Nail House
Leonard van Munster · Amsterdam
Photo: Ceescamel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), photo taken 12 July 2019, as published on Street Art Utopia.
Nail House is a small blue wooden house by Dutch artist Leonard van Munster, set on a mound so it looks like a home whose resident refused to leave. It was photographed on the empty plot beside Paradiso on Weteringschans in July 2019 and was dismantled there in spring 2026; on 30 June 2026 a new van Munster work, a meteorite crater, appeared on the plot. Source Source Source Source Checked
Moved Jun 2026 — by 5 June 2026 only remnants were left on the plot, and Paradiso reported on 30 June 2026 that a crater now smoulders where the little house stood. The artist's own page says the house now stands in the garden of broadcaster VPRO; no photo of it there was found. Source Source Source Reported
💡 4 things to know
- A house that holds outThe artist says the work was inspired by the Chinese phenomenon of residents who refuse to make way for developers or authorities. In the evening a light burns behind the curtains. Source Reported
- Earlier addressesThe artist's page shows a 2015 version at Schinkelkade and says the house stood at Brouwersgracht 159 in early 2019, before the Paradiso plot. Source Reported
- Put up for saleOn 12 May 2026 NH Nieuws reported a for-sale sign on the run-down house. Van Munster said the sale asks what art in public space is worth and who takes responsibility for it. Source Reported
- Replaced by a meteoriteOn 30 June 2026 a large meteorite crater by van Munster appeared on the plot. Het Parool wrote that the somewhat dilapidated house was going to the VPRO garden. Source Source Checked
📍 Where it is
Former site: the empty plot beside Paradiso on Weteringschans, Amsterdam. Since 30 June 2026 the plot holds van Munster's meteorite crater; the artist says the house itself now stands in the VPRO garden. Source Source Reported
🗓️ Sightings
- 201912 Jul
Ceescamel photographs the house beside Paradiso
- 202612 May
NH Nieuws reports the for-sale sign
- 20265 Jun
Photo shows only remnants of Nail House on the Paradiso plot
- 202630 Jun
Paradiso: a crater now stands where the house stood
- 202630 Jun
Het Parool (on the artist's site): the house goes to the VPRO garden
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark loss. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
“Het lijkt wel alsof de bewoner geweigerd heeft te vertrekken”
It looks as if the resident has refused to leave
“wat is kunst in de publieke ruimte waard en wie neemt daar verantwoordelijkheid voor”
what is art in public space worth, and who takes responsibility for it
“Waar het kleine huisje stond, rookt nu een enorme krater na.”
Where the little house stood, a huge crater is now smouldering.
“Het enigszins vervallen Nail House gaat naar de tuin van omroep VPRO”
The somewhat dilapidated Nail House is going to the garden of broadcaster VPRO
✅ The facts
- Paradiso plot
- Since July 2019 (Commons photo and category); NH Nieuws in 2026: five years ago Source Source Conflicting
🔗 Related
- Houses in the Wrong Place (12 Photos vol. 2) — Street Art Utopia
- Houses in the Wrong Place (10 Photos) — Street Art Utopia
- Leonard van Munster: Nail House
- Leonard van Munster: Paradiso Meteoriet
- All Artwork Files
All sources & image credits
- leonardvanmunster.com: Nail House
- nhnieuws.nl: Mini-huisje naast Paradiso staat te koop (12 May 2026)
- paradiso.nl: Meteoriet slaat in naast Paradiso (30 June 2026)
- leonardvanmunster.com: Paradiso Meteoriet (Het Parool, 30 June 2026)
- Wikimedia Commons: Nail House, Weteringschans, by Ceescamel (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Wikimedia Commons: Nail House, Weteringschans, 2026, by Ceescamel (CC0)
- Image: Ceescamel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share version was made from it.
Last checked: 31 October 2026. How we verify art