Atmospheric balance: two apartments in Amsterdam
Interior designers Sebastiaan van Maanen and Ramses Caesar have
transformed a historic town house a short walk away from the famous Amsterdam
Vondelpark. The result is several apartments offering a wealth of impressive
detail. In the kitchens and bathrooms, design fittings from Dornbracht add to the
elegant ambience in two of the apartments.
This complex project was the first time that van Maanen and Caesar
have worked together. It was their job to create several spacious, comfortable
residential units under one roof. In each case, the new apartments now extend
over two storeys, and are interconnected by a lift. Two brothers and their
families live there.
JB Residence A: interplay between symmetry and asymmetry
The first apartment – the apartments are named after the initials
of the people who live there – takes up the two lower floors of the property. It
has direct access to the lush green garden, where a small cottage acts as an
office and guest house. The spacious, open layout is immediately apparent on
entering the ground floor: Indoor and outdoor areas seem to merge together, and
the daylight flooding in is especially noticeable in the kitchen. Here the two
architects relied on a subtle, light colour concept and natural materials such
as wood and marble. Precisely coordinated details, such as the rounded marble
top on the kitchen island and the organic pendant light, create a clever
interplay of symmetry and asymmetry.
In the living room, van Maanen and Caesar created an intimate
atmosphere with white fabrics and comfortable furniture. A fireplace and
chandeliers add a classic touch to the room where shades of beige and cream
ensure lightness and ease. One floor down, the bedroom, bathroom and dressing
room are skilfully interlinked by sliding doors, giving the structure the
appearance of a luxury suite. Several wall-mounted Meta Slim fittings in
Brushed Platinum can be found here: In the dressing room, the fitting creates a
perfectly-formed ensemble with the mirror, washstand and wall lights. By
contrast, the Dornbracht classic created by Sieger Design in the bathroom takes
a subtle step back, allowing the striking marble and wooden elements to take
centre stage.
DD Residence C: vintage style meets the modern age
The second apartment is located in the upper part of the building
and has a roof terrace and a balcony on each floor. It has a similarly open
layout but adds different greens and gold highlights to the colour concept. An
arrangement of deer antlers on the staircase and an oil painting with a hunting
theme accentuate the nostalgic atmosphere that is deliberately disrupted by
modern design elements. This design approach shapes the entire living area,
although the weighting between past and modern in the individual rooms always
varies.
This is particularly easy to see in the bathroom: The forest green
wall tiles and the dark wood panelling of the washstand stylishly contrast with
the minimalist, circular mirror and minimal forms of Meta Slim: Dynamism is
evident in the clean lines and cool, Brushed Platinum finish of the
wall-mounted fitting. The bathroom is tailored aesthetically to the adjoining
bedroom with its expressive wall decoration, so that here too, the composition
is coherent and harmonious.