I have been posting some gorgeous houses in various countries lately and we will be visiting more countries in the next few weeks! I have posts lined up with houses in Italy, Brazil, Sweden, Australia and France. But I realised today that I totally forgot to include my home country The Netherlands in this list. How is this possible?!
So I have been searching Dutch photographer Hotze Eisma’s portfolio and I found this stunning house in Amsterdam. You may have seen this home before as it has been featured in interior magazines worldwide. But I have not seen some of the images featured here before.
Stylist Anja and her restaurateur husband Alain (from Balthazar’s Keuken in Amsterdam) live with their three sons in this large city home that is in fact two period house knocked into one. Now a neutral colour palette serves as to ideal backdrop to their furnishings, treasures and the kids’ artwork.
I am normally more into white but I have to admit that I really like this black wall in the kitchen.
You can see that the owners have a great sense of style!
The word ‘bruin’ is painted on the kids bedroom wall – bruin is the Dutch word for brown.
/>
(images by Hotze Eisma)
This beautiful necklace is created by designer Monique van Bruggen. Together with fellow jewellery designer Bonne van der Ree she shares a studio/showroom in Amsterdam called Studio Bonbon. The ring below, also from Monique’s collection, is made from small buttons.
Address: Prinsengracht 58, Amsterdam.
I am off to the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam this morning to get some delicious things for our bbq this weekend. This weekly organic farmers market is one of the gastronomic delights of Amsterdam! For food lovers travelling to Amsterdam, this is an experience that should not be missed.
The farmers market is located on the Noordermarkt, a delightful square nestled between the Westerstraat and the Prinsengracht in the heart of the very charming Jordaan quarter.
Specialist stalls carry an array of organic produced food: cheese, bread, vegetables, meat and flowers & plants of the season. There is a stall with the most delicious sausages, another stall has a stunning display of mushrooms and at another stall you can sample some delicious smoked mozzarella.
Over 30 stall holders arrive every Saturday before dawn to set up shop and they continue until 16:00. Around the market there are several nice cafes where can have a lovely cup of coffee.
Some historical background: the market has began in 1987 when Adri Vallentin, then owner of the popular café called Winkel on the Noordermarkt, has setup nine biological food stalls, hoping to draw more clients on Saturday morning to his café. Today is it is very popular market, small but lively, with an unique atmosphere.
The Noordermarkt is held every Saturday between 09:00 – 16:00. Enjoy!
{You can find more great Amsterdam shops & stops in my Amsterdam Guide and in the Amsterdam category.}
It is time for another Amsterdam post! The best bakery in Amterdam is Gebr. Niemeijer. Perhaps it’s even the best bakery in The Netherlands! I often travel 30 minutes just to get their delicious bread.
What makes their bread so special? They get their flour from an organic windmill in France and they use a special French oven to bake their breads. Everything is delicious but I especially like their croissants, baguettes, French pastries and their homemade jam. Address: Nieuwendijk 35, Amsterdam.
{You can find more great Amsterdam shops & stops in my Amsterdam Guide and in the Amsterdam category}
Restaurant Nevy is the one of Amsterdam’s newest restaurants. It belongs to the same stable as Envy and Vyne, a trendy restaurant and wine bar. Nevy, a fish restaurant, is located at the waterfront on the IJ. The IJ is a river, formerly a bay, in the Dutch province of North Holland.
The gorgeous interior is designed by well-known architect studio Concrete. They choose simplicity, in the way one would sketch a traditional fish restaurant, but then in the present, modern time.
An allusion is made to the classic, old market halls such as those that still can be found in France for instance. Bright colours, a lot of marble, transparency through the many window and the panoramic view over the IJ provides a great atmosphere. For those wondering about the white chairs, this is the Revolt chair from Dutch designer Friso Kramer.
{You can find more great Amsterdam shops & stops in my Amsterdam Guide and in the Amsterdam category.}
Today, April 30, is the national holiday in The Netherlands called Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day). The Dutch have been celebrating Queen’s Day on April 30 since 1949, when the new Queen Juliana ascended the throne (30 April is Juliana’s birthday). When the current Queen Beatrix succeeded Juliana in 1980, she chose to keep Queen’s Day on April 30. Queen’s day is the most celebrated holiday here in Holland. Amsterdam festivities in particular rival those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans or New Year’s Eve in New York City. Don’t miss a visit to Amsterdam when you are around on 30 April, it’s a big (orange) party!
I am happy to know that a lot of you have used my Amsterdam guide for a visit to Amsterdam. In addition to this guide I will be featuring a shop, restaurant, cafe or another place of interest in Amsterdam every week. I start off with Marqt, a great shop that I visited this weekend. Marqt is a new type of shop where you can buy food directly from the farmer, producer and maker. You can always choose a variety of fresh and high quality food from seafood, meat, vegetables, cheese and breads that are sold by the local producers. The food they sell here is mainly organic.
I was like a kid in a candy store. I love everything about this market: they sell the most delicious food, the interior is very stylish, the packaging of the products is beautiful.. and I can go on. We bought some beautiful asparagus from the south of Holland, super fresh organic eggs, creamy butter and delicious ham from a local farmer. That will be a great meal tonight! Address: Overtoom 21. They will be opening another shop (located at the Rembrandtplein) very soon.
{You can find more great Amsterdam shops & stops in my Amsterdam Guide and in the Amsterdam category.}
