Architect Dieter Vander Velpen learnt many things working for Vincent Van Duysen, including the importance of going into a ‘crazy level of detail’ and refusing to take no for an answer. ‘It gave me the confidence to say, “It doesn’t matter that it’s hard, we’re going to make this happen,”’ he says. That attitude was essential when Dieter and Patricia Goijens – his partner in both life and work – bought a historic townhouse in the Berchem district of Antwerp last year.
‘There was no kitchen, no bathrooms, no heating, no electricity, nothing,’ he recalls, ‘but we could see the potential.’ The couple had lived happily in a nearby apartment for 10 years and weren’t planning to move, but they went to have a look and ‘it was this instant thing when we walked in’, recalls Patricia. They added some walls, but the layout remains largely unchanged. ‘You need to respect the structure in a historic house when you have an enfilade of rooms,’ says Dieter. ‘I don’t think it should suddenly feel like a loft.’
The dining room sits on the ground floor at the front of the house with a cocooning living room behind and the kitchen (formerly in a 1960s annexe to the rear of the house) at the back. Modern mouldings crafted in a traditional way suggest cabinetry has always been there. ‘If we do interventions, we make sure it feels natural – elements like that make it click together,’ Dieter notes.
What's everyone reading?
‘It was a super important project for us, but it came in last place,’ says Dieter of juggling work and finding time to design their own home. ‘Somehow, the important things always seemed to happen when we were abroad,’ Patricia adds ruefully, recalling being in the Hamptons and getting a call to say the basement had flooded.
Luckily, they had a strong sense of the vibe they wanted, and big decisions like the layout and colour scheme came easily. ‘I think that’s because we’ve travelled so much together and have a shared library of moments, images or spaces that we are drawn to,’ says Dieter.
That’s not to say this couple’s tastes align precisely, but rather they complement each other, resulting in something far greater than its parts. Dieter likes things to be ‘sharp and clean’ while ‘I’m more sentimental,’ says Patricia, admitting to a fondness for knick-knacks. A ‘creepy little oil painting’ that she bought in a Mexico City fleamarket is a prime example. ‘Dieter said, “What are you dragging home now?”’ she recalls, laughing. ‘But I totally trust you,’ he interjects, adding proudly: ‘That’s her strength. Patricia does all the photography and styling for our projects, and that extra layer is what makes things successful. I would be too minimal.’
There’s a bold contrast between darker rooms and brighter ones, with each space washed in a single shade in different finishes, from glossy ceilings to matte walls. ‘It gives some drama,’ says Dieter. ‘I know colour-drenching is everywhere now, but it’s something we have always done.’ There are no artificial materials; instead, statement pieces of stone appear in the kitchen and the bathroom, while oak – both original flooring and new joinery – roots the home in its place.
‘It’s local, it’s normal to use, but we wanted to give it a twist,’ says Dieter. That meant adding a fluted detail or a darker stain – ‘New York-style’ – rather than leaving it light as is usually done in Belgium.
Even though it wasn’t meant to be a laboratory to test out ideas, in essence, says Dieter, it is. ‘In our job, there is no real division between work and home.’ This is apparent in the textiles, which, from the monumental headboard to the banquette in the kitchen, are from their new collection with Zinc Textile. The collaboration came about because Frederic Henry, CEO of Romo North America (Zinc Textile’s parent company) is a fellow Belgian and a fan of their work.
Working with the design team taught them a huge amount, from the basics – ‘What is a print? What is a shadow velvet?’ – to considering how they used textiles previously. ‘When it comes to wood or marble I have a lot of technical knowledge, but with fabrics I had less of a background,’ says Dieter. ‘We hadn’t used many patterns because some were too screamy, especially for me. Before, it was based on a gut feeling; now we know more.’
For Patricia, it was fascinating to notice themes in their work: ‘I realised that most of the time when we had used a velvet, it would be a jewel tone.’ The couple’s home is a few minutes’ walk from the architecture-and-interior design firm they founded in 2015. Dieter describes what they do as ‘couture architecture’ – getting to know a client intimately and designing a home specifically for them.
‘We deep dive in,’ he says, exploring everything, from where the client drinks their coffee to how they cook. They always include some signature details, ‘so you walk through and feel a sense of calmness and connection’. Whether designing an outdoor shower – one client’s dream – or matching suede boxes for the TV remotes in every room, Patricia says: ‘If they ask for it, we’ll find it – or have it made.’
Current projects on the go include apartments in Mumbai, a home in Majorca and a residential tower in New York. There’s also a contemporary take on a chalet in Wyoming: ‘Very minimalist. A combination of Belgian and Japanese elements,’ says Dieter. Next up will be houses in Antwerp, which Dieter describes as ‘monumental city palaces’. The scale might vary, but the approach is the same: carefully restoring classic elements while gently adding new ones.
Their goal is always to ensure these old houses, many of which are falling into disrepair, can thrive for another hundred years. ‘That’s the challenge: how to make them cosy, comfortable and luxurious,’ says Dieter. Along the way they’ve found skilled contractors who share their passion for finding solutions to impossible problems, using classical materials in a contemporary way. ‘We love to push each other,’ he explains, ‘to see if we can do something that has never been done before.’ dietervandervelpen.com; zinctextile.com
