Beautiful, personally designed kitchens for KAAP in Amsterdam

Five new residential buildings are being built at a special location in bustling Amsterdam-North: project KAAP. The buildings will contain beautiful apartments, in which everything has been taken care of down to the last detail for the buyers. This includes the kitchens, which are entirely designed and realized by Piet Boon Kitchen.

KAAP is located on the North IJ Bank. The future residents therefore enjoy the picturesque view of the water every day from their own apartment. An iconic project, with Piet Boon Kitchen involved from the very first moment as kitchen supplier, according to Rosemarie Hup (Communications & PR Manager) and John Boom (Corporate Sales Manager).

Real estate development

"This project is all about the kitchens for us," Hup says. "But as a design studio, we do much more than that." In fact, Studio Piet Boon has been a multidisciplinary design studio since 1983 and is known for its perfectly balanced designs for both private and corporate projects and a range of products for all areas of the home. "Our team works with various real estate developers. In doing so, we take a full-service approach: we provide interior, exterior and products with a supporting full-service model. We carefully discuss the developer's requirements and make every job custom. We can take care of the entire design process, but also realize only kitchens, bathrooms and individual products for real estate development projects."

Perfectly fitting kitchens

"We have a lot of experience in the interior and exterior design of entire residential towers, villa parks, recreational homes and hotels. So we know how to integrate a kitchen perfectly so that there is synergy with the entire living environment," Boom explains. "So too in this project. It was nice that we hooked up at an early stage, even before the contractor was known. As a result, the kitchens were already fully drawn out." 

How it worked for the buyers? "The purchase price included a fixed amount for the kitchen. The buyers were invited to our Piet Boon Kitchen Flagship Store in Oostzaan so they could get a clear picture of their future kitchen. We discussed their wishes and created a customized proposal. For example, the buyers could choose from many different colors, materials and appliances. We drew the kitchen completely for each apartment: so did the buyer want the kitchen island bigger? Then of course that was possible." This approach also had its advantages for the contractor. "All the technical and installation drawings for the kitchens were worked out by us. That way the contractor got everything delivered in the same way, so the process went smoothly."

Thinking along in any kind of project

Project KAAP is a wonderful example of streamlined collaboration. For Studio Piet Boon, then, it was a project to be proud of. "We are now celebrating our 40th anniversary, and these types of projects are really part of who we are. We speak the same language as the parties involved. Yet I don't think many developers know that they can also approach us as a preferred supplier for projects, such as kitchens or bathrooms. While the entry level for these types of showroom projects is actually very accessible. We always fully think along with developer and buyer: whether it's about material, color or budget."

Not shell, but customize

Studio Piet Boon has a clear message for the urban planning world: "Bring parties together early! If you bring all parties together early on, you get a much stronger story and a smoother collaboration," Boom said. The design studio also has a clear vision for the future. "Many projects are delivered almost as shells, but we believe that in the future more and more projects will be offered customized, as we did in this project with the kitchens. This will allow buyers to future-proof personalize an entire house. As a customer, you know immediately where you stand: you work with a certain budget and add various options according to your own taste. So: no more shell, but customize!"