The Bloemenwerf house is in Uccle, a suburb of Brussels, Belgium. This beautiful home was designed by Henry Van de Velde as his first major piece, and venture into full architecture, although never trained in the field. After being strongly influenced by the British Arts and Crafts Movement, “art for the people, by the people”, as his work is shown in the home itself and everything within it, being designed personally. With previous knowledge of architects such as Phillip Webb and Norman Shaw, Van de Velde had a good idea of works in the British Style. With this, he became one of the first to begin to add curved line in an abstract style to his architecture and interior design. He paid very close attention to the small details of the structure but kept the grand design nominal. He decided to keep to the British floral style throughout the house, while his wife, Maria Sethe, an artist in her own right, designed the gardens around this décor. As important as the exterior and interior design is to this villa, the furniture within is not to be left out (Figure 1). His flowing shapes and minimalist approach transferred to all of his furnishings, as seen in this chair. Although this home was designed for him and his family, it also became his personal studio, where numerous artists and designers of the time would meet (Figure 2). This home would eventually become a valuable piece of art in the eyes of other architects and artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec. Van de Velde’s home would also lead to being commissioned for building the “Hohenhof” house in 1906 for Karl Ernst Osthaus.

 

Bibliography

“Villa Bloemenwerf.” Inside Art Nouveau, 27 Jan. 2020, insideartnouveau.eu/en/edifices/villa-bloemenwerf-2/.

“Henry Van De Velde’s 150th Birthday.” Szecessziós Magazin, Henry Van De Velde, www.szecessziosmagazin.com/magazin9/henryvandevelde150.php.