Isabelle Cajfinger enjoys views from her Amsterdam loft of one of the city’s iconic landmarks, the illustrious Amstel Hotel. Its exclusive location and different exposed beams were just enough to drive Cajfinger, a marketing executive in Cashmere Touch, to overlook the salmon-colored carpet, which she instantly changed anyhow.
“I loved the light from the living room, and I knew right away that changing the dreadful carpet for a light wooden floor would do justice for my furniture and especially my collection of tapestries, rugs and throws,” Cajfinger says. The space, a rental, needed to be only right, because she uses her home as a personal showroom to get her hand-woven cashmere decoration pieces.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Isabelle Cajfinger along with her 2 brothers
Location: Amsterdam
Size: 170 square meters (about 1,829 square feet); 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
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The current white walls and creamy exposed beams played a large part in boosting the natural lighting, but the salmon rug needed to go. Cajfinger ripped up the darkened carpet in favor of pale oak floorboards, a movement that amped up the brightness variable and added style.
“The high ceilings and exposed beams seduced me immediately,” Cajfinger says. “I found right away which beams I’d use to hang my tapestries and how the light would reflect on the chain stitch, how my craftsmen’s work will live together with the light and reflect it” The tapestry of four vibrant fish is a hand-embroidered piece.
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All of Cajfinger’s cashmere designs, from cushions to throw blankets to decorative bits, are produced from the mountains of Kashmir. “The air is so cold that the wool is in its absolute finest,” she says. The procedure where the wool is trimmed, cleaned, combed and woven into the gorgeous products which are strewn throughout Cajfinger’s home has led high-end labels like Hermès to ask about them.
Since she uses her home as a showroom, the decoration is constantly changing as new items are created and then marketed.
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“I am attracted to minimalist spaces which are warm and filled with quality bits,” Cajfinger says. In this less-formal setting of the TV lounge and guest space, an Italian sofa mattress folds out into either a double or 2 single beds.
A hand-embroidered mural of the Singel canal in Amsterdam hangs from a sloped wall.
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This little classic butler’s table is a lucky rescue from an Amsterdam sidewalk. Cajfinger painted it a pale pistachio green, and the bit is now proudly displayed in front of one of the apartment’s many dormer windows.
Cajfinger prefers to adhere to a palette of muted tones in her property. Every so often a dash of vibrant orange or red adds variety.
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Cajfinger had this ottoman in the living room reupholstered with hand-crafted white and blue cashmere.
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Cajfinger enjoys the central location of her kitchen, which enables her to converse with guests in the living room or living room while preparing meals.
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Cajfinger owes much of her style to an upbringing filled with style and imagination. “My mother was always incredibly tasteful, as were my grandparents; along with also my brother, Paris-based style designer Serge Cajfinger, is remarkably visual,” she says.
The contemporary Asian sideboard here is made of old Chinese electric poles. “Since there’s insufficient [storage] in Amsterdam to stock tableware, it’s a very practical bit,” she says.
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Despite the history which surrounds her at the Dutch capital, Cajfinger’s individual style has become more modern during her period in Amsterdam. “There are many modern designers in Amsterdam,” she says. “Discovering this, I understood I was quite conventional, although I am increasingly drawn to modern design.”
Though some can be apprehensive about choosing white dining seats, Cajfinger finds them highly functional. “White is about the only colour that can remain clean, and [the seats are] very functional with younger children, as they can be soaked and bleached white when needed,” she says.
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The hallway is a bright and light extension of the living space, with exposed beams and vibrant accent pillows. “This was the first time we utilized suédine [faux suede] on one of our products; usually we just have wool and canvas on our pillows,” Cajfinger says.
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Intricately cashmere and linen dresses the mattress. The throw pillow on the end is adorned with a drawing with a child.
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Both the dresser and seat are antiques. The blazer hanging on the doorway resulting in an en suite toilet is a favourite bit, designed by Cajfinger’s brother for Paule Ka.
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“My apartment feels as though it may be in some of the main towns that I adore, like New York, London or Paris, but facing one of the city’s most historic landmarks that amuses celebrities from across the globe gives the apartment a unique balance between local and international,” says Cajfinger, revealed here.
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