bloot refurbishes row house in the netherlands with a warm atmosphere and open spaces

Bloot‘s refurbished ‘house overveen’ in the netherlands is located on a sloped terrain and, therefore, the ground level is higher at the front than at the rear end. the inside of the residence has been already taken care of during the 70’s and stripped of all period features. the ground floor serves as a living area and was a large narrow space. a spiral staircase with a balustrade made of marine rope led to the basement which consisted of a series of small rooms, including a small kitchen. the first and second floors consist of bedrooms and a family bathroom.

the basement now functions as a play area for the children or as guest room

dutch based architectural studio Bloot has extended the basement so that the existing kitchen becomes a larger and real family kitchen with an open view of the back garden. a floating veranda is connected to the aforementioned space, strengthening this relationship. on the floating veranda you can sit with a cup of coffee and dangle your legs. the open plan living room is too large for its purpose due to the new kitchen. the basement has a low ceiling and is dark, so creating an open connection between the both spaces was a logical step to take.

the renovated family kitchen has an open view of the back garden

the desire to have a roof terrace on the extension led to a connection between the floor of the living room and the roof of the extension. to open up this area and make it as light and airy as possible, everything between the kitchen and living room is made of glass. the glass is supported by large douglas beams that are also continued into the extension.

everything between kitchen and living room is made of glass

the staircase that runs along a continuous wall between the basement, the living room and the bedrooms creates a visually connecting element between the different spaces. additionally, it ensures that the long living room is broken up in a front and back. the rest of the basement is open, with underfloor heating and now functions as a play area for the children or as guest room.

the ground level and the basement are connected through a double height space

looking into ‘house overveen’ from the floating veranda

on the floating veranda you can sit with a cup of coffee and dangle your legs

BLOOT uses glass to open up this area and make it as light and airy as possible

the glass floor in the refurbished house seen from above

looking down to the kitchen from the living room

the glass is supported by large douglas beams that are also continued into the extension

standing on the glass floor looking down

images of before and after the renovation led by BLOOT

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edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom