Antiques dealer Eddy Jambers salvages a boat and restores it on the rooftop of his home

It's hard to miss. Sitting proudly atop antiques dealer Eddy Jambers' three-storey abode in Antwerp, Belgium, is a boat. It may initially seem like a surprising pièce de résistance for what is essentially Jambers' bachelor pad, a bed-and-breakfast, a gallery space and his vintage shop - but one chat with the antiques dealer, and it all becomes crystal clear.

"I stumbled across the cockpit of the boat one day on one of my weekly walks to the scrap yard," he recalls.

It was a serendipitous find. Jambers has a particular affinity with the sea: his father and his grandfather were ship repairers, and he had also once salvaged a sunken motor boat and restored it to sailing condition before taking it out to sea.

But he is also quick to admit that he "found restoring the boat much more interesting than sailing itself". It seems natural then, upon coming across this boat, that Jambers chose to refurbish it to become part of his house.

It could be said that the antiques dealer's entire home shares this serendipitous note. In the 1990s, Jambers rented the space - when it was still a hostel - while running a gallery on the bottom floor. He has since purchased the space and refurbished it with his special touch of artistic flair. Rebuilding and restoring this house was a kind of artistic adventure for Jambers. As expected from someone who is constantly exposed to an array of interesting and eccentric vintage pieces, Jambers, who began collecting and selling antiques in the 1980s, placed several of his key finds around his house.

As for the design aesthetic, Jambers says: "It was [important] to respect the original state of the building and treat it with the greatest honour, combined with restoring as many materials and objects as possible."

In fact, his favourite piece in the whole house is a round '60s bed. Its origins are just as interesting as its shape, though Jambers does not divulge details. "It comes from a brothel in Brussels," he says.

But, it's not always an easy task: "It can take up to 20 years before I actually use [my antiques] or find a place for them," he says. "Whenever I start decorating, I just start and see how it grows. It's an intuitive feeling."

All the furnishings and décor throughout Jambers' home may seem incompatible, but in true testament to his creative eye, each room flows seamlessly into another.