Exposed Brick and 400-Year-Old Beams Wow in This 625-Square-Foot Amsterdam Rental

Written by

Adrienne Breaux
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
Lula Poggi
Lula PoggiInterior Designer
Hi! My name is Lula Poggi.I was born in Argentina but destiny got in the way and brought me to Barcelona, where I live with my small family.I’m an interior designer, stylist and photographer.I have been working mostly as an interior, food and kid’s fashion photographer.
published Jan 30, 2025

Exposed Brick and 400-Year-Old Beams Wow in This 625-Square-Foot Amsterdam Rental

Written by

Adrienne Breaux
Adrienne BreauxHouse Tour Director
For more than 10 years, I've led Apartment Therapy's real home content, producing thousands of house tours from around the world. Currently, I live in my maximalist dream home in New Orleans, Louisiana, with my partner, a perfect dog, and a cute cat.
Lula Poggi
Lula PoggiInterior Designer
Hi! My name is Lula Poggi.I was born in Argentina but destiny got in the way and brought me to Barcelona, where I live with my small family.I’m an interior designer, stylist and photographer.I have been working mostly as an interior, food and kid’s fashion photographer.
published Jan 30, 2025
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Bedrooms
Square feet

623

Sq ft

623

“The week I found this place, I had already submitted requests for 11 other rental properties,” begins furniture enthusiast Cylia Hendriks, who goes by the moniker Sherlock Homes. “To be honest, it felt like winning the lottery because finding such a beautiful house for rent that’s also reasonably affordable is more the exception than the rule in Amsterdam.”

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Credit: Lula Poggi
"I already had a thing for dark wood before I came to live here, so the balcony doors were a bonus that were meant especially for me, I think," Cylia writes.

The apartment is a 625-square-foot rental, and was exactly what Cylia was looking for; it was simultaneously spacious and cozy. “I believe part of the home’s charm lies in its history. The house is a 17th-century monument — 400 years ago, it was a shipping warehouse, and the same beams are still here to this day,” Cylia explains

Credit: Lula Poggi
"Sometimes people ask me if I buy something new every week. I don’t. In fact, I rarely buy something new and 90% of what I own is thrifted. I have a very big closet in the hall of my apartment building. There are many objects that I switch up from time to time. One week I want that lamp, the other week the other. This way it never gets boring and I don’t have the urge to buy something new every week."

Cylia says that while this apartment was a reasonably affordable price, it came with some challenges. “First of all we have the windowless bedroom. There’s no natural light coming in in any way — which means the room is very dark (which sometimes is nice when you want to sleep by day).”

Credit: Lula Poggi

“But sometimes you want light in your bedroom, and waking up is horrible when it’s pitch dark on every hour imaginable. So I came to a solution of building my own glass brick light wall.”

Credit: Lula Poggi

“I think rearranging my house and taking pictures of objects and furniture is my number-one hobby at the moment,” Cylia explains. “It brings me peace to put everything to a certain spot and check out if it feels right or not. It’s meditative. Especially in winter I am home a lot and I always make sure there are candles on, music on, everything to make myself at ease.” 

Resources

Credit: Lula Poggi

PAINT & COLORS

  • Living room —  Living Green “Wood Ash 229” (almost white, but prettier)
  • Bedroom — Betonlook chalk paint “coffee”
Credit: Lula Poggi

LIVING ROOM/DINING ROOM

  • Bubble sofa — WOOOD (secondhand buy)
  • Steel coffee table — Self-designed and handmade by family
  • Rug 1 — Zara home (secondhand buy, from older collection)
  • Rug 2 — Zara home (secondhand buy, from older collection)
  • Steel/black chair — Vintage Wassily
  • White chairs — Secondhand, replica Panton
  • Brown chairs — Vintage, Kartell
  • Scissor lamp — Vintage Le Klint
  • Modular shelf and cabinet unit — Vintage, brandless 
  • Organic table — Vintage, brandless
  • De Stijl Here print — Drool
  • Squiggle lamp — Yellowpop
  • Rice paper lamp — HAY
  • Zuru lamp — Residence Supply 
  • Akari 24N Washi Paper lamp — Akari
  • Akari Noguchi 1 AG — Akari 
Credit: Lula Poggi

KITCHEN

Credit: Lula Poggi

BEDROOM

Thanks, Cylia!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.