00:04I designed this apartment around my family.
00:08I wanted to maintain the spacious feeling we experienced when we first entered the space.
00:14I was inspired by the existing qualities of the building,
00:17like the wooden beams, the shape of the roof, the bearing wall and the natural light within the apartment.
00:26Furthermore, we wanted to have comfort in terms of warmth and natural materials, but also in terms of stability.
00:33My name is Michiel Hilbrink. I'm a visual artist and interior designer.
00:38My partner and I like the house to be calm and quiet, a place to recharge and celebrate family and
00:45small social activities.
00:56The apartment is in a neighborhood called Transvaalbuurt in Amsterdam East.
01:02The Transvaalbuurt has many big old social housing blocks that have recently been renovated.
01:08The apartment is between two parks.
01:12There are many nice coffee and dining places within walking distance and it's a mix of new and old inhabitants.
01:20The apartment building was built in 1924 as a social housing complex.
01:25The top floor was an attic, but turned into apartments during the renovation.
01:30They were delivered as just a bare shell.
01:32There was only the central wall in the middle of the house and the wooden construction beams above.
01:40The idea was to have the furniture pieces float above the ground,
01:44which adds to the spacious feeling and makes the floor seem bigger.
01:49Our inspiration for the furniture pieces come from minimalist and modernist designs.
01:54In that way, the space has a somewhat timeless quality.
02:02The first thing I did was to add a bathroom and a small nursery.
02:07The bathroom and nursery is parallel with the central wall, thus making a hallway from the entrance to the main
02:13space.
02:15From the hallway, we kept a large open plan space for the kitchen, living and dining.
02:23Finally, with a 5 meter high ceiling, we created a mezzanine bedroom above the living area.
02:35At the entrance, there is a narrow but lofty corridor that leads to the main space of the house.
02:42We designed a wooden niche to hold our coats and umbrellas and the shoes below.
02:50There is another hidden door to a utility closet that we use to store cleaning supplies and other items.
02:58The kitchen, dining and living rooms are part of the same space.
03:03The side of the kitchen block is a shallow oak veneered cabinet for books as well as kitchen storage.
03:10This mix of functions make the division between the kitchen and living room softer.
03:17The kitchen block has a separate fridge and freezer, an oven and a dishwasher.
03:23On the top is an induction cooktop with a built-in exhaust fan installed flush with the surface.
03:29The top of the block is made of black HPL.
03:32At the end of the block is a small overhang with two bar stools underneath.
03:39You can have dinner together or work during the day.
03:42Below is a socket to charge the laptop or for kitchen appliances.
03:48In the back corner of the kitchen is a similar cabinet as the one on the other side, tucked under
03:53the roof corner.
03:54The kitchen and the two side cabinets all have the same height.
03:59The diagonal lines of the roof, the kitchen block and the cabinets form a composition of shapes.
04:07Between the kitchen block and the Vitsu shelving system is the dining table.
04:11It fits exactly in the space.
04:13The dining table has a linoleum top in conifer.
04:16We added four green chairs just for the pop of color.
04:21Behind the diagonal beams in the corner there is a little nook for books.
04:26In the living room is a cozy area that shares the same open plan space with the kitchen and dining
04:32rooms.
04:34The dormers in the living area have an extraordinary height of 2.6 meter.
04:39The size of the windows allow ample amounts of light throughout the day.
04:45The Richard Lampert lounge chair and the sofa have both low design which perfectly fit under the mezzanine roof.
04:53On the sofa one can get a feeling of being embraced in a cozy space.
04:57This is due to the lower ceiling under the mezzanine.
05:00While still maintaining a connection with the dining and the kitchen areas.
05:06Under the stairs is more storage space.
05:09A custom 3 door cupboard offers space for clothing.
05:13I made it extra deep to have a secret shelf behind for small boxes and personal items.
05:25From the hallway there is a door that leads to a nursery.
05:29Before our son was born the room was my office.
05:33We added an IKEA storage unit on the wall for his clothes.
05:37As it is under the dormer window with a shorter ceiling height.
05:41Not using a bed frame makes the space feel bigger.
05:45In this room we added navy blackout curtains to help him sleep.
05:49And I built a small bookshelf below for his toys, books and a miffy lamp.
06:01The bathroom is located by the entrance.
06:07The overall design is a calm and minimal composition of wood, grey and white materials.
06:14I wanted to have soft lights and tones in the bathroom.
06:18So I chose to use wall lights, some sconces and a LED tube light above the basin.
06:26Even though the bathroom is a compact space, it holds many functionalities like a washer, dryer, vanity, storage, toilet and
06:35a spacious shower.
06:37The bathroom has a large dormer window that provides plenty of natural light during the day.
06:44The grey bathroom tiles are 60 year old tiles from a French factory that I found online.
06:50I used it on the wall and the floor because I didn't want to have too many different materials.
06:58In the back of the apartment the mezzanine, cupboards and stairs are designed as one whole unit.
07:05The mezzanine doesn't feel small since there is a 1.6 meter high window letting in natural light.
07:12A small window looks down below and makes the space feel a bit more open.
07:17The bedroom offers space for a queen sized bed.
07:21On the wall around the bed we added wooden skirting that is the same material as the floor.
07:26It also doubles as a bed head.
07:29The steel balustrade prevents falling over the edge.
07:33It's open so more light is transmitted between bedroom and the living room.
07:37The mezzanine, cupboards and stairs are finished in oak veneer.
07:41The mezzanine floor has holes for ventilation.
07:45This unit is supported by the bearing wall on one side and hangs from the roof on the other.
07:51This means it doesn't require a beam to be placed in the middle of the living room.
07:56The result is a tiny bedroom mezzanine that burrows under the rooftop.
08:01It's fun to look down and see what is going on below.
08:09The communal courtyard is shared with all inhabitants of the building.
08:14In the warmer months people enjoy the silent and lazy atmosphere.
08:19In a small space when you are limited to size you have to make choices based on what you think
08:23is most important to you.
08:26I simply wanted to maximize space, light and comfort in all kinds of ways.
08:32As a result the apartment as a whole has been kept open as much as possible.
08:36While the bedroom and the nursery are small and cozy in contrast.
08:56While thearks and the living room.
08:56I still love the urban areas of the living room and the green room.
08:57I don't know.
08:57I feel that there are a lot of gaming colleagues who have built a world of living room and a
08:57Very important for the living room, too.
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