BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL

Petra van Vliet’s colourful, maximalist vision has breathed new life into a once down-at-heel property

- RUTH CORBETT

With her husband Arnould away on business, Petra van Vliet had no option when confronted with her dream home but to put in an offer without him. ‘I fell in love the minute I walked in and I just had to hope that he would feel the same,’ she says. ‘Thankfully, he did!’

The house, located in the leafy neighbourhood of Utrecht in the Netherlands, was in a dire state decoratively but an imaginative renovation programme has seen it transformed. Petra, who is the owner of sustainable interiors brand Palais (palais.com), poured her expertise into the project over an eight-month period before the couple and their little dog, Koekie, moved in. ‘We needed to do a lot of rejigging as the house was filled with small, unsuitable rooms, so we knocked some through to give us larger living spaces,’ she explains. ‘But first we pinned down a focused plan of action; one that could be adapted as we progressed, without completely derailing our original ideas.’

SITTING ROOM

The eclectic mix of fabrics, furnishings and collectables adds depth to this space. A bespoke red cabinet designed by Petra is a dual-purpose piece, displaying objects d'art while providing storage for daughter Lois' toys.

Curtains in Benedetto in Aqua, £153m, Thibaut at Anna French. Eichholtz white bouclé sofa, £3,860, Tulip Interiors. McGuire Sheaf of Wheat coffee table, £795, 1stDibs