To be honest, it’s an apartment, not a house, and it’s expensive, but in response to my request to look at properties outside of the UK, one very kind reader sent me this, and I thought it was a good one to look at because it’s narrow (as are many UK properties) and modern (1988), so it doesn’t have many period features.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

It’s a two-bedroom apartment with views over the river on the ground level and basement in the heart of Amsterdam, on the market with Funda.nl for €1.5 million. It now has two entrances, one communal and the other leading directly to the sitting area. Given that having your own front door is one of the benefits of owning a house over a flat, I’m not sure you’d ever use the communal one, but it’s there and it looks symmetrical from the outside, so there’s that.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

If you really want to get a sense of the size, play about with the layout, which is available in 2D and 3D (any Dutch readers who can tell us what estate agents fees are in Holland because this is fancy!) It provides you a good idea of how the space functions.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

As you can see, the area is long and narrow, which is a challenge that many city terraces have, so let’s take a look at how the owners have dealt with it. To begin with, the rear and front doors and windows provide ample light, but natural light travels a great distance towards the centre of the structure, necessitating the addition of the sitting room.

This makes sense because a sitting room is frequently used in the evening. Because you may want to work and/or eat at the table during the day, and the kitchen is also an all-day place, it makes sense to locate the night space in the darkest part of the house. As it is a long distance to take hot plates of food from the kitchen to the dining room, you would have to weigh this against a certain compromise (all houses are compromise in some respects), which is why many people would put the table in the middle and shift the sitting area to the front.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

This is why I always stress that you don’t have to accept a layout exactly as it is. To figure out how you live and how to make the available space work best for you, ask yourself my Six Questions (link to my Mad About The House Planner for those who wish to take notes). Because if you don’t really sit on a sofa until the evening, don’t put it in front of the best source of natural light and work at the dining table under artificial light throughout the day.
Of course, moving kitchens and baths is costly, but this decision is solely about furnishings.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

After deciding on the room arrangement, keep in mind that the downlights are placed around the room’s perimeter to provide ambient lighting rather than creating a runway strip from front to back. Also note how they’ve been positioned in pairs behind the sofa to softly wash light down the wall, which will also reflect more gently back into the room. A centre runway would only illuminate the floor, leaving the remainder in the dark. The other ceiling lights on the black runner are movable, so you may position them wherever you like to vary the ambience.There isn’t much in the way of ambient lighting, but you could add a floor lamp near the plant or in the far corner, or place table lamps on either end of the sofa. A large Arco light that could set on the border of the rug and arch into the centre of the seating area would be ideal.

One issue is that the sitting room is, by its very nature, a front-to-back hallway. As a result, the owners have divided the space with a huge rug. The bare floorboard on the side serves as a passage, and the rug serves as a substitute for walls to create a cosier atmosphere. The enormous plant and the angled chair at the far end help to break up the space and prevent it from looking like a train carriage.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

Let’s talk about the long green wall before we go inside the kitchen. It’s less of a feature wall and more of a means to add colour and interest to what could otherwise be a lengthy (and admittedly huge) corridor. Because there aren’t many other walls to paint, it offers aesthetic interest while also separating the living and working areas. It’s also obvious that it’s crammed with storage. The glass walls that surround the bannister allow light to pass through while dividing the two areas.

If you have a comparable long, narrow space, you can consider painting a wall (or part of a wall) that runs across it to visually shrink it and make it appear shorter and wider. The wall behind the leather chair with the picture on it in this case – and you’ll have to scroll back up – So you’d take the green from the cupboards and wrap it around the kitchen-to-sitting-room wall. It’s a trick of the eye, but it works in any long, narrow area.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

The tall black cupboard joins with the tall green cupboards on either side of the divide to aid your eye across the change before it dips down to worktop level as you enter the kitchen. It would have been easy to have cupboards on both sides — the conventional galley kitchen – but the space feels more open with them all on one side.This means more steps between areas, but it seems less crowded and has allowed for a storage cabinet that is also ornamental, as well as a chair (you must ask yourself how you live and cook). I’m not sure how often the chair would be used, but you could replace it with one of those tall bar tables with two stools, which would allow you to speak while cooking.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

Although there is a small space at the back of the kitchen that has been set up as a breakfast nook, but which I would definitely convert to a home office. It also has a loo and could, according to the details, be converted into a third bedroom, though I’m not sure I’d want all that glass in the heart of a northern European city. In any case, it has no bearing on how I would use the remaining space and emphasises the significance of asking the six questions.

The garden below is quite attractive – adding that shade/roof is a terrific idea to add to the sense of outdoor dining room, and while there is a wall mounted wood store, you could also use it to make a herb garden wall or even use it for potted plants and outdoor kitchen items. This is unquestionably an outdoor location for the pinterest board.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

Finally, return to the main floor and descend to the basement, where the bedrooms are located. Because there is now some light at the front, the bathroom has been relocated there – presumably not so you can take a bath in front of your neighbours, but because natural light is wonderful in the morning if you can get it. And having the bed in the dark makes sense because you’re probably sleeping with your eyes closed the majority of the time. The ornamental doors are out of place in terms of period, but I’m sure they’re a much-loved piece, and in a structure with few natural elements, why not put them somewhere where their presence will bring you joy?Mixing times and styles can be difficult, and I believe it was the right decision not to utilise them upstairs, where the design is clean and modern and character is produced through colour and art. With these carved doors, the canopy over the bed, and the freestanding bath, the bedroom has a more romantic vibe.

 

PIC CREDIT: MAD ABOUT THE HOUSE

So, maybe not a typical Dutch house (I’m not sure). However, because of the lack of natural light, shape, and design, it remains relevant to many readers. What are our plans for next week?