A house tour full of family fun

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This Dutch home has been a creative playground for artist Arnoud Dijkstra to express himself with kid-friendly designs and happy hues. Home to Arnoud, his wife Linda, and their two sons, the playful new build in The Hague is an ode to originality, full of his own quirky brand of bespoke furniture. Here are a few lessons we took away from this project about how best to customise your space to work for your family’s needs.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO TAKE RISKS.

Arnoud and Linda have come to love certain parts of the house that they were initially nervous about. The house has an individualistic, idiosyncratic look, which they credit to the creative input of an interiors adviser. “We asked our stylist friend Rian Knop to brainstorm with us about the colours and materials we could use,” says Arnoud. “We had a lot of ideas ourselves, but she knows so much about how to apply colours and dares to use materials that hadn’t even crossed our minds.” The tile wall in the kitchen is an example of one of Rian’s ideas. “Linda thought it was very risky,” Arnould admits, “but we went with it.” Linda laughs, “Now we’re very happy with it – it is a very special wall.”

MAKE PLANNING A PRIORITY.

Scheduling a meeting with your significant other might sound a little bit strange, but it can be really helpful for keeping things on track with a project like this. Throughout the year between buying the house and the move-in date, the couple had monthly meetings to plan the look of their new home. “This worked really well for us,” says Arnoud. “I collected a lot of images out of magazines and visited blogs to get inspired. So we had a lot of ideas to discuss, and, thanks to that, it has become a super home that’s very comfortable to live in.

KNOW YOUR GOAL.

Although there were many details to work out, from day one Arnoud and Linda knew exactly how they wanted the house as a whole to feel and all decisions fed back into that concept. Ultimately, for a truly family-friendly home the goal is togetherness and to make shared spaces that work to fulfil the whole family’s needs. “Home is being together with your family,” Linda explains. “Home is enough room for everyone’s activities. Home is a warm welcome for friends and family.”

arnouddijkstra.eu|insidehomepage.com
Photography Louis Lemaire Styling Susanne Kennedy Words Kate Phelan