Now is the season for entertaining, and you would be hard-pressed to think of a space more suited to welcoming in a posse of guests than this zhuzhed-up ground floor of a much-loved townhouse in South Holland.
Masterminded by designer Roelfien Vos, this modern home's embrace of punchy hues and vibrant patterns is no surprise to those who know her work.
Happily, the family who commissioned her is just as adventurous: "They were open to lots of color and bold choices," she says.
The house was built in the 1930s, and the clients had already been living there for some time when they approached Roelfien Vos for a "touch-up with color and wallpaper".
Instead, the designer advised that they reconfigure the layout for better functionality and flow. "I saw that the layout needed to be reworked to meet the family’s desire for a real family home — a place to cook and live," she says.
They took on board her advice, embarking on a major three-year renovation of the entire house, part of which resulted in the ground floor being opened up and transformed into a space that's made for hosting a gathering — or two.
Fully upholstered dining chairs feel luxe but playful, too — get the look with these H&M Home designs.
It was only after reorganizing the floor plans that the family got to enjoy their adventure with color, the real heart of the revamp.
"Because the brief originally focused on wallpaper and color, that became the guiding thread," says Roelfien. So, for example, "a hand-painted wallpaper in beautiful green tones from de Gournay formed the starting point for the living area’s scheme."
Roelfien often tackles a design from the ground up, literally, and the intricate floors here are a testament to that.
"I see the floor as a stage on which the interior is presented — like a beautiful cake on a tray," she explains. "So we paid great attention to this: for the kitchen floor, we created a pattern combining timber with strips of marble; while in the hallway, we designed a motif made of green marble blocks and sand-colored stone."
A row of three of these pendant lights would give a similar aesthetic to those hanging above the kitchen peninsula in this home.
That play on contrasts — another of Roelfien’s style signatures — is also a feature of the living area.
"For the built-in cabinet, I took the owner to the stone supplier SolidNature. The cabinet is the first thing you see when entering the room, so it had to make a statement."
Roelfien then combined the backlit onyx stone with softer materials, such as a bouclé-covered armchair and the custom carpet. "Research into patterns from the era in which the house was built inspired me to design the floral motif," she says.
A bold floral patterned wallpaper creates an impactful first impression in this entryway — we love this version from Little Greene.
Even the ceilings got in on the decorative act, with new plasterwork additions cleverly disguising existing irregularities.
"People often think the cornicing is original; I take that as a compliment," says Roelfien. "The cornices now create a natural visual rhythm, so you feel immediately welcome as you enter — even if you don’t consciously know why."
It is this meticulous attention to detail that gives this house its finesse, as Roelfien says: "Wherever you look, every element is a small, unique design." Her clever use of spatial planning, contemporary color, and vibrant pattern has resulted in a home that now feels celebratory year-round.
