The couple who built this home on the outskirts of Antwerp were influenced by their experience of living in Japan, so the inside is as peaceful as the outside
FEATURE THIJS DEMEULEMEESTER
EXTERIOR
Reclaimed and natural materials bring warmth, texture and an authentic feel to this Japanese inspired-house which combines Eastern and Western influences
Years ago, during a walk, I stumbled upon an isolated farmhouse and barn in a rural area between Antwerp and Mechelen. It clearly was empty and dilapidated. But I immediately felt the energy and potential. You could turn it into something beautiful,’ recalls the Antwerp doctor who owns this rather special Belgium home with his wife. ‘Shortly afterwards, we moved abroad for five years. When we returned, I was surprised the property was still there. An omen, I thought, so I took a chance and tracked down the owner, who wanted to sell the property.’
The package not only included a 19th-century farmhouse with a bread oven, but a barn, a meadow and a private forest, plus a polo field. ‘A rural paradise. When we agreed on the price, I thought: “now we can start renovating”. But to our surprise, the municipality allowed us to build a new house on the plot. Suddenly we could realise our dream home, instead of restoring the farmhouse.’
As a specialist in historical building materials, Joris Van Apers was first asked to turn the barn into a beautiful rural guest house. For the new house, all possibilities were open, even building a sleek minimalist residence with a contemporary architect. However, the owners agreed that such a building wouldn’t fit the landscape. ‘When I was in Japan, I visited the 17th-century Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto. As I walked around there, I thought: “If I ever can build a house for myself, I’d preferably choose something like this”.
Tatsuro Miki (whose father is a famous restorer of Minkas) was asked to create a design to fit our lives with a “Japandi” mix of Japanese and Scandinavian elements,’ says the owner. Tatsuro drew the plans, but a local architect did the follow up. And that turned out to be a bad move. ‘The wood frame construction was built in beams that were not sufficiently dry. After four years, those began to crack, as did the hempcrete walls and window frames.’
Looking for the right solution, Joris Van Apers and his team came to the rescue. Starting from their own stock of planks, beams, fireplaces or tiles, they brought warmth and personality to the home. Joris’ most urgent intervention was to insert wooden wedges into the split beams to make the structure more solid. ‘The beams were also resanded, brushed and fed with beeswax,’ says the owner.
Joris and his team didn’t only save the wooden construction, they also tweaked the flow of the house, along with the entryway and larg
