Lute Suites: Seven Distinct Interiors in Cottages beside the Amstel

Lute Suites began with a row of eighteenth-century cottages overlooking the Amstel and a hospitality idea developed by Peter Lute and Marcel Wanders. The 2005 project converted the buildings into seven individual suites, combining the independence of a front door with interiors that varied from one cottage to the next. Domestic proportions, river views and markedly different decorative treatments gave each one a separate identity.

Glass and timber give the bathing area a visible place within the cottage interior. Photography: Inga Powilleit. Styling: Tatjana Quax. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

The original release presented the suites as part of a wider ambition for accommodation distributed across Amsterdam. The completed group documented here was its first physical expression: seven connected historic cottages, each organised to support a stay with living space, sleeping space and everyday facilities. Boffi, Bisazza and Moooi contributed to the project’s material and furnishing palette.

Dark beams and seating give definition to a bright living room in Suite 7. Photography: Inga Powilleit. Styling: Tatjana Quax. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

A cottage with its own rhythm

Each suite had its own entrance, living room, bathroom and bedroom, with a kitchenette and wine rack included in the living area. Bedrooms were generally placed upstairs or in a loft; two suites incorporated a sleeping nook. These arrangements used the height and individual structure of the cottages to create interiors that unfolded vertically as well as from front to back.

Stairs, mezzanines and partial openings between levels were therefore central to the experience. A person entering one of the cottages could see towards a bathroom, up to a sleeping area or through to a high window. The historic shell supplied a compact framework in which relatively small changes of level produced different views of the interior.

A steep metal stair connects the suite’s open levels to a sleeping nook beneath the roof. Photography: Inga Powilleit. Styling: Tatjana Quax. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Bathrooms as part of the spatial sequence

The bathrooms were especially prominent in the original design. Glass partitions allowed light and views to pass between the bathing areas and adjoining rooms. In Suite 1, the release describes a Bisazza snowflake-patterned wall visible through glass near the entrance, with the bedroom partly seen above through the open loft.

A sculptural bathtub occupies the full height of the cottage’s roof space. Photography: Inga Powilleit. Styling: Tatjana Quax. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Other suites used the bathroom to connect several levels. In Suite 4, a stair led to a mezzanine bathroom from which visitors could look down into the living room and upwards towards a sleeping nook behind a floral screen. That suite had a double shower; the different arrangements across the project show that the cottages were designed individually rather than fitted with one repeated layout.

Pattern, craft and contrasting materials

The archival photographs reveal a broad palette within the small buildings. Fine mosaic patterns sit beside plain white fixtures, while large black-and-white flowers cover another bathroom wall. Timber, exposed roof structures, dark metal stairs and brightly coloured textiles appear in different combinations, giving each interior a recognisable atmosphere.

A spiral stair, glass enclosure and patterned floor connect different levels and functions in Suite 7. Photography: Inga Powilleit. Styling: Tatjana Quax. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

The release describes Suite 3 through its gold ceiling, baroque wallpaper, antique pieces and contemporary design objects. Elsewhere, metal-inlaid floors and floral screens introduce pattern through the construction of a surface rather than only through upholstery. These details let the decorative language reach from furniture into the fabric of the rooms.

Historic roof beams frame a living area furnished with pale surfaces and vivid pattern. Photography: Sebastiaan Westerweel. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Using the height of the old buildings

The cottages’ roof spaces added another source of variation. In the photographs, exposed dark beams frame tall white walls, while a steep stair cuts a clear profile against patterned wallpaper. The loft arrangement places sleeping and bathing areas within sight of the living space, making the interior feel like a small connected house.

Suite 7 brought together a high ceiling, a smoked-glass bathroom enclosure and a spiral stair wrapped in teak. The studio’s account also describes an upholstered wall on the sleeping floor and chandeliers in the living room. Such combinations made each suite a complete sequence of materials and spaces, with its own transitions from entrance to bedroom.

The upholstered wall makes the sleeping area a distinct part of Suite 7. Photography: Inga Powilleit. Styling: Tatjana Quax. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Separate boardrooms extended the original programme to meetings and private meals. Their independent entrances allowed them to function alongside the accommodation, while the photographed meeting interior used a round table, clustered pendants and the exposed roof structure to create another distinct room within the ensemble.

The separately accessed boardroom brings a round meeting table beneath the cottage roof. Photography: Sebastiaan Westerweel. Courtesy of Marcel Wanders.

Project information and sources

Project: Lute Suites. Location: cottages overlooking the Amstel, the Netherlands. Year: 2005. Concept collaborators: Peter Lute and Marcel Wanders. Interior design: Marcel Wanders. Programme: seven individual suites and separate boardrooms. Design brands named in the original release: Boffi, Bisazza and Moooi. This article describes the original project, not a current accommodation offer.

Project credit: Lute Suites, an iconic interior by Marcel Wanders, 2005.

Project information and archival images: Marcel Wanders’ official Lute Suites press room and the original Lute Suites release.