“After getting married I moved out of my parents’ home and moved to a new-build house ‘on land’ in Amsterdam Zuidoost,” she begins, explaining that it was a lovely and comfortable on-land home she intended to live in for many years.

“But after living there for a year, we saw an old, little houseboat for sale at the dyke where I grew up and decided to go for it,” Annelies begins. “We weren’t really looking to move already, but secretly we were dreaming of developing something ourselves.” Annelies and her husband, Hans, realized that their secret dream could come true in the area where Annelies was born and raised if they switched to developing a home on water instead of land!

“Because the houseboat for sale was old and small, we were able to buy the spot quite affordably at the end of 2009. In the summer of 2010 our houseboat was built and moved from the dock in Lelystad to our spot in Amsterdam,” she writes. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

“The financing of the houseboat was super challenging,” Annelies admits. “It was around/just after the bank crashes in 2008/2009. Banks in the Netherlands aren’t keen on granting mortgages for houseboats. There were only two banks who were willing to do so for us and just in time one of the banks decided to grant a mortgage for not only buying the old houseboat, but also for developing a new houseboat.” 

“The next step was deciding which builder to contract for building our houseboat. In the Netherlands you have several builders specialized in houseboats,” she continues. “We made sketches of how we wanted our boat to look: the window, the material outside, the plan for the ground floor.”

“We spoke to several builders and we gave three of them our sketches. Based on these sketches they made their proposals. Only one of them was willing to build a houseboat with a zinc roof (high on our wish list, as seen on a houseboat designed by Dutch designer Piet Boon) and we decided to let him build our houseboat.” 

• Living Room Cabinet — Flexa “Tranquil Dawn”
• Lilac Wall — Histor “Ash Grove”
• Kitchen Wall — Miss Pompadour “Vanilla”
• Kitchen Cabinet — Miss Pompadour “Cherry Blosson”
• Hallway/Entry Wall — Flexa “Pink Nudity”
• Workspace Wall — Miss Pompadour “Beige with Sand”
• Kids’ Room — Flexa “Pink Nudity,” Miss Pompadour “Green with Sage,” Miss Pompadour “Green with Gray,” Little Greene “Pearl Color Pale”

• Artwork — YVETTE HEEREN
• Bench — Van Dijk & Ko
• Steel Doors — Exclusive Steel

• Couch — Sofacompany
• Cushions — Xenos
• Rug — Living Maroc
• Coffee Table — HK Living
• Lilac Chair — Ligne Roset
• Green Small Sofa — Woood
• Round Rug — Kitsch Kitchen
• Side Table Behind Couch — Ferm Living
• Small Green Cabinet — VTwonen
• Dollhouse — Secondhand
• Handpainted Vase — Vazerijtje
• Floral Painting — Luci Sterre Art Studio
• Gold Artworks — Yvette Heeren
• Small Gold Artwork with Clouds — Wendy Lammerschaag
• Green Side Table — IKEA
• Floor — Novilon

• Table — Het Kabinet
• Lilac Stools — Riverdale
• Chairs — Frame Design Stoel
• Lamp — Jotex

• Kitchen — Tulp Keukens/Siemens Equipment
• Bin — Brabantia
• Wall Rack — Jysk
• Ceramic Storage Pots — HK Living
• Cups — Essenza Home, HK Living, and OYOY Living
• Green Blender — KitchenAid
• Orange Pot — Le Creuset

• Floor — Moduleo
• Washable Duvet — Zelesta
• Artwork Sunset — Tinystories
• Paintable 3D Wall Panels — Orac Decor
• Cupboard — Custom made by Van de Bunt Interieur
• Wallprint on Wood — Posterlounge

• Bed — VTwonen
• Desk — IKEA
• Wall Rack Wood — Jysk
• Wall Rack Mint Green — IKEA
• Floor — Moduleo
• Rack for Soccer Balls — Temu
• Washable Duvet — Zelesta
• Folding Crate — HAY
• Storage Basket — CasaShop
• Stool — Jysk
• Poster Moon Stand — Mr. Starsky

• Poster with Girl Print — Marta Badblay
• Giftshop Toy — Temu
• Wallpaper — Pimpelmees
• Bed — Woood
• Cowboy Boots — Bootstock
• Floor — Moduleo
• Poster Stand of Stars — Mr. Starsky
• Mirror Moon and Star — Noa May Living Kids
• Washable Duvet — Zelesta
• Teddy Stool — Karwei
• Blue Cabinet — Secondhand
• Large Stuffed Animals — Squishmallow

• Morrocan Pale Pink Tiles — Design Tegels
• Granite Floor — Corradi & Zoon
• Toilet — Villeroy & Boch
• Mirror —Xenos

• Desk — Norman Copenhagen
• Chair — Zuiver
• Lamp — Zuiver
• Artwork Print — Ceder Art
• Door — Exclusivesteel
• StoolLlittle Sofa — Jysk
• Pink Flower Table — Ferm Living
• Wallpaper — Photowall of Sweden

Thanks, Annelies!

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

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