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The story of the IJsclubweg 12

Last February, Milou and Robin moved to a 1930s home in Bezuidenhout. A house with a special piece of history. The couple is currently renovating, but is keeping the authentic character of the house intact.

Camping in the hallway
'After the handover on February 15, we immediately started renovating. The first weekend of March we moved, with the naive idea that it would be more finished than it was. We also knew that it would be a bit of camping. We thought: we'll just go there, we'll see. We put the couch in the hallway and started doing odd jobs in the living room. That took a few months. At the end of May we removed the stucco runner and cleaned up everything. Then we started furnishing.'

‘I once lived in anti-squat, I did a lot of work on that house and I really felt like I was creating my own home. Then I thought: I want to do that in my future house too. It always seemed fantastic to me to renovate a house, because I am quite a handyman.'

Building on what you have
‘We have really done a lot, but no spectacular renovations yet. There was so much potential and such a good foundation that it is really just picking up where it left off. The wallpaper was yellowed so we took that off, but we didn't have to move a wall, for example. In the garden there were also all very nice plants and the layout is quite cool. I would love to change the terrace sometime, but that will come.'

'I like not radically changing things, but just building on the things you have.'

"Agile"
'I think it's very special that everything is so old and that it all still works. When we first came here I thought with every little thing: ooh leave it intact, because this is probably from 1931. Then you don't dare to make it your own place. That has gradually come to pass, but the kitchen stays that way. I like not radically changing things, but just building on the things you have. In my field of work, web development, they call it “agile”.'

'I especially had a strong desire for more greenery in the area.'

The perfect mix between city and greenery
‘We know each other from the student house where we both lived. Later we went to live together in Rotterdam. We really liked the creative vibe there, but we didn't have a garden there and the center of Rotterdam is of course not very green either. I especially had a hankering for more greenery in the area. We have been to many places outside the city during our search. Then we found out that wasn't for us. It may be green, but you are sitting between a few meadows and they are actually quite bare. Then I realized that I had that longing for green, but that wasn't it either. You fantasize about it, but when you get there, it's not what you had in mind. Finally we arrived at this house. For us, this is actually the perfect mix between the city and the green. The center, station and the highway are nearby and at the same time you have the Haagse Bos. For me it was a requirement to have greenery nearby that would really stay there and the Haagse Bos will not go away anyway, because there is of course a law of Willem van Oranje that it must remain. From there you can go to Clingendael and to the dunes and all that will not go away. So you really have some sort of way out in the Randstad. We really thought: why didn't we immediately think of this?'

Authentic details
‘What appealed to me about this house was the kitchen, and of course the stained glass, the fireplace and the old heating. What I also really liked is the window from the kitchen to the hallway. That used to be a door, so it has been replaced by second-hand stained glass. That is a funny authentic addition from the previous owner. She expanded the kitchen in the old style with a woodworker, so she made extra cupboards. I really like that something so beautiful has already been done to the house.”

There's no point in planning
‘What we actually already knew, but where you are occasionally forced to face the facts, is that renovating is a lot of work. That there are always things that happen that you have not thought of. I don't think there's really any point in planning. Just make a list of things to do and see when there is time. Otherwise you will get frustrated haha. Another tip, if you are doing something by hand and it is a lot of work, always ask yourself if there is a machine for it and if you can rent it from BoRent, the answer is almost always yes.'

A special piece of history
‘Two Jewish women lived here during the Second World War, an aunt and her cousin. They really were ladies on the stand, they weren't going into hiding either. They have tried to legally oppose deportation. That was more their way, it suited their position more. In the end they went with their suitcases to the station where they were put on the train to Auschwitz. They didn't know where they were going, they didn't know how bad it would be, but they accepted that they had lost the legal battle. We are now busy setting up stumbling blocks at the front door. These are small monuments for people who have been deported from their house. It really adds something to delve deeper into the history of a house.'

Bezuidenhout, ca. 1940 - Source: Douwes, H.A.W., collection Haags Gemeentearchief