The start
The apartment in Amsterdam is built on an old industrial factory that is renovated for new use for commercial places. On top of the 4th and 5th floor two additional new levels have been added with three apartments. The apartment of HouseCTC is 100M2. Building it meant starting with a completely empty space with only floor-to-ceiling windows on the South and West side located next to water and a front door. The architect wanted to emphasis the industrial origin of the building and area so the exterior is fully executed with steel on the outside walls with additional beams of steel all around it. It was part of the delivery of the apartment. In the interior also the steel constructions are placed in the heart of the apartment, which needed to work around with while created the indoor floorplan.
Requirements
The apartment has an open flexible floor plan, with the possibility to enclose spaces with sliding doors or larger than life pivot doors with coloured glass. There is one master bedroom and another smaller room which is now the home office and dressing room. It needed to have a big living area and a grand entrance. A small utility room. But far most, the bathroom needed to be a large, open and flexible space. Specifically, here the beams of steel needed to be worked around with and stayed visible. The bathroom consists now of three spaces with a permanent glass window between the compartments of the bath and the showers. The entry to the bath is via the master bedroom thru a flexible window of canale glass, that encloses the bath, but can stay open as well.
Creating the plan
The motto of the complete interior was Paris chic with a modern twist. It resulted in an international apartment with an eclectic interior with a flavor of Paris in Amsterdam and touches of New York’s roaring twenties and an Art Deco vibe. An example is that specific Paris green with white details. It is visible in the entrance and all closet doors in the different areas of the home are finished with that colour. The living area has that eclectic feel due to the use of art, design and modern and vintage combinations. It is painted in one colour to ‘grasp’ that specific “golden hour” feel. The overload on sunshine that enters the living area and the reverberation of the water makes the lighting spectacular at moments. All in all, it is a luxury home with fine materials.
Materials
In the apartment only real materials are used, five different marbles, chestnut for the kitchen wall and oak on the floor, steel frames and doors and coloured glass. The materials are combined with bronze materials in the bathroom for the sanitary and also in the kitchen, bar stools and lighting. And a touch of brash, that couldn’t be left out.
In the bathroom two marbles are combined: calacatta vagli and green onyx. The green onyx for the two showers have LED lighting behind it, for that extra deluxe feeling.
For the toilet more bold statements were made with the dark sapphire tiles on the wall and dark Hague blue paint on the ceiling. A custom made sink from calacatta viola and on the floor arabescato oro.
On the kitchen counter and in the nish the Brazilian marble patagonia quartzite is used. In the niche also lighted with LED light behind it. The wall side of the kitchen is made from glazed chestnut. The kitchen fronts are painted in bronze. The kitchen is now in the heart of the living. From everywhere the view is magnificent and it is very cozy while cooking with friends or family gathered around and sitting on the bar stools. When not cooking it is a beautiful object to look at being the eye-catcher in the middle of the living area.
Vintage, art and design
With a strong feel for second hand loved pieces in cloths, jewelry and design, it was a pleasure sourcing pieces for my new apartment and buying multiple vintage pieces. These were acquired in gallery’s in the Netherlands. Also the bar stools are vintages from 1960’s and were upholstered and airbrushed as also some other furniture and lighting. The love for vintage is also showing thru the mirrored wall in the living, which is set with antique glass pieces.
Art and design are making the house very special. Different pieces are from Dutch designers amongst Rick Tegelaar, REM Atelier and Rotganzen. Also non-Dutch designers are admired, like Kelly Wearstler, her marble Big Kiss couldn’t be left out in the interior. And as the apartment doesn’t have a lot of open walls, different paintings and photos are included. A big must in the interior!
Details and handmade
Building an own home with professionals that love making beautiful things, made it even a rewording project as almost everything is built by hand or is custom made. All professionals had an eye for detail and everything is thought thru. The home is for a real lover of fine work, beautiful materials and a warm and fun space to live in.
Building process
Since I’m a professional project manager I was able to manage the building process myself. It was tough at times and it had a steep learning curve. Taking time to look and to listen and to work with all the professionals made it to a success. Especially taking time to talk and discuss on an hourly bases on certain days is a must in order to have it build your way. Planning is always a challenge in every project. Having project management skills made it possible to plan ahead and to avoid extra costs that otherwise would have occurred. Negotiating is part of a building process as well. With a smile it is easier, but it remains a skill.
The lay-out was created with Framework in Amsterdam. While building the apartment the interior design was created with interior designer Merrith Violette and also Kodde Architects from Amsterdam assisted in specific areas.
