Le Journal de la Maison – September 2017
In praise of white
In Knokk-le-Zoute, built on a former polder, a contemporary house plays an immaculate score in a sophisticated bohemian style. A world of light wood and wicker, where you can relax for a weekend or a vacation on the shores of the North Sea.
By Laurence Thierry-Photos Claire Cillit
As an interior designer, Nancy Geernaert loves perspectives, nature and places with a soul. She has given shape to her desires: spaces open onto vegetation, modulated by light, immaculate white walls and sober, elegant architecture. A delicious mix of bohemian styles and inspirations, using natural materials to give the impression that the house has been around for a long time. Open up as much as possible to live indoors and outdoors, whenever the weather permits. The terraces provide access to the garden, where wide benches invite you to stroll.
THE CHOICE To create the purest, most open interior possible by widening the window frames, knocking down the dividing wall between the kitchen and dining room and creating an industrial glass roof, integrating all the kitchen equipment into two custom-designed, free-standing cupboards and providing a built-in dressing room for each of the bedrooms! The aim is to hide what is technological and not aesthetic. Use only a few natural raw materials to create harmony and authenticity in this recently built home. Sophisticate with subtle details such as angled or rounded window surrounds, removed doorframes and attractive antique radiators.
LA TOUCHE PERSO Nancy has designed a vacation home that can be lived in all year round, with convivial furnishings such as the huge white linen sofa, the large dining room table and the hundred-year-old Chinese wooden bench. Other highlights include the custom-made jute carpets from Nepal, which add character, and above all the photos taken by a Parisian cab driver, an amateur photographer from whom Nancy bought the rights to enlarge them. The contemporary touch!
HIDE TECHNICAL ELEMENTS
Here, all equipment deemed unsightly has been dressed up by two rough oak cabinets designed by Nancy Geernaert. The central island worktop, in waxed concrete, features storage niches. The bar table is surrounded by “About a Stool” stools by Hay and “Bubble Lamp” suspension lamp by Georges Nelson. Marius Aurenti waxed concrete floor.
