Antique mirror restorer Anouk Beerents’ workshop and showroom definitely deserves a post on Kompas, even if it’s not actually open to the public most of the time. Situated about halfway along Prinsengracht, close to the 9 Streets, the space is one of the most inspiring we’ve found in Amsterdam.

What makes the place so special? Well, it’s the sum of its parts really; take a cavernous industrial garage space, add dozens of ornate mirrors in various states of health and stack them three-deep along every surface of the showroom. Then, insert a glass and steel workshop room toward the back of the main space and fill that with tools that look to be on loan from the Victorians. Park an original Fiat 500 in the centre of everything, and seal the deal with the extra workroom at the back – a bit of a jungle environment with a large misty skylight diffusing the light, tools densely packed onto shelves and some beautiful ‘work in progress’ lying on trestles ready for Anouk’s TLC.

While Anouk offers access via appointment only, there are occasions when the unassuming facade opens up to welcome passers by. Albeit rare, these open days (such as during Elle’s Inside Design festival at the end of June) make it worth the blog post just in case you get lucky passing by.