My Houzz: Stunning Rotterdam Renovation
A Dutch couple snags an amazing home for — wait for it — one euro
Hello! I am a contributor for Houzz, writer and interior stylist based in the Netherlands. Always in search of beauty in all forms, I founded my lifestyle blog Avenue to satisfy my thirst for design and lifestyle inspiration. I am the loving mother of a beautiful little girl called Lola, and the adoring fiancé of a handsome Dutchman.
Hello! I am a contributor for Houzz, writer and interior stylist based... More »
Architecture duo Joost Woertman and Anna Everding snagged this five-story building in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for only one euro. As part of a municipal initiative to rescue rundown areas of Rotterdam, the condition of this unique offer was that the severely burned property needed to be renovated to its former glory. The offer was simply too good to turn down, but the entire house, both inside and out, needed a complete facelift. “Everything had to be redone,” Woertman says. “When you renovate an old house, new issues arise all the time. Things that need work appear that weren’t visible in the beginning, so you end up paying more than you would if you were building a new house from scratch.”
Woertman, an architect with his own company, Joost Woertman Architect, treated the project as part of his portfolio. Bold and innovative design choices were made as a way of demonstrating his abilities, while ensuring the design suited the couple's lifestyle. Over the course of a year and a half, the building underwent drastic reconstruction to make it what it is today: a spacious, abstract and practical modern home.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Joost Woertman and Anna Everding
Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Size: 235 square meters (2,500 square feet); 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, workshop, garden, indoor parking
That's interesting: The entire first floor is covered with an irregular surface to hide wear from frequent use. Talk about foresight.
Woertman, an architect with his own company, Joost Woertman Architect, treated the project as part of his portfolio. Bold and innovative design choices were made as a way of demonstrating his abilities, while ensuring the design suited the couple's lifestyle. Over the course of a year and a half, the building underwent drastic reconstruction to make it what it is today: a spacious, abstract and practical modern home.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Joost Woertman and Anna Everding
Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Size: 235 square meters (2,500 square feet); 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, workshop, garden, indoor parking
That's interesting: The entire first floor is covered with an irregular surface to hide wear from frequent use. Talk about foresight.
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| In a bid to attract young professionals and families to live in the city, the municipality of Rotterdam purchased a huge amount of severely damaged historical properties in the most derelict areas of the city. These buildings went into an initiative called "Klushuizen" (roughly translated as "handyman houses"), allowing people to purchase an inexpensive piece of property with the intention of renovating it. And while these properties are situated in some of the more dubious areas of the city, the municipality plans to turn these neighborhoods into attractive, livable areas. “You get more space for less money but in areas where it’s hard to sell a house," Woertman says. "This area still hasn’t got a great reputation, but it has to grow. You have to start somewhere.” |
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| In this view from the kitchen, plenty of natural light pours through the skylight. Large windows extend up to the third floor from the dining room. “There was a lot of discussion about how much floor space we could cut out, because we had complete freedom in the design process. We could have demolished everything,” Woertman says. While there was ample space in the five-story house to create a wow factor in terms of design, the duo decided to avoid designing a showroom, creating instead a house to enjoy living in. Recessed lighting by Belgian company Kreon was used in the kitchen to illuminate work surfaces. High-gloss MDF cupboards are topped with high-pressure laminate. "We wanted to have a tough surface that we could batter around a bit," Woertman says. The countertops are extra wide with a 70-centimeter surface for ample storage in the drawers below. |
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| At the front entrance, an oak staircase leads up to the first floor and beyond. An unfinished wall with exposed brick patches to the left lends an industrial touch to the clean lines of the interior. Woertman and Everding turned the ground floor into a workshop for carpentry and furniture upholstery, which they do together with the help of Everding's mother. |
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| The kitchen is a functional space that reflects the couple's love of cooking and entertaining. A semi-industiral electrical Falcon stove features three ovens: a bread oven, a grill and a conventional oven. The heavy-duty stovetop has five burners. "Everything in this kitchen is very utilitarian, for serious cooks who mean business," says Woertman. Stove: Falcon CKR 1092 range cooker |
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| The house took one and a half years to renovate; Woertman and Everding tried to do as much of the renovation themselves as possible, with some help from friends. “We did quite a lot ourselves," Woertman says. "The whole house has underfloor heating, and we did the top three levels ourselves using a DIY system. We also did all the insulation work ourselves.” |
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Chinese slate floor tiles span the first floor. "We wanted to use the most irregular floor surface we could find. This room is used a lot, so we wanted to have a rough floor that we could walk on without worrying about damaging the floor," Woertman says.
The red AVL Shaker chairs from Moooi combine traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary aesthetic, and the color adds vibrancy to the neutral palette. Woertman is working on a new dining room table in his workshop downstairs using material from a bowling alley.
The red AVL Shaker chairs from Moooi combine traditional craftsmanship with a contemporary aesthetic, and the color adds vibrancy to the neutral palette. Woertman is working on a new dining room table in his workshop downstairs using material from a bowling alley.
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| The warm gray on the walls is a custom color provided by the painter. A built-in shelving unit is used to store items frequently used, such as wineglasses, a sound system and CDs. |
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| From the third floor, a glass balcony between the living room and library looks down onto the floor below. "For us, this was all about a clean slate, a new and modern interior," Woertman says. "That said, I do appreciate it when there are details left that can be restored to former glory, and combining those with more modern and new features." |
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| Everding is an avid reader and collector of books, so Woertman recently created this bookshelf to store some of their favorites. The three pictures on the wall were purchased on a trip to Peru. |
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| The solid wood table in the library is a family heirloom, passed down through three generations. The first owner was Woertman's great uncle, a priest who used it to write his sermons on. Vase: Piet Hein Eek |
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| The living room on the third floor is open, light and spacious. The red chairs were reupholstered by Woertman and Everding. Bamboo floors run throughout the top three floors of the house. |
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| “We are working at making the house more personal," Woertman says. "And there’s so much space to put personal touches that I think we’ll be living here quite awhile.” One way of doing this was to build custom bookshelves. New sash windows were made to resemble the original windows in the house. |
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On the fourth floor, the master bedroom is light and simply designed. The couple plans to add built-ins.
Light fixture, bed linen and laundry box: IKEA; curtains: custom
Light fixture, bed linen and laundry box: IKEA; curtains: custom
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| The bathroom walls and surfaces were treated with béton ciré, a strong, waterproof cement resembling stucco that can be applied to bathroom surfaces, kitchen counters, floors and walls as well as to furniture and other objects. A row of downlights provides a warm ambience over the bath and rain shower. |
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Three bedrooms occupy the fourth floor of the house. A piece of the ceiling was been left open to allow light to enter through the balcony windows on the top floor.
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The fifth floor is the guest suite. Exposed beams, ample light, two large sleeping areas and a bathroom make for a private retreat.
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| The landing leading into the guest suite gets plenty of sunlight. |
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The guest bathroom has also been treated with béton ciré, this time in a shade of terra cotta. Light pours into the small space through a skylight.
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| The building of the house was a learning curve for Woertman, who mainly advises clients in the design process. “There is a gap between the theoretical and the practical side of architecture, which interests me very much. When you put a design down onto paper, there’s the freedom towing it in a way," Woertman explains. "You go from a big picture to smaller details and then zoom out again. As you work your way to a final design, every phase in the design process has to fit. During the 10 years I have been an architect, projects have always stayed on paper, and I haven’t been that involved with the building of the property. So I have never made the connection between the building stage and what was put on paper. That was a big learning experience for me, being involved from start to finish and being hands-on. The building of this house has taught me to rely a lot on other disciplines, such as various suppliers, to get a more integrated end result.” |
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Woertman waves from his front door.
More:
Minimalist Living in Rotterdam
Modern Urban Oasis in Austin
Ultra Modern in Rotterdam
More:
Minimalist Living in Rotterdam
Modern Urban Oasis in Austin
Ultra Modern in Rotterdam
Comments
Carol One Euro! Wow
15 months ago · Like
grevay Amazing!
15 months ago · Like
Regina Price I'm looking for a source on these Chinese slate tiles that they used on the main floor. Does anyone have any ideas?
15 months ago · Like
soochan Would never pass safety inspection in Canada example, staircase
15 months ago · Like
linhome Spectacular Deign!!! Love the bathroom designs and all the sky lights throughout the house!!!
15 months ago · Like
xochitl The stairs won't pass Dutch safety inspection either - guess they're not quite done yet.
15 months ago · Like
Andre Opdam Joost een plaatje is het, nog beter dan ik mij kon voorstellen.
14 months ago · Like
Shabana Joseph To me it does not say anything. Boring style
6 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on Feb. 20, 2012.
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