Some buildings tell their own story. Villa Vredestein is one of them. My job was to make that story sound just as good online as it does over drinks.
A villa from 1906
Villa Vredestein has stood in the heart of Driebergen-Rijsenburg, on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, since 1906. High ceilings, old details and a soul you feel as soon as you step inside. It's a place to live, to stay and to meet, with a door that is open, literally and figuratively.
Our own project
Villa Vredestein is our own project. We rent rooms to students and are renovating the house so that in time it can also become a luxury Airbnb. We also want to make the house attractive for photo shoots and film shoots.
It is a fixer-upper that has been completely renovated and modernised inside, from insulation to underfloor heating. The old details come back or are preserved. The website tells the story of the whole rebuild.
We wanted a site that feels like the house itself: warm, honest and without fuss. Not a business card meant to impress, but a place where you like to stay a while. A few pages seemed enough, but I kept asking: about the history of the house, the people who live there and what visitors should feel when they open the site. A review said:
"Manon kept asking questions until she could tell the story of Villa Vredestein better than I could myself over drinks. The result: a site without frills, exactly as we are, yet surprising enough to keep visitors reading longer than planned."
What's on the site
- The story of the renovation, from insulation to underfloor heating
- A timeline with the history of the house since 1906
- A gallery with photos inside and out
- The surroundings of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug
- Information about stays and rentals
- A page with what the press wrote about the villa
The design is dark with warm golden accents: calm, stylish and fitting for a house with so much history. In six languages, fast and just as pleasant on a phone as on a big screen.
And then came the spreadsheet
During this project something else came up: renting out the rooms ran on one overflowing spreadsheet. That grew into CasaCrew, a rental app for landlords. Read that story in the story behind CasaCrew.
Take a look?
Visit the website at villavredestein.com or read more on the project page. Does your place have a story that needs telling too? Book a free intro call.