The first impression is made by light: white walls, pale surfaces and a warm wooden floor set the tone before the eye reaches the custom cabinetry and niches. In this calm bright interior with custom built-in niches, the rooms move with little interruption, and the open plan living area keeps the living space and kitchen close to each other. Linen curtains soften the windows, while the lime plaster finish adds a slightly grainy surface that catches the light instead of reflecting it.

White, wood and a restrained palette

White and warm wood define the main rooms, but the palette never feels flat. A wooden table, timber doors and the parket floor bring a stronger grain into the softer envelope of cream and off-white. That contrast is visible in the way the cabinetry sits against the wall: straight fronts, recessed storage and open shelving stay quiet, while the surrounding surfaces hold the room together. Natural materials wood and linen do most of the work here, from the draped curtains to the flooring underfoot.

The lime plaster finish is not used as decoration; it changes the way the walls read. In close view, the surface has a matte, slightly porous texture that suits the pared-back plan. It appears on the walls around openings and in the rooms where the light shifts through the day. That same calm bright interior with custom built-in niches relies on these surfaces to keep the interior from becoming hard, even when the lines are sharply drawn.

An open plan living area with one clear focal point

The open plan living area is held together by a single strong gesture: the hanging fireplace. It sits between the living room and the kitchen as a visible divider, not a wall, and its dark circular form breaks the field of pale surfaces. Because the layout is open, the fireplace becomes the marker that tells you where one zone ends and the next begins. Around it, the room remains open, with wide passages and long sightlines that keep the plan easy to read.

That openness also gives the furniture more breathing room. A sofa, dining table and built-in storage can occupy the same visual field without crowding one another. The calm bright interior with custom built-in niches gains its rhythm from these pauses: a wall niche with an object in it, a stretch of clear floor, a flush cabinet door, then another opening. The eye keeps moving, but nothing competes for attention. The arrangement feels measured, not sparse.

Built-in niches that work as part of the architecture

The cabinetry does more than store things. Open niches are cut into tall white units, and some are lit from within so that the shelving reads as a series of framed recesses rather than a single closed block. In the eethoek, the built-in wall rises behind the table, adding height without weight. This is where custom cabinetry and niches become part of the room’s structure. The handles follow the same curve as the larger furniture elements, giving the joinery a softer line where hands meet the surface.

On the upper floor, the master suite layout continues that same approach. The dressing runs directly into an open master bathroom, so the transition between sleeping, storing and washing is almost uninterrupted. The route is clear, but the space is not chopped up into small rooms. Instead, the fittings and openings keep the zone readable as one sequence. A bathroom vanity with a stone surface and a round mirror fits into that sequence without breaking the calm bright interior with custom built-in niches below.

Upper floor rooms kept open and legible

The master zone avoids heavy partitions. From the dressing to the open master bathroom, the line of movement stays visible, and the light can travel through both spaces. The open master suite layout works because the materials stay consistent: pale walls, timber underfoot, and restrained cabinetry. The result is a floor that feels connected by surfaces rather than by ornament. Even the wash area follows that rule, using a simple countertop, metal taps and rounded ceramic forms to keep the profile low.

Seen together, the upper floor and the main living level share the same language. The lime plaster finish, the pale wood tone and the custom built-in niches repeat without becoming repetitive. Each room changes scale, but not mood. A wardrobe front here, an open recess there, a smooth wall beside a timber door: these small differences carry the project. The calm bright interior with custom built-in niches depends on that restraint more than on any single statement piece.

Look and feel with a softer edge

The project’s look and feel shifts slightly in the furniture details. Rounded forms appear in the bespoke joinery, the counter and the wall units, and the same curve continues into the handles. That choice interrupts the strictness of the straight walls and cabinets without making the rooms decorative. The result is a quieter line through the interior, one that sits well beside the pale palette and the lime plaster finish. It is a small move, but it changes how the eye travels across the room.

Photography by Stéphanie Mathias.
The project references the following suppliers and materials: architect Ruth Van Looveren, main contractor Dave Martens, sanitary fittings by BART VAN GESTEL and Plus Bathrooms, electrical work by Elotec, painting and plaster techniques by Studio V, parquet flooring by Nobel Flooring, interior furniture by Home of Geraldine, lighting by Wattt Turnhout, interior joinery by Jansen Keukens Hoogstraten, and fireplaces by Boasmans haarden.