A 1930s home is given a new lease of life

Bosch en Duin is a truly magical place, a leafy village immersed in the clear northern light between Utrecht and Amersfoort in the Netherlands. It is renowned in particular for its many luxury homes, both old and modern, surrounded by emerald lawns, gardens teeming with flowers and dense woodland. The house we look at in this article is an integral part of this unusual urban fabric. Looking like something straight out of a fairy tale, it stands on a large plot on one of the region’s few hills and extends over four floors with generously sized rooms. Since it was built in the 1930s, the layout has undergone several modifications to adapt to the needs and uses of the times. The latest conversion was carried out by Thomas Kraal and his team of architects, who explained: “The latest renovation project has brought us closer to modern architecture. That means more light and a more fluid layout of the living spaces, as well as a strong focus on sustainability, which is reflected in particular in the choice of materials and the efficiency of the technical installations.”
The architects were keen to remain as faithful as possible to the original design while adapting it to the new owners’ requirements. First, they repaired the thatched roof and inserted high-quality insulation between the purlins, which drastically reduced energy consumption.
Next, the entrance door and hallway were moved to the space formerly occupied by the kitchen and service areas, which now house a study, a storeroom and a cloakroom. But the real heart of the renovation project is the open-plan living space. The wall that previously divided it from a smoking lounge was demolished, giving it greater size, luminosity (a hallmark of all Kraal’s projects), importance and liveability. It now extends as far as the dining area, from which it is separated visually by a large, elegantly shaped fireplace. In turn, the dining area is connected seamlessly to the kitchen, which is partly located inside the semi-circular bay window that dominates one of the house’s many façades. This space is a new addition with respect to the previous floor plan and consists of a snack counter where the owners have breakfast and lunch, connected to an elongated working and cooking island. This in turn leads to the upper floors housing the bedrooms, bathrooms, private areas and socialisation spaces, which are accessed by an elegant spiral staircase with wooden steps. The furnishings are characterised by an alternation of rounded shapes and straight, angular lines, rough and smooth materials, bespoke and designer furniture, and “natural, calm colours combined with white and black”, explain the architects.
Throughout, there is a strong focus on eco-sustainability. The insulation has been replaced in accordance with today’s standards and consists of sandwich walls with rock wool between the two panels, while HR++ glass has been used for the large windows looking out onto the garden and surrounding woods. A heat recovery ventilation system has been installed to extract the warm air from the rooms and use it to heat new cool air. This minimises heat losses inside the house and ensures that the indoor climate remains ideal. This solution also allows for the adoption of low-temperature heating in place of a standard system. The basement, ground floor, bathrooms and toilets feature underfloor radiant heating, while all the other rooms are fitted with low temperature convectors.
The tile collections chosen by the architects from Coem’s Lagos stone-effect porcelain line proved ideal for use in this rarefied yet cosy interior: Lagos Light Grey in a 60×60 cm size for the floors and Reverso Beige (60×120 cm) and Wide Gres Marmo Statuario effect for the bathrooms, all in a Natural finish. “They are perfect in terms of durability and aesthetics with a slightly uneven veined surface that brings simple yet sophisticated allure to the spaces in which they are used.”