A large share of our clients are international families who have bought a house in Amstelveen, Amsterdam or the surrounding towns and are renovating it completely. We design in English, we know how a Dutch renovation actually runs, and we start by asking how your family lives rather than assuming.
Where the mismatch usually is
Dutch houses are planned around Dutch habits: an open kitchen inside the living room, one bathroom, modest storage, a dining area sized for four. If your family cooks daily with high heat, hosts a full house regularly, or has parents staying for months, that plan quietly works against you. Almost every project we do for an international family begins by redrawing the ground floor.
Written from experience
- Interior design for Indian families – second kitchens and extraction, pooja rooms, guest suites on the ground floor, storage sized for real cookware.
- Interior design for Turkish families – a salon separate from the everyday living room, a bathroom with floor drain and bidet spray, warmth in the materials.
If your family is from somewhere else entirely, that is no obstacle. These pages exist because those are the two groups we have worked with most, not because they are the only ones.
What stays the same for every project
- We come to the house and listen. How you cook, how you host, who stays and for how long.
- Concept design. A new floor plan, the atmosphere, first 3D images.
- Final design. Everything drawn: plans, lighting, elevations, visualisations per room.
- Materials, joinery and styling, recorded in your project book.
- Guidance during the build, coordinating contractor, installer and suppliers.
You see it before it is built
Every project is modelled in photorealistic 3D and reviewed on the large screen in our presentation room at Startbaan 6 in Amstelveen. Images can be shared with family abroad, which matters when parents are part of the decision.
Frequently asked questions
Which languages do you work in?
Dutch and English. Briefings, drawings, material lists and the project book are all available in English.
We are relocating and are not in the Netherlands yet. Can we still start?
Yes. We can begin with video meetings and drawings, and share the 3D model so you can judge the design from abroad. The on-site survey happens once you have the keys.
Do you understand how Dutch renovations work?
That is a large part of what we do. Design first, then the contractor prices the design, then the build. We coordinate with your contractor, installer and suppliers throughout, and the project book means everyone is pricing and building the same thing.
Is a second kitchen possible in a Dutch house?
Usually yes. The constraint is rarely space but ventilation and drainage. It is a decision to make at the start of the design, not halfway through the build.
Talk to us
Call +31 (0)20 30 14 064, email info@djanim.nl, or visit Startbaan 6, Amstelveen. See our interior design service, our 3D visualisation and a real project book.