On a Sunday morning in Rijkevorsel, the light comes in sideways through the kitchen's wide garden-facing windows. Coffee is already brewing — the built-in machine handles that — and outside, dew is still sitting on the grass of the fully fenced rear garden. No neighbors in the sightline. Just open Flemish countryside rolling out behind the terrace. This is the pace this villa runs at, and once you've spent a weekend here, it's hard to argue with it.
Sint-Lenaartsesteenweg 80 sits on a 1,389 square meter plot in the heart of the Kempen region, one of Belgium's most underrated pockets of calm. The house itself is 267 square meters — a substantial four-bedroom villa that has been thoroughly renovated without losing the bones that gave it character in the first place. The wrought-iron interior door that separates the entrance hall from the main living area? That stayed. The oak parquet floors throughout the ground floor? Those stayed too. What changed is everything you don't see at first: the insulation, the systems, the kitchen, the bathrooms — all brought squarely into the present.
The living room revolves around a gas fireplace that earns its keep from October through March, when the Kempen afternoons turn grey and the garden takes on that particular Belgian stillness. The room is generous enough for a proper sofa arrangement without feeling cavernous, and it flows directly into the kitchen — the real centerpiece of this house. The island is the kind you actually gather around. Appliances include a cooktop with an integrated extractor, a steam oven alongside a conventional oven, a built-in coffee machine, a warming drawer, a vacuum drawer, and a dishwasher. Everything is built in, everything is considered. Whoever designed this kitchen cooked seriously and it shows.
Off the kitchen, a bright veranda currently works as a reading room — south-facing, quiet, with a view of the garden — but it adapts easily to a home office or a children's play space depending on the season or the need. The ground floor also includes a separate office with its own street-side entrance, which is genuinely useful if you run any kind of practice or simply need a room that feels categorically separate from home life. Storage and laundry are handled in the partially converted garage space, which is fitted with custom built-in cabinetry. Bicycles live comfortably in here — and in Rijkevorsel, you'll use them. The cycling routes through the Kempen are some of the flattest and most scenic in Flanders, connecting through the Kalmthoutse Heide nature reserve and across toward Turnhout.
Upstairs, four bedrooms occupy a well-proportioned first floor. One includes a walk-in closet — properly sized, not an afterthought. The fourth bedroom connects to what is now a home cinema with a bar in the converted attic space. This room surprised people during renovation and it still does. It's the kind of feature that makes a house memorable at a dinner party, and more practically, it means teenage guests or visiting family have somewhere entirely their own to disappear into.
Both bathrooms are modern and well-finished. The solar panel installation reduces running costs meaningfully, and the EV charging station in the garage area reflects the same forward-thinking approach that runs through the whole renovation. A security alarm system is already in place.
The garden wraps around three sides of the house and is fully fenced — relevant if you have young children or dogs. The rear is where the property really opens up: unobstructed views across open countryside, a large terrace for outdoor dining, and enough lawn to make summer feel like it lasts longer than it does.
Rijkevorsel itself sits about 40 kilometers northeast of Antwerp — roughly 35 minutes on the E34 — which puts the Antwerp ring, the port, the MAS museum, and the Meir shopping district all within easy reach for a day trip or a working commute. The village has its own bakery, a weekly market, and the kind of local café where people actually know each other. The town hosts the Rijkevorsel Kermis each summer, a proper Flemish village fair with music and local food stalls. The surrounding area is laced with cycling and walking trails; the Markvallei nature area is just a few kilometers south and is particularly good in spring when the wildflowers come through.
For international buyers considering Belgium, the legal framework is relatively straightforward. As an EU member state, Belgium has no restrictions on property ownership by foreign nationals. Registration duties apply at purchase, and a notary is required for the transaction — your Homestra advisor can connect you with English-speaking legal professionals familiar with cross-border acquisitions. Belgium's rental market is stable, and a property of this size and condition in the Antwerp commuter belt carries genuine rental potential for both long-term tenants and corporate lets, making this a credible second home with income optionality rather than a pure lifestyle purchase.
The house is in good condition and ready to use from day one — no renovation queue to join, no contractors to manage remotely.
Key features at a glance:
- 4 bedrooms, 2 modern bathrooms across 267 m² of living space
- 1,389 m² plot with open countryside views to the rear
- Fully fenced garden with large terrace, safe for children and pets
- High-spec kitchen with island, steam oven, built-in coffee machine, and integrated appliances throughout
- Gas fireplace in the main living room with oak parquet floors
- Converted attic home cinema with bar
- Separate ground-floor office with independent street entrance
- Solar panels and EV charging station already installed
- Security alarm system
- Veranda suitable as reading room, home office, or play space
- Custom built-in cabinetry and storage throughout
- 35-minute drive to central Antwerp via the E34
- Direct access to Kempen cycling and walking trails
- No foreign ownership restrictions for EU and non-EU buyers
- Move-in ready condition — no renovation work required
If you want to see the house before anyone else does, the next step is simple: reach out through Homestra to arrange a private viewing. Properties at this size and specification in the Antwerp commuter belt move quickly, and this one — with the cinema room, the garden views, and the solar setup — is not a house that lingers on the market. Get in touch today.
