Story by Lee Rennick I Photos by Erin Kosko and Lee Rennick

“Gezellig,” explained Robert Cheizoo with a pleasant Dutch accent, “they say it is the only Dutch word that cannot be translated into English. It expresses a feeling. It is family. It is cozy. It is warm. It is comfort.”

This feeling is what Robert and his wife, Cyndi, have created within their home. On the outside it looks like a Victorian Southern cottage tucked under shade trees, but on the inside the pair have created a sun dappled getaway with a decidedly European aesthetic. It reflects much of Robert’s Dutch heritage, with the hominess of a Virginia (Cyndi’s home state) homestead revealed in the handmade quilts and crocheted blankets made by her mother. 

“My mother was on bed rest with me for seven months,” noted Cyndi. “The crocheted blanket on the bed in the children’s room was made by my mother when she was waiting to have me. She just gave it to me.”

A number of other decorative pieces, including several paintings, were also created by Cyndi’s now 94-year-old mother who still lives alone. Other carefully curated pieces come from Robert’s family in the Netherlands. There are bits of blue and white Delftware collectibles in shapes like a windmill, a bell and a pair of wooden clogs gracing the shelves of an antique wall cabinet. “I like to reuse things, renew things and thrift,” said Cyndi. “Rob loves to go to garage sales and antique malls. A lot of our things came with us, but the couch and chairs came from Facebook Marketplace. I like to change things up and I do not want to put a lot of money into them, as long as they fit my decor and they are in good shape and comfortable.” 

While the home is currently painted a creamy white with light wood floors and natural wood accents, when the couple purchased it things were quite different. The house was dark and gloomy with dark walnut cabinets, dark gray carpets and one room was painted lipstick red. Another was painted a “powdery blue, but it looked like a chicken rolled in paint in it.” But the couple saw the potential immediately. Little by little over the years they have chiseled away at remodeling the home and they have made it their own. 

“It checked every box,” added Cyndi. “We wanted lots of trees, nine-foot ceilings, a fireplace, a fenced yard and a garage on the side. Others could not see what it could be, but we told the real estate agent we would fix it up.”

Fix it up they did, doing the majority of the work themselves. They started with the red room, which they call their “snug.” It is a sitting room off the primary bedroom that opens onto the front porch. Here they spend a lot of their time watching television and snuggling with their two cats, Chessie and Pietje, and two dogs, Buddy and Francis. They made the room into just what they wanted by removing the seven-foot ceiling to expose the beams, and, of course, covering the red walls with a warm white paint.

Here, memorabilia of Robert’s time being stationed in Blombero, Germany, while in the Dutch Army hangs on the wall, as well as a painting of one of the many canals in the Netherlands that had been given to his parents on their wedding day.

The pair wanted to make sure everything was just as they wanted, discussing and planning each room carefully. Borrowing from classic northern European and cottage design, the Cheizoos home is the “epitome of elevated simplicity,” as the style is described in the June 2024 issue of House Beautiful. The magazine goes on to describe the style as minimalistic with every space used to its fullest. It is also serene and practical, giving those living in it a warm embrace. When they weren’t sure how to do something, Robert would study it or call on their builder friend, Mike. Mike is the person responsible for bringing the Cheizoos to Murfreesboro about 20 years ago. They came to help him, as Mike was very ill and not expected to live. But 18 years later he is still around. 

Growing up in The Hague, Robert learned a lot about construction. As his wife said, he has architecture in his heart. And a deep understanding of engineering. 

“It was common over in the Netherlands that when someone remodels their home, all the friends and family come together and help, and do,” explained Robert. “You learn lots of things about remodels and all of that.”

“Over there when you move, you take the light fixtures and the carpet and everything,” said Cyndi. “You have to fix up your own place.”

“Yes, it is a little different over there,” added Robert. 

They moved to Murfreesboro with Cyndi’s youngest daughter, Jillian, when she was still in high school. Deciding she wanted to go to Riverdale, it was in that part of town they looked for a home. Her bedroom was the second room they rebuilt. Using the picture of a built-in bed that was in a book that Robert gave to Cyndi shortly after they met, he constructed one. Called a “bedstee” in Dutch, it takes the form of an alcove or a cupboard, often with doors or curtains. Currently, her grandchildren use the room when they visit for the night. It is filled with childhood treasures, including both American and Dutch children’s books. 

“Now, all of my children live in the area,” said Cyndi. Jillian, lives in Nashville. Daughters Caitlin and Meghan live in Murfreesboro, and her son, Ian, works in Cool Springs. The Cheizoo home is filled with photos of Cyndi’s children and grandchildren. The couple especially love to have the entire family visit during the summer and during the holidays. They opened up the kitchen and dining area to make sure there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy a meal during these times. Originally, there was cabinetry separating the kitchen and the dining area. Robert and Cyndi removed much of the old dark cabinetry, painting the rest white, and a “clunky” island that “made no sense” with the sink on one side and the dish washer on the other was also removed. 

Designing the kitchen around two cabinets they saved from a church that was being remodeled, these cabinets now ground the ends of the “L” shape on one side of the kitchen and are now filled with cookbooks and mementos. 

Sitting on the round dining table are some of Robert’s favorite treats, Bolletje crispbakes dressed with creamy unsalted butter and hagelslag chocolate sprinkles imported from his homeland. They are much better than the American variety of sprinkle because they contain a minimum of 32% cocoa butter, while the American variety are not even chocolate according to Epicurious. Robert also loves to have the Bolletje with sliced gouda for breakfast. 

Sampling the Bolletje brings forth a good-natured discussion of the best bread for a sandwich, crusty German Brotchen rolls with butter or “floppy, squishy” sliced American white bread with mayonnaise. When planning their remodeling endeavors over the years, there has always been lots of lively discussion when their visions are conflicting, much like that over making sandwiches. But they never fight. They love to hear each other’s ideas, always working things out through deep thought, compromise and humor. Then they work together as a team to get the project done. 

One of the hardest projects they have done together was putting in the wood floor. They were not sure they could do it themselves, but Robert studied what it would take and then off they went. 
“We started in the snug,” explained Robert, “to get a little bit of experience. Then we said let’s do the whole living room and kitchen. We were so glad when it was over.”

“When we were near the end in the laundry room, he would say hand me this, and I had a broom I used to get what he needed so I didn’t have to get up,” said Cyndi with a laugh. They have learned to live creatively during periods of transition, like when Cyndi decided she could no longer live with the linoleum floor in the kitchen. The pair pulled out the old flooring and painted the cement underneath, then they threw a rug over it until they knew what they were going to do.

A sense of joy and pride in the couple’s accomplishments is clear. They have worked hard to make their home “cozy” and “bright.” 

“We enjoy the work,” said Cyndi.

Cyndi has done all of the interior design work herself. At one time, she worked for a design firm called Ryser’s in Kentucky near Lexington. The lady that started it initially made draperies, then did floor coverings, and then high-end furniture. While there, Cyndi learned a lot about pulling a vision together and making it a reality. The secret is in the details, she feels, like the wooden clogs that sit by the front door where black cat Pietje lounges in the sunlight while giving herself a bath. Or the basket of fresh-cut wild flowers in the living room. She is inspired by photos she has seen in books and magazines like Country Living.

One of Cyndi’s favorite details is the headboard in the primary bedroom made from an old mantle. It was another item initially that drew them to the house.

Keeping to the “shabby chic” look of the main bedroom, the couple took out the two separate vanities in the en suite bathroom and made one out of a vintage dresser. Robert, a plumber by trade, was able to do the replumbing. 

Never quite finished with their home, Robert and Cyndi are always making small adjustments. Two big projects that Cyndi would like to do in the future include a new patio in the back yard, where their duck Carl lives, and a cobblestone driveway to remind them of the streets of Robert’s homeland.

“That,” added Robert with a chuckle, “means we’ll need to win the lottery.”

“Or do one stone at a time,” jokes Cyndi.

After moving 21 times in her life, and Robert moving from his homeland 25 years ago after meeting Cyndi online where they were online dating pioneers, they are happy with all they have done in their cottage under the trees. Here they have found their “gezellig” and offer gracious “gastvrijheid,” hospitality.