A LOOK INSIDE ISA HOES: MORE PEACE THROUGH COLOR

Actress and writer Isa Hoes swapped a spacious house near the Vondelpark for an apartment on a small square in the heart of Amsterdam two years ago. Previously, she lived on a farm with her husband Antonie Kamerling, who died in 2010, and their two children Merlijn and Vlinder. 'In our previous houses, we always had bright colours – green, pink, blue, yellow, even gold walls,' says Isa. 'But when we were making a plan for this new house, Vlinder asked: can we please make it a little less intense this time?' But can a colourful person like Isa Hoes banish colour from her life?

TEST 1, 2, 3 ... 100

'Vlinder and I moved here together,' Isa says at the dining table, her favourite spot in the house. 'Merlijn had flown the nest by then. So when the renovation was finished, I had everything painted white. For Vlinder. Only the kitchen, which I had designed especially for this house, was light pink with a green veined top of natural stone. It had to be the eye-catcher and it is, I'm absolutely crazy about it.' The loving look she lets glide over her kitchen almost says more than her words.

'But after a year I thought: I'm so unhappy here, what's going on? Then I realised I had to go back to colour. Fortunately, Vlinder agreed.' Isa started an attempt to paint a wall, but didn't get any further than a bunch of small test areas. Eventually she called in the Schilderzujes to help her. 'They had a good laugh when they saw all those brush strokes on the wall. Through them I came into contact with LAB interior stylist Karin, who gave me colour advice . To be honest, I had doubts about the earth tone Amaze no. 535 that she recommended for the living floor after extensive consultation. Boring, I thought. But she was right! This was what the kitchen and the living room needed, and especially what I needed. I now have colour back, and with it warmth, but the calm has remained.'

PERSONAL SCENES

'I can be very different in style and energy, a person is not one thing, right? For example, I can like black and white in clothing, but I will never make my house black and white. Although for me it is now unusually calm in the base. Apparently I need that in this phase.

The nice thing is that it has an extra big effect when I add colour with flowers, art and accessories. That's what I'm constantly working on, I enjoy constantly changing things in the house.' You can see it when Isa points it out. Because everywhere you look, from the living room to the kitchen and the bedroom, things are seemingly coincidentally together. Stacks of books with a colourful plant, a sculpture or a disco ball on top. A vintage cabinet with a red vase, yellow flowers and a photo of Serge Gainsbourg behind it. Seemingly careless scenes, but all purposefully arranged by Isa. Scenes that keep changing, just like the colourful mix of art on the wall.

READ ALSO: 5 COLOR AND STYLING TIPS FROM ISA COVER

WELCOME TO THE PRIVATE DOMAIN

'My house is really my private domain, I prefer to keep as much as possible to myself,' says Isa firmly. Which is logical, for someone with a life in the public eye. Nevertheless, she enthusiastically guides her visitors through all the rooms. The justified pride in her interior, in which she sees herself reflected, wins out over the need for restraint.

'For me it is essential to have a place that embraces me, where I feel happy, where I can be completely myself. Being surrounded by beautiful things and personal things helps me with that.' The memories of Antonie also fall under that last category. Her deceased husband is lovingly present in the house. In photos and posters, but also symbolically in the sparkling crystals, which have a place everywhere. 'We collected them together, it was really something of ours,' says Isa.

The intimacy of the house is further enhanced by the fact that only the lobed leaves of enormous chestnut trees wave behind the windows at the front. The natural shade on the walls blurs the boundary between inside and outside, together with the deep brown of the wooden herringbone floors, so that you almost feel like you are in a forest here. 'That is also why I almost always sit at the dining table,' she says. 'Whether it is to work or to read the newspaper.'

CROWN ON THE HOUSE

One floor up, it is nice to see how Vlinder has stuck to her choice of white, although her room now has a warm-blooded shade of white on the walls: Frosted Sand no. 374. Isa's bedroom with an open bathroom on a floating floor exudes the luxury of an exclusive spa hotel. There are no tiles anywhere, everything flows organically into each other and has the same soothing, warm shade. The silky-soft neutral Nude Cashmere no. 312 has a light pink tint. 'For me, this is the perfect combination of beautiful and comfortable. Nothing is standard here, this is completely my zone. For my body and mind, this is an ultimate place of well-being, and the new colour on the walls definitely contributes to that.'

READ ALSO: COPY PASTE: EVERYTHING ABOUT THE COLOURS FROM ISA HOES' HOME

It doesn't get any better than this, you might think, but Isa's house has a literal crown, which is revealed when you go even further up. A sea of ​​light and air already greets you, enhanced by the sparkling Calm Mood no. 155 on the walls of the landing. The hue plays a fresh leading role in the interior. 'Look, this roof terrace was the deciding factor in buying this house,' beams Isa, 'because I really needed a house with more outdoor space. Here I am completely free under the blue sky, in the middle of the Amsterdam hustle and bustle, so happy with it!'

Photo left: LAB wallpaint and LAB interior paint Frosted Sand no. 374 (walls and skirting boards). Photo right: LAB wallpaint Calm Mood no. 155 (wall at stairs), LAB wallpaint and LAB interior paint Nude Cashmere no. 312 (walls and skirting board bedroom) and reference colours LAB wallpaint, LAB interior paint and LAB stair coating White Ice no. 39 (stairs, ceiling and beams).

Author: Chris Muyres
Photography: Lotte van Uittert

READ ALSO:

• 5 COLOR AND STYLING TIPS FROM ISA COVER
• COPY PASTE: ALL ABOUT THE COLORS FROM ISA HOES' HOME
• A LOOK INSIDE THE HOUSEMUTS: FROM CITY TO COUNTRYSIDE