HISTORIC GROUNDING

THIS PAGE: Throughout the house, public spaces like the living room have a neutral palette that includes white walls and ceilings, gray tones (as seen here in the furniture upholstery), and oak details. OPPOSITE: Dutch interior architecture and design studio i29 transformed the interiors of this 17th-century canal house in Amsterdam into a contemporary living space.

A 17th-century house on an Amsterdam canal is given a fresh aesthetic that respects its historic roots.

Achieving the right fit between client and design team is a bit like maintaining a successful marriage—it requires communication, hard work, and a certain level of understanding regarding the wants and needs of each party. Such was the case for one couple buying a property back home in Amsterdam after living abroad in France for 30 years (they currently split their time between the two places). While living in Paris, the duo had looked to their roots when searching for professionals to renovate their apartment. After finding a good match in the forward-thinking Dutch interior architecture and design studio i29, they hired the firm to create an “invisible kitchen,” a space in which all of the functional elements—appliances, countertops, cookware—were hidden. The clients loved the results, and working with i29, so much that when they acquired their Netherlands property, they enlisted the firm for another, more challenging project: the complete gut renovation of a traditional, nearly-350-year-old canal house. »

THIS PAGE: Architectural renderings show the home’s compartmentalized layout. OPPOSITE: The first-floor kitchen and dining area open onto a small back garden.

“The house has a lot of tiny spaces and split levels. The most challenging thing was to fit all the functions in and, at the same time, keep the original structure visible and optimize the spaciousness.”—I29

“The owners wanted to give this house a new lease on life,” the i29 team explains. “It’s a place where they can reconnect with family and friends after 30 years of living abroad.”

As one might expect, the home, built in 1680, needed work. Located along a canal near the Amstelveld plaza, the structure had been abandoned years earlier and fallen into total disrepair. Canal houses are typically narrow, tall, and deep, and, as is the case with this one, often built directly next to another house, limiting the options for expansion. Additionally, the home is designated as a rijksmonument (state monument), meaning that i29 had to follow a strict set of preservation rules during the two-year restoration.

“The biggest challenge was how to respect the demands of retaining historical features of this rijksmonument—like the wooden staircase, doors, window frames, walls, interior layout, and fireplace—and still create a modern feeling,” i29 says. “We were not allowed to make any structural changes, which makes it even more difficult to make an impactful design.”

The design team was able to add a new foundation, which provided the opportunity to raise the basement level. On this floor are the kitchen and dining area, which are finished in white concrete and feature light walls and a custom oak dining table. At one end of the kitchen, a green glass volume marks the transition into a guest room with an ensuite bathroom and garden access. »

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE: The streamlined kitchen and dining area adopt the neutral palette employed throughout the house. The design team couldn’t add any walls to the project, so they devised a green glass volume to separate the kitchen from an all-white guest room.

“We used color-blocking to create separate areas in the house without building any physical walls,” i29 explains. “The different spaces are connected by allowing color or finish to continue from one space to another.”

Like the kitchen, the second-floor living room features light walls and gray-toned details. The existing wood floor was restored, bringing warmth to the space. Down the hall, i29 used sage-green paint to highlight an awkward nook that they transformed into an office; another niche, this one for reading or relaxation, is hidden behind the living room’s rotating book wall and awash in a calming hue.

The third floor, with its original peaked ceilings and canal views, holds the primary suite. Its bathroom’s shower walls are constructed with two-way mirrors, providing direct views of the canals; a traditional Japanese freestanding tub creates a spa-like atmosphere. Throughout the house, minimal modern furnishings—from Foscarini, Maruni, and Norr 11, among others—complement the renovation’s fresh updates while still allowing historic details to shine.

“Inventiveness and surprise are very important to us,” i29 says. “[But so is] the democratic aspect of a design; a sense of relative modesty in the use and display of luxury and use of material and color.” h

THIS PAGE, FROM TOP: Wall cutouts create peek-a-boo views from the living room to the study above and the entrance level below. The designers used sage-green paint to define the office nook. OPPOSITE: A blue-hued room is hidden behind a rotating book wall in the living room.

“Everywhere you look, in all rooms, you can always see the original architectural shell. Never did we really ‘cut off’ spaces. Although graphically, with color and material, we seem to be doing just that. This is a nice paradox.”—I29