Studio Francis
Prodigal Son

Prodigal Son
Amsterdam

Morning light shimmers across the rippling Herengracht, casting a gentle chiaroscuro onto the stucco-clad ceilings and walls of a storied Amsterdam residence. Once home to Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch, one of the two central figures in Rembrandt’s De Nachtwacht.

Name
Prodigal Son
Location
Herengracht, Amsterdam
Project
Residential
Work
Interior Architecture & Design
Full Project Management
Design Size
165m²

We undertook a thorough renovation of this property under the assignment of a young family. The project was creative, crafting spaces imaginative enough for their young family, while paying the utmost respect to the building’s history and provenance. Original features were restored with care, and new interventions were guided by a commitment to longevity and craft.

Inspiration was drawn from historic colour palettes typical of the city’s Golden Age canal houses, Aquamarine, Yellow Ochre, and Burnt Umber, reinterpreting them in both architectural finishes and bespoke furnishings for a modern yet deeply contextual atmosphere.

The kitchen, the heart of the home, reflects the family’s love of entertaining. Flooded with light from both the canal and the central atrium, the space is enveloping and gezellig. The cabinetry is meticulously crafted from solid oak with exposed dovetail joints, while expressive Cipollino marble sweeps across the countertops and up the walls. A trio of Raak Amsterdam Planetoid lights overhead, a quiet nod to Dutch mid-century design, and another layer in the buildings history.

The primary suite, intentionally set apart for privacy, sits at the rear of the home overlooking the west-facing garden. A long hallway frames an uninterrupted line of sight from the canal to the garden. The room is anchored by two Studio Francis designs, a grand bureau and curved bench seating, both handcrafted in solid oak by local artisans. The asymmetry of the furniture, paired with an offset Pierre Guariche wall light, brings a subtle tension to the space.

Photos by Danielle Siobhan

Prodigal Son — view 1
Prodigal Son — view 2.1
Prodigal Son — view 2.2
Prodigal Son — view 3
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Prodigal Son — view 6.1
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Prodigal Son — view 8.1
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Prodigal Son — view 9
Prodigal Son — view 10.1
Prodigal Son — view 10.2
Prodigal Son — view 11.1
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Prodigal Son — view 12