“Anything you can imagine, you can create”.

This is the core belief of Simone. In addition to a management career, building a house herself was always one of her dreams.

After more than 20 moves in almost 40 years she searched for a unique house where she could ‘root’. She came to the Sancta Maria estate by coincidence and fell in love with the singing birds and the rustling tree leaves. The estate has similarities to the Veluwe, where she grew up. Most of the pavilion houses had already been sold. This peaceful house immediately caught her attention, while other buyers had left the house behind due to its large size and minimal daylight. These challenges attracted her and sparked her creativity.

She bought the 520m2 property in 2018, made plans and started working with a contractor to renovate it. After a couple of months of construction, the house was not finished and the budget was tight. “I’m going to finish it myself,” Simone decided. She taught herself jobs and she went to work on the weekends. Pouring her own floors, fixing ceilings and walls, designing furnitures by re-using second hand items. She created architraves instead of doors, build her own bed from steel and created four meter long lamps.

This was how ART[s] Gallery Simone Jansen was created in 2021. An attractive house with big walls, perfect for beautiful, inspiring art. Her passion for art, crafts, interior design and architecture all come together. Artists are given a unique place where they can exhibit their works. Art lovers can visit the works in a beautiful place.

Filmtip: the renovation of the house and Simone’s story were part of a NPO2 broadcast of “BinnensteBuiten”. Watch her story in 8 min via this link