At home with Maria Sen, Amsterdam
Tucked down a little side street away from the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam is a beautiful family home where Maria and Faruk live with their two children. A cluster of 24 Voronoi II bulbs greets them as they step inside, illuminating the central staircase that leads up from the living and dining area into the residential quarters. We dropped in to chat to Maria about what home, friendship and furniture mean to her.
Hi Maria! You have a beautiful home. What gave you the confidence to build your dream home from scratch?
We always had the dream to build our own home. Due to the success of my husband’s company we had the opportunity to build the house from the ground up. We’d never attempted anything like it before, so it was definitely a risk. But if you don’t try new things you don’t grow: it’s very much all or nothing. It really was a laborious process and we completely dedicated ourselves to it from start to finish. A good friend of ours, Wilco Welling from Welling Interiors did a lot of the interior design in collaboration with my husband and I. He also had the idea to create a chandelier with the Voronoi light bulbs. Without his help we would never have been able to create the house as it is now. I didn’t want to look at another magazine or moodboard again so all the input from Wilco was a warm welcome!
No doubt! What were your main influences or inspiration?
My husband and I both have fashion backgrounds, so perhaps that has had some influence on the aesthetic we have chosen. We also had the help of Wilco with all his experience as an interior designer. We took quite a practical approach to the project. We like beautiful things but it also it had to be childproof! We were keen to ensure consistency throughout the entire house and so in particular we focused on matching colours and materials. Wilco created moodboards from all kind of materials and colours for inspiration. He showed us many beautiful things which we ended up using. This project was so personal that we wanted to get every little thing right and make sure we were choosing quality that would last long after our kids grow up.
That’s a great way to think about your home. What have you learnt from this experience?
What I’ve learnt is that lifelong friends and family are very important as they help during this kind of process. Working with my childhood friend, Wilco (Welling Interiors), during the build helped us so much, as he brought his experience with contractors and of course the interior design itself. I really would recommend anyone who wants to build a house to work with experienced professionals! If you do it yourself it becomes a full time job. Now the house is our sanctuary; here we pull the plug and enjoy it.
Hartelijk bedankt, Maria!
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