“We like the cozy atmosphere of this courtyard, it’s nice to come home. Because you are not directly on the street, it is really an oasis of peace. And that while this is officially the bad part, you used to have gangs here and it was called the slum of The Hague. That is still above a photo that we have turned up in the municipal archives.”
Josanne: “I used to have a company ‘Random Records’, thanks to that record collection. So sometimes we play records.” The bike belongs to Kelly. “I am a fair weather cyclist. In summer, for example, we cycle to Hoek van Holland. And we have bought very nice touring bikes with which we want to cycle to Santiago this summer.” Josanne: “I once made a bike ride from China via Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia to Thailand. That was really crazy. We have the idea that we will at least cycle on every continent in our lives.”
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Writing songs
The keyboard and guitars are Kelly’s. “I have been involved in music since I was nine. I write songs and sing in a wafer jazz band. Through my work as a stage manager at De Boerderij, I came into contact with this band, which was great fun.” Josanne: “Every holiday we write songs together. You usually already have a melody in your head, to which we come up with lyrics. Such a project then runs throughout the summer.”
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Zuiderstrandtheater
Kelly: “I once cycled to the Zuiderstrandtheater and saw that chair on the street. Then I took him on the bike.” Josanne: “Our bed is quite small, but we actually like that. It is quite cold upstairs because it is not so well insulated, so a small bed is an advantage.” Kater Poes is actually not allowed on the bed, but he gratefully takes the opportunity.
Josanne: “The rear of the two firefighters in the photo is my great-grandfather who died in the winter of 1929 Bee -51 degrees was extinguishing the town hall fire in Leiden. He was left with pneumonia from which he died. He was the only one who did not survive the fire.”
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Radio 2
Josanne: “Mostly Kelly cooks. When I get home a little later, dinner is ready.” Kelly: “The kitchen is also where we spend most of our time. Sometimes Josanne is reading her newspaper while I am cooking. Even when friends come, we are usually all in the kitchen together. There is always a little radio on radio 2.”
Peggy: “We really like old houses. There is a soul in it and you can feel it. Although we have made the necessary sustainable and modernized, think of double glazing and granite floors that we have adapted. We like it so much here, we can grow old in this house.”
Pauline: “My roots are here in Scheveningen and Lara, my oldest daughter, was already at school here. Plus it was convenient to have family around. So we moved here from Bezuidenhout when Isabel was just born, almost six years ago now.”
“We prefer to sit at the bar , to work or to have a drink,” says Anouk while Lara cartwheels nonstop through the living room. Pauline: “The girls are often tinkering at that table and sometimes I sit down and join them.” Isabel likes the TV the best in the house and that she can scooter (although she’s not really allowed to). And Lara is especially happy with the space for her cartwheels.
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New bench
Lara really likes her room: “I got that couch for Christmas. I am very happy with that. Now I have a TV so I can watch TV in my room. I built the Lego castle myself.”
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Dreamcatcher
Isabel: “I made the dreamcatcher with all those colors myself. Under my bed I can sit comfortably and read. What is also nice here in the house is playing hide and seek because there are many good places.”
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More light
Pauline “Recently we renovated, so the bedroom is a bit smaller, but we now have more light in the living room and a better connection with the garden. In the summer, the doors can then open nicely. We do like being outside and especially the beach that is of course around the corner. Ideal, especially for Anouk who recently bought a supboard.”
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There was a waiting list when they 155 wanted to live here years ago. “It didn’t seem likely at all that I could rent this flat,” says Marianne Huurman, but in the end I did. “I grew up in this neighborhood in the Vogelwijk, so I feel very much at home here. Of course I now know a lot of people in this building and since a few years I have a friend who also lives here.”
The colors in the interior also date from 76 years back. “My kids said, ‘Mom, what are you putting on the wall again?’ but I said, “Wait, someday you’ll like it.” And now it is. Now they love it.” In the living room Marianne often sits at the table reading the newspaper or she works with patches, making quilts or wall hangings.
For the continuation, see the following pages >>>
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Loom
“I sit in this room mainly to paint because the light here is the best. I love to be creative, I also like to make collages.” The loom belongs to her daughter. “She wanted to get rid of it, but I think that’s a shame. It’s such a beautiful thing.”
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Stained glass
“This is a wonderful space to eat or have a drink with friends, of course, so I call it the drinks room. The green window behind the rooster is from my son’s house. Stained glass has always been beautiful to me and I thought it would be a shame if it went away. I saw them thinking ‘what should she do with that?’ but now it’s here and I think it’s beautiful.”
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Recipe book
“My kitchen is where I spend most of my time. I love cooking and baking, for myself but of course also for others. There is always a new recipe to try. I get those recipes from everywhere. I am also making a recipe book for my daughter who just got married.”
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Guest room and nursery
The nursery is ideal for Marianne’s two grandchildren who also come here regularly. “It used to be my bedroom, but my bed is now in the drinks room. Next to the nursery is another guest room. That came in handy when my daughter lived here for a while with her family. That was very nice.”
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“I bought this property in 1400 of the Rode Crotch. Ambulances were located on the ground floor and first aid courses were given on the first floor. Now I have my own theater here,” says Dick, who works as a dentist two days a week. “The other days I make art and do many other things, such as administering corona vaccinations at the GGD.”
“During the corona pandemic, my son Jip came to live here. He is at the conservatory and can play drums here undisturbed – I built a soundproof drum room for him together with Jip – and also surf. Things that are a bit more difficult in Amsterdam, where he used to live.”
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Waste
In 2010 Dick graduated from the KABK. “A lot of my work is made from waste, such as the caps that you also see in Jip’s drum room. I am now working on a website to get out more with my art.”
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Tabletops
“A little further down here I had until 2001 restaurant Watertanden together with a friend from the art academy. Those puzzle pieces on the wall are the original table tops from the restaurant.”
Jip usually sits in the corner on that couch and Dick prefers to sit at the table. “I’m always busy with something. When I’m chilling, something isn’t right.”
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Paul van Vliet Academy
Where ambulances once stood, Dick has created a theater with a piano and benches from a bankrupt restaurant . Dick: “To do something about my pathological shyness, I attended the Paul van Vliet Academy, although I found it terrifying. Here I would practice with the audience glued to the wall, such a 1400 to 1400 headlines – the idea was to make a kind of sold-out Carré. And that has worked. Now you could even let me read the news.”
Paula and Petros Horvers have lived in Huize Cromvliet for more than twenty years, originally 21th century mansion in Rijswijk, located in a, yes, curve of the Vliet. Petros: “It used to function as a country house; where there are now houses there used to be a long driveway. There are currently four apartments in the building, two downstairs, two upstairs.“
“The photos of the ballerina Nikolska were taken by an aunt of mine, Elli Seraidari, better known as Nelly’s, in 719 on the Acropolis. That caused quite a stir at the time. The other black-and-white photos come from an Armani catalog some twenty-five years ago.”
Petros has made almost all the furniture himself: “I’ve been doing that since I was sixteen. I like to do but not on behalf of others. Then pressure comes on and I don’t feel like it, but I do give things away. By the way, that mirror comes from the coffee table, I thought it was too high, so I sawed off a piece.”
Paula made the painting above the sofa. It shows Mykonos, their favorite island in Greece. “When we go on vacation, we prefer to go to Mykonos.”
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Covers of Oggi
The posters are covers of Oggi, magazines that Petros bought in Rome. He liked them so much that he framed them. He also made the furniture in the bedroom himself.
Paula: “Our daughter Lisa (17) studies psychobiology in Amsterdam and comes home at the weekend.” Lisa sleeps in the attic, which has many cozy corners due to the beam constructions.
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Greek from the oven
“We like to cook, preferably with lots of fresh vegetables. Usually Paula cooks, who comes up with something different almost every day. Her endless creative ideas ensure that we eat healthy and delicious. When I’m free, I like to get a fresh fish from Simonis and then make a delicious Greek dish in the oven. When Lisa is home during the weekends, we often have dinner together, where Lisa’s friends regularly join in. We love those spontaneous evenings!”
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Working at home
The office was first used by Petros, but Paula, who is a board secretary at the Authority for Consumers & Markets, has been working since The corona crisis is often at home, in the office in other words: “I really like working from home. You get a lot done and during the break I can take a walk with Jip in the park that borders the communal garden. Although I also like to see my colleagues again now that we can come to the office a little more often.”
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Community garden
Paula: “This terrace is such a nice place with a view of the garden and the park. You can relax here from busy days.” They are also in the communal garden. Petros: “Sometimes alone, we give each other space, on other days we just sit there with the neighbors from the other three apartments here in Huize Cromvliet.”
“Four years ago I had just given birth to my youngest son, when the sale of our house did not go through. We had to look for another house in a hurry. That is how we ended up in this rented house,” says Monique. “There are things I would do differently if it wasn’t a rental house.”
Monique works under the name The Interiorist as an interior designer for houses, retail, catering and even movie theaters. “I think it’s important to surround myself with things I like. That is the starting point for my designs; an interior should provide energy, but also peace. But that is difficult here in the house with four sons and a man, so that you constantly find things differently than you left them behind.”
View the continuation on the following pages >>>
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Cocktail Boutique
When you enter, it immediately falls ball rack on. Monique: “We have three sons who play rugby at HRC, so you can’t ignore those balls. That wall system is by architect and furniture designer Poul Cadovius. We have a lot of it because it comes from the Cocktail Boutique that Michel had in Amsterdam.
You can find them all over the house.” In the new Cocktail Boutique in the Molenstraat in the center of The Hague, Michel has opted for a whole new interior, of course designed by Monique. “I have translated their house style into interior design. With a few powerful graphic elements – abstract shapes from the logo that are magnified – I made it very recognizable. This way they can easily burn any space, such as their office, exhibition stand or other shops.”
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Small kitchen
“For six people is this kitchen is bizarrely small. I do like to cook, but with so little space that is a bit less. Actually, I cook everything, sometimes I use my friend Vanya van der Leeden’s cookbook, for which I did the branding. I also love Ottolenghi. Luckily my sons eat almost everything and they leave what they don’t like.”
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Antique
“The decor is quite practical came into being in this house; we put everything in it and I should really clean up a lot. But when I try to declutter, I suddenly find a walking stick or something else, which Michel has brought from the antique shop, Notre, Dame, which I recently took over from his parents.”
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Interior design
“I have been like I worked as an art director in the advertising world until I switched to interior design. Much of what hangs on the wall here dates from that time, such as work by photographers such as Jasper Zwartjes, Natasja Verschoor, Remko Kraaijeveld and Stephanie Pistel. We also have art from a good friend of ours, Rien Maat, and a portrait of Michel on a napkin made by Selwyn Senatori. It combines great with artwork from the kids, old movie posters and antique school posters.”
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Beautiful light
In the bathroom it is light beautifully. There are also many plants. And of course the wall system from Poul Cadovius. There is an extensive bathing ritual, Monique explains: “I am a terrible bath lover. Every morning (except Saturday) we all take a bath. That is wonderful to wake up to. For a long time we went with the five of us. As they get older, it gets less. Phil really doesn’t want any more; it has its own shower upstairs.”
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On the front steps
“Since corona we get along very well with many neighbors. Often we first sit on the sidewalk in front of the house because that’s where the sun is and the children play on the street. We turn with the sun and then end up in our backyard, often with half the neighbourhood, very cozy.”
Garden Photo: Indebuurt
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Inside view: Noucky and Mia live in an old shop: ‘I have everything self-renovated’
Exactly one year ago, Noucky Koole with her daughter Mia (7) in an old shop in The Hague. “Well…
Exactly a year ago, Noucky Koole moved with her daughter Mia (7) to an old shop in The Hague. “However, we did extensive renovations first, which I did almost completely myself. I believe that you can do anything you put your mind to, especially once you’re in a flow. We are very happy with the end result.“
Read more below the photo
Noucky and daughter Mia Photo: Indebuurt
Thanks to the long renovation, Noucky has built up a good relationship with the neighbors: “I did a lot of preparations outside. To keep up the spirit, keep everyone up to date on the progress. In the meantime, the relationship with the neighbors is so good that we recently all had dinner at one of the neighbors’ restaurant.”
See the continuation on the following pages >>>
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Beautiful facade
Ever this house used to be a shop, you can still see that from the beautiful facade. It was built in 2021, in those days the whole street was pretty much a shopping street. “I really like that large window, we can be seen. I’m okay with the outside world looking inward. You therefore have real contact with the people who pass by.”
The white chair by the altar is Noucky’s favorite place. “You can sit and read or look outside, relax for a while. Mia also thinks that is the nicest place in the house. Although she prefers to sit in the fig tree in the garden.”
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White Buddha
“ I once did an ayahuasca ritual with a good friend. As a souvenir I bought two Buddhas, one for her and one for myself. For me, a buddha is the representation of that everything is allowed to be there, I thought that was a beautiful memory of that event.”
“I work as an orthomolecular therapist and hypnotherapist. With Nutri.support, as my company is called, I strive to give people (back) control over their lives and health. Food is very important in this, so for me the kitchen is really the heart of the house.”
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Rommel
“Together my daughter and I have consciously chosen to live in an open space, with all the clutter that goes with it (my daughter has just as big a share in that). It is remarkable how much you can fit in such a small space. The sleeping places aren’t that big either, but maybe I’ll expand them in the future.”
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Unit of the house
The toilet and shower walls are made of glass. “That breaks the taboo associated with going to the toilet. It also accentuates the unity of the house. While you often forget that it is one big room due to the height differences in the living room.”
View more photos on the next page >>>
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Fig Tree
“Mia is very happy with the trampoline in the back of the garden. And she really likes the fig tree too. I like to sit here with a book or work with the plants.”
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“We feel completely at home in this former Indian warehouse. We immediately clicked with the neighbors and the…
