Keeping things simple

Marieke Gouka and Alexander Min stuck to white walls and wood finishes to make their home the antidote to their hectic work and family life

- KAREN WILSON

Living room

A palette of white, brown, and soft blue has been used for a feeling of peace and tranquillity. ‘The sun shines in and it makes me happy to sit here in a quiet, clean house,’ says Marieke.

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After 11 years in the same house on a street known locally as ‘the street with the wooden homes,’ Marieke and Alexander moved to a corner house across the road that had a bigger garden for their children. ‘Although there were several potential buyers, the elderly couple who’d lived there for 40 years had seen our children growing up and wanted us to buy it,’ says Marieke, founder of luxury travel website maison-m.nl. ‘It was run-down and the brown paint was peeling, but the survey showed the timber was in good condition.’