The first thing we did was to tear down all the walls, only leaving the chimney, making the downstairs one big room. This gave space to the beautiful old stairs leading to the first floor. We then built some walls around the old chimney, making room for a hidden fridge and partly hiding the work area of the kitchen from the living area. In that way there is a connection between the kitchen and the other living areas, but you can still be a little messy without anybody noticing. The worktop in Corian is stretched from one side of the room to the other. This visually makes the space seem larger than it is. The line is enhanced by the old wooden beam above the kitchen table, where we have placed a long continuous line of small light bulbs that provide the ideal working light. The spotlights in the ceiling, providing the additional light, are white and discrete on the outside and golden inside, giving a warm and luxurious light.
When entering the original house via the Japanese stepping stone you find yourself standing on a glass floor over the more than hundred year old wine cellar. This was made to create a sense of vertical space in this house with low ceilings and for Peter to showcase his wine bottles. We have kept the cellar old and rustic and at night it sometimes reminds you of an archaeological site. The light coming from the cellar also works as a recessed lamp in the floor. The glass is fitted in a black iron frame with hydraulic pumps that make the very heavy door easy to use.
All the floors, walls and ceilings in the whole house are painted white to connect them visually regardless of their differences and to reflect the light and give the feel of a larger space.