When you get to call a church your home

When it comes to interiors, I fancy quirky, crazy interiors. Something pretty, but with a twist. Can you imagine the joy I felt when I walked into a church, seeing a wedding being prepared and hearing someone talk about how he (temporarily) lives there? Just imagine it.

Sven lives at the Metaalkathedraal (English: metal cathedral), a former church and metal factory. Nowadays it's used to host lots of different, cultural happenings at. And photographers, watch this: the Metaalkathedraal can be your next, gorgeous photoshoot location. And oh, don't get me started on the interior.

As Sven told me all about the church and Abel Tattje, the owner, told me all about the interior, I couldn't help but gasp about all the pretty things I saw. Give. Me. Everything!






The Metaalkathedraal
The Metaalkathedraal is a hotbed for creativity. Whether you're hosting a wedding, a movie night or a photoshoot, almost everything is possible and it will all turn out amazing. And even when you don't have anything to host, you can go to the Metaalkathedraal. "We'd love to welcome you here," Sven says. "You can get fresh fruit and vegetables from our garden, or work at our café for a small amount of money, with free WiFi and coffee."

The Metaalkathedraal also has some studios for artists. They've got, for example, a graphic designer working there and someone who makes chandeliers from old lamp shades. Besided the studios, there's the artist in residence programme, of which Sven's a part of. "We've got two of these rooms in the Metaalkathedraal. They're meant for artists who come and stay here for a while, and who are in need of some inspiration." And does it give you that inspiration? "Yes, it's definitely a great place to live. There's so much happening here!"




Living in a former church
Sven's a drummer and started the drum group The Missing Sticks with friends a long time ago. Nowadays, they're with three guys who have been playing the drums for a long, long time. They've done over 100 shows at different festivals and for example during Gaypride Amsterdam.

"My favorite spot in the church would be my own residence, but I also love the Hemelrijck." The Hemelrijck is situated on the first floor, on which the residences are also situated. "My residence looks out on the Hemelrijck, with the beautiful pointed arches. And we've also got a big Chesterfield chair there, which is really comfy."

Living at the Metaalkathedraal means living with a very special interior, which is all done by the owner of the place, Abel Tattje. "I didn't bring all my own stuff," Sven says. "I only brought a couple of small things, like the standing lamp. I found it together with my brother and sister on a flea market. We first found the lamp stand and later we found a lamp shade to go with it. It's already been at both my brother's and my sister's places, but it goes great here as well."

"A lot of my old stuff is stored at my mother in law's and my father's home. My drums take in about an entire room at my father's house, haha. I also didn't bring all of my clothes. I'm actually living quite basic now." The basic living is something to adjust to, but on the other hand, it's quite good to live like this once in a while: "I think I'll give a lot of things to charity, when it turns out that I really didn't need all of my other stuff."





Interior wonders
After seeing Sven, I talked to Abel Tattje, one of the owners of the Metaalkathedraal. Abel used to have his own company as a property man, but when the crisis striked, he stopped his well known firm Tattje Rekwisieten and went on to some other projects.

It was quite hard to say goodbye to his old firm. "I put 20 years of hard work in the firm and it was hard to say goodbye to my collection. It all went straight to the dumpster." But luckily, Abel found a new passion later in the Metaalkathedraal. "My wife (the co-owner of the place) needed a new studio for her art, which she found at the Metaalkathedraal. After a year, we bought the place. We sold our own houses and restored the place." And that's when the magic really started to happen.

"When you work in a business for such a long time, people really get to know you. So when they had to get rid of stuff, they just gave me a call and I could go and pick it all up." The interior of the Metaalkathedraal grew and grew, with a little help of some old friends and business relations. Abel also found amazing stuff at markets. His favorite places? "Antwerp has some great markets. The Roepmarkt on Friday morning is great. You'd have to be there early to get the best items."

When I asked him about his favorite thing at the Metaalkathedraal, he said, laughing: "My wife!" When it came to interior pieces, it was a bit more difficult. "I love industrial items, because it really fits in with the old factory feeling at the Metaalkathedraal. But I can also really love pieces that really fit in with the time in which they were made. Like an ashtray. There are a million kinds of ashtrays, but sometimes you see one and just know that it was made in the 70s, and that you could see this one ashtray on all the terraces in that time. I also love pieces that have a certain story to them. I've got a phone book from Paris, from the 20s. It's kind of a small time capsule. It's great to see the typography and to think of all the people who used the book."

Getting enthusiastic about the place?
On the 22nd of December, CineMekka is hosted at the Metaalkathedraal. It starts at 7 PM and for €5,00 you'll get to watch a movie while eating popcorn and enjoying everything around you. More information on the event and how to order your tickets can be found (in Dutch) right here.

Oh and p.s. keep an eye on CineMekka. The Metaalkathedraal has it's own hot tub in the back yard. And in the summer, you can go to CineMekka and watch a movie while you're chilling in that tub. You can see the hot tub in the very first picture on the very top of this post. Yes, it's the silo. How. Awesome. Is. That.