Interior design heritage home Haarlem: calm and cohesion in a house built in 1885
In 2022, Choc Studio completed the interior design of a heritage home in the centre of Haarlem, built in 1885. The owners had lived there for a few years, but the house didn’t yet feel like theirs. It was lively and colourful, but without the cohesion they were looking for. They didn’t want a renovation. They wanted a home that felt calm and connected, from ground floor to the top.
The brief: how do you give an existing interior more cohesion without a full renovation?
When they moved in, they’d bought a new sofa and a long dining table, keeping a few pieces from the previous owners. It worked, but the house didn’t have a character of its own yet. After a while, it became clear that the lively colour scheme wasn’t really them, and that some rooms were barely being used, not because of what was in them, but because the layout wasn’t working.
The approach: starting not with materials, but with the question of why certain rooms were barely being used
Choc Studio started with the floor plan, not with materials. Certain rooms were going unused, and that turned out to be a layout question rather than a furnishing one. By rethinking the flow through the house, every space became part of daily life.
The colour palette is built around dark wood and warm neutral tones, with a deep blue accent that gives the interior character without overpowering the calm. The corner sofa by Marac is upholstered in Kirkby Design fabric, with a Linteloo coffee table alongside it. The second seating area has sofas by Meridiani. Rugs by Van Besouw and Limited Edition add softness throughout.
The centrepiece of the living space is a custom dining table by Pure Choc, with a built-in bio-ethanol fireplace by Planika alongside it. This has become the spot the owners return to most, and it didn’t require any structural work. Wallcoverings by Inkiostro Bianco and Arte give the living room presence; Casamance was used upstairs. The kitchen is by Bulthaup. Lighting by Marset, Contardi and Layer by Adje. Curtains in the master bedroom by Zinc and Villa Nova.
The result: a heritage home that works as one whole, from ground floor to the top
The house now works as a whole. Every floor connects to the next, the rooms that once went unused are now lived in, and the calm that was missing is there.
Suzanne: “Our home now has exactly the feel we were looking for, and it feels even more like home than before.”
This project was published in Stijlvol Wonen (January 2022). Photography: Denise Zwijnen.
Looking to bring more cohesion to your home, without a full renovation? Get in touch with Choc Studio for a no-obligation introductory conversation.