Early morning in Schüttorf, and the light comes through the conservatory glass in long, slow diagonals — the kind of light that makes you stand still with your coffee and just look. Outside, dew sits on the old trees. Nothing moves. This is what daily life feels like at De Blauwe Villa, a monumental early-20th-century Jugendstil property on Lehmkuhle 2 that carries more personality per square metre than most buildings carry in their entire existence.
Let's be honest about what this place is. It's 384 square metres of crafted, layered architecture spread across four levels including a full basement, containing 11 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and rooms so distinct in character they almost seem to belong to different eras. The famous hunting room alone — panelled walls, carved oak, built-in cabinetry with details that take time to notice — could anchor any conversation about what German craftsmanship once looked like at its most self-assured. You don't see rooms like this in new builds. You barely see them anywhere anymore.
The Jugendstil movement, Germany's answer to Art Nouveau, valued organic forms, decorative integrity, and the idea that a building should feel alive. De Blauwe Villa — The Blue Villa, as it has long been known locally — carries all of that forward without apology. High ceilings pull your eyes upward. Large windows frame the park-like garden like paintings that change with the season. The ground-floor salons connect and flow into one another in a way that makes entertaining feel effortless and private retreat feel equally natural.
The conservatory is the heart of everyday life here. Glass on multiple sides, direct access to the terrace and garden, daylight that shifts from pale gold in the morning to deep amber in the late afternoon. In winter, snow sits on the branches of the mature trees just beyond the glass. In summer, you eat dinner outside and the garden smells of cut grass and warm stone. It's the kind of space that changes how you think about being inside.
Upstairs, the first floor transitions into something quieter. Several generous bedrooms look out over the green. A separate entrance to this floor already exists — useful for guests, family members who want independence, or a professional practice setup that doesn't interrupt the rhythm of home life. The second floor goes further, offering real flexibility: suites, studios, creative workspaces, reading rooms. Two of the five bathrooms are up here, giving this level genuine autonomy.
The basement rewrites what you expect from a lower floor. Natural daylight reaches down here, the finishes are serious rather than utilitarian, and the layout includes additional bedrooms, a hobby room, technical infrastructure, a full laundry setup, and plenty of storage. It functions as a proper living level, not an afterthought.
Outside, a separate garden pavilion with a sauna and outdoor kitchen sits within the landscaped grounds. This isn't a shed with ambitions — it's a dedicated space for the kind of slow, deliberate relaxation that most people schedule holidays around. Combined with the terraces, the long sightlines through the mature planting, and the general sense of seclusion despite being in a real German town, the grounds feel closer to a private estate than a residential garden.
Schüttorf itself sits close to the Dutch border in the Grafschaft Bentheim district of Lower Saxony. Bad Bentheim is roughly ten minutes away — a proper spa town with thermal baths, a medieval castle visible from much of the surrounding countryside, and a weekly market that draws both locals and visitors from across the border. The forests of the Bentheim Nature Park offer walking and cycling trails that change character with each season: beech gold in October, bluebell carpets in May, and quiet snow paths in January that you can have almost entirely to yourself.
The cross-border location is genuinely practical. Enschede in the Netherlands is around 30 kilometres west. Hengelo, Nordhorn, and Rheine are all within easy reach. Utrecht is roughly an hour and a half by road; Apeldoorn sits under 100 kilometres away. For international buyers flying in, Eindhoven Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol both serve the region, and Düsseldorf is reachable in under two hours. The area has a committed expat and cross-border community — Dutch professionals, international families, and entrepreneurs who have quietly discovered that this corner of Germany offers space, quality of life, and price-per-square-metre value that is genuinely hard to match.
On the investment side, Germany's property market has long rewarded quality historic stock. Monumental properties in good condition in established residential areas hold value well, and a villa of this scale and adaptability opens multiple use cases: exclusive primary or secondary residence, a combination of living and professional practice, high-end holiday rental for corporate or family groups, or a multi-generational family home. The layout — with its separate floor entrance, independent upper level, and self-contained basement — supports flexible arrangements that a single-function property simply cannot.
For international buyers, German property law is structured and transparent. Purchase becomes legally binding only upon signing the notarial deed; verbal agreements carry no legal weight. A declaration of intent to purchase is the standard way to formalise serious interest before the formal process begins. The buyer's brokerage fee is 1.785% including VAT, which is clear and fixed. Cross-border financing specialists familiar with both Dutch and German systems are available and experienced with exactly this type of purchase.
De Blauwe Villa is listed at €1,150,000 — which, for 384 square metres of genuine Jugendstil architecture, a full basement, a garden pavilion with sauna, and grounds that feel like a private park near the Dutch border, reflects the rarity of what's actually being offered here.
Key features at a glance:
- Monumental Jugendstil villa, early 20th century, known locally as De Blauwe Villa
- 384 sq m across four levels including a fully finished basement with natural daylight
- 11 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms distributed across all levels for maximum flexibility
- Iconic hunting room with original oak panelling, woodcarving, and built-in cabinetry
- Conservatory with large glass surfaces and direct garden access
- Separate garden pavilion with private sauna and outdoor kitchen
- Park-like grounds with mature trees, long sightlines, and multiple terraces
- Separate entrance to first floor — ideal for guests, family annexe, or professional use
- Highly versatile layout suited to private living, live-work, or multi-generational use
- 10 minutes from Bad Bentheim castle and thermal spa town
- Close to Dutch border; Enschede 30 km, Utrecht approx. 90 minutes by road
- Good access to Eindhoven and Düsseldorf airports for international owners
- Investment-grade historic property in good condition, move-in ready
- Strong rental potential for corporate or large family holiday groups
- Purchase process supported by bilingual Dutch-German cross-border specialists
Properties like this don't appear often, and when they do, they don't stay available. If you're looking for a second home in Germany with genuine architectural soul, space to live expansively, and a location that connects two countries while feeling far from the noise of either — this is the one to see in person. Reach out through Homestra to arrange a viewing or request the full property file. The villa is ready. The question is whether you are.
