HER LIGHT MATERIALS

BY CLEVER USE OF PLYWOOD AND CONCRETE, A DUTCH STYLIST TURNED A TUMBLE- DOWN FARMHOUSE INTO A LIGHT, OPEN HOME TO SUIT HER FAMILY AND BUSINESS

When she was looking for a new family home, Rosemarijn van Zandvoort kept a wishlist constantly in mind. Plenty of room for the three children was essential, as was a generous garden so the family could grow vegetables and keep a couple of Shetland ponies and some rabbits. The house also had to have enough space to accommodate her clothes and homeware business, but most of all it had to feel right.

Worried that she was hoping for too much, and that her ideal home might be out of reach, she had almost given up when she and husband Sander found a rundown farmhouse in the rural village of Afferden, in southern Holland. “The soul of the property spoke to us,” she says. “I make a lot of decisions based on my intuition, and buying this house was one of them.”

Although it was in a derelict state, the house was structurally sound and surrounded by a garden with an orchard, barn and a field. Her wishlist was accomplished. Apart from a fairly extensive refurbishment to turn the farmhouse into her dream home…

PLAYING WITH PLYWOOD

Rosemarijn’s plan was to keep the character of the old building but create a contemporary interior that suited her style and the family’s way of life. “I wanted to keep the beauty of the house and for it to feel rural and feminine,” she says. One of the ways she achieved this was to use plywood extensively to clad walls and to build furniture. “Plywood is not just beautiful and practical, it is tough, affordable and unusual.”

Fortunately she found an architect, Rob Schouten, who not only had similar taste, but

also loved plywood. “We clicked instantly,” she says. “He shared the same enthusiasm as me for creating a simple, raw interior, and he loved plywood so much that he created a whole staircase from it.”

The striking, statement staircase is the core of the house, with its sculptural bulk uniting the two halves. It also sets the tone for the rest of the interior: other materials – concrete, plaster and less-porous wood in the kitchen – were chosen to match its rough, simple aesthetic. Wherever possible, the original beams were restored, as was the original flooring. “The floorboards were hidden under the carpet, and were packed with nails,” says Rosemarijn. “My mother and I pulled them out one by one. It looks unfinished and quite worn, but I think it’s beautiful.”

A HOME FOR LIVING

A door from the living room leads into Rosemarijn’s office and her shop, which is stocked with carefully chosen clothes from her favourite brands. Its proximity to the rest of the house means that she can keep an eye on the children and nip out into the garden whenever it suits her.

Outdoor family lunches are frequent and the children spend most of the summer in the garden with the animals or gardening with their dad. “The house feels like it is in tune with nature and the seasons,” says Rosemarijn. “In the winter, I bring in branches and berries and in the summer, vases are filled with flowers. It is everything I dreamt it would be.”

As you enter the house at the back (above), there is a custom-made sink, which is useful when the children have been getting muddy outside or Sander and Rosemarijn have been working in the garden

ROSEMARIJN VAN ZANDVOORT lives with her husband Sander, and their three children, Meis (eight); Ole (six) and Djoeke (three) in Afferden, a village in Holland. She is an interiors stylist and also runs a shop from her home, and online at skattejakt.nl

The former farmhouse has an open, airy feel. Outdoors, there’s room for Shetland ponies, a rabbit hutch, generous lawn and veg patches. Indoors, neutral, natural décor adds to the sense of space

Rosemarijn and Sander’s bedroom (above) has a light and airy ensuite. The hanging vintage rope lamp is from vintage shop Brut Amsterdam. Clothes for sales in the shop (right)