Michiel moved to New York from his native Amsterdam, The Netherlands, in 1988 and was introduced to the Hudson Valley shortly thereafter. In 1990, he and his then girlfriend Monique bought their own weekend house; a lovely 1840′s Greek revival farmhouse in Taghkanic that was lovingly restored and later featured in House Beautiful. Working in advertising and traveling the world extensively made him realize that the Hudson Valley offered that rare mix of being both country and cultural at the same time and the decision was made to move here full time. They relocated to Tivoli in 1995 where they found the perfect home in Ham House, a large Italianate mansion that was in need of a total restoration. Through the extensive restoration process, Michiel developed a keen sense of architecture and local craftsmanship and soon opened his own development and consulting company. He joined Gary DiMauro Real Estate in 2005, and is also proprietor of Ham House, an exclusive lodging and event location.