Reno Diary

Even an Artist Had to Figure Out How to Work—And Create—From His Amsterdam Home

Designer Esther Stam reimagined an industrial site for her client’s two worlds
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To an artist, everything is seen for its potential, even somewhere to call home. Frederik Molenschot has such an eye for transformation—just look at how he molds bronze into other-worldly light fixtures—so it’s no surprise that he’d see the beauty in a setting like Hembrug.

Spanning over 100 acres of land on the border of Amsterdam, this area has a complicated history of inspiration and upheaval lasting for generations. It supplied weapons and ammunition to the Dutch army in the 19th century and later served as a workplace for thousands in World War I. It was rebuilt after World War II and then shuttered at the start of the new millennium, becoming home to trees that grew through its many buildings. A little more than a decade later, renovations started, and creatives like Frederik were ready to move in.

The kitchen functions as part of a gallery whenever Frederik hosts events, including large dinners. It has durable stainless-steel countertops complete with three wooden planks that can extend out from underneath in case more room is needed. The island is made out of sheets of aged brass, with bronze handles made by Frederik. Two of the original chimney openings sit above the kitchen and living area, maximizing light in the daytime.

“This building had a lot of character, but it felt like a blank canvas,” Esther Stam, the owner of Studio Modijefsky, says. Esther remembers how the original site, which is called Ketelhuis for its previous life as a heat generator, had nothing but open space and concrete broken up by rows of windows. “It was just four walls, so everything needed to be made or added,” she says. “That was a big plus, but it brought issues, too. There were also a lot of peculiarities to the building, like the steel construction hanging from the ceiling, or the three holes in the roof where chimneys once stood.”

“Above the table, a self-made kayak hangs upside down with integrated light forming a big chandelier,” Esther says. “A big bear made by a Dutch artist is standing next to the table, accompanying guests.”

The dining room serves as a gathering place courtesy of a Piet Hein Eek wooden table surrounded by vintage chairs from Pastoe, which were designed by Cees Braakman.

Frederik wanted the building to act as a workshop and a home, where he could just as comfortably host events as much as he could unwind alone. Both he and Esther wanted to honor the site’s past as they modernized it, and agreed early on that constructing a second level would be the best place to start. The ground floor would include a workspace, office, kitchen, and bathroom, and the upstairs level would feature a second kitchen, gallery, two bedrooms, a living room, a laundry room, and a bathroom.

Also in the living room is a Bullerjan stove and enough firewood to last through several chilly nights. “The chimney of the fireplace is integrated into the third skylight in this room,” Esther adds. “We knew that there were going to be a lot of special objects in this home and that it was going to be used as a gallery,” she says. “With a neutral palette, there’s more visual space for those details to stand out.” Oak was used for the flooring and most of the furniture, and Esther thinks it makes the natural light look different as it moves throughout the space.

A midcentury Swiss “Magic Box” desk by Mummenthaler & Meier, which opens to reveal rows of shelves, sits in the living room.

“Frederik approached the building as a sculptor, molding and reacting to it step by step, and thinking of cool interventions like turning the old chimney holes into windows,” Esther says. “My team worked on things like spatial planning, layout, finishes, and so on.”

In a lot of ways, Esther sees this site as a canvas for their individual artistic talents—with plenty of blank space for Frederik to share his art and for Esther, herself, to put her design knowledge to good use. As a shell of a structure, a gallery was easy to accommodate. So was the idea of a large kitchen for guests. But the rest of it, the hideaways that were just for Frederik, were at times harder to imagine. “When work and life merge, it’s like connecting puzzle pieces,” she says. “We needed to have a functional layout to make all the ideas blend together within the logistics of the building.”

“The bedroom celebrates the height of the ceiling on this side of the building, and the windows that look out on a big tree,” Esther says. She designated some windows as light boxes, and used a vintage plant rack to act as a backdrop to living art. “It gives the room a jungle view when lying in bed,” she says.

“The bed is intentionally very simple,” Esther says. It’s paired with a nightstand from Pastoe, as designed by Cees Braakman.

They oriented the kitchen as “the heart of the upstairs floor,” which is large enough to host numerous people yet manageable enough for one. The dining area opposite the kitchen also capitalizes on square footage in case it needs to function as a gallery, but items like an upside-down kayak chandelier add in warmth and personality. The small adjoining living area conveys another sense of coziness, and a leather couch near a fireplace helps with that goal. And finally, the master bedroom and bathroom incorporate oak and natural light for a serene atmosphere where Frederik can get away from it all. It’s yet to be completely finished—Esther notes that they’re still making changes because “the building needed time to show itself and we needed time to discover all of its aspects”—but so far, it feels like a masterpiece.

In the bathroom, handmade concrete tiles span the walls and floors, which allow for a custom oak cabinet with a marble top and a metal-powder coated sink to shine. The hardware is from Dornbracht and the bronze light sculpture was made by Frederik. “We emphasized the height of the spaces by placing very high mirrors above the sinks,” she says.

“Very interesting things happen when an artist and designer work together,” she says. “I think our biggest accomplishment is that this home mixes the creativity of an artist with the functional ideas of an interior architect.”

A balcony-like space hosts a free-standing bathtub with a ceiling window, which allows for stargazing while taking a bath.

The area around the tub is a real plant oasis. Being surrounded by numerous plants visually connects the two levels of the space.