An unappreciated ‘hodgepodge’ of a building in Belgium has been opened up into a spacious and unusual home
For Belgian painter Nils Verkaeren, a home of his own wasn’t strictly necessary. He could just as easily live as a nomad. “In 2002, I didn’t have an official address. I traded two landscape paintings for a Renault Twingo and set off into the wild. I found it quite easy to have nothing. But owning a home also has its charm.”
But his partner, Eva Wuytjens, needed a place where she felt at home. At first, somewhere in the countryside was their instinct: a logical decision, given that Eva grew up in the country and Nils creates vibrant landscape paintings, preferably in the open air. But also illogical, given their hunger for urban stimuli. “So we decided to search for a home in Antwerp instead,” says Eva. “When we visited this house, right in the city centre, we spontaneously began renovating it in our minds. I understand why many potential buyers backed out: it was a bit of an odd thing. You had to be able to see through the hodgepodge of extensions. The house was divided into numerous small rooms. Additionally, its circulation was not logical at all. You had to walk through various dark spaces before reaching the living areas.”
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