About us

We are Klarien van der Meulen and Johan van Gerven. Together with our sons Sam and Guus we live and work since 2018 in this beautiful former school building in the countryside of Drenthe. We love living in a green environment and in this house that we have completely renovated. Because the entire school building is much too big for our family, we like to share this beautiful place with others. We welcome you to join us in enjoying the Drenthe countryside, nature and culture with which we surround ourselves.

Living and working in a school

We had been looking for a while for a special property that we could transform to our own taste. After all, we like a challenge. A church, a school or a factory… A building with character, but inside a shell to which you can give your own interpretation. In Eemster we saw this old school. The blackboards were still hanging on the wall, the marmoleum was still on the floor. At this beautiful spot in nature, we saw possibilities for realizing our living and working space.

Sustainable renovation

With great enthusiasm we converted the school into a home and office. Johan was concerned with the layout and sustainable interpretation. Klarien focused on the interior design where minimalism and also sustainability played a major role. It was a special time, the children rode their bikes through the classrooms or went roller skating with friends through the school.

Great living space

The building is big and with that it was also a huge job to renovate it. But big advantage is the fantastic living space we now have. One room has been transformed into a kitchen, another into a living room and the third room became a bedroom with a bathroom. Upstairs we realized the two bedrooms for the boys. In a room at the back we made an office space and guest room. There is plenty of room, everyone can join us or stay overnight. We created a nice place where everyone can be together and also do their own thing.

The Buitenlokaal

When our living area was ready, we realized three apartments in the former teachers’ room, in the school principal’s room and in the gymnasium. This way, we could share this beautiful place in the middle of greenery with others. The Buitenlokaal became the name of our vacation rentals referring to the school and the wonderful place to stay outdoors. We see many guests’ surprise that a school is in such a beautiful place in the middle of nature. That’s right, you can spend Masterful Overnight here.

De Eemster Elementary School

The school building that houses The Buitenlokaal is a municipal monument. The school was built in 1964. In 1974 the building was extended on the north side. It is a so-called ‘corridor school’ with all classrooms behind each other on a long corridor. The ground floor included a teacher’s room, a principal’s room, four classrooms, a gymnasium and several restrooms. When there were only 20 students, De Eemster Elementary School had to close its doors at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.

Watch the film commissioned by the Westerveld municipality in 2016: