Gaasterlandstraat | Home personalisation in Amsterdam

How customising the design of your new home can enrich your life

Case study: Gaasterlandstraat | Home personalisation in Amsterdam

Complete Renovation

Project Completed

Even when buying a new apartment in a newly built development, there is a level of customisation needed to make this apartment your very own. To turn this apartment into their dream home, this young couple commissioned AKKA Architects to transform the apartment into a space that truly supports their daily activities and specific lifestyle, now and as they grow their family.

This remodeling and interior design project located in a new development on the Gaasterlandstraat in the south part of Amsterdam is an example of how a standard apartment delivered by a developer can be optimised, upgraded, and personalised to become a unique apartment tailored made to suit its inhabitants.

“AKKA helped us create our dream home. Me and my wife were looking for an architect to support the renovation of our newly built apartment, and AKKA was a perfect choice. Stephanie and her team worked with us to shape the vision of our future home and understood what we wanted down to every single detail. They also guided us through the process and made sure we were comfortable with all the choices we made. From the first day, we moved in, the new home gives us an incredible feeling: it fits our lifestyle and reflects our personalities. This result would not have been possible without AKKA.”
— Vladimir Golubyatnikov

Supporting daily routines with space design
Starting with a deep dive to truly understand the specific lifestyle of the couple, we then explored a multitude of layouts to find the perfect one that will best suit their everyday dynamics. Since the apartment’s shell was already built, we have to find the sweet spot between the ideal layout and minimising demolitions and costs. The final layout was based on the love of the couple for entertaining friends over, the habit of having breakfast while catching up on the news, their desire to work at home in a dedicated yet shared home office, among others. Once the layout was selected, we then moved into expressing the couple’s identity into the finishes of the house, smart storage solutions, the kitchen design as well as every major piece of furniture, including the master bed, the customised walk-in closet, the home office desk, the kitchen counter, the dining table and chairs, the sofa and TV piece, the entrance piece and a few other pieces around the house.

Not all floors are created equal
In this project, special attention was paid to the flooring. After an initial exploration of floor possibilities, the clients decided their preference for a warm wooden floor. We then spent considerable attention on the selection of the type of wood, its texture and – mostly – its colour, which needed to match the one of the kitchen island. We tested and compared several wood samples in different finishes and different oiling techniques, in order to find the perfect one which would create a harmonious combination of colours and textures between existing and new materials.

“We had the chance to work for the first time with Akka Architects for this project. Together we developed our furniture for the living room and the walk-in closets and bedrooms of the apartment. That included wardrobes, bookcases, and complementary items. The collaboration was smooth and friendly: the AKKA team immediately showed great competence and professionalism. They were always ready to answer our questions and help us to find the best solution for their client. The project ran perfectly well and the client was completely satisfied! It was a pleasure to work with them and we look forward to another project together”
— Sabrina Riva, EmmeBi

Capturing your personality in your space
We aim to capture your unique personality and lifestyle through the vibe and style of your house. This starts with a colour palette for the walls, floors as well as furniture. But colour is not all, the pattern of the floor, the details of the lighting fixtures as well as the style and form of the furniture items, to name a few, also contribute to the personality of the house. It is important not to overdo it though, so deciding which are the lead pieces and which are in a supporting role is important. The same goes for the finishes of the house. In this project, you can see that the overall palette is neutral and earthy, while specific surfaces pop out such as the rich blue color in the master bedroom and the beautiful brick wall in the living room. Finding that balance will create a refined design, that feels just right.

AKKA’s end-to-end service scope
For this project, our team of architects, engineers, interior designers, and contractors started from the very beginning of the design process until the completion of construction and execution, including schematic and conceptual design, design development, construction documents as well as construction management including contractor’s coordination and project management throughout the construction period until the completion of construction and beyond, into furniture selection and deliveries all the way into our adapting phase.

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