Who we are
Fien
Hi, my name is Fien, and the happy co-host of Huisje Nummer tien and I make sure that all of our guests get a warm welcome and can enjoy an unforgettable stay. Besides hosting the house guests, I am a professional textile designer and an arts teacher.
Together with my partner Jonas De Man, who is an amazingly talented chef, we established a restaurant Tafel Twaalf right next door, hoping to further enrich the regional experiences with culinary delights.
I am a very active, energetic and life-loving person, and I hope I will be able to share tips and tricks about the area for you to enjoy your stay to the fullest!
Dries
Hello, I’m Dries, Fien´s brother, currently living and working in Frankfurt, Germany.
I’ve lived in so many places in Europe (from East to West and North to South), have travelled to more than 50 different countries and share this passion with my wife Viktorija, hoping to see even more stunning beauty of this world. And while I have seen quite some of this world, Belgium in general and the Meetjesland area in particular are very dear to my heart. It always prides me to introduce my region, which is still rather unknown and undiscovered, to friends, and I hope you will also be tempted to come and see for yourselves.
I speak Dutch (but we call it Flemish), French, English and German fluently and I have some basic knowledge of Spanish, Czech and Russian. Looking forward to your enquiries!
Our history
The original Huisje Nummer tien house dates back to 1860s and was bought by my family in 1993. The house has served a myriad of purposes: from a town hall to bakery and to finally becoming a clubhouse for my grandfather’s hunting club.
An impossible task
In 2014, I acquired the house and had a professional take a look at the building, which did not look as it had been in a particularly good state. The report contained multiple words to describe the structure that were unkind, but true: dilapidated, shabby electrics and insolation, non-habitable space, severe water damages and many more.
Last, but not least, it concluded that the house was located in a flooding area. But even though it seemed to be an impossible task, I decided to power through and give our family home a new life!
The journey
Together with one of Belgium’s young, talented and controversial architects, Tim Peeters, we embarked on the journey. The front and side of the house were declared to be local heritage and therefore had to remain in the original form during the renovation works.
It was of utmost importance for us to keep the original charm and outlook of the house with its 4 traveeën (4 bays on the front wall), the cemented plinth and the green windows. But the interior we sought was one with a comfortable and well-designed space, meeting all requirements of the modern living.
