My Houzz: Black and White Make a Dutch Apartment All Right

When it comes to home design, Mariët van der Kooij loves two things: Scandinavian style and scrap-wood furniture. So when the 28-year-old educator moved in with 25-year-old temp agency worker Tim van Soeren last year, she jumped at the chance to decorate their new apartment in her signature taste.

Their compact rental apartment in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, is surrounded by windows overlooking the city, giving the pair enough natural light to opt for a black and white interior, filled with DIY furniture.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Mariët van der Kooij and Tim van Soeren
Location: Amersfoort, the Netherlands
Size: 55 square meters (592 square feet); 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom

Van Soeren’s handy father made some of the apartment’s furnishings. Using scrap-wood pieces, he built the coffee table with casters. “It’s so practical when vacuuming,” van der Kooij says.

Since the space is small, they went with a compact sectional to provide ample seating. “We managed to fit in everything we needed without the room being cramped or cluttered,” says van der Kooij. She bought the thrift store dresser next to the couch and painted it white.

Sectional: Kwantum; banner: Buiten de Lijntjes





Van der Kooij’s favorite spot is at the dinner table and bench she’d been eyeing for a year at Jorg Steigerhout & Meubels. “We are really lacking an extra room for crafting and reading, so the dinner table is my best alternative,” she says.

The table was somewhat altered by van Soeren’s father after the couple put on varnish and the wood turned dark. “My father-in law came to the rescue and replaced the top planks with other ones,” van der Kooij says.

Lamps: Action; wire basket, vase, sheepskin: Kwantum


When the couple moved in, the walls were yellow and there was a secondary door leading straight from the living area to the bedroom. Van Soeren convinced van der Kooij to paint part of the wall charcoal gray. They didn’t like the door, so they put a floor-to-ceiling board in front of it in the same hue as the rest of the wall, giving them more wall surface to work with. It’s now partly covered by a bookcase and a wooden Christmas tree.

Van der Kooij loves to repurpose things. The wicker basket in the bookcase used to be a shopping basket. “I now use it for storage,” she says. “The typewriter is one of my best finds from a thrift shop. I usually give it a more prominent place on my dresser, but for Christmas I had to move around a few things.”

The white pillowcase with black pine trees is a DIY project she made using a carved potato as a stamp.

Paint: Karwei; lamp: Kwantum; bookcase: Expedit, Ikea


Van Soeren’s father made a scrap-wood tree with small shelves to hold holiday accessories.

Wooden houses: Zink & Zo; postcard: inwijkdaarstaateenhuis; “Xmas” banner: Buiten de Lijntjes


Above the couch hangs a postcard rack with a collection of inspirational quotes and pretty illustrations. “It’s a budget-friendly alternative to art, and it enables me to frequently change postcards,” says van der Kooij.

Rack: Marktplaats; postcards: inwijkdaarstaateenhuis, paqhuis and hart&8


Over the back of a swivel chair, van der Kooij draped a throw she made from a worn-out sweater, which she stamped with a carved potato and black paint.

She loves to create pretty vignettes with budget-friendly accessories and natural elements. A found branch displays string lights from Happy Lights.

Candleholder: Tierlantijn; tray: Hema


The couple found this TV cabinet, made of scrap wood, at the secondhand marketplace Marktplaats. They attached casters to facilitate cleaning.


Two open shelves from Ikea display more postcards and small accessories. A jar filled with black and white straws is paired with a vintage camera, for playful accents.

Paper straws: Joy & Co.


The couple’s bedroom also follows a black and white palette. Instead of covering the accent wall with wallpaper, they just used two strips, creating a symmetrical composition that works as a headboard. Two vintage side tables from Spoor 38 serve as nightstands; matching reading lights finish the look.

Baskets: Tierlantijn; duvet: Wehkamp


Van der Kooij made this decorative house with a piece of scrap lumber.


With only one bedroom in the rental, the couple created a tiny shared workspace in the corner. A bag by French design studio be-poles keeps the place tidy by holding wrapping paper and craft materials.


Van der Kooij likes to create pictures on the wall using washi tape. It’s easy to remove and doesn’t leave any marks. For Christmas she made a reindeer.





The couple tried to make the rental kitchen match their aesthetic by displaying some of their favorite wooden cutting boards. A simple wall rack gives them easy access to cooking utensils.

A rack in the hallway displays van der Kooij’s favorite magazines and prints.


This handwritten print and wooden coat hanger are more of van der Kooij’s craft projects. For the coat hanger she used a wooden shelf and vintage knobs. The Ikea dresser stores gloves, hats and shawls.


Van der Kooij hangs out in her favorite spot, where she crafts most of her home accessories and browses online for new decorating ideas.

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