Looking inside Ellen in Zuilen: ‘When I saw the ski hut, my husband was gone’

Go out for a packet of ham and come home with a house. It happened to Ellen (35), who has been the proud owner of a beautiful 1930s house in Zuilen since the end of 2019. She lives there with her husband Thomas and her son Stef. Despite the fact that her husband was not immediately enthusiastic during the visit, he was convinced after seeing the ski hut in the laundry room.

Ellen and Thomas weren’t looking for a new home at all. She says: “We lived near the Amsterdamsestraatweg. Friends of ours live behind this in a new neighborhood. We went there once for dinner. My husband and this friend were cooking and they needed Parma ham. I said: I will walk to the supermarket. When I passed these houses, I thought: they are beautiful. On the way back I saw a sign for sale. I came back and told my husband: here is the ham and we bought a house. It was two and a half years ago. We weren’t looking for a new home and we didn’t have to leave. We said to ourselves: it will never work.

Offer accepted

Still, Ellen decided to watch Funda. The house had been for sale for six weeks. “We thought: it must be in bad shape. The foundation is probably broken or something. We didn’t believe it very much. In the evening, I went back with a friend. We tried to look inside. Everything was closed, we couldn’t see anything.” The next day, Ellen called the real estate agent to inquire and schedule a visit. “I was very surprised, there was nothing structurally wrong with the house. A week later, on my way to Rome, I received a call at the airport informing me that the offer had been accepted!

ski lodge

“The house first had a Greek interior. All the living room walls were salmon pink. Kitsch flagstones strewn the floor. There was a chandelier and where the black door is now, there were some sort of ornamental Greek arches. The bathroom was very old, it was almost falling apart. Ellen could see through it. It was more difficult for her husband, but as soon as he saw the ski hut in the laundry room, he left. “We went to see the house and I said to myself: is Thomas really enthusiastic? He wasn’t flabbergasted, I saw all sorts of possibilities. Until he sees the ski lodge. He just said: it stays. The former residents had taken over from the former residents. Maybe this thing is sixty years old. It now functions as a place for parties and games.

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Inspired by Ruby Rose and the Streetfood Club

What parts of the house do you prefer? Ellen thought for a moment and then said, “When I ask Thomas, he says the ski lodge. We like to sit at the table, for example when friends come over for dinner. I also think the washroom went very well. We always get good feedback on this. It is inspired by Ruby Rose and the Streetfood Club: the same colors and loaded wallpapers.

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From the slide to the roof

The garden still needs a major makeover. Ellen explains, “We put trees behind, so the houses behind are more out of sight. Once when it snowed a lot, Thomas bought some wood with the neighbor and made a toboggan in their garden. When the snow disappeared, all that wood disappeared. Once during my pregnancy, I took an afternoon nap. When I came down after, there was a roof with a bar in the garden. Now there is also the barbecue, where Thomas often hangs out.

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Tile from a restaurant in Utrecht in the bathroom

Ellen has many great stories about the interior. “I immediately think of the tiles in my bathroom. We bought this house just before Christmas and decided to get married. We wanted to get married small, but with lunch. We had already discussed the location for this. At Christmas we went to eat at the Ruby Rose, they had just opened. We said to ourselves: it’s also great to have lunch here. Having just opened, they had never hosted large groups before. They liked doing it and they tried to persuade us to have our wedding there. In the kitchen of the restaurant they had very nice green tiles. It turned out that they had some left.

Ellen and Thomas were able to strike a deal: “If we can have the remaining tiles, we’ll come over for lunch with a large group.” It was actually a joke, but they liked it so much they fixed it.

When tiling the bathroom wall, it turned out that it was not eight square meters, but five. Ruby Rose’s kitchen tiles were proof of Italy and you couldn’t just order them again. For example, Ellen and Thomas had a white hole in the bathroom. “Later, I painted tiles,” Ellen says. And we can tell you: you don’t see any of this.

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Painting with details around the world

Above the ball pit – Stef’s favorite place – hangs a beautiful painting. Ellen says about it: “A colleague did this to us. When we got married, Thomas gave her pictures of our world tour. She made this painting based on that. I don’t know that. It’s a combination of his fantasy and photos. You see details about New Zealand, Peru, and Vietnam, among others.

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village feeling

The best thing about living in this place? It’s the good contact with the neighbors for Ellen. “We regularly spend beautiful evenings. And don’t forget the baby monitor, which we can easily assemble. The location is also ideal: close to the greenery and quite close to the center. I myself come from a village. I’ve always said: if I ever have children, I want to raise them there. For me, that village feeling comes together here, because of the nice and social neighborhood.

Can we take a look inside your house?

Do you live in a special place in Utrecht, a house with a story or are you just very satisfied with your house? Or do you know someone who would be suitable for this section? Let us know at [email protected]we would be delighted to visit you.