Winq NL, No 129, Nov| Dec 2024
Featured in Winq Magazine No 129, Nov| Dec 2024
Our house and studio is featured in the new Winq NL magazine issue 129. The essence of our story is beautifully captured by Winqs Editor-in-chief Martijn Kamphorst
- Text Martijn Kamphorst
- Photography Leon van den Broek
- Styling Sharon Roest
- Production WinqNL
“THE POTENTIAL OF THIS HOUSE IS THE HUGE DOWNSTAIRS SPACE”
The sitting area in the former taxi garage, with vintage ‘model 30’ chairs by Gijs van der Sluis.
Dog Alex is waiting patiently next to the vintage coffee table with a travertine top.
Studio on the dike
GREEN FINGERS
With his own art enterprise PrintedPlant Ger-Jan catches nature on paper.
It took some time getting used to, but now, former city dweller Ger-Jan de Gilde (61) appreciates the peace and space in De Kwakel just as much as his husband Gjermund Kiserud (55). The countryside even inspired him to a new career.
Text: Martijn Kamphorst | Photography: Leon van den Broek | Styling: Sharon Roest
“I once saw this type of tiling in Hong Kong. I have drawn the tiles pattern for the builders myself. The lamps come from Eastern Europe. We do regret the black shower as the lime stains are difficult to clean.”
“The industrial windows were preserved during the renovation. Below the windows you find art shelves that were made from vintage teak floor panels. The collage artwork by Thomas van Rijs served as a print for a t-shirt project by Ger-Jan.”
“The bedroom, with on the wall a paper work of art on canvas by Hans Schabracq. The vintage architect lamp offers pleasant reading light.”
“I AM FASCINATED BY FURNITURE FROM THE SIXTIES, THEY ARE OF SUCH GOOD QUALITY”
The dining table is made of three vintage teak floor planks, a type of wood that isn’t so easy to get anymore.
The kitchen from KVIK is modernly finished in white and dark grey and has a double layer of wall cabinets. “For all the cooking utensils from Gjermund.”
After their move to the North Holland village of De Kwakel, Ger-Jan drove to Amsterdam for groceries for years. “The nearest Albert Heijn was in Uithoorn and there was such a different mentality. I find it quite bizarre that I ended up here.” However, a healthy relationship sometimes requires a compromise. “Gjermund is a nature lover. I am happy with a balcony, a bottle of wine and the sun on my head, but he is from Norway and needed more outdoor space.”
The men met in 1992. Ger-Jan had graduated from the art academy in Arnhem two years earlier and had just moved to Amsterdam. Gjermund visited the city during a holiday tour with two friends, but interrupted his trip when he met Ger-Jan. “At first he moved on, but a few days later he suddenly appeared on my answering machine. He had turned around and wanted to see me again. He turned out to be the love of my life.”
HOUSE WITH POTENTIAL
22 years ago, the couple moved to their striking pre-war semi-detached house near Amsterdam. “We live on the Vuurlijn, part of the Amsterdam defense line. The house is a large, rich, but also difficult building: you need a crane to reach the roof edges.” A bridge runs from the dike to the first floor. “Until 2017, we lived there for the most part, in the en-suite rooms. The bedrooms and bathroom were upstairs and we used the ground floor as an office, but the potential of this house was precisely in that enormous downstairs space with its beautiful high ceilings.” A major renovation was needed to utilize that potential. “The ground floor used to be a taxi garage, which originally belonged to our neighbours house. The stairs to the first floor were therefore not in our house; we had to walk outside to get to our office.” Gjermund, who trained as an architect, made the drawings for a thorough renovation. The shed was added to the downstairs area, an extension was added for a downstairs bathroom and finally a staircase that connected the two halves of the house. “Now we live mostly downstairs. The living room, kitchen and dining area are all in that former garage.”
FASHION ON THE WALLS
Ger-Jan took the lead in terms of the interior. “That is not Gjermund’s cup of tea. He only indicated that he wanted colour on the walls – I listened to him – and then I could do as I pleased. I have such expensive taste that I never buy the furniture that I actually want, but with a lot of patience and a good hunt in vintage stores I have come close. I am fascinated by furniture from the sixties, they are of such good quality, very different from nowadays imitation junk from furniture giants.”
“I MAKE PRINTS WITH WOODEN STAMPS. IN THAT RESPECT IM A LAZY ARTIST”
Ger-Jan in action in his home studio. Hunting dog Alex meanwhile takes an afternoon nap. “She loves people, but she doesn’t like other dogs.”
For his prints, Ger-Jan converts digital drawings into wooden stamps.
“Each work is unique, but the stamp technique allows me to keep the price low.” You can find all prints at printedplant.com.
A pair of ‘plant prints’ by Ger-Jan. “I photograph all my work in this angle, because of the Vermeer-like light.”
“WE LIVE IN A LARGE, RICH BUT DIFFICULT BUILDING”
A still life of rosemary, spring onion and bay leaf. All home grown, of course.
A vintage find is the sofa from C F C Silkeborg Denmark. “The previous owner had it reupholstered in beautiful thick leather.” The high-gloss metal lamp is from Bentler of Denmark.
“I HAVE SUCH EXPENSIVE TASTE THAT I NEVER BUY THE FURNITURE THAT I ACTUALLY WANT”
The large chalk drawing is a graduation work of Niels Broszat, an artist friend. On the floor an early work by Anthony Cudahy. Ger-Jan: “in the meantime I can no longer afford his work.” Black and white work top left: Anouk Griffioen the black and white image of two people in an embrace (bottom left) is by Anthony Goicolea.
There are hardly any empty walls, they are all filled with art that has a link to Ger-Jan’s former career as a fashion designer. Until a few years ago he worked as head of design at fashion brand Claudia Sträter. In that capacity he regularly set up projects with young artists. “I have always collected a lot of ‘fashion’ art. For example, there is work by fashion illustrator Piet Paris, who used to study at the same art academy.”
LAZY ARTIST
When Claudia Sträter went bankrupt in 2020, Ger-Jan became unemployed and faced the question of whether he wanted to continue working in fashion. “I was 58 and thought I was too old for that. I had also just started my own art company, PrintedPlant. I decided to focus on that.”
The seed for Ger-Jan’s business was planted during walks with dog Alex in the Amsterdam Forest. “I usually took my camera with me and looked for a good way to translate all the beautiful greenery I encountered into unique work that I could sell – I have always been commercially minded. Eventually I came up with the idea of lasering digital drawings of plants into wood, and then making stamps from them. With these stamps I make prints that are never exactly the same. In that respect I am a lazy artist. Thanks to this technique I can keep the price of my work relatively low.” His studio is located on the first floor. “I once started at home for cost reasons, but since the renovation I no longer need an external workspace.”
Gjermund also eventually chose a different career path. “As an architect, you spend most of the day behind a desk and he hates that. He is now a troubleshooter for a large corporate caterer.” This interest in good food also manifests itself at home. “I am in charge of the interior, Gjermund is responsible for our large garden, with two greenhouses full of vegetables and fruit. He cooks delicious food and mostly with his own harvest.”
AND NOW: NORWAY
After more than 22 years on the dike, a new adventure is looming on the horizon. Ger-Jan: “We have set our sights on an old farm in Norway, three quarters of an hour away from Oslo, in the village of Våler, in a house called Elvestad. That stands for ‘place by the river’. I still find it terrifying, because my network is here in The Netherlands, but it is very romantic and spacious; we would have 3500 square meters of land. I think it is a good decision. Gjermund would like to do a bit of farming there and I plan to build a studio there. It is also about time that I start thinking about my retirement.”
