“We were meant to be,” says Martijn van Rijn of his partnership with Nancy Torreele. Both with fashion backgrounds, Torreele studied in Italy and cut her teeth under the vision of Dries van Noten and Mario Valentino, among others, while van Rijn traveled as a model meeting gallery owners, fashion designers, and photographers along the way. When Torreele left the fashion world to pursue her passion of interior design (she founded Pure Taste in Interior Design in 2007, where she still works on a few projects every year), she also noticed there was a market for a versatile product that fit into any design context.
That’s when Torreele had the first of two serendipitous encounters. She met van Rijn, who was working at a luxury flooring company, and was introduced to barnwood, leading the duo to launch the Amsterdam-based furniture company Barn in the City in 2009. For van Rijn, it was a dream come true. He always loved drawing, but it wasn’t until he began modeling and was “taught how to look and feel art and design,” he notes, that he started sketching regularly again and collecting products. “Our partnership is the cornerstone of our success,” says Torreele. “We both know very well what qualities we can bring to the table.”
The Hervé side table—with a textured wood top situated on a marble base with metal accents—offers a vintage-meets-modern design.
Inspired by traveling, diverse cultures, and “the perfection of imperfection,” says Torreele, their style is contemporary with an urban feel and a handcrafted approach, shown through original, handmade pieces including furniture and decorative paneling. The Maurice coffee table in charcoal black barnwood marked their debut and became the foundation for the brand’s aesthetic and the many pieces that followed, all sealed in their ultra-clear regenerative resin and offered in inventive finishes. Aged for over a century, the wood—reclaimed from historical barns—boasts knots, grains, and patina only made with time and is paired with nickel, steel, marble, and bronze details and angled frames for a refined, rugged look. “By using this wood, which is never the same, one is presented with some challenges on detailing and finish,” she points out.
A gray headboard and an antique white shower panel in the duo’s signature iced finish highlight the barnwood’s knots and grains for a handcrafted look.
Along with creating custom pieces for clients, including vanity units and a bar, the duo is expanding their product offerings—with the modern Amber table, the brass-clad James side table, and the marble version of the Guillaume coffee table launching next month—and their reach by continuing to hone and master the intricacies of barnwood. After all, Torreele reminds, “All good things take time.”
