Featured in Quote, the Netherlands, 18 September 2018, ‘Ongewoon Wonen’.
English Translation
Unusual Living
Stylish Survival
Sites like Funda show the interior tragedy that is occurring in many Dutch houses. The unconvincing image of the Amsterdam apartments over a million and from expats, must also make the hands of interior designers feel itchy. A good atmosphere and an original, individual style do not hide in golden faucets, giant built-in kitchens and an overkill of pricey design furniture. Clever combinations, creative use of color and the art of omission are often more essential elements to give a house its own face.
At the end of the nineties, antiquarian-connoisseur-decorator Anne Paul Brinkman was the king of refined taste, the man by whom you had to build your house, transform or decorate. His canal house on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht reflected a Holland allure. The different spaces were clearly the eclectic work of someone who places as much value on art as on the right plinth, doorknob and upholstery.
Thanks to his timeless vision, many beautifully decorated canal houses he’s worked on still survive. In this way he could tackle a tough, modern loft, but also do the complete restoration of a seventeenth century canal house by master Philip Vingboons. As a recipe for his success Brinkman once said: ‘You have to go back to the soul of such a house. Many buildings have changed so often in the course of time that the original soul is lacking.’
In 2002 Brinkman relocated to Barcelona to focus on the sale of interior fabrics and furniture, but now he is back on Amsterdam soil with his Brinkman Fine Real Estate working together with creative entrepreneur and photographer Marie-José van den Ende and an art historian. Brinkman focuses on the purchase and sale of exclusive objects and provides expert advice on what is involved in the trading of a historical building. Anyone who gets lost on Funda and who does not want to be handed over to the complacency of estate agents can call him into the search for that one, untraceable dream house.
Like no other, Brinkman feels what his customers have in mind, and in addition he has a gift that many must disregard: being able to look through the existing situation of a house. He feels which hidden possibilities and atmospheres a property has in it and can visualize it in advance for a customer. Brinkman Fine Real Estate can also play a role for those who want to get rid of their house’s existing details and character to further optimize your home. With Brinkman’s original approach in decorating, he adds visible added value. His sights are primarily aimed at historic mansions and canal houses, but he also operates outside of Amsterdam. He was involved in the sale of a nineteenth-century villa in Bloemendaal and – as can be seen on these pages he converted an old Haarlem baker’s factory into a loft, virtually.
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