Ambitious, impressive and international too

Ibiza Interiors first opened on the island in 2014, a young and ambitious interior design and architecture firm headed up by Dutch-born Jurjen Van Hulzen. After running his own successful architectural practice and a furniture store in Amsterdam, in addition to years spent working in some of the most respected firms in his homeland, he up-ended his city life and relocated to the tranquil countryside of Ibiza, ready to introduce his concepts and passion to a new destination. In the years that followed, Ibiza Interiors – the new firm, that fused both elements of his existing companies – expanded exponentially, becoming a full service project agency that worked with both private clients and professional developers on all levels.

Today, the practice employs eight young, dynamic design professionals from across the world – Spain, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Mexico, England and Belgium to be precise – and their projects too, span the globe, ranging from local residential reformations to large-scale, international conceptual hotel designs and much more. For Van Hulzen, it’s all about bringing his clients’ dreams to life – discovering exactly what it is they seek from a space, how they intend to use it, and how it works with their own lifestyles and tastes is all part of the challenge. It’s not about bringing a cookie cutter signature ‘Ibiza style’ to projects around the world; rather, it’s about finding clients and projects that gel with the team’s own ambition, passion for design and love of high-quality finishes. For the Ibiza Interiors team, there is no project too big or small, no destination to close or far from home – it’s all about finding special collaborations that leave owners, developers and designers alike feeling satisfied on a creative level.

The Campo Loft

The Campo Loft was one of Van Hulzen’s first projects in Ibiza – the conversion of a 100-year old warehouse on some farmland in the north of the island into a guest house that fused the rusticity of the location with some of the urban design elements he loved. “It’s not your typical Ibiza interior,” says Van Hulzen, looking back on the project. “Other elements such as concrete flooring, contemporary copper lighting, powder-coated steel window frames and our favourite designer furniture provided the perfect contrast to the campo style of the Sabina wood ceilings and countryside views.” The slightly industrial feel of the materials were a nod to the original purpose of the warehouse – a storage space for farm equipment – further enhanced by the custom-made steel kitchen island from Eginsteel. Modern art by Amsterdam gallery Vroom&Varossieau bring fresh life to the space, alongside contemporary chic pieces of furniture from The Modern (Van Hulzen’s partner furniture store). “If Ibiza Interiors were to have a signature style, this would be as close as it gets,” ponders Van Hulzen. “The project features all of our favourite finishes, the furniture brands we work exclusively with and the mixture of styles is very strong.”

The Moos Kitchen

When you think of fresh, healthy salad restaurants in Ibiza, the mind naturally leans towards light, soft and quite feminine spaces, but with The Moos Kitchen in Cala Llonga, the brief for the Ibiza Interiors team was to create a space that emanated cosmopolitan style and a sense of masculinity while still drawing on the surrounding landscape – a new twist on farm-to-table. Van Hulzen and his team achieved this by drawing on urban materials such as stainless steel, polished cement, iron windows and wood, while complementing the beachy exterior with hanging wicker pendant lamps and cane chairs that look equally at home in Los Angeles, Tulum, Barcelona or Hawaii. This international feel was 100% intentional. “We aren’t just influenced by Ibiza style or architecture,” says Van Hulzen. “We take inspiration from all over the world, from commercial to residential projects.” The Moos Kitchen concept took around two months to conceptualise, alongside the client, and then another six months for completion as it was a complete redesign and rebuild of what was once a typical Spanish restaurant – everything needed to be gutted, and then re-fitted with new materials and furniture. The results speak for themselves: a hip, cool beachside hangout with universal (and Instagrammable) appeal.

The Nieuw Apartment

Outside of Ibiza, clients are calling Van Hulzen and his team to create harmonious spaces, tucked away within some of the busiest tourist areas in the world. The Nieuw Apartment, set in the very heart of Amsterdam on the Prinsengracht canal, is exactly that – a 70 square metre home that offers its owner the opportunity to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the busy city below, from the very moment they step through the front door. With timeless Scandinavian and French influences, the space is very clean, calm and relaxed, and brings a sense of nature into the city through the use of a natural lime paint and dark treated wooden floors. Large steel framed windows in the spacious living area bring the natural light into the apartment, and offer stunning views over the canals at sunset, while the bedroom and balcony make the most of the morning sunlight. Other international projects on the go include a penthouse Lisbon apartment and a boutique hotel concept in Mexico – for the Ibiza Interiors team, it’s all about studying the location and integrating the owners’ own style, and of course, their own impeccable taste.

Farmhouse

The stunning transformation of  residential home in the north of Ibiza, Farmhouse was originally a new and modern five-bedroom house that Ibiza Interiors transformed into a high-end finca style property at the request of its owners, who weren’t happy with the sleek contemporary finishes and wanted a more typical Ibiza style home. “We took absolutely everything out and re-did it,” recalls Van Hulzen. “From the layout and the finishes to the furniture – everything is new and has a sense of warmth. You can see we’ve mixed some Scandinavian influences with classic Ibiza elements, and industrial style elements. For us, this was almost like designing a boutique hotel concept – we treated it as an old finca (even though it was a new build) and gave every part of the house a different finish, from the common areas like the masia, the greenhouse and the stables to each of the bedrooms. All have different finishes and furnishings, but they all come together to complement one another.”

Finca Vecchi

“There’s something so special about the energy of this ancient finca,” says Van Hulzen, speaking of the incredible transformation of Finca Vecchi – one of the oldest farmhouses in Ibiza, dating back over five centuries. For this client, maintaining and conserving the finca’s original features was paramount, and Ibiza Interiors were able to achieve this by working with organic materials such as natural lime, used everywhere (walls, floors, ceilings) but the railings and windows,” says Van Hulzen. “Everything breathes – there are no chemicals or epoxies in this house, which creates such a nice energy.” Despite it being a very small finca in terms of size, the project itself was a long process, due to the rules and regulations around reforming properties with such history and heritage in Ibiza, but one that the Ibiza Interiors team thrived upon. Stepping inside Finca Vecchi feels like stepping back in time, proving yet again, that Ibiza Interiors can works completely to any brief – be it based on a centuries-old design or imagined in the future.

“There’s no right or wrong way to work on design,” concludes Van Hulzen. “Every project is unique, every client lives differently and has different values, and our work should reflect that – we are always trying to create something unique, not just bring Ibiza style wherever we go.”