Nieuwe Instituut
Nieuwe Instituut

Sonneveld House

Sonneveld House

Home

A room of one's own

The studio was designed for the Sonnevelds’ two daughters. The eldest, Magdalena, nicknamed Puck, was nineteen when the family moved into the house in 1933. Gesine – usually shortened to Gé – was seven years younger. The sisters used the studio for reading, listening to music and entertaining their friends.

The Studio. Photo Johannes Schwartz.

The studio. photo Piet Zwart, 1933. Collection Nieuwe Instituut. @ Piet Zwart / Nederlands Fotomuseum.

The studio is the only room in the house with a parquet floor, probably chosen as an ideal surface for dance parties. The studio contains a multifunctional sofa designed by Leendert van der Vlugt (1894-1936), which incorporates a bookshelf, cupboard and sound system: a speaker, gramophone player and control panel with knobs for volume and selecting radio stations. The radio was connected to other rooms in the house, each of which had a speaker, enabling the family to listen to the music selected in the studio all over the house.   

Nieuwsbrief

Ontvang als eerste uitnodigingen voor onze events en blijf op de hoogte van komende tentoonstellingen.