Formerly an artist's home, located between Bruges and Ghent, this recently refreshed project is a rich play of colour and composition. Previously the private residence and studio of the late painter Antoon De Clerck, it now belongs to new owners. Aptly named Painter's House, the property has recently been redesigned in a way that not only brings out the building's inherent modernist architecture identity but also pays homage to its original artist-owner.
Step inside a renovated modernist artist's home in Belgium
The Aalter-based residence was renovated by the Ghent architecture firm Atelier Vens Vanbelle. For their architectural response, studio founders Maarten Vanbelle and Dries Vens looked to De Clerck’s artistic style, which was rooted in primary colours, abstraction, and midcentury style, for inspiration.
The original house, which the painter designed himself, drew on the De Stijl movement in terms of its composition – using simple, clean surfaces and lines to form its visual identity. The architects kept the home's lines and planes in primary colours, nodding also to Bauhaus style and embracing a midcentury design aesthetic. To make sure the project still feels current, they mixed these historical styles with contemporary touches, such as the metallic detailing wrapping around the building's roof and the white brick fireplace.
As a result, the former artist's home is now defined by a fun, retro-cool look. The architects employed classic, and instantly recognisable, modernist-inspired details throughout, but in a way which feels conscious and playful – not clichéd.
This conceptual element was matched by gestures that address everyday, 21st-century needs. For instance, the carpark is fully functional, but designed with a sense of fun, designed as a composition of colours, geometries and materials, with blue-glazed brick walls.
The ground floor of the main building was completely reimagined. Alongside an additional bedroom and bathroom, more new spaces were incorporated, including a dressing room, laundry hall and office. All the areas feature a strong individual character and distinct colour schemes. Yet the overall intention and aesthetic keep the project cohesive.
The 258 sq m house contains five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Taking inspiration from the work of Richard Neutra's Kaufman Desert House in Palm Springs, Slim Aarons' 'Poolside Gossip' photograph, and David Hockney's artpiece 'A Bigger Splash', photographer Tim Van de Velde and the architects captured the project's essence in a series of images that tell the story of its concept – an artist's home that is vibrant and creative but also warm and relaxed.