Making Peace

Living in the centre of a busy city didn't stop one creative couple from turning their dark apartment into a supremely serene family retreat

- Bron bates

Perfect illusion Interior designer Sandra Keja Planken opened up the home through her generous use of colour. Soothing sage flows from the ceiling and on to the door frames that lead to the sunny interior courtyard. Custom-made curtains in matching green linen complete the unified effect.

Down to earth in the sun-drenched bathroom earthy tones make for a welcoming place to bathe. Sandra designed the walnut cabinetry and tiled flooring, then completed the space with a soft dacron Sinclair lounge chair from Fest and a Berber rug from HK Living.

Warm welcome The distinctive entry wall was designed by Sandra, made by Arno Hoogland and finished with Orange Coloured White paint from Farrow & Ball.

Entry point Charlotte and her partner Vincent made a Pinterest board to show interior designer Sandra, who used it as a jumping-off point for her design. Sandra suggested they touch objects to gain a sense of how it would make them feel.

IT STARTED, as many good things do, with a Pinterest board. Charlotte and Vincent had lived in their inner-city home for close to two years before they took their ideas to designer Sandra Keja Planken of Studio Noun. The brief was to give their poky 1860 Amsterdam apartment a complete makeover. As their home sits in a heritage building, there were limitations to the changes they could make. "We weren't allowed to do anything on the outside," says Charlotte, “but we kept lots of original interior beams."