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Sonneveld House

Garden of the Sonneveld House. Photo from the archives of the Sonneveld family. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BIHS Archive.

Building site of the Sonneveld House. Photo from the archives of the Sonneveld family. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BIHS Archive.

The two maids serving the Sonneveld family. Their testimonies provided a lot of information on the Sonneveld household in the 1930s. Photo from the archives of the Sonneveld family. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BIHS Archive.

J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt. Design for the interior of the hall on the first floor. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BROX Archive.

J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt. Design for the interior of the kitchen, second floor. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BROX Archive.

J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt. Design for the interior of the daughter’s bedroom, third floor. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BROX Archives.

J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt. Design for the interior of the parents’ bathroom, third floor. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BROX Archive.

J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt. Design for the interior of the daughter’s bedroom, third floor. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BROX Archive.

Catalogue of Gispen furniture. The Sonneveld family selected many items from the Gispen catalogues issued in 1933 en 1934. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, GISP Archive.

Catalogue of Gispen furniture. The Sonneveld family selected many items from the Gispen catalogues issued in 1933 en 1934. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, GISP Archive.

Catalogue of Gispen furniture. The Sonneveld family selected many items from the Gispen catalogues issued in 1933 en 1934. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, GISP Archive.

Catalogue cover of Gispen furniture. The Sonneveld family selected many items from the Gispen catalogs issued in 1933 en 1934. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, GISP Archive.

Library. Sonneveld House, J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1929-1933. Photo by Piet Zwart, 1933. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut. © Piet Zwart / Nederlands Fotomuseum. This photo has been an important source for the reconstruction of the interior.

Hall. Sonneveld House, J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1929-1933. Photo by Piet Zwart, 1933. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut. © Piet Zwart / Nederlands Fotomuseum.

Servant’s bedroom. Sonneveld House, J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1929-1933. Photo by Jan Kamman, 1933. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut. © Jan Kamman / Nederlands Fotomuseum.

Sonneveld House, J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1929-1933. Living room with carpet ‘Playing with tradition’ (2009), by Richard Hutten. Photo: Johannes Schwartz.

Sonneveld House, J.A. Brinkman and L.C. van der Vlugt, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1929-1933. Kitchen with Chair ‘Zuiderzeestoel’ (2009), by Richard Hutten. Photo: Johannes Schwartz.

Garden of the Sonneveld House. Photo from the archives of the Sonneveld family. Collection Het Nieuwe Instituut, BIHS Archive.

Restoration

The Sonneveld House is a listed building that opened to the public as a museum in 2001 after a restoration that returned its exterior and interior to their original state. The house has had a long history and a number of occupants. Since the museum is intended primarily as a reconstruction providing an impression of how the Sonneveld family lived, the restoration was based on the completed state of the house in 1933. Alterations made during the Sonnevelds’ residence were treated as authentic; modifications made after they moved out were undone.

The role of the archive

The original state of the house can be determined almost entirely from archives in the Nieuwe Instituut's collection, including that of Brinkman and Van der Vlugt. The architects’ archive made it possible not only to preserve the house but also to carefully reconstruct it, down to the colours, fabrics and furniture. The Sonneveld family's personal archive and W.H. Gispen’s business archive contain great quantities of useful information about everyday life in the house and how it was furnished.

The museum

The Sonneveld House Museum reveals the lifestyle of a prominent family of Rotterdammers who were converts to modernism, showing how they furnished their house and which objects they surrounded themselves with. The art and consumer goods that enrich the interior have been collected through gifts, purchases and loans.