Straight Out of a Storybook: A 1900s Home in Amsterdam by Barde vanVoltt.

There’s a house in Haarlem—the one in Amsterdam with two As, not the one in New York with one—that looks like it could belong in a Disney movie. It’s got perfectly pointed angles, shiny-as-wax windows and a storybook facade, and though it was built in the 1900s, its historic charm has somehow only grown over the decades, though not merely by chance. As designers Bart van Seggelen and Valérie Boerma of Amsterdam-based interior design studio Barde vanVoltt would tell you, it took a tiny bit of effort.

When the pair stepped in to revive the interior, it was, at best, a shadow of its former self. And the owners, a young family of four, were keen to show it some love (and light). Their brief to the Dutch practice, therefore, was to “surprise us.” How and in what way was up to Bart and Valérie.

Luckily, for the design duo, inspiration came easy. They took cues from the past to create a space full of warm woods and tactile textures that take turns leaning classic and contemporary. As Bart puts it, “The magic lies in the delicate fusion of past and present. Stepping into this house is a journey through time, a reminder that architecture is a dialogue between generations.”

Villa Waalre in The Netherlands by Russell Jones.

Positioned in the same location and orientation as the former residence once owned by Frans Otten, the son in law of the founder of the Dutch...

Ask the pair what their biggest challenge was and they’re quick to explain that it was the narrow spatial footprint, a feature common to old Dutch houses. To make more room, they made small changes, such as removing and widening the internal walls, extending the kitchen and living areas into the garden, introducing concertina doors at the back, and carving out full-height door openings that matched the scale of the living room’s original windows. Anything new was inspired by what came before it, so as to draw a contrast with the original architecture. One case in point? The square modern angles that seem to appear and reappear in the newer sections of the house, holding a mirror to the geometric facade.

Evidently, everything the designers touched turned to light, including the previously light-starved attic, which they turned into a guest room and crowned with a skylight to conjure a sleeping experience under the stars. A similarly considered approach was used in the kids’ bedrooms, where the the designers used the sloping roof as a guideline to create bunk beds maximised for sleep, storage and play.

BD House by Space Encounters with Studio Vincent van Leeuwen.

This layered transformation finds cultural heritage, sustainable transformation and the right material qualities converging in one project...

Walk through the home and you’ll notice that each room basks in the same soft tones and solid timbers, exuding a warmth and tactility that can be both seen and felt. The designers wove the spaces together through a palette of such natural materials as stone and linen, and earthy colours like moss green, faded terracotta, grey concrete and off-white—each inspired by a shade of tile or stained glass original to the home. As for the lighting, they joined hands with lighting experts PSLab to create a warm and cosy atmosphere.

As Bart and Valérie tell it, there were no rules as far as the furniture was concerned. They used pieces historic and new, statement and bespoke, usual and unusual. Chief among them? A Lot table by Tecta in the study; Gerrit Thomas Rietveld’s 1934 Zig Zag chair; and his Steltman chair from 1963, notably the last ever chair he designed. For the playroom and dining area, the designers elected to bring in bespoke seating outfitted in Kvadrat fabrics, while the bedrooms and study were designated custom beds and closets.

Whether it’s the headboard in the main bedroom, which Valérie considers “an art piece in itself,” thanks to the undulating walnut slats, or the monolithic coffee table, carved out of a single piece of sandstone and sourced from Atelier Uma, there’s something to marvel at whichever way you go. Indeed, in this home, the surprises never seem to end.

Ketelhuis Residence, Gallery Space & Artist Studio in Zaandam by Studio Modijefsky.

On this industrial site in the northern Dutch city of Zaandam, a monumental industrial building has been transformed into a home and studio...

[Images courtesy of Barde Van Voltt. Photography by Cafeine.]