Nieuwpoort House is a minimalist home located between Oostduinkerke and Nieuwpoort, Belgium, designed by TJIP. In a rare stretch of Belgian coastline without the typical high-rise developments, TJIP interior architects have created a weekend residence that dissolves the boundary between inside and out, much like the tide blurs the line between sand and sea. The apartment, nestled on the second floor of a charming multi-family house between Oostduinkerke and Nieuwpoort, offers a masterclass in what might be called “environmental continuity” – where the interior becomes an extension of the landscape it frames.
What’s immediately striking is how the sofa becomes more than just furniture; it transforms into an architectural element. Precisely calibrated in height, the backrests allow seated occupants to see just above the promenade’s passing pedestrians while maintaining an uninterrupted panorama of beach and sea. This isn’t merely clever spatial manipulation but a thoughtful meditation on perspective and privacy in shared coastal spaces.
The design’s material palette speaks the language of its surroundings – soft travertine, subtle wood elements, and sand-colored textures that don’t merely reference the beach but seem to bring it indoors. This approach recalls the mid-century California beach houses of architects like Richard Neutra, where the distinction between landscape and living space was deliberately blurred, though here adapted for the more compact European apartment typology.
Most compelling is TJIP’s approach to the constraints of compact living. Rather than treating the apartment’s modest footprint as a limitation, they’ve transformed spatial economy into a virtue through what they describe as “one flowing line” – a continuous element that transitions from entrance hall to kitchen to custom sofa, creating what feels like a single, sculptural piece of furniture. This strategy evokes the efficient spatial organization of naval architecture, an association the designers themselves acknowledge in their allusion to “a ship’s deck with its typical fixed custom-made furniture.”
The bed frame in the master bedroom further demonstrates TJIP’s materialist approach to design, where architectural elements are reimagined. By treating the oversized molding as a wall relief finished in the same color and texture as the surrounding surface, they’ve created an illusory frame that both defines and connects the bed to the room’s overall composition.
Throughout the apartment, textiles introduce tactility and softness – ceiling-high curtains that run wall-to-wall offer not just privacy but textural contrast to the harder surfaces. The lighting strategy similarly honors the environment, prioritizing natural daylight while introducing artificial illumination in strategic, subdued ways.
