A long-standing family home in the Flemish countryside has been reshaped for the next generation.
The home – or homes – where we grew up will always hold a very special place in our hearts. For one mother of two, the home where she grew up bore such significance that she decided to raise her own children there, together with her husband. Her parents happily passed the baton to the next generation, making way for a reinvigorated family home. At the helm of the redesign was Belgian architect Marie Lecluyse, who saw that the home needed to reflect contemporary family living; a brief that involved “stripping down to the bones and starting all over again”.
The kitchen becomes the material centrepiece of the home, with a solid island bench crafted from expressive marble and deep oak.
In With the New
The intention was never to erase the memories that the original home held, but rather to adapt it to enable the formation of new ones. This involved upgrading it to meet today’s living standards, including frameworks conducive to the family’s lifestyle, revising it to better suit their interests and everyday practices. “The brief not only comprised updating the existing home but also turning it into a home that felt completely them,” Marie says. “They wanted it to look and feel different to how it did before, so they would experience it as their own” – a new chapter that flowed seamlessly on from the last.
Upgrading the home to meet today’s living standards involved reconfiguring the floor plan, opening up the former small rooms and transforming the kitchen into the main place for family life. While spaces are now visually connected, natural light was also a driving factor in refreshing and opening up each zone.
A Material Palette to Last
“I always try to use natural and traditional materials that stay true to the home’s history and the region,” Marie explains. “The key is then combining them timelessly and tastefully.” La Valeur Positive is characterised by natural stone, oak, plaster and various textiles, each possessing its own unique beauty. The kitchen becomes the material centrepiece of the home, with a solid island bench crafted from expressive marble and deep oak. Upon closer look, the bench resembles building blocks piling on one another, which Marie says represents the young family building their lives together.
Travertine floors complement expressive marble and deep oak. The Herman Miller Eames lounge and ottoman, Trizo21 Austere floor light and Serax Organic stool feature in the foreground.
The BassamFellows Mantis side chair in the dining space.
The living space features the Edra Standard sofa, Nemo Lampe De Marseille wall light and a sculptural coffee table by Bieke Casteleyn.
The thread of bold natural stone continues in the bathroom spaces.
