Photography by Jonas Loellmann, courtesy of Valentin Loellmann Studio.
In 2012, German designer Valentin Loellmann took a risk on a listed heritage building in one of Maastricht’s most sought-after neighborhoods along the Maas river.
The upper floor had to be completely rebuilt. Valentin, who grew up in a rural part of southern Germany, moved to the Netherlands to study product design at the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts & Design and opened his Maastricht atelier in 2010.
The glass wall is divided into three sections, with the outer framing hidden within the wall.
The floors on the upper level were salvaged from Valentin’s first Art Basel solo show. The curtains are hand-dyed indigo linen by local artist and friend Julia Fischer.
A carved plank of natural oak is set into the plaster wall as part of the bed frame.
A dressing room that Valentin and his girlfriend converted for their one-year-old daughter. The built-in cabinet is made of charred oak with a leather pad on top and the staircase to the left leads to the main bedroom.
Valentin designed and built the stair using reclaimed oak wine barrels, which he carved to achieve a curved shape.
The bathtub was fashioned from rosewood.
Valentin made the dining table in the main living space from a single piece of polished wenge wood; the storage dining bench is made of oak with woven cane panels covering the heating vents.
The sofa is a Hay Mags 3-Seater Sofa in leather and the rug is a gift from Valentin’s mother, who works in Africa.
The kitchen is entirely new, though Valentin says, “there really wasn’t anything there before to remove.” The cabinets are handmade from patinated brass and the counter is carved oak finished with hardwax. The porcelain kitchen sink was found in the basement of the house.
The kitchen floor is Wall2Floor micro-cement with radiant heating beneath.
The window/doorway from the kitchen leads to an orangerie. The chair is vintage from Japan and is positioned in front of a caned front radiator cover.
The carved wooden spoon and ceramic vases are both handmade.
Charred and polished oak wood floors in the hallway that leads to one of the two baths in the house.
The main staircase between lower and upper floors is made of cement formed around the original stair.
Valentin was mid-construction when a storm flooded the garden.
The pool started as a small pond but ended up morphing into a lap pool. The garden beyond was created in levels: a stone terrace and wood pergola, the pool, and the grass field beyond.
A large mimosa tree in bloom meets the second floor of the house.