how it's meant to be

A few weeks ago, I was working on a styling/photography assignment with Maaike Koorman for a roof garden in Amsterdam, built by the Dakdokters. It was agreed upon that I could borrow furniture and accessories at a shop in Laren, Kerkhof, and a shop in Baarn, Nijhof. The drive through Laren reminded me of a beautiful, insprired, and inspiring shop that I used to visit a lot when I was a stylist for an interior magazine, back in the olden days. I was curious to know if it still is as nice now as it was then, 10 years ago. It was, and it was even better that I remembered. This is a style that I love, and that I hope to be able to one day put in a house, for myself or for a customer. I love the balance between modern and authentic, rough and sleek. The image next to the green chair is made by Mirjam Bleeker.

The shop is called Meker Atelier and the addres is: Mauvezand 2, in Laren (NH).

before and after

before

after

To let in the light that comes in through the front door, I replaced a closed wooden door for a glass door with a steel, powder coated frame. The railings around the stairs were replaced with cabinets on each side, with a powder coated railing, to make it more slim and elegant.

To keep look of the floor, that was originally concrete, a layer of colored and lacquered cement coating was put on, after the floor heating system was put in. The extra heater is an old design, and gives a bold statement to the living room.

In the kitchen (which was not finished yet when I took the images) one wall is covered with a lot of cabinets, in different shapes, sizes and depths, but all painted in the same color. It hides the oven, it sort of embraces the window, it plays with the light and it creates a lot of storage space. The pink cabinet, around the corner, in the space between the living room and the kitchen, is where the freezer has found its space, and has room for storing cleaning stuff and supplies.

To create more light downstairs we knocked down an wall to create a studio where a separate bedroom was, and we created a room in the bathroom so the light from the master bedroom would also reach the bathroom.

The color scheme is mostly tender hues like soft pink, a lot of different greys and beige, with a few bold colors like the pink of the freezer cabinet, the mustard yellow in the studio and the petrol colored wall in the guest room.

Next step is the curtains and the garden.

I've been working on...

...a house in Ede, in the east part of Holland. The beautiful house, kind of a house boat on land, has a ground floor with open spaced living room and kitchen, and a floor below sea level with two bedrooms, a studio, a bathroom and storage rooms.

I had the honour to decorate the house, from scratch. That meant deciding on the floor, the kitchen, toilets, sinks, made-to-measure furniture, bathroom, colors, the works. A big job, and a very exciting one.

For a job this big, I take a lot of time with the customer to decide on the style, and the floor plans. I translate the choice we make in mood boards. With these as a hand book I start sketching, that means technical drawings (with help from architect friend Jasper Westebring, of course). With a few options I go back to the customer, and together we decide on a master plan.

I will show you my mood boards first, after that I will show you some images of the result, before all the furniture was moved in. It takes a lot of time to settle in, always, and I can't wait any longer to show you the results.