goodbye Bredestraat 3, looking back once more, moving forward

a life, their lives, part of my life

papier-mâché house angel made by papa

the attic where we used to roller-skate, play ping-pong and paint the walls; it being a town house the garden was a lot smaller than the one we were used to in the U.K.

unbeknownst to us, our mother felt guilty for years for depriving us of outdoor space, we never minded the move, and were especially grateful during highschool when we started going out and partying as friends came to stay with us, or we would gather here and start off on our nights out!

mouldy wall-paper-reveal behind less than completely painted wall in downstairs loo, where we removed a mirror

view from kitchen window, north facing

despite being the smallest room in the house, we spent most of our time there

we moved into the house June 1971, my parents had the 70ies kitchen installed and nothing changed

view from my very romantic bedroom in the small garden (play)house, upon arrival we named it The White House; it was my room during my last year in highschool

last days in the home: almost empty spaces!

it had become a very full house over the course of 50 years: art on the walls, books everywhere! collections of so many items, if it had been work my mother would have become professional a hoarder;-)

a reflection of me in the kitchen mirror, some things like the mantle piece and the mirror with fabric wall covering belongs to the house and was here when we moved in

three of papa's earlier ceramics, I took those with me

once he stopped working, he gave up everything relating to his former professional life and dedicated himself to everything he most enjoyed: painting, ceramics, gardening both in their town house as well as in their 'second home' a Summer house in Denmark, my mama's birth country, visiting museums, travelling and most importantly entertaining

our parents were both big on entertaining

garden in Summer

glimpses of what it looked like when furnished, I had already started sorting....

sitting room above, below a bathroom wall

above sitting room, below mama's study

I set out at the beginning of last year January 2021 to clear out the house, just after our mama had died, 12 November 2020 and once we realised our papa could not stay alone in the house, even with care provided

He died soon after her, three months after to the day on 12 February 2021

I decided I wanted to get the job done within a year as I felt the energy to keep at it would fail me eventually and  I'ld get fed up; fortunately my siblings agreed and we embarked upon our adventure

Mid December the house was sold and we determined the transfer would take place 3 January 2022

We spent Sunday there together and slept in our old beds for the last time....

 

2022 promises to be a fresh start