The home story of An and Erik
An and Erik live in a beautiful townhouse in Borgerhout, which they renovated in just one year. They based their interior choices on the existing authentic elements, always taking the aesthetics and practicality into account.
Down to the last detail
When you step inside the stately Antwerp townhouse of marketer An and IT specialist Erik, nothing suggests that the couple has only lived here for a few months. The house is finished to perfection. However, when they bought the property last year it looked nothing like it does now. In just one year, they renovated the whole house: they broke out false ceilings, replaced the roof, installed a new kitchen and two bathrooms, painted all the walls and replaced the badly worn floors with Parquetvinyl.
Beautiful and practical
The couple was able to move into their dream home after a year spent renovating. An’s father worked in construction for many years, which explains the short renovation period. An: “Thanks to my father's connections and expertise, our renovation took much less time than normal. He not only put us in touch with the right suppliers and professionals – he also calculated things such as how many radiators we needed to install to heat the house. A big thing for us but child’s play for him. He’s a very practical person, so our job was to keep an eye on the aesthetic side of things. Needless to say, he fully supported our decision to use Parquetvinyl. After all, it looks beautiful and is easy to maintain. (An laughs)”
In love with herringbone
The decision to use Parquetvinyl is thanks to construction company Van Pelt in Zoersel near Antwerp. It was there that the couple first became acquainted with the beauty, convenience and possible options (such as a herringbone pattern!) of vinyl floors. The fact that Parquetvinyl is also Belgian was a huge plus for An.
The couple opted for the Yukon Mistral Herringbone collection and combined it with the regular Yukon Mistral. These collections are characterised by their soft, natural colours and calm wood structure with a knot here and there. They opted for straight planks for the hallway and bathroom but chose a herringbone floor for the bedrooms because they wanted an extra chic and elegant look. An: “I simply had to have a herringbone floor. It fits perfectly with the authentic elements of our townhouse yet also matches our contemporary furniture.”
Expertise
An and Erik didn’t lay the floors themselves. Erik: “We’re not great with our hands and we heard it’s quite difficult to lay a herringbone pattern. So to avoid waste and keep the momentum going, we called in the experts. The floors also had to be levelled, which we couldn't do ourselves. For the sake of convenience, we opted for straight planks in the hallway and bathroom, which are easier to lay in smaller spaces. Parquetvinyl is completely water-resistant. How convenient is that?!
Townhouse as a compromise
Erik likes a modern interior, while An leans more towards authenticity and charm. So they thought a townhouse was the perfect compromise. The wrought iron front door, the charming wooden staircase and other beautiful elements such as the skylight and painted doors meant that they were able to keep the rest of the interior quite sober. An: “We’ve only just moved in, so of course it still has to ‘grow’ a bit in terms of furnishing. But that will come with time."
Cosy city life
The neighbourhood where they live – Borgerhout – no longer holds any secrets for An and Erik: the couple used to live in an apartment around the corner. Living in the city comes naturally to them – it’s a lifestyle thing. An: “We love being able to walk or cycle everywhere – in fact, we don't even have a car.” And now that their house is completely finished, their weekends are mainly devoted to relaxing and enjoying life. From a visit to the local market to dinner with friends — they can live life to the full in their city and their home.
Thanks for the hospitality, An and Erik!