For those who've been following TDC for a long time, you'll know that January is a quiet month here on the blog. The height of our summer, traditionally we head away at the end of January before the kids go back to school, and right now we're having a wonderful time staying at one of our favourite beaches. Part of the fun is looking for a holiday home and this year we chose a cute little bach close to the beach, just along from where our friends are staying. There's definitely something to be said for downsizing and simplifying while on holiday and this tiny but cleverly designed holiday home I'm sharing today is as good as it gets!
Located in Vinkeveense Plassen in the northwest of the Dutch province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, it was designed by award-winning Amsterdam-based i29 Interior Architects in collaboration with Chris Collaris. With a footprint of just 55 m2 the compact house built for a family of four has a luxurious sense of space thanks to a clever layout that was developed from the inside-out.
Situated on an elongated island section close to the lake, the home is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the natural surroundings, views of the water and orientation of the sun. Divided into four parts, the home's diversity in size on the outside and interconnected positioning creates a stunning sculptural effect, so that it looks different from every angle. A minimal design enhances the sculptural quality, and all volumes have big windows or sliding doors which can be opened completely to fully merge the inside with the outside.
Custom furniture and integrated cabinets accentuate the graphical quality on the inside, while the use of simple materials like oak and polished concrete floors are in keeping with the natural surroundings.
In every detail we aimed for the ultimate space efficient solution. Every aspect of the design is approached to produce a pure and unified experience to leave a strong impression. Making quality projects is, in our opinion, not always ‘the bigger the better’. With simple yet smart interventions this project is of the highest standard and at the same time energy efficient, eco-friendly, and built with a small footprint. In this sense it’s a model example of a tiny house; smart, comfortable but with no consessions to quality in both the interior and architectural design; small is beautiful. —i29
