Step Inside an Artful Modern Farmhouse

“I knew it was going to be my home. It’s true farm life here. A perfect haven.”
—Reineke Antvelink

It’s not always easy to strike a balance between work and home, but in the pastoral surroundings of the Netherlands, Reineke Antvelink has managed to accomplish that feat. Founder and creative director of Dutch interior design agency RA. Studio, Antvelink has transformed a heritage home into a stylish modern farmhouse that accommodates both business and family.

“We moved from Amsterdam because we needed more space for the studio. I also wanted to get back to nature. We wanted somewhere that could combine the two,” Antvelink says.

Located in Abcoude, a small town 20 minutes from the city, the 1667 heritage farmhouse she and her husband Olaf bought was a fortuitous find that encapsulated their vision of rural bliss. After falling in love with the property, the couple moved in the following year accompanied by quite a big family: a son, two daughters, three horses, three dogs, four cats, one pig, and numerous chickens.

“I knew it was going to be my home. It’s true farm life here. A perfect haven,” Antvelink says.

Founded in 2013, RA. Studio curates elegant spaces for private residences, art galleries, and even wellness retreats. But how does an interior designer approach her own home?

“It’s not actually that easy to design your own house,” Antvelink says. “It’s much easier to design one for someone else.”

In search of harmony

Set across 5,000 square metres of rural land bordered by a small river, Antvelink’s property features a rustic brick building—now used as the RA Studio headquarters—connected to a thatched white farmhouse, the family’s private home.

Though the historic farmhouse required relatively little interior renovation, Antvelink has nonetheless given it a top-to-toe makeover, breathing fresh life into its traditional aesthetic. Every room bears testimony to her creative eye—bold patterns, Eastern artworks, natural motifs, and jewel tones are arranged with an organic sense of harmony.

“Harmony is something you feel when you enter a space. It’s in everything from colour to how a space is used,” Antvelnik says. “I use a lot of ingredients to achieve this—an old cabinet from a grandmother, a modern art piece…. After placing everything together, I try to find harmony between the house and the elements.”

The property’s rustic framework—flagstone flooring, exposed beams, and wood-panelled walls—feels refreshed with pops of colour and eye-catching prints. Exotic collectables, objets d’art, and eclectic furniture from various periods also abound.