90 _
How did you find suchanunusualhouse?It’san
old school that has beenconvertedtoapartments.It’son
a canal, and a small museumwassupposedtobebuilt
here, on the ground floor,buttheycouldn’tgetthe
funding. This is where thegym,teachers’loungeand
locker rooms used to be.I thoughtmyhusbandandI
would grow old togetherin ourlasthouse,butwhenwe
found this, the decisionwasquicklymade.Weboughtit
as a shell and renovatedit withthehelpofanarchitect.Was there a lot of workinvolved?Yes.I immediately
started making sketchesandtakingmeasurementsbased
on a small floor plan. Ireallywantedtokeepa lotofthe
original features, but itturnedouttobeharderthanI
thought. The gym floorhadtogo,forexample,because
you can’t get 100-year-oldsweatoutofa floor.Wewere
able to preserve the wallrackanda fewoftheround
windows and reuse them.Wemadethepatioourselves,
which turned out idealbecauseit makesthehousereally
light and open.What inspired the interior?Myhusbanddoesa lotof
buying at auctions, andthat’swherewegotthekitchen.
We change our furniturea lot;I thinkthisis ourfourth
dining table. Other thingsarehardertochange:youcan’t
even paint a wall here withouthavingtoputupscaffolding.What is it that makesyoufeelsoathomehere?
It’s light, warm, cozy andfunctional,witha fewpersonal
details. The outside ofthehousecanbereallymisleading.
You don’t see how muchspacethereis untilyouopenthe
front door. I realize whata hugeluxuryit is tobeableto
live here. I’m particularlyhappywhenwecanopenthe
doors to the patio. I livedin Texas,in theUS,fora year,
and have been in love withMexicoandthearchitectLuis
Barragán ever since. I wouldhavelovedtohavepainted
the patio bright pink, butthatdoesn’treallyfit in here
in Utrecht.What’s your favoritepartofthehouse?Thekitchen
table. I love giving dinnerparties.I dida cookingcourse
and since then, I love tobeabletoshowoffandsharemyculinarytalent.Thekitchenis trulytheheartofourhouse.
I alsolovesittingoutonthepatio;thedoorstothekitchen
arealmostalwaysopen.Everyonehastheirownspothere
in thehouse.Thefrontroomis actuallyformyhusband.
Mychildrenspenda lotoftimethere,too,buthecanplay
hisoldrockrecordshereif heneedsa bitofpeace.Youhavea drawingonthewall,whichreally
standsout.Whoseideawasthat?Mine.Thatwindow
is tooclosetothewall,andit’shardformetolookatit as
a designer.It needssomespace.That’swhyI cameup
withsomethingtodistracttheeye.I starteddrawingand,
onedayit wasjustthere.Myhusbandcamehomeand
said,“Well,that’scertainlydifferent”.NowI’mattachedto
it; it’ssodefining.Whatdoyoudesign?I makejewelry.Thedesignsare
unique,andI mostlyworkwithgold-platedmaterials,
bamboo,wood,semi-preciousstonesandpearls.I also
paint.I wanttostartpaintinglandscapesthisyear.It’sa
prettyscarythoughttositin a meadowalone,soformy
50thbirthday,I’veaskedformoneytotakea paintingclass
in France.It’ssomethingI ultimatelywanttodomore.
Somepaintersmakesketchesfirstandthenpaintover
them.I can’tdothat;I havetocreatesomethingright
away.I lovethespontaneityofit andrarelymakea sketch.What’syourworkspacelike?Atfirst,I worked
in thefrontroom,butnotthatlongagoI movedtothe
mezzanine.SonowI reallyhavemyownspace.WhenI’m
working,allthedrawersareopen.Thereareboxesfullof
beadsscatteredallovertheplace.Whennooneelseis
home,I putona playlistwithcheesymusic.Whenit
comestoproductivity,I geteasilydistracted,soprogress
canbeslow.It’sreallyopenheretoo,soI can’treallyclose
offmyworkarea.Theadvantageis thatI canhearalmost
everythingthatgoesonin thehouse.Whatkindofartdoyouhaveonthewalls?I did
someofthepaintings,andothersarefromthebarswe
usedtoownorthebararoundthecornerthatstillbelongs
tous.A lotofpiecesin thekitchenweregifts.‘THE GYM FLOOR HAD TO GO. YOU CAN’T
GET 100-YEAR-OLD SWEAT OUT OF A FLOOR’TEXTJEANNETTE JONKERPHOTOGRAPHYCAROLINE COEHORSTSTYLINGJESKE WEEL/JESKEWEEL.NLSHOPPINGRACHEL LANCASHIRE, ANNE-MARIE REM