While scouting venues for hosting art exhibits, Robi Reisinger had an epiphany. The perfect gallery, he realized, was simple and intimate, with plenty of natural light. Since local regulations allowed for generous backyard extensions, he and his partner, Christine Mukakasa, envisioned combining their long-held desire to renovate their outdated house with a fresh idea: creating an at-home exhibition space.

Robi, a music producer and cofounding director of The Gallery Club, a non-profit platform for sharing and promoting fine art photography, and Christine, a fashion designer, bought their home for its location in Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam. It’s a 30-minute bike ride from downtown and backs up to Amsterdamse Bos, a city green space about the size of New York’s Central Park. A semidetached Dutch Colonial Revival built circa 1913, the home was all brick, had a shingled gambrel roof, and an extension built in the mid-2000s by the previous owners. “It was merely functional,” says Christine. “We’d always planned to renovate.”

Picturing the forest as a backdrop, the couple conceived a space where nature and art could intermingle, and where they could combine their passions for entertaining and sharing the photography of select Dutch and international artists with a broader community.

For the renovation, Christine and Robi turned to Amsterdam firm Habitats of People (HOP), whose functional, minimal, and playful approach appealed to the couple. Michael Cerrone, cofounder and principal of the firm, was thrilled with the brief. “We are very enthusiastic about really original and unique requests,” says Cerrone. “The concept was exciting.” And he liked the challenge of making the venue multipurpose, a space for entertaining, working from home, or just relaxing.

After demolishing the addition—“It had no specific architectural style and was cheaply built,” says Cerrone—HOP created a new one out of wood that feels fresh and bright in contrast to the home’s original brick. The gallery space now connects with the kitchen, and the stairwell was moved to enhance flow. Upstairs, Cerrone restored the street-facing bathroom and bedroom, renovated the primary bedroom, and added a small study for Christine on top of the gallery.

HOP connected the home to the forest with large sliders, casement windows, skylights, and sight lines focused on the trees rather than neighbors. The firm also emphasized sustainability with the extension, using Accoya wood for its cladding, a renewable and durable product developed by a local Dutch company. And the new green roof not only collects and stores rainwater, but also provides a habitat for insects and keeps the home cool during the summer.

Here, Christine and Robi describe their new gallery space, and how the renovation has inspired their own creative work and transformed their daily lives.

Dwell: Tell us about the house when you found it. What were your initial impressions?

Christine: When we moved to Amstelveen, it was just a village outside Amsterdam. There were still sheep on grass fields. It was around 2008 and the house had been on sale for a while because it was a total ruin.

Robi: To me, the house seemed old and mysterious, with many possibilities. I think I immediately visualized the house we have today.

Christine: The location was what made it for us, dreaming of what it could be. It backs onto the Amsterdamse Bos, a public forest established in 1934. Where our garden meets it, there is a small stream where we can observe all the seasons and the daily life of the songbirds, swans, and ducks, as well as the odd paddle boarder who’s gotten lost.

How important was it to you to make the addition sustainable and nature-focused?

Christine: On a fundamental level, we wanted to orient the house toward the forest to bring it “inside.” Now, the first thing I do in the morning is open the doors. The air and the wildlife is a source of calm and checking in with nature is an amazing start to the day. We especially love the green roof and the use of Accoya wood.

Robi: One priority was to make sure the space was cool in the summers. We immediately loved Michael’s suggestion of the green roof, which helps.

Do the glass doors provide sufficient light for viewing the art? How much do you have to rely on interior lighting?

Christine: We have amazing light in the space thanks to the huge sliding glass doors, but we also have four skylights so there’s light all day long. The room faces north but often feels brighter than the southern-facing part of the house.

Robi: Michael recommended dimmable spots between the beams which emphasize the art and give a warm feel to the room. Next to that we have a few other lamps that create special cozy areas as well as functional work spaces.

You are both artists working from home. How does the renovation serve your focuses?

Robi: As co-director of The Gallery Club, I select photography, organize shows, and host dinners and events to support fine art photography. In addition, I produce music, work as a DJ, and make music videos for the club. The renovated house has given me a new peace of mind and the solitude inspires my work. I love working at the big dining table looking into the forest. Sitting in this great open space with big glass doors and long white walls leading out to the forest, I feel constantly connected to nature.

Christine: For many years I worked as a design director for Levi’s and [luxury denim brand] G-Star Raw. Both aligned with my passion for [the idea of] modern authenticity through mixing old and new to create stories that are unique and soulful. The new space has given me a foundation to pursue my long-held dream of creating a new brand to explore Afri-Scandi style. I am half Danish and half Ugandan and grew up between the two continents. I use my office upstairs to work and I have an amazing view of the green roof and forest through one window, and through the other I can see the local church tower, which is beautiful and tells me the time.

Can you tell us about the space’s art and decor?

Christine: The sofa from Arflex in the middle of the living room is such a multi-functional item. The two of us, plus our son when he’s home from college, can sit on it and feel as if we’re together but each in our own space, doing totally different things at the same time.

Robi: My favorite photographers’ work is hanging in the space at the moment, the work of Emily Bates from her series The Sky Is Glowing With the Setting Sun, and the photos of Iwan Baan from his series and book Momentum of Light that capture how the sun’s natural light cycle shapes vernacular architecture in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

How do you choose art for a show, or your own permanent collection?

Robi: The Gallery Club is a nomadic platform. On our travels we (myself and cofounder Gili Crouwel) find new photographers that we like. Our shows center around an artist or two, or around a theme with multiple artists. There is no difference between those pieces and the ones I display in my home. I wouldn’t show anything I wouldn’t also have on my own walls.

Christine: While Robi chooses the photography in the gallery space, which is in constant rotation, I maintain the other art pieces in our home, which are predominantly a mix of old and contemporary. Some of them were picked up from flea markets and others are bought from art galleries around the world.

“Viewing photography in this space is calm and meditative, and it really feels like a small museum.”
—Robi Reisinger, resident

Since the gallery is so open, is it hard to keep it from looking cluttered?

Robi: We both like the minimalistic museum vibe. It is not hard to keep it looking tidy, since everything has its place, and we only keep items that have a specific function for us.

Christine: We try to stick to the philosophy of one thing in and one thing out. When we renovated, we had the chance to do a total clean out, so we’re starting from scratch with the things we need and wanted to keep. Focusing on “less is more” has meant a lot of research about items we invest in. Similar to the fashion brand I want to start, I refer to our style as Afri-Scandi because I like to mix African and Scandinavian aesthetics. I also like long lasting natural materials which provide a luxurious feel and are always timeless.

How do dinner parties feel in the space?

Robi: Dinner parties have been great. There are many areas to sit and talk. And the acoustics are good throughout, with the wooden beams deflecting any echo.

Christine: We have a really great sound system that sets the mood for all our parties. They always end with everyone dancing. I love cooking, and the open kitchen is a great space for it, where guests can easily join in with the cooking or just take a glass of wine and hang out at the island.

What’s the most surprising thing about the renovation?

Christine: I am surprised at how spacious the house feels now. I think the high ceilings and all the windows make a huge difference.

Robi: I’ve been surprised how well the gallery concept has worked. I like to share, and having a public space in my home has made that easier. The long white walls and natural light makes the space great for displaying art. Viewing photography in this space is calm and meditative, and it really feels like a small museum. In a more private way, the space that Michael created between the kitchen and the living room has become a favorite spot to sit and have conversations. I didn’t expect that.

What are your daily rituals?

Robi: I clean the house for 30 minutes in the morning and listening to music I am working on, always with a cup of coffee. When I am not working, when the weather is nice, I like to go and sit at the end of the garden closest to the stream and in the winter, I’ll sit in the space next to the fireplace.

Christine: The first thing I do in the morning when it’s sunny is open the glass doors to the garden. The air and the wildlife is a source of calm. Then I make coffee and sit in the garden to get my day started. I like sitting on the sofa facing the garden when I can’t go outside. In the evening I like to sit at the kitchen island or listen to music while cooking.

Do you have a favorite design moment in the gallery?

Christine: We did something crazy by having a planter built into the living room floor. It’s been a real conversation-starter. The open beam structure is also incredible. The fact that the beams are not disrupted by the skylights make the whole space feel artistic and streamlined, and the color of the wood gives the fairly minimal room an incredible warmth.

Robi: HOP was extremely clever at creating distinct spaces all within the large, single room addition. There’s the living area, the cozy space with the fireplace, and the kitchen.

More My House:

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A Filmmaker Couple Put a London Shoe Factory Back Into Production as Their Home and Studio

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: HOP Architects

Builder: Beemster Bouwers

Structural Engineer: Brouwer & Kok

Interior Design: HOP Architects

Photography: Michael Cerrone of HOP Architects

Exhibited Photographs: Iwan Baan / @iwanbaan

Appears In

My House: They Wanted the Perfect Art Gallery, So They Renovated Their Own Home