Home Tour: Summery Handmade Home

Hey guys! It’s Holly Marder with another edition of Homes With Heart on decor8. For May, I’m excited to walk you through the charming, eclectic modern home belonging to blogger and maker Ingrid Janssen and her husband that feels so much like a beautiful summer day to me! I just know you’ll love the happy energy this home exudes and all of the pretty that lies within. If ever there was a Home with Heart, this is it. Let’s go...

Ingrid is the founder and maker of the wood and crochet line of homewares WOOD & WOOL STOOL. Together with her husband Henk, they were long in search of a classic Dutch style home from the 30s, finally finding it in 2004 when a neighborhood of modern homes with a post-war aesthetic went into development on the outskirts of the city of Dordrecht, the Netherlands. 

The 240 square meter family abode boasts beautiful oak herringbone floors throughout and bundles of charm so characteristic of 1930s style homes, with the benefits of a modern home. They purchased it newly built and completely empty. Starting with a concrete interior, they had the walls plastered and painted and invested in oak herringbone floors that they had a local craftsman make. “With the white walls and the unvarnished floor, the base was just perfect,” Ingrid says. The kitchen was white and very simple, so Ingrid and Henk covered one of the walls with scrapwood. “That was ten years ago, and everybody thought we were nuts.” Today, scrapwood walls are trending!

With a penchant for travel, Ingrid and her husband have filled their home with treasures they have gathered over the years, keeping the walls white throughout and layering in colour through bright textiles and an eclectic smattering of vintage accessories.

“Our journeys inspire our interior, we always find the best stuff during our travels,” Ingrid says. “We buy what we like, no matter the style. Everything fits in naturally and I love the way our home is a growing and every changing space.”  

“Interior is one of our passions,” Ingrid says. “The most wonderful thing is, the interior is never finished and it never will be.” 

Favourite items in the couples home include their long leather sofa, canteen kitchen table from a Belgian school, the vintage Geoffrey Harcourt design chair that Ingrid swapped with a friend in exchange for a Wood & Wool Stool, and the many Boucherouite rugs the couple brought back from their many trips to Marrakech. 

“We are not very interested in brands,” explains Ingrid. “We often find furniture in second hand shops or vintage barns. Most of our furniture is not new, but vintage, second hand or antique.” 

Color plays a significant role in Ingrid and Henk’s home, though the sense of calm and serenity is largely owing to the color white. “With a white base and oak floor, everything looks good,” Ingrid says. “Although we have lots of colorful items, the house still looks bright and uncluttered.”

The layout features an open lounge, living and office leading to a kitchen and dining at the front of the house. 

The master bedroom, situated on the third floor of the house, features slanted ceilings, dormer windows, a hand made scrapwood headboard and open closet. “Our attic bedroom is a wonderful space,” Ingrid says. “We have the whole attic to ourselves and it feels a bit ‘French’ (Je ne sais pas pourquoi).”

Throughout Ingrid and Henk’s home are items the couple have hand crafted, turning necessity into a successful, home operated business. “We always made furniture ourselves, whether it was a kitchen table, an outdoor bench or headboard for our bedroom,” Ingrid says. “In 2007 I made a stool out of scrapwood and dressed it with a handmade crocheted cover . It turned out to be an object every visitor of our home wanted to have, which is how Wood & Wool Stool began. Since then, I have made lots of interior objects, including pillows, rugs, signs and frames, and it always has something to do with wood an/or wool. I am a textile maniac!” 

Despite their regular travels abroad, they are always happy to return home to their bright and cheerful abode. “Our home is very important to us,” says Ingrid. “We still like our own house best. Wherever we have stayed, even in the best boutique hotels, we are always in love with our own place when we return.” 

Upstairs, they have a spacious, playful bathroom. Simple white tiles line the walls, while pebbles add a tropical bathroom aesthetic underfoot. Bright bathroom accessories keep the space fun and fresh.

I love that feeling when you enter the house after weeks away yet it all feels so fresh and cool.”

So what do you guys think? Don't you love the way Ingrid uses colour so delicately in her home? To me it looks like an island escape with all the bright pops of colour and fun textiles. What do you love about this home? See you back here soon with another lovely home tour - Holly

(text/photography: holly marder)

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