Hello Home, Stephanie Strauch
As we approach the house where Stephanie Strauch's apartment is located, we are met at the gate by a blond bundle of energy. "My flowers!" She exclaims, "they have not arrived yet!" We agree that she will run away and buy flowers while we wait outside, it is not difficult to persuade us to spend a few extra minutes in the sun. After many gloomy weeks, this Friday the whole sky has opened up, and the sun is gazing.
When Stephanie returns, she brings with her a bunch of green twigs and places them in a variety of vases in different shapes. She is just as colorful and exuberant in reality as she is lets know in her social media, and regularly disappears into the bedroom to change from a pair of incredible shoes to another. All of a sudden, we have completely forgotten the reason why we are here from to begin with, and everyone is pulled into trying to take the absolutely best picture of a pair of rhinestone-covered, pink slingbacks. Stephanie works as a digital creator and influencer, and lives in an apartment on Östermalm with her husband, daughter and twin boys. It's easy to understand that she has her hands full, but this particular day she effortlessly fools us that she more likely stepped right out of an episode of Sex and The City.
The apartment is centered around the kitchen and living room, with an open floor plan where the family has chosen an arched, time-typical, opening between the two sections. Decorating open spaces comes with it its own challenges, and uniformity in floors, wall colors and curtains is often the key to achieving a distinct style. A warm, white tone embraces both rooms and is nicely complemented by black curtain rods in wrought iron that give contrast and depth. It is easy to forget black in an interior, where even the smallest detail in black is a simple trick to anchor and enhance the impression of other colors and details. In both rooms, Gotain's woven linen curtains hang in off-white, where the fabric creates warmth and dimension without stealing attention within the interior. Wherever we look, we find small details that make us smile a little in secret, like playful sculptures in shapes of animals and details with hints of nature which seem to be Stephanie's hallmark - all of course purchased in vintage stores over the years.
In the living room we are met by a deep turquoise ceiling, which feels like a perfect match with Stephanie's colorful wardrobe. The turquoise tones are reocurring in the fireplace and are enhanced by the choice of armchairs in a directly contrasting ocher tone. The icing on the cake is the crystal chandelier centered in the middle of the room made out of Italian Murano glass. Which today, thanks to the sun, is perceived as lit, even though we have turned all the lights off in preparation for photographing. Stephanie says that Gotain's globe-shaped pillows lying on the sofa are incredibly popular within the family, both with her in terms of interior design, but perhaps most of all with the children who use them to play soccer.
