House DM is a minimalist farmhouse interior located in Damme, Belgium, designed by Van Damme – Vandeputte Architects. The project’s central tension is preservation versus transformation – a historic rural property with canal views and characteristic tree-lined vistas that needed reimagining without being erased. Van Damme – Vandeputte’s response was restrained by instinct: no structural interventions, only surface and material decisions that accumulate into something genuinely new. The approach aligns with a tradition of Belgian interior practice that treats existing architecture as collaborator rather than obstacle, referencing the material sensitivity seen in the work of Axel Vervoordt while moving toward something more contemporary in palette and temperament.
The material logic throughout is consistent. Reclaimed and treated existing surfaces work alongside artisanal paint techniques applied to classical architectural elements – a process that reads less as decoration and more as conservation-by-other-means. The bronze and patinated brass accents appearing across the interior serve a specific compositional function, connecting periods through shared oxidation tones rather than stylistic mimicry. This kind of metallic mediation between old and new has become a signature device in European residential interiors of the past decade, but here it feels earned rather than applied.
The bespoke kitchen sits at the center of the composition. Custom dark walnut cabinetry pairs with natural stone worktops sourced from Italy and Turkey, cut at eight centimetres thick – a dimension that shifts these surfaces from functional planes into sculptural masses. The washbasin resolves seamlessly into the wall, a continuity that gives the kitchen a monolithic quality unusual in residential design. Lighting by Garnier & Linker and CTO, seating by Molteni and Edra, and joinery integrated with the client’s art collection prevent the space from reading as a showcase. The objects and furniture are chosen as counterpoints, not accoutrements.
