De Noord 17

Country living at its best, close to the city

In Ilpendam, this house has long been known as ‘Het Hoge Huis’ (The High House). It is a detached former dairy house facing the park, with open water at the back, some 15 minutes from the centre of Amsterdam. It offers 226 m² of living space (NEN 2580) and an integral garage of 64 m², 290 m² in total, with five bedrooms, a private mooring and a roof terrace of approximately 40 m². You will rarely find this much space so close to the city.

The current owners have greatly enjoyed living here, and they put it best themselves: this is a house with a soul. It does not tell you how to live; it gives you the space to discover that for yourself. Upstairs, you live close to the light and the seasons. Downstairs, there is room for everything you hold dear: your work, your craft, your guests, or simply more living space.

Space, in every sense

The house has 226 m² of living space over three floors. With the 64 m² integral garage, the total comes to 290 m². By replacing the garage doors with a glazed frontage, the garage could also become part of the living space (subject to any permit required). That means room for a large family, for living and working under one roof, for guests, and for hobbies that would never fit in the city. The second floor has four bedrooms. The ground floor has space for a fifth bedroom, as well as a study or guest quarters. Nobody here has to give up space.

Ground floor: a bright, versatile space

The ground floor consists of a series of rooms, one behind the other, which you can arrange as you see fit. At the front is the former garage, with a seamless poured floor. It currently serves as a workshop and entrance, and houses storage and the central heating boiler. Behind it is an intermediate room where you can work, make music or simply unwind. It would also make an excellent bedroom for an older child.

At the very back is the finest part of the ground floor: a spacious, light-filled, multifunctional room, currently used as a studio and guest apartment. Built in 2005 and fully insulated, it has a seamless poured floor with underfloor heating. The glazed rear façade and four large roof windows let in daylight all day long. With light like this, work almost becomes a pleasure in itself. The exterior is clad in red cedar in the traditional Waterland style. French doors open onto the garden and the water. You reach this room through the former garage at the front, separately from the main house, so clients, course participants or guests need not pass through your home.

What you do here is up to you. You could set up a restoration or painting studio, a design studio or a consulting room, or teach yoga or music. You could also simply use it as an extension of your home, for instance as an additional living area opening onto the garden. And if you would like several generations to live under one roof, it could serve as an annexe for live-in parents or children.

First floor: living with the seasons

The main house is entered through the front door. An open staircase leads to the WC and to the living area, with an open-plan kitchen and French pine floorboards. Despite its generous proportions, this floor feels intimate and cosy. With windows on every side, the light is always beautiful, even in rain or storm. At the front, you look out over the park. On winter evenings this is the best place in the house: darkness falls early, the wood-burning stove is lit and there is nowhere else you need to be.

The kitchen has a six-burner Boretti range cooker, a dishwasher, a fridge and a freestanding island with sink. From the kitchen, and through the French doors at the rear, you step out onto the roof terrace of approximately 40 m², with decking and unobstructed views. In summer it feels like a holiday home. The sun shines all day, geese call in the distance, and at night the sky is full of stars.

Second floor: sleeping beneath the dormers

The open staircase in the living room leads up to the bedroom floor. There are wooden floors throughout, and the walls are clad in pale-painted timber boards, giving this floor a calm, soft atmosphere. There are four bedrooms, all in the same style, and a bathroom with a bath. This is also where you will find the connections for the washing machine and tumble dryer. The bathroom leads through to a dressing room with built-in wardrobes. Dormers run along both sides, making this floor remarkably light as well.

Garden and water: outdoor life on your doorstep

The back garden has decking and borders open water, with a private mooring. By boat you can head straight out into the Ilperveld and the Varkensland, or to Amsterdam. An hour on the water here feels like a whole day away. At the far end of the garden stands a pot-bellied stove, so you can sit outside even on cool evenings.

Maintenance

The exterior has recently been fully repainted all round. The roof has 10 solar panels.

Location: country living, with the city within reach

De Noord is one of the most beautiful streets in Ilpendam. Directly opposite the house is the park, with a children’s playground within walking distance. Beyond it runs the ring canal, where you can swim a short walk from home: in summer, and for the diehards in winter too. At the end of the street the meadows begin. From there you can walk or cycle to Monnickendam, Purmerend, Overleek and Broek in Waterland. Fishing, skating and birdwatching are simply part of life here. Nature and the seasons feel closer than they ever do in the city.

Ilpendam has a lively village life. There is a café, a village shop selling farm produce, a farm offering fresh local produce, and the community primary school is within walking distance. There is something going on all year round, from the funfair to concerts, the choir and yoga. It is a wonderful place for pets, too.

And yet the city is close at hand. You park in your own space in front of the house. By bus, you reach Noord metro station in about eight minutes, from where the Noord/Zuidlijn (North/South line) takes you quickly to Amsterdam Centraal. Purmerend is also easily reached by bus. By bike, you are at the ferry across the IJ within half an hour.

In short

226 m² of living space plus a 64 m² garage, five bedrooms, a studio full of light, and water and meadows on your doorstep, some 15 minutes from the centre of Amsterdam. At Het Hoge Huis, living and working, city and countryside, peace and activity sit side by side. Here, you walk into the studio in the morning and head out onto the water in the evening. It is a house that has been lived in with great love, and it is ready for a new chapter.

Features

- Detached live-work property, originally a dairy house, some 15 minutes from the centre of Amsterdam
- Living space of 226 m² over three floors, plus an integral garage of 64 m² (290 m² in total); volume 1,045 m³
- Plot of 228 m²
- Private mooring on open water
- Five bedrooms: four on the second floor and one on the ground floor
- Spacious, light-filled, multifunctional room at the rear (2005 extension), currently used as a studio and guest apartment. This room can be reached separately from the main house and has a seamless poured floor with underfloor heating, a glazed rear façade and four roof windows
- Garage with seamless poured floor, which could be converted into living space by replacing the garage doors with a glazed frontage (subject to any permit required)
- Roof terrace of approximately 40 m² and back garden, both with decking
- Exterior recently fully repainted all round
- 10 solar panels
- Wood-burning stove, plus a pot-bellied stove in the garden
- Private parking space in front of the house
- Views of the park