A house that gives you that holiday feeling… It may sound like a cliché, but it’s certainly not when you visit this house and garden. We would summarise it as sleek and rural,
but most of all, we are charmed by its sophistication and its peace and quiet. Not to mention the finish. Sometimes beauty lies in the small details.
Old or new?
“We based the design on classic French courtyard buildings”, says architect Jef Van de Vel of AP/ART Architecten. “Of course, this is not a farmstead built around a square courtyard, but because of the higher volume and the walled courtyard, it does retain that stately aspect. It is indisputably the manor which emanates a certain quality. The classic touch catches the eye, and sometimes you would momentarily doubt that this is a renovation. Jef Van de Vel: “It could even be a renovated old façade. This is because not everything is measured so precisely. Some of the bricks are a little smaller or larger, or protrude a little. We also played around with the windows. No large window areas, just vertically positioned windows with small wooden crossbars in the upper glass areas. The top windows consist entirely of small squares. In terms of colours, we opted for alternating grey with a dark shade (the wrought iron effect) for the small windows, and for the large windows at the rear.”
Three thousand years old
Stephanie Van Mechelen: “The most important thing to know about our door handles is that they are made of natural materials: a metal alloy with a black painted finish. This black colour is currently very fashionable. The technology we use is more than three thousand years old. First, the metal is poured into sand moulds, following which we finish the products by hand. Through the sand-moulding process, the ironwork acquires a grainy surface to show small imperfections. This makes each piece unique and
gives it an artisan, weathered look. We consciously choose to work with these natural materials, as their appearance improves with age.” “Our range is not limited to door handles”, Stephanie Van Mechelen continues. “We also sell window and furniture fittings, as well as other accessories. This is useful if you want everything to be coordinated using the same collection and colour. Our showroom is open to anyone who wants to come and take a look. If required, we will also be involved in supervising the project on site.
Photography: Hendrik Biegs – in collaboration with Home Sweet Home
