Hey guys, welcome to the first House Crush of 2016! I’m a little bit obsessed with the House Crush posts I have to say, and this one is particularly exciting. Check out Anatasia’s incredibly cool German pad. Following on from yesterday’s post, I love the restrained palette, and Anastasia’s really nailed it. It’s quite monochromatic, but she’s recently been seduced to the dark side (hurrah!) and the bedroom has just had a moody makeover. I just adore the finished look – chocolatey dark walls and crumpled charcoal bedding, coupled with gold and antique finds is my idea of heaven.
I also love the fact that Anastasia lives so close to the forest, and she forages for native foliages and branches to decorate her place. The results are so beautiful, as well as all her ingenious homemade artwork. It helps if you’re ultra creative of course, but in the Q&A below Anastasia shares some of her secrets to help all of us achieve the look. Thanks so much Anastasia! If you’d like to see more of her fab pad and DIY creations, head over to at {Anastasia Benko}. Enjoy…
Welcome to my pad. It’s a two storey building in Dortmund, Germany. The apartment is not that big, so before we moved in I made sure that the functions of every room were exploited to the fullest! After a long renovation, we moved in almost two years ago.
My style in 5 words… Inspired by antiques and classics. Although honestly, I think words cannot describe an interior – it’s all about feelings they bring up.
Proudest DIY moment: From the walls to the ceilings we renovated the apartment ourselves. We had to tear down almost every wall and rebuild it completely. We have the best landlord we could ask for: my mom. Because it’s her property, we could do far more during the renovation than we could have done in a normal rental apartment, like creating my studio space.
With all our work we cherish every corner, but I am most proud of the concrete walls in the living room. Made with my own hands! The grey makes every other colour shine, and they add a raw drama to the interior.
My favourite room is: I love to be in every room, but if I had to choose, it would be my studio. Unlike the rest of the apartment, it's a blank cube where I can just run riot with my art!
Biggest interiors inspiration: I've been collecting interior accessories and magazines from a very young age. As an art historian, it's a pleasure to browse through previous eras and take inspiration there. I'm fascinated with crafts, vintage finds and quality antiques.
After I discovered the world of interior blogs I was sold! Living in such wonderful times, we're lucky to have access to all kinds of inspiration. Actually in one of your first books, Abigail, there was a skeleton lamp that you'd painted in a vivid colour. This image has made such a big impression on me... I still have a vintage skeleton lamp in my bedroom! (Note: the full how-to is in a Girl's Guide to Decorating!)
Styling secret: We live close to a big forest, and I never come home empty-handed from my walks. I love to decorate using seasonal and local things. A single branch can be the most beautiful & abstract sculpture. There is so much beauty in the seasonal changes that really I don't see the need for tulips in August.
I enjoy traveling too and love to take images from our trips around the world. I blow up the pictures into oversized photography and art for every room. It always makes an amazing impression and in a blink of an eye you're on vacation again. And best of all if you're not in the mood for Paris you can easily change the photograph!
Biggest decorating disaster: Not having the courage to hang art on the walls! Because we worked so hard on doing the plastering I didn’t want to put holes in the walls. It really felt as though it was missing something, and after all however beautifully it's been done, an empty wall is just an empty wall! Luckily this was just a short phase.
Are you my next House Crush?
Would you like to see your pad featured on the blog? Then at{mine} is the place to be!
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