Come with us on a tour of the vintage-filled Amsterdam kitchen of stylist, cook, and cookbook author Helma Bongenaar.
The former tavern space, now kitchen, is painted in two shades of blue with a decorative oval on the ceiling and oversized windows looking out at the Amsterdam street.
The kitchen runs along the opposite wall from the dining table.
Helma is a collector and thrifter by nature, and a glass-fronted cabinet holds one of her most prized assemblages: vintage French coffee bowls.
The floor is part geometric tile, part well-worn painted boards. The hard-wearing wooden counters feature built-in drainboards.
Copper rails and simple s-hooks keep Helma’s collections of cooking accoutrements within reach.
The house, built in 1800, follows the format of a traditional Amsterdam commercial building: “shop in front, stock in the basement, and living upstairs,” Helma says.
The kitchen has a more-is-more feel.
Curios adorn every ledge.
“There must always be a sense of humor in the house,” says Helma.