HOUSE TOUR | ROOMS & GARDENS | WORLD OF CABANA
Step inside a layered 13th century apartment in Mechelen, Belgium, where the young homeowner - designer and collector Elena Van Dijck - has created a joyfully nostalgic space. Here, the Belgian art historian’s archaeological finds meet irreverent charm, carefully arranged objects and colorful textiles aplenty.
BY EMMA BECQUE | ROOMS & GARDENS | 22 MARCH 2025
De Ingel, Elena Van Dijck’s family home in Mechelen, Belgium, once formed part of the 13th-century Couderborg castle © Isabel Bronts.
When Elena Van Dijck wakes up in her Mechelen apartment, the first thing she does is walk into the Gothic Room and turn on the classical radio. "I love having music in the house all the time. It is part of the tapestry of this house," she says. This daily ritual is just one way she brings her home to life. The apartment, set within De Ingel, a 13th-century building with a long and layered past, is a deeply personal reflection of its owner: art historian, archaeologist, designer, antique dealer, and collector of stories.
Elena's father, an antiquarian, purchased the four-storey house in the early 2000s, filling it with treasures from his vast collection. Decades later, Elena and her sister each took ownership of an apartment within the building. "This place is already quite sentimental," she admits. "I live on my own, but not entirely. My sister lives above me, my father's collection is above, and I have a view of my childhood home from my window."
Like an archaeological site, Elena's apartment has served many roles over the centuries: a guild house, a fencing hall, and even a toll collector's residence. Traces of these past lives remain today: the vaulted cellars, the heavy wooden beams, a Rococo ceiling painted in 1765 by Italian craftsmen, and Gothic mural remnants. "I never wanted a space that felt frozen in time," she says. "It has to evolve."
Elena's background in archaeology trained her to look for meaning in the smallest of details. "Wherever I go, my eyes are always on the ground, searching for small treasures," she explains. "A single shard can reveal so much. Its age, origin, and original form." This philosophy extends to her interior, where every object holds significance, from broken shards of pottery reclaimed within a trinket box to carefully sourced totems from friends now stored within a bathroom cabinet of curiosities.
Paint colors have been sourced from Elena's notebook cover or the backdrop of a painting. The kitchen showcases a patchwork of archived swatches © Isabel Bronts.
More recently, the young antique dealer has been crafting her own designs, including a series of hand-woven rugs shaped like amphorae and cushions inspired by classical vases. "I like to play with contrasts," she says. "The softness of textiles against the fragility of ceramics. It's my way of bridging history with contemporary design." In warm terracotta tones, one such rug drapes over a Louis XVI-style armchair.
Each space has a distinct character, its atmosphere dictated by season, light, and the objects that populate it. The Gothic Room is a dimly lit winter retreat with French vinyl records. The walls are a deep burgundy, offset by golden candle sconces and a collection of antique busts. "I immerse myself in French chansons and a glass of wine."
A carved wooden pillar salvaged from a chapel stands beside an Empire-style cabinet, its surface strewn with "characters" collected from flea markets across Europe. "Living alone, I find company in the many faces you see around the apartment." One such piece, a handsome painting in the kitchen, was a beloved acquisition that Elena recently sold. "He is now in St Tropez, but I miss him," she laughs.
The Green Room, by contrast, is her "luminous garden", its botanical palette reflecting the shift in seasons. The walls, painted in a rich, saturated green, are dressed with an 19th-century sunburst clock and framed prints from a Parisian antique dealer.
The bedroom and bathroom form one suite. "I'm fanatical about taking baths," she confesses. "I put on a record, and when it finishes, I know it's time to get out, or I just stay until the water gets cold." The bathroom, papered in silver chinoiserie wallpaper from Benedetti Interieur, is filled with curiosities: shells, vintage props, unused barbershop brushes. An elaborate mirror hangs above the antique sink, flanked by sconces shaped like cherubs. "Bathrooms should have shells," she insists, citing James Ensor's Ensorian aesthetic, a Belgian tradition of filling interiors with maritime relics.
The kitchen is a masterclass in instinctive decorating. Once painted a stark white, the walls have been transformed into a layered patchwork of peach, mustard yellow, and cobalt blue. "The walls were peeling, so I just glued the paint back on," she laughs.
Above the stove, an early 19th-century ironstone Imari Ashette, initially designed for the Prince Regent's Brighton Pavilion, takes pride of place. A salvaged ship's wheel, sourced from a Belgian auction house, leans against a wall, surrounded by a mismatched collection of Delft plates and Majolica ceramics. The dining table, a sturdy heirloom oak piece, is surrounded by antique chairs, each with its patina and story. A Flemish 17th-century Baroque chandelier strung with ceramic fruit and glazed glass droplets casts a warm glow.
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Costume soirees are another tradition. "We dress up in different themes - Farmers, Rococo, now A Trip Around the World. I decorate the whole place to match," she says. "I love stepping into a different world, even just for a night," she says.
Despite her role as an antiquarian, Elena admits she forms emotional attachments to objects. "I like to keep things for a while, study them, enjoy them. Only then do I sell them." There are pieces she could never part with, like the chair gifted by a friend, his reading chair for years. "It's even more special to read in it now, knowing its past."
When a visitor once stepped into her apartment, they told her, "Now I understand you better." She took it as the highest compliment. "It's as if you're stepping into me," she says. In this house of many stories, Elena continues to write her own.
A series of wall paintings in the Gothic Room represent the antique dealers' fantasies. One such painting depicts the story of Leda and the Swan, while another, a mermaid by Belgian artist Alice Frey, explores the female anatomy © Isabel Bronts.
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