Studio Niels take us to a rural Dutch setting where a minimalist, monochrome farmhouse ‘The Bright White House’ rises up from its fluorescent green surrounds.
It’s no secret Dutch interior design practice Studio Niels can work magic with a monochrome palette, manifested in their monastic home transformation inside est magazine issue #33.
In the country and in the vein of heritage renovations, Studio Niels collaborated with H2W Architecten to design a bright, white farmhouse for their clients to live in. Together with H2W Architecten’s structural input, Studio Niels set out to create a minimal, open-plan home with a ‘bright atmosphere’ that reflected the traditional architecture of the area. Fulfilling the client’s dream of a modern home. Studio Niels have succeeded through interiors that radiate a balance of light, repetition and proportion.
Within the pitched-roof structure, Studio Niels principal Niels Maier says the goal was to create a smooth and seamless interior. “The all-white scheme creates a bright atmosphere, while the glass façades illuminate the home, providing a smooth connection from inside to outside,” Niels says. “We used slim black steel window framing to ensure the house felt almost entirely transparent.”
The steel frame openings cement a strong sense of geometry throughout the home, accentuating the volume of the kitchen, living space and staircase. On the first floor above the living room, a large window reveals the wet zone in the master bedroom, which shares the same lush, elevated views.
Studio Niels generated continuity and flow in the home through clean lines and a repetition of materials. The flooring is predominantly grey ceramic tiles, used in all of the shared spaces, bedrooms and even in the wet areas, alongside one of the designer’s favourite materials Corian.
“Most of the living surfaces in the house are custom designed in Corian, a solid surface material. The staircase is completely designed out of Corian with ceramic inlays,” Niels says. In the master ensuite, the custom-designed bath, as well as the flooring, walls and ceiling are all Corian. The integrated Vola showerhead and ventilation are concealed within the ceiling. Other materials in the home include the bog wood veneer for the kitchen joinery, custom-designed kitchen island and neighbouring fireplace to create warmth and contrast.
Sheer white curtains soften the interiors, along with the highly minimalist selection of furnishings. True to form true, Studio Niels made no compromise on design objects that include the 637 Utretcht Chair by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld and the Fat-Fat Coffee Table by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia.
The Bright White House is far from the typical farmhouse. Studio Niels’ design reveals that through the beauty in simplicity and high end, bespoke finishes, a minimalist rural haven can be made.
What I could see of the garden – it looks beautiful. There’s something off with the exteriors, can’t figure out if it looks like a church or a lake house. The interior feels very clinical. This is one of my least favorite house tours. Sorry