{"id":39030,"date":"2018-06-04T18:25:34","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T23:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=39030"},"modified":"2018-06-05T07:25:59","modified_gmt":"2018-06-05T12:25:59","slug":"the-dutch-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/?p=39030","title":{"rendered":"The Dutch Look"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s no secret that the Netherlands is my favorite country.\u00a0 For the past 12 years, I have tried to visit it annually and have ridden a bicycle all over the country.\u00a0 Biking is a great way to see the real country behind the scenes.\u00a0 I am just crazy about the small towns and villages and prefer to spend time in them as opposed to the cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague.\u00a0 Charming and cozy are the best words I can use to describe these towns.\u00a0 I have always had a fascination with Dutch architecture.\u00a0 In fact the first house we built as newlyweds was a Dutch colonial, and that was long before I had even been to the Netherlands.\u00a0 When we were bicycling there a few weeks ago, I took some photos to show you particular characteristics of the Dutch look.\u00a0 Please note that each of these homes except the first one were country homes that I spotted along the bike trails where we cycled.<\/p>\n

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Doors<\/h2>\n

\"Dutch<\/p>\n

This photo, which I took in the lovely town named Thorn, actually captures two of the looks that are consistent with Dutch homes.\u00a0 It has a high gloss front door, and that front door happens to be a Dutch door.\u00a0 I have mentioned here on the blog that the front door in our new place will be in a high gloss paint.\u00a0 Plus, our back door will be a Dutch door.\u00a0 We have had Dutch doors in two of our homes and truly love them.\u00a0 I think most Americans like Dutch doors, but ironically, our door man told me that our order was his first request for a Dutch door in over 25 years.\u00a0 Our door will be taller and have glass panes on the top and wood on the bottom.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Shutters<\/h2>\n

The Dutch love their shutters, and they come in all colors and styles.\u00a0 My favorites are the colorful ones that have a geometric design on them.\u00a0 Although this look wouldn’t work here in our country, it sure looks stunning on this country farmhouse. They also had their share of cottage style shutters.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Clean Windows<\/h2>\n

There are clean windows on almost every home in Dutch villages.\u00a0 I have been told that the Dutch women wash their windows every week, and those ladies who do not get criticized behind their backs.\u00a0 The bottom line is that the windows are squeaky clean, and usually the curtains are open.\u00a0 They do that to prove they have nothing to hide.\u00a0 And one more things about windows.\u00a0 They have a lot of windows outlined in black, which is a trend that is catching on here.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

Formal Gardens<\/h2>\n

First of all, if there is a spot for a plant or a flower, the Dutch will plant one. After all, that’s part of the Dutch look. They love growing things and are very good at it.\u00a0 Hello, tulips.\u00a0 Even if a home sits on a large parcel of land, the front yard is usually enclosed with a wrought iron fence or a canal and planted in a formal and symmetrical way.\u00a0 The Dutch tend to enjoy order, and their lawns are perfect examples of that.\u00a0\u00a0 They also enjoy espalier trees and lots of color.\u00a0 While cycling I am always impressed by how rich and black their soil is which, of course, makes growing things easier.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Thatched Roofs<\/h2>\n

Although I have never seen a thatched roof here in the USA, they are very common in the Netherlands and definitely are part of the Dutch look.\u00a0 I have been told that they can last up to 50 years.\u00a0 A thatched roof sure adds character and charm to a home, don’t you think?\u00a0 And do you see that lace treatment in the front door?\u00a0 We saw a lot of that, too.\u00a0 It’s not lace.\u00a0 I think it’s metal.<\/p>\n

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We saw so many beautiful homes, and it was just impossible to take photos of all of them.\u00a0 After all, I needed to get to my destination before dark.\u00a0 I am always amazed that the villages are places where real people live.\u00a0 They aren’t tourist destinations – they’re just real towns, and they truly have the Dutch look.\u00a0 To learn more about what makes the Dutch tick, you might enjoy this book<\/a>.\u00a0 And this book<\/a> tells why the Dutch children are the happiest of all the children in 50 countries.\u00a0 As an aside, American children rank number 47 out of 50.<\/p>\n

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Take care.<\/p>\n

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Affiliate links used.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s no secret that the Netherlands is my favorite country.\u00a0 For the past 12 years, I have tried to visit it annually and have ridden a bicycle all over the country.\u00a0 Biking is a great way to see the real country behind the scenes.\u00a0 I am just crazy about the small towns and villages and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":39039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[13,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39030"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=39030"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39049,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39030\/revisions\/39049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/39039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=39030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=39030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/the2seasons.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=39030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}