Tucked between the North Sea and the Netherlands border, Knokke is a town in Belgium visited for its picturesque nature: beaches, salt marshes, dunes, and woodlands. It’s fitting then that Stef Claes Architect would opt for the quiet stillness found in the rural landscape for a residence in the area’s Duinenwater. Aptly titled the North Sea Residence, the project is a vacation home for a family from Singapore. The interior architecture and design from Stef Claes marries the homeowners’ taste and background with a site-specific approach.

Rather than making statements and grand gestures, the residence’s design has a quiet and minimal aesthetic, covering the home in a white base. The open connection to the land carries through in the flowing spatial orientation of the home. The architects prioritized key elements to delineate space in place of doors. In the kitchen for instance, the large block of Ceppo di Gré stone establishes the zone. The floorplan continues into the living and dining room, separated by a fireplace to visually divvy the layout. But perhaps the most careful consideration of the spatial delineation is found at the oversized sliding wood panel doors that reveal and conceal the staircase.

The unique art and furniture collection of the clients drove much of the design. The homeowners had a mix of contemporary and vintage furniture, including an antique bench for Myanmar. A minimalist base helps let these pieces take center stage and imbue the home with warmth. In the living room, a squiggly stool from Frank Gehry is styled with warm wood shelving like the coffee table in Jacaranda wood by Muniz Zylberberg.

Whereas the living room was defined and distinguished by dark wood, the kitchen is delineated by oak and stone. The light wood makes up the millwork under a stone countertop and adjacent to it in the cabinets along the wall. It ties into the brightly lit nature of the space thanks to the sliding glass doors that bring natural light into the kitchen.

Upstairs, the bedroom continues this white and wood motif, featuring a Charlotte Perriand–designed stool, an armchair by Carlo Hauner, a vintage wall lamp, and a custom headboard upholstered using Belgian linen. An artwork by Ronan Bouroullec also hangs in this space.

The minimal furnishings allow the architectural elements of the bedroom to shine. The white fins on the ceiling and sloped roof bring character to the space despite its emptier nature. It also allows these elements to create continuous flow from the bedroom to bathroom, as the row of fins run down one room to the other.

For this primary bedroom, the architects also designed an en-suite wellness bathroom that includes a freestanding tub designed by Patricia Urquiola. These vintage and iconic pieces feel at home, and not overshadowed, by the residence’s sense of place. Such is the firm’s delicate approach to the contextual conversation inherent in the space.