Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Family Home in Hamburg With a Touch of Scandi Style
The Hamburg home of interiors blogger Stefanie Luxat combines timeless style with fresh colours and standout design
Anyone who steps into this period property immediately falls in love with its stucco mouldings, its floorboards, the folding doors, the bright rooms – and the interior, naturally. Stefanie Luxat has created a true home for herself and her small family in Hamburg. It is a safe haven that provides some respite from the daily grind, and allows the family to start their day with renewed vigour. Stefanie, who recently became a mother, works as a freelance journalist and as an interiors blogger. Her newest book reveals how she has managed to combine all of her responsibilities and still create a stylish home. Every room in the house, from the kitchen to the dining to the kid’s room, is testimony to Stefanie’s love for interiors.
‘Come on in!’ Stefanie Luxat calls when she lets us into her home. Her blog Ohhh…Mhhh and her new book Wie eine Wohnung ein Zuhause Wird (How an Apartment Becomes a Home, Callwey) give glimpses into the homes of other people. But how does someone whose job revolves around interiors decorate her own home?
‘Perhaps this is due to my job, but our flat is not simply a flat, it is also a workshop for my ideas,’ says Stefanie. ‘Currently, a mix of styles are coexisting in our home. Scandinavian style is combined with an industrial look and some ’60s furniture. Thankfully, our flat puts up with a lot without complaining too much.’
‘We are trying to only have furniture that means something to us, and which we really like. No more compromises,’ Stefanie says.
The blue velvet sofa – the Madison from Bolia – which matches perfectly with the wall paint, SO.20.20 from Sikkens, provides the perfect spot for the family to cuddle up together.
The ‘Blablabla’ picture frames from One-Must-Dash were hand-framed by Stefanie. In order to create more visual interest, she lengthened the drawings on the pictures with the help of masking tape, so they reach out of the frame and up to the ceiling.
‘Perhaps this is due to my job, but our flat is not simply a flat, it is also a workshop for my ideas,’ says Stefanie. ‘Currently, a mix of styles are coexisting in our home. Scandinavian style is combined with an industrial look and some ’60s furniture. Thankfully, our flat puts up with a lot without complaining too much.’
‘We are trying to only have furniture that means something to us, and which we really like. No more compromises,’ Stefanie says.
The blue velvet sofa – the Madison from Bolia – which matches perfectly with the wall paint, SO.20.20 from Sikkens, provides the perfect spot for the family to cuddle up together.
The ‘Blablabla’ picture frames from One-Must-Dash were hand-framed by Stefanie. In order to create more visual interest, she lengthened the drawings on the pictures with the help of masking tape, so they reach out of the frame and up to the ceiling.
‘All right, I admit it. Sometimes our flat does complain. The porous old walls that dislike holding anything too heavy are particularly prone to complaining,’ Stefanie jokes. Instead of mounting wooden shelves, she solved the problem with the help of these copper hexagonal shelves from Bloomingville. ‘Their warm colour contrasts perfectly with the cool blue wall,’ Stefanie explains. Another practical yet stylish addition are the magazines hanging from copper coat hangers from Hay.
Black and white Agnes vases (in different sizes), Normann Copenhagen. Birds, Lys Vintage. Copper candlesticks, Hay. Box, House Doctor.
Black and white Agnes vases (in different sizes), Normann Copenhagen. Birds, Lys Vintage. Copper candlesticks, Hay. Box, House Doctor.
A long hallway is located to the left of the kitchen. Entryways are often overlooked during decorating projects, but Stefanie believes they can be designed just as creatively as the rest of the home. Here, she used black, diamond-shaped wall decals of her own design, which can be purchased in the online shop on her blog. After all, the friendly multi-tasker has a knack for transforming her DIY projects into covetable products, such as the ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Diamonds’, ‘Copper Confetti’, and the ‘Everything’s-so-easy-Advents Calendar’.
The purple rug fromBougiandbo, which was hand-knotted in Anatolia, brings a welcome flash of colour into the living room. ‘The rug is not only pretty, but also completely on trend. Radiant Orchid was Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2014, after all,’ says Stefanie.
‘The way you can tell if something is a good idea is if everyone’s trying to imitate it,’ Stefanie explains.
To the right is the living room, where a bright dining room is concealed behind a pair of folding doors.
The purple rug fromBougiandbo, which was hand-knotted in Anatolia, brings a welcome flash of colour into the living room. ‘The rug is not only pretty, but also completely on trend. Radiant Orchid was Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2014, after all,’ says Stefanie.
‘The way you can tell if something is a good idea is if everyone’s trying to imitate it,’ Stefanie explains.
To the right is the living room, where a bright dining room is concealed behind a pair of folding doors.
The proximity to Scandinavia is reflected in the interior of this room, which features plenty of white, natural wood and sheepskin throws. It’s these simple details that give this family’s flat its unique character.
‘The large wooden table always seemed so massive, and didn’t really fit with the lightness of the rest of the room,’ Stefanie explains. So she painted it in white varnish to give it a lighter feel. The couple bought the dining room chairs when they moved in together. In order to maximise the cosiness in the room, Stefanie simply threw some sheepskin covers over the chairs.
Chairs, Lys Vintage. Table, Punct Object. Lamp, Secto Design. Bowl, Ferm Living.
‘The large wooden table always seemed so massive, and didn’t really fit with the lightness of the rest of the room,’ Stefanie explains. So she painted it in white varnish to give it a lighter feel. The couple bought the dining room chairs when they moved in together. In order to maximise the cosiness in the room, Stefanie simply threw some sheepskin covers over the chairs.
Chairs, Lys Vintage. Table, Punct Object. Lamp, Secto Design. Bowl, Ferm Living.
When asked about her husband’s involvement in the decorating process, Stefanie says: ‘I’d say that the entire process was rather democratic, though usually in my favour. His priority is comfort. As a lawyer, he has enough conflict to deal with during the day. So when he comes home in the evening, he wants some peace and quiet, a fact that I sometimes take advantage of,’ Stefanie says with a laugh. Conveniently enough, Stefanie actually wrote a book on just this topic: Wie Sag Ich’s Meinem Mann? Über Das Zusammenleben Mit Einer Anderen Spezies (How Do I Tell My Husband? Cohabitation With Another Species, Eden Books).
WhatWeDo Prints, Lys Vintage. Candleholders, by Lassen. Vase, Ferm Living.
WhatWeDo Prints, Lys Vintage. Candleholders, by Lassen. Vase, Ferm Living.
During the course of the renovation, Stefanie and her husband stripped back the concrete-covered floor, a very time-intense and laborious task. Underneath the concrete, the couple uncovered the floorboards and the tiles. ‘Painting the walls with Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue was definitely more fun. The kitchen now combines modern country style and industrial chic,’ Stefanie explains.
Plates, Lys Vintage. Lamp and wooden box, Vintage via Johanna Schultz.
Plates, Lys Vintage. Lamp and wooden box, Vintage via Johanna Schultz.
Stefanie finds inspiration in many places, such as creatively styled restaurants, cafes, boutiques, online, and in books. A visit to the Hotel Lindenberg in Frankfurt inspired her to plant kitchen herbs in old jugs.
Pistol vase, Bloomingville.
Pistol vase, Bloomingville.
For several years, Stefanie had her home office all to herself. However, she recently became a mother, and therefore turned the space into baby Ruby’s nursery. ‘Now my home office is a space for us girls,’ Stefanie says. ‘I didn’t want to give up my home office for a nursery that isn’t even used that often yet. Half of the room is my space, while the other half is Ruby’s play area and her changing corner. This way, I can sing her a song while I prepare the packages for my online shop.’
Chair and ceiling lamp, Lys Vintage. Sheepskin, Ikea. Table top, bespoke. Table legs, Loop Stand Frame from Hay. Cot, Sebra. Changing table, TrollSun via Sprösslinge Design. Animal heads, Bodie and Fou.
Chair and ceiling lamp, Lys Vintage. Sheepskin, Ikea. Table top, bespoke. Table legs, Loop Stand Frame from Hay. Cot, Sebra. Changing table, TrollSun via Sprösslinge Design. Animal heads, Bodie and Fou.
However, Stefanie now has her own dressing room. ‘After the renovation, the smallest room became my very own space,’ she says. The wall-to-ceiling wardrobe from Ikea stores all of her clothing, and the bright room itself makes early morning starts much more bearable for the blogger. ‘Honestly, the “Wow” print on the blind makes me laugh every morning.’
Discover innovative ways to work typography into your home
Discover innovative ways to work typography into your home
Stefanie loves everything about her classic period property – except for one small thing: ‘I’m not too happy about our bathroom, which feels like the smallest bathroom in the world. My husband has already been researching all kinds of ways to improve it, from inflatable bathtubs to built-in varieties,’ she laughs. Nonetheless, she effectively maximised the potential of the little wet room. With the help of diamond-shaped wall stickers, anthracite-coloured walls and closed cupboards, she created a cosy and relaxing space.
Stefanie and her family’s finished flat seems perfectly decorated. However, she still has more planned. ‘Perfect? Hardly!’ she says. ‘Until recently, the balcony was a complete construction site, and now I’m still pretty annoyed with the hallway. I want more storage space and cosier lighting. However, the hallway doesn’t have any outlets. But I already have an idea for that!’ We don’t doubt it!
TELL US…
What do you think of this quirky home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you think of this quirky home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here Stefanie Luxat, her husband and their young daughter Ruby
Where Hamburg, Germany
Size 100 square metres (2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom)
One and a half years ago, Stefanie and her husband were gripped by the desire to renovate their home. ‘I was constantly annoyed by the covered floorboards in our flat. For a long time, we listened to people who asked why we wanted to spend money on a renovation, since it’s only a rented property. But then we finally did it, and now I know the answer – because it makes every beautiful day worth it. And because it’s our home, regardless of whether it’s a rental or not,’ Stefanie explains.
After the floorboards were stripped, and the walls, doors, and skirting boards were painted, the couple needed to start decluttering.
Coffee table, tray table and wool blanket, Hay. Copper vase, Bloomingville. Candlesticks, Nagel. Cushions, House Doctor. Chair, Acapulco. Floor vase, Ikea. Offcut ottoman, Tom Dixon.
Learn how to incorporate Radiant Orchid into your own home