Johan is an interior stylist working on everything from domestic homes to projects for big stores across the Netherlands, while Harold works in TV production. When we come home, all we want to do is relax and recharge. Sticking to a single colour palette of black and white makes for a more restful look – and greater simplicity.”

The apartment, which dates from the 1900s and is close to Amsterdam’s pretty Vondelpark, wasn’t always so straightforward in visual terms, though. “We started painting over colours and stripping wallpaper a couple of years ago when Harold moved in,” says Johan, “I’ve lived here for fifteen years and have gone through more colourful patterned phases, but together we felt ready to calm things down.”

Johan and Harold seem to have all bases covered in this apartment: it’s got a great central location, is practical and easy to run and – most important of all – is a joy to come home to. “We wanted to create a space that really was somewhere in which to unwind, and that’s what we’ve managed to do.”