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Me and my husband recently bought our first house in the Netherlands! It is 84 m² (904 square feet) which might not seem that big, but houses are a lot smaller in the Netherlands. We have 4 months left until we officially get the keys. Then we are able to finally start decorating and painting things.
Right now the house has 3 extra rooms, a super small bedroom, a study room which we are thinking of making into a bedroom, and a workshop. We were thinking of possible combining the super small bedroom with the workshop to make a larger bedroom. For the study room, we might extend the shower room a little to into the bedroom space so we can have a little bit bigger shower. Then if we wanted too, we could extend the study room into the living room space so we can make it into a decent sized bedroom. But of course this is only ideas were thinking of and nothing is set. So please let me know if you have any ideas! Then of course we also have a living room, small kitchen, and a bathroom.
Since this is our first house that we ever, we literally have no idea how to decorate the inside or what colors we should paint the walls. Right now the house is a bit to colorful for us, so we do want to change it. We are thinking if we should paint everything white, or if that would be to plain. I think beige for the living room could look nice and maybe powder blue tiles for the bathroom. For the bedrooms, a soft gray might look nice. I love to hear all of your ideas and recommendations. What would look nice and whats in style?
Dutch terms in English for the floor plan picture:
Keuken: Kitchen
Entree: Entrance
Hal: Hall
Slaapkamer: Bedroom
Berging: Storage room
Badkamer: Bathroom
Woonkamer: Living room
Last edited by tigerbolt; 01-26-2020 at 04:45 AM..
That's a very cute house. I agree that some of those colors are just too bright! I painted my laundry room that same shade of yellow at my last house and it was a big mistake, especially as it was a south-facing room with two big windows. Right now greys are still big here, but I wouldn't worry about what colors are in "style", only what colors work for YOU. Neutral, restful colors are good for your bedrooms, like cream, beige, and grey. If you have lots of colorful artwork, you can do the whole house in those shades and then the art will stand out on the walls. You can then add more color with your furniture and accessories like rugs and pillows, curtains, etc.
My current home (1959) was painted bluish-grey when I bought it last year, but I like warmer tones, so I'm having the entire interior painted a warm cream shade. You have large, open windows so you could do darker wall shades and it will not look closed in like my house does. Whatever paint you choose, the best way is to get samples and paint them on large pieces of cardboard or wallboard and then move them around the house as the light changes throughout the day. That way you will know how the paint looks at all times of the day - it can be very different from morning to night! Don't just rely on the tiny paint sample chips to try and pick your colors. Good luck - it's lots of fun decorating a new home!
The paint colors are a direct reflection of the weather in the Netherlands.
It's kinda cold, wet, and cloudy a lot. So, anything that can bring a more cheerful environment is always welcome.
Spent several years in EU- and made many trips to Amsterdam and Rotterdam staying with Hostel families. And they were almost all painted bright colors; and/or wallpapers.
The paint colors are a direct reflection of the weather in the Netherlands.
It's kinda cold, wet, and cloudy a lot. So, anything that can bring a more cheerful environment is always welcome.
Spent several years in EU- and made many trips to Amsterdam and Rotterdam staying with Hostel families. And they were almost all painted bright colors; and/or wallpapers.
I agree. You might want to try the colors out for a few weeks before deciding to change. If you are not going to have bright wall colors, you should consider using bright furnishings & fabrics.
Without knowing your location, I would use a silver sage palette like this for wall colors.
Yes, live with the colors for a few weeks. But, offhand I would probably focus on the achingly bright yellow. You could certainly keep a yellow, where yellow is now, but I think you go to a lighter hue. If you don’t like the wallpapered wall, I think you coukd replace or paint in a softer yellow hue.
I do think that living with the colors for awhile is your best strategy. And I agree that your house is both attractive and functional. May you have much enjoyment in your new house.
How cool to have a house residence there. We painted our house predominantly Lenox Tan, by BM. Offset by natural wood trim, white or black, it looks awesome. Add bright colors like yellows, reds, and greens and they really pop (art, rugs, upholstery). Fun to design. Enjoy.
Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm surprised to see that almost everyone likes how colorful the house is. It might worth trying to live with the bright colors and see how we feel after a while. We would definitely want to make the yellow a little lighter in the kitchen though since it's so bright. It does make sense to have bright colors here since it's so gloomy and grey most of the year. But it is a little strange coming from California and the U.S. where most of the houses have darker colors inside. But my husband who is Dutch is also hesitate about the colors since there so bright. But to be fair, we both have lived in only white painted houses before, so it's natural it might seem strange at first.
Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm surprised to see that almost everyone likes how colorful the house is. It might worth trying to live with the bright colors and see how we feel after a while. We would definitely want to make the yellow a little lighter in the kitchen though since it's so bright. It does make sense to have bright colors here since it's so gloomy and grey most of the year. But it is a little strange coming from California and the U.S. where most of the houses have darker colors inside. But my husband who is Dutch is also hesitate about the colors since there so bright. But to be fair, we both have lived in only white painted houses before, so it's natural it might seem strange at first.
I would definitely paint it a much lighter yellow. Bright colors like the yellow in your picture would give me a headache. I would do light yellow, white,or cream. And use brighter colors as accents like red canisters on kitchen counter, or red pillows in living room. I like the white part of the kitchen. Light colors would make your house appear larger. I lived in Europe for 10 years and I agree it can get gloomy but I like light colors I never decorated with extra bright colors or dark walls.
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
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Congratulations! I think the house is really cute. The only color that I would have to change is the green in the bedroom. For bedrooms, I much prefer blues/light greys/sage greens.
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