Alone, but together in the Chocoladefabriek.

Carine and her friend Patrick have been living together in the Chocoladefabriek since August 2019. They were looking for a lovely apartment with lots of natural light, space and soul. And they found all of that in the Chocoladefabriek. The combination of historic soul and living apart together was the decisive factor for Carine en Patrick. They quickly fell in love with the notion of living together in a community where you still have your own space and privacy.  

Parquet flooring, a touch of warmth. 

We are not at all surprised that Carine gets an instant holiday feeling when she comes home. "We enjoy a wonderful oasis of calm in the sitting area, a real Zen feeling created by the very beautiful 7-metre high ceilings. And of course the fantastic glassed part. The view out from our balcony is a fantastic thing too.  

 
The choice of a natural oak floor with vibrant colour variations and knots contributes to the warmth of the sitting area. This is due to the natural look of Oakland Pure, which has a lightly brushed surface treated with invisible oil. This rather taut wood grain with its long and wide planks is totally at home in the loft style with urban influences. The laminated parquet extends through to the dining area. The kitchen island is surrounded by Pierre Bleue Nero, a ceramic blue-stone tile of 90x90cm, which gives a more spacious look to the room. Pierre Bleue has a rich grain with a slight texture that picks up the extraordinary visual characteristics of worked blue stone. This natural character goes perfectly with the adjoining laminated parquet.

Lofty is XL too 

The loft feeling extends above too. The glass balustrade emphasises the open feeling and the connection between the various spaces. Thus the same laminated natural oak parquet as the living room was chosen for bedroom as well. 

Large-format tiles are of course quite at home in a loft. Carine maintains that XL ceramic tiles have many advantages. "For the bathroom, I also chose for ceramic tiles with a timeless, warm, natural stone look. Tiles of 120 x 60cm. As you can see, this makes the room more spacious, much larger, and maintenance-friendly too." 

And the award goes to … 

The trend-setting architecture of the Chocoladefabriek was restored to its former glory by the renovation, which paid attention  to sustainability and original details. No new bricks were used for the renovation of the 160-metre wide building. Architectural traces of the past were left visible, such as the impressive Art Nouveau glass window. Yet the design still provided the option of dividing the factory into spacious empty home units, where the inhabitants were given carte blanche for arranging their own loft. So it is no surprise that the Chocoladefabriek ended up winning the prestigious Real Estate Society (RES) award. Quality design, innovation and sustainability are the pillars of this award and Chocoladefabriek ticked all those boxes.