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STORY
Through the looking glass
Zeist, The Netherlands
Like taken from a scene in a fairy-tale, a glass house appears in an enchanted forest. A magical morning-mist engulfs the surrounding heath and fields inhabited by wildlife. The modern glass house stands as a house that has dropped from the sky and landed in this protected old forest in the historic Dutch town of Zeist. When the door opens, a family of five greets you, ready to tell their tale of how they after a 5-year adventure in Africa have resettled in the Netherlands.
The Architecture
Living in a glass house
The architect practice HofmanDujardin imagined this two-storey transparent house characterized by its wide glass sections and flat roof. The construction explore modern solutions; open spaces, architectural staircases and long corridors.
The Architecture
Blurred lines
Large sliding doors completely open up the living area to the outdoors, creating a flowing indoor/outdoor connection and transforming the central living room and 700 ft2 terrace into one large entertaining zone.
The Kitchen
View from above
In the center of the open living area, a five-unit Vipp island module is placed together with a three-unit tall and two-unit wall module. Searching online for a black and steel kitchen, the owners opted for Vipps' freestanding kitchen system. “I can really feel that it’s a durable piece of furniture,” says Anoek.
The kitchen
Natural decor
The kitchen space is kept in a black and white colour palette. A narrow colour-scheme invites nature's vivacious use of tones into the interior.
The kitchen
Sorting solution
Powder-coated in the same finish as the kitchen, the two Vipp pedal bins make up an aesthetic waste sorting solution.
The owners
Meet the family
After having lived for more than five years abroad in Kenya and South Africa, the Dutch couple, Anoek and Peter, decided it was time to move their family of five back to the Netherlands. Initially settling down in a historic townhouse in the charming and vibrant city of Utrecht, it did not take long before the family missed being close to nature again, inspiring them to move outside the city to the nature area of Zeist. Here, they found a newly built house that architecturally matched their former residence in the continent of the Big Five – making them feel instantly at home.
