Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: A Flat Full of Bright Colour, Bold Pattern and Scandi Cool
With a preference for kitsch, acrylic and colour, Anne Rimmer has transformed her two-storey flat into a bold but relaxed home
If Anne Rimmer had to live in a white home with natural tones, she might struggle. “Colours give me peace; I simply love colours. I’ve always loved them and I feel more in tune when I’m surrounded by interesting nuances,” says the stylist, who indulges her taste for bold hues and patterns in a lively and witty way in her villa apartment in Aarhus, on the east coast of Denmark’s Jutland Peninsula.
In Anne Rimmer’s home you’ll find flamingos in silver and pink, palm leaves, bold stripes, dots, and furniture painted or upholstered in all sorts of bright colours. There are yellow accents throughout, but you don’t immediately think, “This is a yellow home.”
“Choosing one colour and using it everywhere can easily backfire; it’s a bit like a person wearing all blue. The trick is not to be afraid of using many colours that interact well with each other,” Rimmer says. “You shouldn't try to achieve a perfect look, where all the colours match each other. It should be like discovering an old dress in your wardrobe that just looks great. It should be careless and not look too planned.”
Thanks to a wooden plank table, Eames chair and other elegant pieces of furniture, the overall look is chic, but without the price tag. “When I read about people who’ve spent 30,000 kr (£3,374) on a couch, I think for that money I could do something, such as sew a lot of couch cushions,” Rimmer says. “Virtually everything here is second-hand. I’m good at thrifting, and I also paint, sew covers and upholster everything. The advantage is that the entire thing can be changed if I feel like it.”
Rimmer’s playful approach to decorating, as well as her hunt for a small acrylic shelf, was the trigger for her to start her own interior products company, Dims. “The company is an extension of the way we live. I’ll never appreciate ‘less is more’.”
“Choosing one colour and using it everywhere can easily backfire; it’s a bit like a person wearing all blue. The trick is not to be afraid of using many colours that interact well with each other,” Rimmer says. “You shouldn't try to achieve a perfect look, where all the colours match each other. It should be like discovering an old dress in your wardrobe that just looks great. It should be careless and not look too planned.”
Thanks to a wooden plank table, Eames chair and other elegant pieces of furniture, the overall look is chic, but without the price tag. “When I read about people who’ve spent 30,000 kr (£3,374) on a couch, I think for that money I could do something, such as sew a lot of couch cushions,” Rimmer says. “Virtually everything here is second-hand. I’m good at thrifting, and I also paint, sew covers and upholster everything. The advantage is that the entire thing can be changed if I feel like it.”
Rimmer’s playful approach to decorating, as well as her hunt for a small acrylic shelf, was the trigger for her to start her own interior products company, Dims. “The company is an extension of the way we live. I’ll never appreciate ‘less is more’.”
All the original stucco ceilings and walls have been preserved, and the rooms are filled with character.
“I knew immediately that I wanted to live here. There were plenty of opportunities to make our mark on our home without destroying the beautiful, original details,” says Rimmer. A large arch marks the transition between the dining and living rooms, while a striped wall creates depth and drama amid all the white. Yellow acrylic lamps hang like funky exclamation marks over a wooden plank table surrounded by mismatched chairs.
Discover why you should add a splash of yellow to your interior
“I knew immediately that I wanted to live here. There were plenty of opportunities to make our mark on our home without destroying the beautiful, original details,” says Rimmer. A large arch marks the transition between the dining and living rooms, while a striped wall creates depth and drama amid all the white. Yellow acrylic lamps hang like funky exclamation marks over a wooden plank table surrounded by mismatched chairs.
Discover why you should add a splash of yellow to your interior
The striped wall was a must for Rimmer. After many years in a rented flat, she was finally allowed to go crazy with all her ideas, and especially the “dream wall”. “I’m just mad about stripes. I am completely indifferent to whether stripes are kitsch, or whether they’re ‘in’ or ‘out’; I choose things I really like,” says Rimmer.
As a true fan of kitsch, she obviously didn’t stop with the wallpaper, but added in a colourful mix of textiles, a delicate, yellow coffee table, a black chandelier, hunting trophies spruced up with paint and a yellow acrylic shelf. She built the sofa herself using black pallets onto which she put mattresses, so overnight guests can sleep here.
As a true fan of kitsch, she obviously didn’t stop with the wallpaper, but added in a colourful mix of textiles, a delicate, yellow coffee table, a black chandelier, hunting trophies spruced up with paint and a yellow acrylic shelf. She built the sofa herself using black pallets onto which she put mattresses, so overnight guests can sleep here.
The rustic plank table with wrought-iron frame is complemented by a colourful mix of recycled chairs, for which she has painted and sewn covers.
The table was a second-hand find. “I was completely obsessed with getting a long plank table,” says Rimmer. “I searched for a very long time until I finally found this one. I bought it from a woman who’d found it in France but no longer had enough space for it. Shortly after this, of course, you could find plank tables everywhere!”
The table was a second-hand find. “I was completely obsessed with getting a long plank table,” says Rimmer. “I searched for a very long time until I finally found this one. I bought it from a woman who’d found it in France but no longer had enough space for it. Shortly after this, of course, you could find plank tables everywhere!”
Wallpapers are a brilliant way to shape a space. The black-and-white wall in the living room provides a distinctive and stylish backdrop for a lot of colourful items, such as the blue Eames chair, a second-hand discovery.
Rimmer’s company began when she was in search of a shelf in her favourite material, acrylic. She had one made, and now sells them through Dims.
This acid-yellow one is used to house kitsch ornaments, including cacti, flamingo cards, a plastic gun, and a dangling monkey. “I love everything kitsch and I’m not afraid to throw everything I’m crazy about into the home and see where it all ends up,” Rimmer says.
This acid-yellow one is used to house kitsch ornaments, including cacti, flamingo cards, a plastic gun, and a dangling monkey. “I love everything kitsch and I’m not afraid to throw everything I’m crazy about into the home and see where it all ends up,” Rimmer says.
Rimmer’s dog Bertha relaxes in a turquoise Ilva armchair, virtually the only new piece of furniture the couple bought.
The yellow acrylic lamps over the dining table are one of many examples of Rimmer’s eclectic mix of textures, colours and contrasts.
As it was newly renovated, with white walls and wooden floors, the apartment was pretty much ready for the couple to move into. “It was an important factor for us, because neither of us are great craftsmen,” says Rimmer. It also made the perfect blank canvas against which to display her colours and patterns.
For the walls of the dining room she chose a very simple wallpaper with gold dots for one side, and teamed it with a bolder design featuring flamingos on the other.
For the walls of the dining room she chose a very simple wallpaper with gold dots for one side, and teamed it with a bolder design featuring flamingos on the other.
A home that celebrates kitsch needs to have flamingos, of course. “The more common designs with pink birds were a bit too girlie. So I searched online and found this wallpaper in black, silver and cream,” Rimmer says.
The wallpaper with gold dots accents the wood flooring. However, the soft, romantic look is broken up with an animal skull painted bright red.
Rimmer has a knack for creating collage walls with an unexpected mix of items. “I take a lot of things without thinking about how they’ll fit together, and then I put them on the floor. I move things around and look at them again before I finally hang them up.”
The kitchen was the only room Rimmer didn’t like, but here again she has – without plundering her bank account – given it a personal touch. “It was boring and standard in a very white and stainless steel kind of way, which didn’t suit the old house very well. By replacing the knobs with leather straps and putting wallpaper up as a splashback, I tried to give it a more organic look.”
Even in the bathroom, which is simple and white, Rimmer added a few bold colours, such as mint green and raspberry, and snuck one pink flamingo onto the windowsill.
Browse 10 ways to refresh your bathroom on a budget
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The bedroom is in the basement, and the couple devised some creative solutions for the space. “The wardrobe was already here. It was quite expensive, but not really my style, so I papered the doors with palm leaves,” Rimmer explains.
“The radiators are hidden behind chipboard panels fixed with magnets, so they can easily be removed if we want to adjust the temperature – a simple and elegant way to make radiator panels.”
“The radiators are hidden behind chipboard panels fixed with magnets, so they can easily be removed if we want to adjust the temperature – a simple and elegant way to make radiator panels.”
The wallpaper is the same as in the kitchen, but here the pattern has been flipped on its side. The red acrylic shelf is from Dims.
Rimmer found this two-seater sofa many years ago; it had been waiting in a garage until she had enough space for it. “It’s important to act quickly when you see something you like. I have more things that I’m just waiting to fit in,” says the stylist, who painted the frame and had the cushions upholstered in grey wool for a more raw and contemporary look. “I’ll never throw this one away again,” she says.
Rimmer has created another of her characteristic collages on the wall by the stairs. The graphic circles are special wall dots, which she creates and sells through her own company.
“I was fascinated by doing something with a round design, but I also wanted them to have some sort of function. Therefore, they come with three different styles of bracket, so you can put a candle behind them, hook a hanger on them, or just use them as a decoration, like this.”
“I was fascinated by doing something with a round design, but I also wanted them to have some sort of function. Therefore, they come with three different styles of bracket, so you can put a candle behind them, hook a hanger on them, or just use them as a decoration, like this.”
The white background highlights a bunch of paper pompoms – a simple but very effective decoration.
Everywhere there are small vignettes and displays, such as here on the desk. The round stag illustration is one of Rimmer’s own wall dots.
The original details and wall panelling get a playful twist with coloured dots.
What do you think of this cheerful home created on a budget? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
What do you think of this cheerful home created on a budget? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here Anne Rimmer, a stylist, make-up artist and owner of small interior products company Dims, plus her husband and their dog, Bertha
Location The Øgade district of central Aarhus, Denmark
Property A 1909 villa apartment on two floors
Size 1399.3 sq ft (130 sq m) with a large balcony and private garden