Vintage furniture and palette of richly toned materials bring a sense of warmth and personality to this renovated maisonette in Amsterdam, which interiors firm Studio Elèn Letort designed to reference the Dutch Golden Age.

The house on the Dutch city's historic Herenmarkt was designed for a couple who wanted a home where they could showcase their collection of art, design objects and personal items collected on their travels.

The apartment spans three floors of a 17th-century former merchant's house and Studio Elèn Letort took inspiration from the building's past when designing an interior that reflects the owners' tastes.

"What made the collaboration special was that they were not looking for a standard Amsterdam home," Studio Elèn Letort founder Elèn Letort told Dezeen. "They wanted a place that felt distinctly their own: expressive and characterful, yet calm, refined and easy to live in."

The property was in generally good condition so the project focused on aesthetic and spatial improvements, including the reorganisation of the upper floor to create a clearer separation between the main bedroom and bathroom.

Throughout the home, Letort opted for a palette of rich wood tones, natural materials and subtle accents of colour that bring warmth, depth and tactility to the understated spaces.

"The main goal was to create a home that felt both light and grounded," she explained.

"I wanted the spaces to feel calm and open enough to clear the mind after a working day, yet intimate enough to feel cocooning while cooking, relaxing or working on something creative."

The design seeks to complement some of the home's historic features such as the original wooden beams, which lend an architectural rhythm to the kitchen in particular.

The kitchen's clean lines and rounded forms are expressed through the integration of walnut cabinetry and steel worktops that introduce a modernist, utilitarian element.

Fluted glass cabinet fronts were intended to add lightness and texture, contributing to the space’s functional feel while preventing it from becoming too dark or heavy.

In the dining area next to the kitchen, an artwork by Claire Witteveen features rich, warm burgundy tones that also feature in the guest bathroom's marble sink.

The master bathroom on the top floor was designed as a lighter and more refreshing space, with a sculptural green stone vanity unit forming a centrepiece alongside warm wood, cream-coloured tiles and mirrored surfaces.

The living room's calm and refined atmosphere results from daylight filtering through linen curtains, casting soft light onto carefully arranged furniture and artworks including a compact art deco sofa.

The house is styled with objects from the owners' collection, along with new pieces sourced from Les Objets Amsterdam and carefully selected furniture and lighting including the Nello bar stools by Serax and the Arête pendant lamp by Asca Studio.

"The combination of archival design, contemporary pieces, personal objects and custom-made details helped create an interior that feels refined, layered and deeply connected to the clients' way of living," Letort concluded.

Other examples of revitalised Amsterdam homes include a 1930s house designed to feel like a high-end hotel, and an apartment in a former sugar factory that nods to its industrial past.

The photography is by Isabel Bronts.

Project credits:

Interior design: Studio Elèn Letort
Realisation: Goed Bezig Producties
Art and objects: OODE, Newhouse Gallery, Les Objets