In the shade of the wisteria which perfume the garden, this house is a haven of peace and inspiration, a serene setting where Valentin Loellmann spends happy days with his wife Jip Linckensa children’s book illustrator, and their little girl Filipa. The designer’s unique family retreat in Maastricht.
Ideally located in the most beautiful and oldest street in Maastricht, facing the river, this former stable caught the designer’s eye three years ago. The fact that it is listed as a Historic Monument and that it has neither water nor electricity did not discourage Valentin, who began its renovation with his partner. Helped by his father and a few friends, he shaped this house without a plan, based on intuition. Today, the building has the air of a troglodyte dwelling with its wide blond parquet slats stretching in one piece from the living room to the kitchen, its monastic atmosphere, and its limewashed walls, with rounded lines and deliberately uncertain contours. Here, there are no skirting boards, the wall “flows” onto the floor. Crossed by light, the interior is made of alcoves and nooks, to shelter, isolate oneself, and enjoy the silence of the surrounding forest. Like a quiet and warm cabin. With, on one side, the view of the canal and its milky light, and, on the other, the shaded garden and its Majorelle blue swimming pool.
Furnished by Valentin’s creations and punctuated by Jip’s illustrations, the interior is composed of sensitive and characterful pieces, design icons and family objects scattered here and there. Upstairs, the couple’s bedroom, decorated with black parquet flooring, opens completely to the outside and the surrounding forest, thanks to its large bay window overlooking the garden and the swimming pool. “The changing reflections of light on water, wind, vegetation, are an integral part of my balance. I was raised in a large house in the countryside, I deeply love nature, it soothes me and continually inspires me.”
No detail has been left to chance by someone who has loved imagining places to live since childhood. “What interests me is not so much the piece I create, but what I invest in it. My positive energy. My pieces are designed like haute couture. The inside of the closets, what you don’t see, is just as accomplished as the outside, like my house.”explains the 35-year-old artist, crowned with success and fulfilled by the birth of his daughter. In the morning, together, they go for a walk along the canal, under the trees. A moment of calm before returning to his nearby studio where his team awaits him to carry out orders from international galleries. He is also preparing, this fall, two major exhibitions in the British capital, one as part of PAD London, the second during Design Week and Frieze London, where he will exhibit sculptural pieces at the Blue Mountain School.
For more information, visit valentinloellmann.de
Find the tour of Valentin Loellmann’s workshop here.
Find it on the milkdecoration.com website
