Once hardly habitable, this historical Rotterdam, Netherlands, home now boasts a modern interior with its original bones. Architects Fabiana Toni and Rocco Reukema purchased it as part of an initiative to rescue historical buildings. “For all of the simple fact that the home was so damaged was a plus point,” Reukema states. “As we watched it as a chance for us to really do what we enjoyed rather than looking for a home to fit our needs.” Although the initiative ensured a low price, they were obligated to make the place livable within a year.
Working with respect to your home’s original particulars, Toni and Reukema remodeled the home into a modern town oasis, complete with a rooftop deck, an extra living and relaxing living room hammocks.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Fabiana Toni, Rocco Reukema and their two sons (2 and 10 months older )
Location: Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Size: 165 square meters (1,776 square feet); 2 bedrooms, two baths, in-law flat
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Bold apples and oranges, and original exposed beams and ceilings, set the stage to the family’s third-floor kitchen. The couple designed and built the table and chairs themselves.
Table, seats: custom; lamp: Kartell
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Awkward eaves on the top floor originally hampered a functional kitchen design. Low cabinets run along the edges of the room, whereas the center island leaves room for food prep. An integrated toaster maximizes a corner.
Oven: Boretti; faucet: Easy, Gattoni; outer worktops: Ikea
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“There’s so much space, light along with a link to the outdoors, which I adore,” Toni says.
The couple designed and created those colorful modular bar stools to match the table.
Range hood: Zanussi; fruit basket: Blow Up, Alessi; teapot: Michael Graves for Alessi
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It was important for the couple to make continuity from the kitchen on the roof terrace. “My husband and I love to be outdoors, especially to eat breakfast on the terrace,” Toni says.
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Downstairs, custom birch staircase operate along the bottom of the staircase. Doors in the end result to the master bedroom plus a bathroom.
Hammocks in the living room signify the couple’s easygoing way of life.
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The few tore down walls to create the striking piano-like staircase. Many pullout drawers of varying dimensions comprise the base, making storage for toys, clothes and tools.
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This handy compartment shops toys to the children…
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… while a bigger compartment farther down accommodates a small bathroom.
Shower hardware: Bagno, Gattoni; faucet: isysystem, Zucchetti
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A spectacular glass roof drains the staircase and next floor with mild. The couple rented a crane and installed the glass themselves to save money.
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Toni and Reukema custom designed the fireplace and incorporated shelving unit.
“The effort was to attempt to maintain a clean, glossy space but still create a space that could respond to our needs,” Toni says.
Toy automobile: Loop Auto Fabriekje
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Wood flooring and paneling give the space a warm atmosphere and operate with the newest and historical features. The few reused the home’s original wood floorboards as much as possible, filling in with neighborhood secondhand wood and treating all the bits using a whitewash and varnish.
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“The staircase is not only about the staircase themselves, but around the space and how the floor almost becomes a wall and proceeds all the way up,” Toni says. “I like this kind of continuity.”
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The children’s shared bedroom has a very clear perspective of the living room. “The kids’ room is the best room in the home, since when you wake up and the doors are open, it is possible to see into the living room and outside in the whole home,” Toni says.
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The room has twin cribs; a small selection of accessories and furniture accentuates the light that pours in from large windows.
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Those large windows from the children’s bedroom, as well as throughout the remainder of the home, help make the home’s sunny atmosphere and connect the inside with the outdoors.
Scooter: Loopfiets Store
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The living room has a very clear perspective of the master bedroom and kids’ bedroom.
“The vertical organization of this home has both benefits and disadvantages,” Reukema states. “The drawback is that with the bedrooms’ proximity to the primary living regions of the home, it is sometimes a noisy home, especially for the children. I then think back to my own childhood, in which we sometimes went to a recreation dwelling, and that I could sometimes hear my parents talking through night, and I recall it was comforting.”
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A subdued palette and easy aesthetic make the master bedroom a light-filled oasis.
“We are both very slippery, but so much so that it starts to look cold,” states Reukema. “We wanted to make a warm atmosphere. In my view we succeeded at that. We have a good deal of old particulars that produce the look inviting and warm.”
Bed linens: Siena, V&D
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“Once I lie in bed and look up and see sunlight coming through the window, seeing the light dancing on the walls makes me more happy,” Reukema states. The wardrobe-style doors to the ideal pull back, showing the master bathroom.
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Toni pictured the sink’s design, which allows water in the basin to flow like a waterfall to the bath. She”layouts for aesthetics and tranquility,” Reukema states,”so frequently she throws in a notion, and that I make it realizable.”
Hardware: Profumi, Hego
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The couple converted extra space to an in-law apartment. A compact kitchen using a concrete countertop and glossy cabinetry provides the essentials. A guest toilet shares a wall with all the kitchen.
Faucet: Cucina, Gattoni
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The couple lived in the first-floor in-law package while renovating the house, using this smart built-in wardrobe/sleeping unit until their bedroom was complete. “I was sanding the ground the day prior to sending our first son,” Toni says.
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A pattern of curved shapes the couple designed themselves decorate the plywood cabinet doors. The floor-to-ceiling wardrobe subtly hides the built-in bed.
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When Toni’s mum visited soon after they moved in to assist with the renovations, then she had to sleep in pristine rooms in the remainder of the home. “At one stage she was even sleeping under the stairs,” Toni says, laughing. “It was an experience.” Now she uses this bed when she visits by Italy. The couple sometimes rents the space too.
An extra single bed poses as a couch.
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Fabiana Toni, at home with her youngest son.
The couple’s information to first-time renovators:”Visit an architect,” says Toni, laughing. “Be wary of doing the job yourself, make realistic calculations of the time and costs involved, and also make a cautious plan of this procedure.”
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In the road the house hides behind a tree in fall tones. The windows of this in-law suite could be seen on the second floor, with the living room windows right above. The kitchen window peeks out of the top floor.
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