”
      The material palette includes a range of mid- and dark-toned timbers that bring a sense of warmth and tactility to the home.

      WillemsenU submerges house under the ground in the Netherlands

      These are complemented by natural materials including stone and linen.
      “Our colour scheme always consists of earthy colours like moss green, a faded terracotta, grey concrete and off-whites,” the studio said. “For this residence, we brought them in line with the original colours from the existing tiles and stained glass.”
      Custom bunk beds feature in the children’s bedroomsThe furniture edit features Barde vanVoltt’s favoured mix of statement pieces alongside handmade and bespoke elements.
      Selected pieces reflect the architectural style of the building such as the Lot table by Tecta in the study, as well as Gerrit Thomas Rietveld’s 1934 Zig Zag chair and his Steltman chair from 1963, which was the last chair ever created by the Dutch designer.
      The playroom, dining area and bedroom all have specially-made seating upholstered in Kvadrat fabrics, while the bedrooms and study feature bespoke beds and closets.
      Wooden blinds mirror the linear pattern of the bathroom tiles”We love creating interiors full of handmade, bespoke furniture pieces with refined details,” said Barde vanVoltt. “The headboard of the master bedroom is an art piece in itself. The walnut slats are slightly curved and give it a very sophisticated look.”
      The square coffee table in the living room – made from a single piece of sandstone – is a vintage piece from Atelier Uma.
      Barde vanVoltt created a custom headboard in the primary bedroomFor the lighting scheme, Barde vanVoltt set out to create the right balance between functional and decorative lighting, collaborating with lighting experts PSLab to create a “warm and cosy atmosphere.”
      Other Dutch homes that have recently been featured on Dezeen include a house with a hexagonal footprint in Amsterdam and a Hobbit-style residence that is partially buried underground.
      The photography is by Thomas de Bruyne.

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      DAB Studio lines kitchen of Dutch home with oak and Afromosia wood

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      Dutch interior design practice DAB Studio has transformed the kitchen of a family home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, by covering the floors and ceiling in one type of wood and the walls and cabinets in another.

      DAB Studio aimed to create a “calm yet soulful” interior with an earthy colour palette made up of tan and neutral shades.
      Quarter-sawn Afromosia wood lines the walls and kitchen unitsThe floors and ceiling were covered in hand-scraped oak with a smoked and black-oiled finish, laid in a pattern of side-by-side plank pairs.
      Afromosia wood, a tropical hardwood native to west Africa, was applied to the walls and cabinets. The wood was quarter sawn to create a decorative grain pattern and add a sense of playfulness to the interior.
      Oak planks were laid in side-by-side pairs on the floors and ceilingDAB Studio co-founders, Lotte and Dennis Bruns, designed the interior to be a space that would balance “feminine and masculine elements” and reflect both of the owners’ design tastes.

      According to the duo, the repeating wood choices for the different surfaces give the space a sense of completeness.
      Marble worktops extend down the sides of the kitchen units”Per the client’s request, we wanted to merge the feminine and masculine vision of their new home, balancing each other out in one curated space,” the co-founders told Dezeen.
      “This allowed us to create unique areas in line with our client’s habits and interests while imbuing the space with a sense of spaciousness and lightness.”
      “In order to merge all elements of the design, it felt important to prioritise the theme of consistency,” the duo added.
      “For that particular reason, the wood of the floor is repeated on the ceiling, and the wood used for cabinetry is continued into the walls of the room.”

      Julia van Beuningen adds spiral stair in Dutch barn conversion

      The centrepiece of the kitchen is the island, which features Afromosia wood cabinet doors and a waterfall countertop made from Arebescato Orobico marble.
      Wood cabinets along one kitchen wall were also topped with a marble worktop, which extends down one side to frame the unit.
      The studio balanced “masculine and feminine” elements in the interiorDAB Studio added a dining nook below a window, designed to be a space flooded with natural light where the family can gather.
      Seating with rounded corners wraps the three walls of the nook. The seating base was covered in the same wood as the interior walls, while the seat and backrest are covered in plush upholstery.
      The quarter-sawn Afromosia wood creates a decorative grainAt the centre of the nook, a rectangular table with two blocky legs made from Arebescato Orobico marble contrasts the rounded seating.
      “The dining nook is where the family can spend time together, welcome new conversations, and create core memories,” said Lotte and Dennis Bruns.
      “The asymmetrical built-in banquette seating feels inviting with its round edges, and adds a dynamic feel to the space.”
      The dining nook sits below a windowDecorative items and free-standing furniture were introduced to the interior to add more rounded elements, including a Wiggle Chair by Frank Gehry.
      Elsewhere in the Netherlands, Francois Verhoeven Architects has created a bungalow clad in vertical timber slats and Julia van Beuningen added a plywood staircase to a barn conversion.
      The photography is by Daniëlle Siobhán.

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      Julia van Beuningen adds spiral stair in Dutch barn conversion

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      A spiral staircase made from plywood is the showpiece of this thatched barn in Gelderland, the Netherlands, which architectural designer Julia van Beuningen has converted into a residence.

      Van Beuningen has overseen a complete transformation of the late 19th-century building, named Barn at the Ahof, turning it into a rental home with four bedrooms and a large open-plan living space.
      The plywood staircase was produced by manufacturer EeStairsThe plywood staircase, produced by manufacturer EeStairs, sits at the heart of the floor plan. With its precise curved geometry and slender components, it offers a playful contrast with the barn’s rustic wooden columns and beams.
      “We thought, if we’re going to do something, we have to do it properly,” Van Beuningen told Dezeen.
      The staircase leads up to a new first floor within the converted barn”This is very different and very unusual in a barn like this,” Van Beuningen added. “It’s something you either love or hate, but it’s definitely a statement.”

      Barn at the Ahof is one of several buildings on an ancient farming estate named Landgoed Appel that Van Beuningen inherited from her family.
      She is planning to overhaul the entire site through a mix of rebuilds and refurbishments and create a series of low-energy houses that can be used for either long-term or holiday rentals.
      An open-plan living space occupies the ground floorAs the barn had been previously renovated approximately 10 years ago, it didn’t require as much work as some of the other properties on the estate.
      Van Beuningen is not a qualified architect – she is primarily a cellist and works in architecture part-time – so she enlisted local studio Flip Wentink Architecten to oversee the planning stages.
      However, she decided to manage the detailed-design phase herself, adding in extra details like the spiral staircase and some built-in joinery elements.
      The first floor provides two bedrooms and bathroomsOn the ground floor, the staircase creates a divide between a dining area and a lounge with a wood-burning stove. A minimal steel kitchen island runs along the side of this space.
      Also on this storey is an accessible bedroom and bathroom suite.
      The newly added first floor, which is much smaller in size, accommodates two additional bedrooms and bathrooms.
      Bespoke joinery provides in-built storageVan Beuningen tried to use simple natural materials wherever possible.
      As well as the plywood staircase and joinery, the renovated barn features walls of flax and lime plaster.

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      “It’s quite a proud building,” said the designer, “and it’s quite strong and industrial.”
      “I wanted to respect this industrial nature, which is not easy when adding in a new floor that is quite a heavy element. So I thought we should be quite humble in terms of materials.”
      Glazing skirts the edge of the first-floor bedroomsClever glazing details help to elevate the design.
      Highlights include large glass doors that can be concealed behind stable-style shutters, tall and slender skylights, and a narrow strip of glazing that skirts the edge of the first floor.
      A third bedroom is located on the ground floorExternally, the building has a more traditional appearance thanks to its thatched roof and red brick walls.
      Barn at the Ahof is the second completed building at the Landgoed Appel estate, following the refurbishment of the former bakehouse. Still to come is the overhauled farmhouse, revamped sheep shed and a new-build barn.
      Large glass doors are fronted by stable-style shuttersEnvironmental sustainability is a key concern for Van Beuningen, so all of the buildings are being designed to incorporate solar panels and ground-source heat pumps.
      Some sections of the estate have been rewilded, while ancient wetlands have been reinstated.
      Skylights puncture the traditional thatch roofVan Beuningen hopes the project can pave the way for more sustainable tourism in Dutch rural communities. At a time when the government is restricting the farming industry, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, she hopes to show farmers can explore other revenue streams.
      “It’s really a long-term project in that sense,” she added.
      Other recent barn conversions featured on Dezeen include the stone Woodthorpe Stables in Surrey by Delve Architects and North River Architecture’s extension of an 18th-century farm building in New York.
      The photography is by Alex Baxter.
      Project credits
      Client: Landgoed AppelArchitect: Flip Wentink ArchitectenInterior architect: Julia van BeuningenStructural engineer: Peter Rommers/Luuk van Doeveren ArchitektuurM&E consultant: Peter RommersQuantity surveyor: Peter RommersLighting consultant: Julia van BeuningenStaircase engineering/fabrication: EeStairs

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      Studio Modijefsky favours clean lines in renovation of Dutch dyke house

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      Amsterdam interior design firm Studio Modijefsky has created a contemporary family home inside of a local dijkhuis – a traditional Dutch dwelling set next to a dyke.

      Located in the north of Amsterdam, the house was originally built for a middle-class family in the 1800s. But the building suffered substantial fire damage while serving as a kindergarten in the 1980s and had to be completely rebuilt in the same style.
      Home Dijkhuis is a renovated dyke house in AmsterdamStudio Modijefsky was asked by the new owners to create an interior that would respect the building’s heritage while introducing modern touches.
      Spread across 260 square metres, the home features an entrance, living area and study on the same level as the dyke. A spacious kitchen, dining area and garden are set a level down at the back of the house, while four bedrooms occupy the first floor under the gabled roof.
      Its low timber-beam ceiling is left exposed in the kitchenThe Netherlands has a long history of building next to its vast network of dykes – the embankments stretching thousands of kilometres along its coastlines and riverbanks to protect the low-lying country from flooding.

      As these dykes raise the ground level, a dijkhuis is often split across storeys of different heights and lighting conditions, which creates both challenges and creative opportunities according to Studio Modijefsky.
      “To create an interior that fits the original architecture while freshening it up, the spatial qualities of each living area were assessed and the properties of height, light and each building structure and window shape were maximised,” explained the studio.
      A green corduroy sofa and a walnut cabinet dominate the loungeIn the downstairs kitchen and dining area, a low timber-beam ceiling creates an intimate space anchored by a large table, where the family can come together for meals or enjoy views over the garden through the wide French windows.
      In the kitchen, a terrazzo-topped island is complemented with dark wooden door fronts, a backlit glass display cabinet and terracotta tiles on the floor.
      Marble detailing features throughout the house in fireplaces and splashbacksUpstairs, on the level of the dyke, the house’s entrance hallway leads into a bright living room, which the design team describes as “the most lavish space in the house”.
      It features tall arched windows and a high curved ceiling with art deco ornaments, giving the room a spacious and welcoming feel.

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      The walls and ceilings are painted in three different hues of white, strategically placed to enhance the room’s architectural features.
      “In a room with so much natural light, darker colours could be used to dramatic effect such as on the dark herringbone floor,” said Studio Modijefsky. “But all eyes will here be drawn to a monolithic walnut cabinet, whose shape mirrors the windows opposite it.”
      A built-in bar is set in one corner of the loungeIn addition to the walnut cabinet, the room is furnished with an olive-green corduroy sofa and a built-in cocktail bar with a terrazzo top.
      Across the hallway is a toilet decorated with off-white tiles that are glossy on the walls and matt on the floor. Other furnishings include wooden plinths, a purple marble splashback and an oak-wood cabinet with brass details.
      The study, which doubles as a guest room, has built-in storage cabinets and an en-suite bathroom with travertine instead of marble detailing.
      The curved ceilings of the dijkhuis create a sense of being envelopedFour bedrooms, two bathrooms and a separate toilet are squeezed onto the dijkhuis’s first floor. To create enough space for these living arrangements, the design team installed two dormer windows that run along two-thirds of the roof’s length.
      The floors and walls here are lighter compared to downstairs, with parts of the original beamed roof left exposed.
      Bathrooms on this floor feature rectangular tiles arranged in a herringbone pattern, which is echoed in the parquet of the bedrooms. In the corridors, the studio switched the pattern to straight planking in order to emphasise the vertical dimensions of the house.
      Four bedrooms are housed on the first floor under the home’s gabled roofStudio Modijefsky, which was founded by interior architect Esther Stam in 2009, has completed a number of projects in the Dutch capital in recent years.
      Among them is a travel-themed eatery with swampy purple ceilings and yellow-tiled walls that recall grassy meadows, as well as the renovation of a 119-year-old restaurant.
      The photography is by Maarten Willemstein. 

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      Thomas Geerlings converts canal-side Amsterdam warehouse into contemporary home

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      The creative director of design studio Framework has turned a neglected 19th-century warehouse in Amsterdam into a plush family home for his wife and two children. The house is located along the waters of the city’s Prinsengracht canal and occupies a disused warehouse that was originally constructed back in 1896. Over the years the five-storey building […] More

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      Workhome-Playhome is a colourful Rotterdam house by Lagado Architects

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      The two founders of Lagado Architects have revamped their own townhouse in Rotterdam to feature bold live-work spaces and a sculptural blue staircase. The pale-brick townhouse – renamed Workhome-Playhome – is situated in Noordereiland, a largely residential neighbourhood surrounded by the Nieuwe Maas river. It’s shared by the founders of Lagado Architects, Victor Verhagen and […] More