A house of color, light and spacious, showing the spirit of functionalism. In the middle of Rotterdam’s Museumpark, you can visit Sonneveld House Rotterdam.
The Museumpark is a unique part of Rotterdam in the Netherlands: it houses many museums, some of them in monumental villas, and is surrounded by green. You can find Sonneveld House Rotterdam in the same street as Chabot Museum Rotterdam and Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam.
Sonneveld House
The villa was designed in 1933 by architecture firm Brinkman and Van der Vlugt for Albert Sonneveld who was the director of the Van Nelle Factory (a UNESCO World Heritage Site nearby). The design of Chabot Museum Rotterdam follows the same style, which is not surprising as the architect worked for the same firm.
The building is white, spacious and plays with light. This use of light and space follows the principles of functionalism: “More light in the house”. The five points of Le Corbusier are also observed. The pristine white from the exterior forms a stark contrast with the color used inside.
Inside Sonneveld House Rotterdam
The building and the rooms with the furniture and accessories form museum. Everything is kept very close to the original state from when the Sonneveld family lived in the house. You have to wear overshoes as to not damage the floor inside.
In every room, the first thing you notice is the color used. And not your everyday colors, but vermillion red, cornflower blue, turquoise and canary yellow among them. If you do it, then do it to the fullest, right? For myself, I can’t imagine living there being surrounded by that one color every day. Say yellow for my bedroom, greenish-blue for the bathroom and red for the living room. But that only makes it more interesting to explore a villa with rooms like that for a day.
The furniture is practical: no space wasted by cupboards and closets, because they all blend with the room; the colors preventing you from paying special attention to them.
All in all worth a visit. Be it for inspiration for your own home, relief that your home isn’t like that or a very unique experience walking in the footsteps of a well-off Dutch family in the 1920s.
How to get to Sonneveld House Rotterdam
Sonneveld House Rotterdam is in the middle of Rotterdam’s Museumpark: an area that also houses Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Chabot Museum and Het Nieuwe Instituut. The museum is only a 15 minutes walk from Rotterdam Central Station. If you’re coming by tram or subway you should get off at the stop Eendrachtsplein and walk about 5 minutes to Jongkindstraat 12, Rotterdam.
Opening hours
Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 – 17:00 (until 21:00 on Thursdays). Closed on Mondays and on New Years Day, King’s Day (April 27) and Christmas Day.
Tickets
Tickets are 14 euros for adults and free for kids. Entrance is also free with a Rotterdampas or Museumkaart (for those spending more time in the Netherlands). You get a discount with a Rotterdam Welcome Card (tickets will be 10.50 euros).
With your ticket for Sonneveld House Rotterdam you can visit Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam for free.
Other interesting museums nearby
- Enjoy a thought-provoking experience at Het Nieuwe Instituut Rotterdam
- Expressionism at Chabot Museum Rotterdam.
- Explore questions involving society at TENT Rotterdam
