Inspiration
Interior designer in Drenthe
Early morning in Drenthe: the sun coming up, a coot diving for food in one of the fens, a woodpecker waking the forest with its knocking, dew hanging over the heather. This province is known for its landscapes, and with reason. A walk on the Hondsrug or a slow morning in the Drentsche Aa national park is where we come to rest ourselves, and that feeling, of a place that asks nothing of you, is what we try to bring into our interiors.
Inspiration
We design interiors across Drenthe. The houses differ, a rural home near Assen asks for something else than a modern apartment in Emmen, but the work is the same: turning the house you have into a home that is unmistakably yours.
Below we set out what working with an interior designer actually gets you, which directions we see gaining ground, and a few starting points if you would rather begin yourself.
Inspiration
What a designer adds
We are aware of how this sounds: a design studio arguing that you should hire a design studio. Take it with that grain of salt. Many of our clients furnished their previous homes themselves, and did it well, so the fair question is what a designer adds. In our view it comes down to this:
- Professional advice: a designer has seen which choices work and which get regretted. We help you decide on colours, materials and layout with some certainty instead of endless doubt.
- Time saved: planning and furnishing a home takes more hours than most people expect. We take the bulk of that work off your hands, so your evenings stay your own.
- Money saved: a designer is an expense at the start, and can still save you money over the whole project. We help you decide where the budget makes a real difference, and we help you avoid the expensive mistakes that are hard to undo.
- A design of your own: you would get a long way yourself; there is more inspiration online than ever. But feeds show everyone the same images, and interiors start to look alike. We look past that and design an interior that fits your life and taste, rather than this year's timeline.
Inspiration
Interior design keeps moving, and we deliberately keep some distance from it. An interior built on trends dates faster than one built on how you live. When we do adopt a direction, it is one we expect to become ordinary in the long run rather than gone by next season. These are the ones we currently take seriously:
- Natural materials: timber, stone and linen have earned their place over the past years. They bring warmth and authenticity into a room.
- Sustainability: environmentally sound materials and energy-saving technology have moved from exception to standard practice.
- Mixing styles: combining modern pieces with vintage ones gives an interior a character that no single style manages on its own.
- Maximalism: after years of minimalism, the pendulum is swinging back. Robust materials, bold patterns and outspoken decorative pieces are on the rise.
- Smart technology: built-in intelligence is becoming a normal part of the design. Think of smart lighting, thermostats and security systems.
Inspiration
What a well-designed home does for you
We see it in our projects: a home that is designed with care does something for the people in it, physically and mentally. A few of the ways that shows:
- Wellbeing: a calm, well-made environment lowers stress and lifts your mood. You notice it most at the end of a full day, when the house asks nothing more of you.
- Productivity: a good workspace helps you concentrate. An organised room, with the light where it should be, makes working from home noticeably easier.
- Hospitality: guests feel the difference the moment they walk in. A considered interior makes people welcome without you having to say a word.
- A reflection of you: your interior shows who you are and what you find important, to yourself as much as to your visitors.
Inspiration
How a designer helps in practice
In practice, the help falls into a few kinds of work:
- Design vision: we translate your ideas and wishes into a concrete design plan, with choices on colour, material and layout that fit how you live.
- Space planning: we work out the layout of each room, so routes through the house run naturally and there is storage where you need it, with furniture at the right scale for the space.
- Colour and material advice: we advise on combinations that suit your style and the atmosphere you have in mind.
- Project coordination: we can run the whole project, contractors and suppliers included, and keep it on schedule and within the agreed budget.
- Accessories and decoration: we help you find the pieces that finish an interior, the ones you would not have found on your own.
Inspiration
If you would rather start yourself
If you would rather take the first steps yourself, these starting points hold up in most Drenthe homes:
- Bring the outdoors in: natural materials such as timber and stone give a room warmth, and plants keep it alive through the seasons.
- Keep the colours quiet: the landscape here is calm, and interiors can follow it. Beige, grey and green make a room easy to be in.
- Mix styles and textures: set hard against soft and gloss against matt, and combine modern furniture with design classics. The contrast is what keeps a room interesting.
- Take lighting seriously: let in as much daylight as you can, and layer the artificial light: atmosphere in the evening, function where you work and read.
- Clear the clutter: a tidy room is a restful one. Enough storage, planned early, does more for calm than any accessory.
Inspiration
Working with the studio in Drenthe
We work across the whole province, on rural houses near Assen as readily as on modern apartments in Emmen. The type of home decides the approach; the care behind it stays the same.
The aim is an interior that rests you as much as it pleases you, and that could belong to no one else. Your wishes set the direction; our work is carrying them out properly.
A home is where the memories with the people close to you are made, and it is worth getting right. We are glad to put our experience to work on yours: an interior that looks the way you hoped and works as well as it looks.
You are welcome to write or call. You will be dealing with Reinder himself.
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Curious what we could do for your home? We are glad to meet, with no obligation.
STUDIO REINDER VEENSTRA