It did not take long for me to fall in love with the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands - truth be told it was about 3.5 seconds in all. The city is so stunning, and so visually inspiring that the short weekend I spent there (in the rain) was definitely not enough to get my fix.
While Amsterdam is known for its beauty in the spring, don't discount the winter months, where the brisk air is perfect for long walks and warm cups of fresh mint tea.
I immediately wanted to do a blog post about Amsterdam architecture since it was so captivating to me. The briefest of histories is this: The 17th century saw the Dutch Golden Age which brought immense wealth to the country, along with a boom in construction of tall, narrow and heavily ornamented homes along Amsterdam's many canals that are reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance style. This came to be known as Dutch Baroque Architecture and is amazingly preserved even today.
Because the homes were built during a time of wealth and prosperity, each is uniquely different and ornate in its own way, which is rare for a crowded city with such history.
This difference is visually stimulating and extremely beautiful. We spent most of our time in the canal district of Amsterdam which is packed with regal homes, tiny shops and lots and lots of bicycles.
When thinking about translating this very unique style in your own home you have to think of three things:
1. Less is certainly not more. Detail, decoration and ornamentation are important aspects to achieving true Amsterdam style.
2. Color is not very prevalent. Brick, browns, creams and blacks reign supreme throughout the city.
3. While the homes are grand, their scale is quite small. Think about packing a major punch into a compact piece if you want to emulate this city's style.
Here we selected a few pieces that have that same ornate feel of beautiful beautiful Amsterdam architecture.
In the bathroom, ornate bathroom vanities can really bring a lot of design to a small space. This dark cherry bathroom vanity incorporate the brick color as well as the attention to detail of the building facades.
In the entry, a compact oak console table is delicate and strong at the same time.
In the bedroom, the curvy lines and small details of this chocolate upholstered bed have an authentic, antique sensibility that, like the city, relates to the present as well as the past.
In the dining room, this small scale weathered pine dining table starts small (one of our rules above) but can extend if need be. The detailed legs of this table mix together sweeping shapes and angles beautifully.
Images: Allison Rosenberg