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My Houzz: Plastic Is King in an Out-of-This-World Home
Packed with wild colors, vintage collectibles and all things plastic, this Netherlands rental boldly ventures into futuristic territory
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 »
Bram Damman doesn't see his colorful, collectibles-filled Netherlands home as retro, but rather as futuristic and modern. "Not in the sense of contemporary," he says, "but in the sense that these items were once designed with the intention to be modern."
Damman's interior reflects a passion for space-age modern style cultivated during his 1970s childhood. Collector's items, vintage furniture and bold colors fill his house from top to bottom. Much of his midcentury furniture feels very fashionable, but he's not interested in trends. "What concerns me the least is what's in fashion," he says. "I don't follow trends; I make them."
Who lives here: Bram Damman
Location: Wageningen, the Netherlands
Size: 650 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
Damman's interior reflects a passion for space-age modern style cultivated during his 1970s childhood. Collector's items, vintage furniture and bold colors fill his house from top to bottom. Much of his midcentury furniture feels very fashionable, but he's not interested in trends. "What concerns me the least is what's in fashion," he says. "I don't follow trends; I make them."
Who lives here: Bram Damman
Location: Wageningen, the Netherlands
Size: 650 square feet; 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
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by Holly Marder
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| Colorful plastic furniture fills almost every room in Damman's house; he favors bold colors and plastic materials. Although he often gets asked if he's color blind, Damman simply finds green, blue, purple and brown a pleasing color scheme. "I always tend to go back to those colors," he says. |
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Damman purchased the Gumball chair — filled with thousands of plastic balls that light up — by Italian designer Alberto Brogliato to tie in with his collection of ball mobiles. “I can’t resist them,” he says.
His house is filled with just about every knickknack imaginable, but there are no plants. "I love nature, but I prefer it to be outside," he says. "And though I love organic forms, I want to live in an artificial environment, and these ball mobiles are a good replacement for flowers and plants.”
His house is filled with just about every knickknack imaginable, but there are no plants. "I love nature, but I prefer it to be outside," he says. "And though I love organic forms, I want to live in an artificial environment, and these ball mobiles are a good replacement for flowers and plants.”
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by Holly Marder
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| When Damman moved into the home, a rental, five years ago, it felt neglected. Fresh paint, groovy wallpaper, chocolate-brown vinyl flooring and funky furniture — such as this bright green Bobo Relax Chair by Cini Boeri — quickly made him feel at home. |
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| Vivid turquoise walls set off shelving units with faux fur trim and fluorescent backlighting. Open shelving displays Damman's collection of 30 vintage clocks and radios, including some Panasonic Toot-a-Loop radios on the top right side of the center shelf. He has it in four colors, including an extremely rare one that can otherwise be found only in Japan. “I always wanted it,” says Damman. “A friend of mine had a yellow one in his house while growing up, and I have always liked the style.” He scours the Internet and regularly attends collector’s fairs to find more pieces to add to his collection. |
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The quirky Q Couch, designed by Frederik Heereveld for Feek, shows Damman's love for plastic furniture. It's made of a lightweight and durable plastic, and Damman bought it on Marktplaats. It's composed of two chair-like pieces that can be clicked together to form one sofa. Damman notes that the piece isn't exactly relationship friendly, and that he plans to replace it with a more comfortable sofa.
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| A custom shelving unit with more collectibles separates the home office from the dining and living space. “Most people say my home is like a museum, and that they wouldn’t want to live here, as it’s too bright and would make them mad," Damman says. "I don't have that at all." |
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| Damman made this white MDF shelving unit after being inspired by an Italian design he saw in a shop. He found the small secondhand shelving unit by the door online and repainted it. Originally a display unit for a shop, it now injects additional color into the living room. |
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An Ikea dining table paired with bright yellow chairs purchased in Amsterdam creates a compact dining area near the kitchen. “I liked these chairs because, in a way, they are very similar to the Arne Jacobsen chair and have a Scandinavian touch,” he says.
Damman added a tiled wall behind the table and chairs to give this area a diner feel. The midcentury cabinet was found in the attic of a previous home, and he re-covered it.
Damman added a tiled wall behind the table and chairs to give this area a diner feel. The midcentury cabinet was found in the attic of a previous home, and he re-covered it.
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| The round object on the dinner table in the previous image transforms into a crockery set called Avante Garde, produced by Villeroy & Boch in the early 1970s and designed by Helen von Boch. The collector’s item consists of 18 modular elements in a spherical shape, which come apart to reveal a full table setting. |
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Damman created this partition shelving unit by stacking two Ikea Expedit units (one that's 2 by 4 feet and one that's 4 by 4 feet) on top of each other. He glued an MDF sheet on the front and treated the surface with rust paint. "First you paint on a layer of iron particles, and then you treat it with acid so it becomes rusty," he explains. The inside of each modular shelf has been finished with adhesive plastic sheets, which he found via d-c-fix, for vibrant color.
See a tutorial on how Damman created this shelving unit
See a tutorial on how Damman created this shelving unit
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The home office feels just as whimsical as the rest of the house. Damman designed and built the vibrant green-edged shelving unit against the window. Eventually he'd like to replace the flooring in this space with the chocolate-brown vinyl seen throughout the rest of the house.
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| "I admit that my taste for decor is a little childish, so it's especially nice when young ones visit," Damman says. "Their jaws drop to the floor, and they get really excited!” |
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Playful lighting and accessories make a fun first impression in the tiny hallway. Damman repainted the bottom half of the wall chocolate brown to tie in with the '70s-inspired color theme and chocolate-brown vinyl floors.
by bramdamman.nl
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When Damman's girlfriend first saw pictures of his home on his website, he says, her first thoughts were, "He’s either a psychopath or he’s really cool!" He plans to move to Sweden to join her and says they will compromise on decorating.
See more photos of this house
Houzz call: Share your creative, colorful home with us!
See more photos of this house
Houzz call: Share your creative, colorful home with us!
Ideabook updated on Oct. 5, 2012.
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Damman - I really like your place. Love the colours an the mix of stuff.
https://picasaweb.google.com/112932067713058813588/FrontWindow
Holly