The richly decorated facade of the House with the Heads is one of the very few surviving facades in the style referred to as the Amsterdam Renaissance, initiated by Hendrick de Keyser. The facade is a true masterpiece in its own right, a maze of colour and amazing detail: alternating red brick and light-coloured strips of sandstone, window piers formed to resemble Doric pilasters, garlands, cornies, obelisks, lion masks, and vases. The impressive entrance features an elaborate gate and a double stoop.

The house derives its name from the six sculpted heads of classical gods and goddesses visible on its facade. There's Apollo with a leaurel wreath (two heads, on the far right and far left), Ceres with earns of corn, Bacchus with grapes, Diana with the crescent, Mars and Minerva. A legend has it that these are really the heads of six robbers beheaded by a brave house servant. During its long history, the House with the Heads has served as an auction house, a school, and an academy of music. Nowadays, it's the seat of the Municipal Department for the Preservation and Restoration of Historic Buildings.