{"id":21777,"date":"2023-05-27T10:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-27T08:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=43018"},"modified":"2023-05-27T10:36:44","modified_gmt":"2023-05-27T08:36:44","slug":"a-1930s-villa-in-north-holland","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-1930s-villa-in-north-holland\/","title":{"rendered":"A 1930s villa in North Holland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyond the classic 18th and 19th-century continental furniture in Inge Bemelmans\u2019 home is a surprisingly eclectic mix of curios from across the world \u2013 from an Italian Santos doll to a Turkish crib. Feature Mieke Vendel. Photographs Renee Frinking\/Features & More <\/p>

By kirstylyons\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 27 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Antiques are never dull or old-fashioned. Each piece is unique, which is why they never date,\u2019 explains Inge Bemelmans, an antiques dealer<\/a> and long-term lover of everything and anything old and characterful. Inge comes from a family of collectors and so buying beautiful items wherever she goes is second nature for her. \u2018A love of antiques is built into my DNA,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

\u2018My father and his family are passionate collectors of antique furniture, paintings and accessories, so I grew up surrounded by intriguing items. My father also loved to mix eras \u2013 combining classic pieces with modern design and African art<\/a>.\u2019 This talent for blending pieces from different periods and places can today be witnessed in Inge\u2019s home \u2013 a 1930s thatched-roof villa in north Holland that she shares with her husband Willem and their two children.<\/p>\n

The couple moved here after marrying in 2004. Inge had ridden her bicycle past the house a number of times and loved how tucked away it was. \u2018When I saw the property on the market I convinced Willem to come and have a closer look with me. When we stood in the hallway Willem looked at me and whispered \u201cSold\u201d in my ear. At that point we could only glimpse the beautiful stairway but that was enough for us both.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The decor was far from remarkable back then but today it is filled with art, collections and antiques<\/a> that span the eras. Pieces that date from the 18th and 19th centuries are Inge\u2019s favourites \u2018because of their character and craftsmanship\u2019 and she has a particular fondness for pieces from France; \u2018they\u2019re just so elegant. We love going to the south of France; it\u2019s like a second home to us. The French have such good taste and the landscape there is so lovely. We always come back feeling so inspired and with a suitcase full of new findings.\u2019<\/p>\n

Inge\u2019s tastes aren\u2019t just restricted to the rustic elegance of French antiques though. She has buying trips planned to Turkey and Morocco where she is passionate about \u2018the vibrant colours\u2019 and also has a penchant for Swedish pieces. \u2018I love Swedish antiques because of their bright colours and simplicity,\u2019 she explains. \u2018My Swedish painted rococo chairs in the dining room are favourites of mine.\u2019<\/p>\n

Indeed, her home certainly isn\u2019t one-note and the clever mix of styles keep it from feeling like a museum. Collections of coins and botanical prints<\/a> are teamed with quirkier items such as fragments of antique crockery, a leather hippo and a Santos doll. In the living room alone, a Turkish baby cradle is used as a coffee table, while the cupboard is classic French and the sofa, Swedish.<\/p>\n

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\u2018For me, it\u2019s important to have a loose \u2013 even haphazard \u2013 approach to interior decoration. Aesthetics are key but this is also a home for two children and two dogs \u2013 it needs to feel relaxed.\u2019 Colour also adds to the warm, homely feel of the house and Inge hasn\u2019t been afraid to opt for deep shades. \u2018Using more contemporary colours with antiques is a great way to emphasise the beauty of a piece. It also tends to unwind things a little,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

And what does Inge\u2019s husband Willem think of their constantly evolving home, where furniture is often rearranged and pieces regularly come and go? \u2018The deal when Willem asked me to marry him was that I could have my way with the interior decoration and he could hang on to the antique Frisian longcase clock<\/a> that he inherited from his mother,\u2019 Inge laughs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an arrangement that seems to work beautifully for the couple and also happily for their enduringly captivating home too.<\/p>\n

\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
Inge Bemelmans has a fondness for blue-painted cupboards \u2013 this example is Swedish and dates from the early 18th century. The chair in front is from the Louis XVI period. In the cupboard Inge keeps part of her collection of antique books.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
On the dining table, a bouquet of wild flowers is arranged in a vintage bucket bought at auction. The antique leather hippo is an English toy.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
Italian stoneware pots from Puglia sit behind an old English breadboard with a small Regout bowl on top. The tiny tajine is Moroccan.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
Trinkets are arranged on an alabaster dish.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
the table in the living room is Swedish. The bronze head on top of it is of Inge\u2019s dog Snuitje.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
The semi-detached villa is located in Heemstede, a municipality in north Holland, near the capital of the province, Haarlem. It was built in 1934 and has three floors. There\u2019s a kitchen\/diner, dining room, living room, garden room, office and four bedrooms.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
Inge Bemelmans lives here with her husband Willem de Vries and their two children Victor (16) and Josephine (15) and their two dogs Floor and Snuitje. After working in the healthcare sector for 15 years, Inge opened her own antiques and jewellery shop in 2004 (mapreference.nl). Willem works in transport.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
Antique Delft pottery blends with the blue kitchen cabinets.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
The fragments of 17th-century blue crockery hanging on the kitchen wall are one of Inge\u2019s passions. \u2018I think that the damaged items are sometimes more beautiful than the perfect ones. It shows they had a purpose and have a history.\u2019 The 17th-century kitchen table (just seen) is Spanish.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
The antique cupboard in the dining room was inherited and painted blue. Arranged on top are 17th-century vases. The dining chairs are Swedish. On the wall next to the cupboard hangs a 17th-century portrait.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
The Frisian longcase clock was inherited from Willem\u2019s mother. The 19th-century table in front was the first item that Inge bought with her father. The vase is 19th century, while the doll to the right is an 18th-century Italian procession Santos doll.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
The portrait (hanging above an 18th-century tabernacle) is Dutch.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
In the living room, a Turkish nomad baby\u2019s cradle serves as an unusual coffee table. The antique cupboard is French, while the display cabinet on the wall is a Dutch antique.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
The framed early 19th-century cameos were a birthday gift to Inge from Willem.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""1930s\"<\/picture><\/div>
Hanging on the wall above the early 18th-century English chest of drawers is a collection of framed botanical prints. The sculpture to the left represents Agnes of Rome with a golden lamb.<\/span> <\/figcaption> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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