Exclusive residential construction with high-end furniture customization
Realizing residential dreams: that’s what Van der Windt is passionately committed to every day. What began 55 years ago as a small-scale contracting company has grown today into a specialized company focused on providing total concepts in exclusive residential construction. Van der Windt regularly collaborates with furniture customization company and subsidiary Boreas MeubelMaatwerk for this purpose, which means that the interior of a home is also given a particularly high-quality look. During a visit to the two companies, located in Oudewater, The Art of Living learns about the special story behind Van der Windt and Boreas.
We start the introduction in Van der Windt’s beautiful new building, which was completed last October. Upon entering, we are immersed in a magnificent experience that perfectly reflects the DNA of the company and subsidiary Boreas. Top quality, craftsmanship and a high-end look go hand in hand in stylishly decorated rooms that showcase the many possibilities in high-end construction and furniture customization. “Our motto is ‘don’t think in problems, but in challenges,'” Jan Dionisius, the driving force behind the two companies, tells us enthusiastically when we meet him. “This enables us to come up with unique things, resulting in exclusive and innovative construction projects.”
From all-round contracting company to specialist in exclusive residential construction
As we are shown around the various wonderful rooms in the building, we learn more about the companies and how Jan himself grew up within Van der Windt. “The company was founded 55 years ago by Koos van der Windt,” says Jan. “He started Van der Windt as an all-round contracting company. I myself grew up in the company, so to speak; I did my internship here and worked a lot of hours during my studies. After gaining work experience at other construction companies, I eventually joined Van der Windt full-time. About ten years ago I became the owner. Over the past decade we have focused our services on the top segment of the construction industry. As a result we have developed special know-how and have become a specialist in exclusive residential construction. Where ten years ago we worked with ten employees, in 2021 we have about 45 dedicated professionals working for us. Our strength is that we have all the expertise in house to realize total projects and to relieve customers of all their worries. We manage everything ourselves, which allows us to ensure consistent top quality, tight schedules, good communication and a smooth process. Over the years we have built a network of leading (interior) architects and designers with whom we work. These include Piet Boon, Kabaz, Bob Manders, Stock Interiors and Jeroen Machielsen. This has allowed us to tie our name to numerous exclusive construction projects.”
***”Over the years we have built a network of leading (interior) architects and designers with whom we work. “***
High quality furniture customization
Van der Windt’s success led to the establishment of subsidiary Boreas in 2015. “In practice, we ran into the fact that the interior realizations did not always match the exterior we delivered,” Jan explains. “This gave rise to the idea of establishing our own furniture customization company to complement our existing services. Since then, we have been using our knowledge and skills within the realization of custom interior elements such as kitchens, bathrooms, built-in cabinets, doors, desks, sofas and tables. We have our own state-of-the-art machinery with a paint shop where we can manufacture any kind of furniture. Here pure craftsmanship is combined with the latest techniques. We translate the ideas of leading (interior) architects and designers into a custom design and then into a high-quality realization. Moreover, we have extensive knowledge of materials and furniture techniques, enabling us to satisfy all wishes and ensure a top quality finish and far-reaching detailing. In addition, we can perfectly coordinate interior and exterior by combining the expertise of Van der Windt and Boreas in a project.”
***”Our strength is that we have all the expertise in house to complete total projects and completely relieve customers of their worries. “***
Inspiring workspace cum showroom
The cooperation between Van der Windt and Boreas is enhanced by the fact that the companies are located opposite each other on the same Oudewater industrial estate. Jan: “The lines of communication are very short, we can literally walk into each other’s offices. That’s very pleasant, so we really do it together. Previously everything was under one roof. A few years ago, however, we outgrew our premises. When the site opposite us became available we saw an opportunity to create new premises for Van der Windt. The starting point was to create an inspiring work space cum showroom where we could take customers and partners into our experience and also offer a look behind the scenes. Our regular partner Kabaz, with whom we work a lot, created the design, which we then translated into a high-quality interior and exterior.”
Warm living atmosphere
What is striking is the warm, homey atmosphere at the center of it all. For example, the building features a magnificent living kitchen, inspiring office and meeting spaces and an enchanting loft that connects the floors in a special way. The boardroom is not unlike a luxurious living room cum library; the space is decorated with an attractive seating area, the desk is accompanied by a unique wood paneled back wall, and a long conference table offers a view of a wall where images of completed projects are presented. Jan: “The rooms are designed in such a way that we can immediately give clients an idea of the many possibilities in the field of interior and exterior. Think of the integration of different types of lighting – in/on spotlights and invisibly concealed fixtures – the design of natural stone blocks with a monochromatic look and seamless finish, the application of high-end and innovative materials such as blue steel and leather in various interior objects, as well as the realization of beautiful steel doors and window decorations. For the latter, we collaborated with Indivipro, a partner of ours, on a system, in which it is possible to incorporate an automatically operated roller blind in an almost invisible way on the window frame. This is a great example of how far we go when it comes to finishing and detailing. We have also incorporated a high-quality climate system into the building and applied acoustic ceilings, which contribute to the experience of optimal comfort and visibly enhance the enjoyment of work.”
Personally involved
Jan himself, who is first in every morning and last out of the building every evening, remains level-headed under all the successes achieved in recent years. “We were able to build this up by working very hard, that mentality is central to our business operations,” said Jan, who himself comes from an entrepreneurial family and therefore was brought up on entrepreneurship. “I think it’s important to be personally involved in everything. For example, I personally supervise all projects, often 20-25 at a time. That takes a lot of energy, but it produces a lot more energy. Because of our way of working, we have created a lot of trust in recent years. We are called in by leading (interior) architects to work on the most exclusive projects. That gives a lot of satisfaction. Our ambition is to continue what we have now. Making special things together and with passion, that’s what we do it for every day!”
Originally posted in: The Art of Living
Text: Dana Otten
Photography: Jaro van Meerten
View all projects by Villabouw Van der Windt