My Houzz: A Bright, Colourful and Vintage-filled Family Flat
This fashion buyer and shopowner's eclectic home is a case study in combining classic and kitsch
The family home of fashion buyer and store owner Kerstin Görling, in Frankfurt, looks like a blend of Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekulla and the fabulous world of Amélie. Here, an English puppet sitting in a bird cage on a yellow couch is nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, the approximately 1780-square-foot (165-square-metre) home looks beautifully considered, thanks to Görling’s fine sense for mixing patterns and combining colours and furniture.
The couple’s style is colourful, eclectic, detail-oriented and often served with a humorous twist. “I wildly mix styles and epochs. Everything is then complemented by souvenirs from our travels, alongside design classics and knick-knacks from flea markets,” Görling says.
The little footstool by Azucena, bought from The Apartment (on the right of the photo) holds a special place in her heart. “It is covered with an Hermès fabric and is a perfect complement to the Persian rug. The first thing children always want to do is throw themselves onto it, because it’s covered with an animal motif. And every time, I think, ‘Please let it survive.’”
The little footstool by Azucena, bought from The Apartment (on the right of the photo) holds a special place in her heart. “It is covered with an Hermès fabric and is a perfect complement to the Persian rug. The first thing children always want to do is throw themselves onto it, because it’s covered with an animal motif. And every time, I think, ‘Please let it survive.’”
Fashion and furniture trends share a lot in common — currently velvet, for example. “And this season, also patterns. Isabel Marant is showing colourful velvet dresses — which I would also like to have as cushions. One of these days, I’ll go looking for some. Otherwise, I’ll sew them myself,” Görling says. And other trends? Liberty prints and leopard prints. “A floral chair or a leopard sofa are on my wishlist,” she says. “House of Hackney is one point of reference.”
Görling’s friend, Katja Holtz, who is based in New York City, created the Mickey Mouse oil painting over the couch. “Her paintings just make me happy,” Görling says.
Forest green velvet couch: Kontrastmöbel; dark wood coffee table: found on eBay
Görling’s friend, Katja Holtz, who is based in New York City, created the Mickey Mouse oil painting over the couch. “Her paintings just make me happy,” Görling says.
Forest green velvet couch: Kontrastmöbel; dark wood coffee table: found on eBay
One of Görling’s go-to rules for arranging decor is iteration. “I always make sure that colours and patterns are repeated, so that the hodgepodge does not look chaotic, but coordinated. For example, the yellow sofa matches with the yellow boxes. The eye must be able to find anchor points in the space.”
Yellow couch: from a flea market; rug: from eBay; pendant lights: from 2nd home, Frankfurt; rocking armchair: Eames Plastic RAR, Vitra; Lounge chair: Eames Lounge Chair, Vitra
Yellow couch: from a flea market; rug: from eBay; pendant lights: from 2nd home, Frankfurt; rocking armchair: Eames Plastic RAR, Vitra; Lounge chair: Eames Lounge Chair, Vitra
Görling found these vases at a flea market in Navigli, during a trip to Milan. The picture with the woman carrying an iceberg in her chest is by Paula Bonet.
When it comes to furniture, Görling and her boyfriend both wear the trousers. “I’m responsible for odds and ends, and Daniel brings home the classics. They harmonise well. We always agree. It is very important for me to live the way I like,” she says.
This also includes not taking themselves too seriously. In the bird cage from Deko Wörner lives Tomasz, an English puppet. “I found him at a flea market. I couldn’t pass up a thing like that,” Görling says.
This also includes not taking themselves too seriously. In the bird cage from Deko Wörner lives Tomasz, an English puppet. “I found him at a flea market. I couldn’t pass up a thing like that,” Görling says.
“I couldn’t relinquish anything in our home. I love every detail,” Görling says. “Moreover, the apartment is so beautifully bright. Large windows, rooms in which you can take deep breaths. From here we can see a ginkgo tree, and behind it the synagogue. When you open the windows, you can often hear the chants. Beautiful!”
Desk: House Doctor; chest of drawers: flea market; silver swan, which was once part of a fountain: flea market
Since work and home life go hand-in-hand for Görling and her boyfriend, their shared workspace is located right next to the living room. The chairs on either side of the door, as well as Görling’s desk chair, are from the Alte Oper (Old Opera House) in Frankfurt. “They were on sale for 25 euros each. I immediately went for them.”
Pictured here is Labrador Otto, lounging on a carpet from Medina in Marrakech. “I rolled it up and took it with me onto the plane. You only have to pay a small surcharge at the airport,” Görling says.
Pictured here is Labrador Otto, lounging on a carpet from Medina in Marrakech. “I rolled it up and took it with me onto the plane. You only have to pay a small surcharge at the airport,” Görling says.
Görling’s insider tip for cool furniture and accessories? “I love junk markets. You can find the best vases, dressers and decorations. If you mix them with classics, it makes for an unmistakable style.”
11 Great Vintage Buys to Add Instant Character to Your Home
11 Great Vintage Buys to Add Instant Character to Your Home
“I love to craft a world that I like for myself. I am quite a Pippi Longstocking. It’s the same in my job: Shopping, shop decoration and social media strategies are great fun. The constant pressure, however, is the flip side of the coin. It’s hard to stay at ease, and when it gets to be too much I often have to force myself to take a break. Then we quickly book a flight and take off for a while. This changes our point of view and refreshes us,” Görling says.
The birth of their daughter has not really changed the apartment. “Because we live very colourfully, one could have thought that children already lived here,” says Görling, laughing. She quotes American author Ursula Le Guin: “The creative adult is the child who survived.” Plus, tidying and cleanup take place daily. “I hate chaos. We are aesthetes.”
“My boyfriend’s desk is always super organizsd. On the contrary, mine is rather chaotic,” Görling says. “Sometimes I go over to him and delete things at random from his to-do lists,” she says, laughing. Her boyfriend is also a buyer for his own men’s fashion store, Uebervart. Sometimes they sit at their desks until nighttime, thinking about projects. “Even the bookkeeping is only half as boring if you order bills and receipts together while listening to good music.”
The baby’s crib is on wheels and is always being moved around. Görling upholstered it with an African wax print fabric from Vlisco.
The open-plan kitchen connects to the study. It features built-in closets from Küchenhaus Süd. The rest is, again, typical of Görling’s eclectic curating. “I love the ceiling light in the kitchen,” she says. “It is called ‘Peggy’ and was made for the Peggy Guggenheim Museum by Vistosi. There are only [about] 20 pieces in existence, and we snapped one of them up.” The circus boxes are from Deko Wörner. “You can always find great little things in there.”
Kitchen Planning: Design Ideas for Open-plan Living
Kitchen Planning: Design Ideas for Open-plan Living
Colorful woven dishes and an oil painting by Katja Holtz decorate the wall above the dining table. A kitschy Japanese maneki-neko cat and a sugar bowl round off the eclectic look. “I call my style the Hayashi look,” Görling says, referring to her store. “Shop decor often finds its way into my home. On the other hand, sometimes a vase disappears and lands in the shop window.”
This long-legged wall decoration was once a shop window installation of the Schirn Kunsthalle, a Frankfurt art gallery. “I just hung them on the wall,” Görling says.
The orange couch is mostly reserved for Otto the dog. “From here he can see the things that matter most to him: the refrigerator, the dining table and [his] bowl,” Görling says.
The orange couch is mostly reserved for Otto the dog. “From here he can see the things that matter most to him: the refrigerator, the dining table and [his] bowl,” Görling says.
In the hallway Heiko the Elephant sits happily. “He’s from the Bon Marché department store in Paris,” Görling says. “I was pretty far along in my pregnancy, caught between showroom deadlines for Fashion Week and looking for baby stuff, and there sat Heiko in the best mood. We dragged him through Paris for the rest of the day — a funny sight.”
The hallway may appear simple, but it is anything but. Four masks by Hay, which were once displayed in the store, hang on the wall. The vases and pictures are collectors’ items. The armchairs, discovered in a flea market, provide seating for putting on shoes.
Speaking of shoes, a fashion buyer can never have enough of them. “I hide sandals, pumps and sneakers that I just do not wear in the pretty shoe boxes on the bedroom closet.”
Closet: Pax, Ikea; bed: Fennobed
Closet: Pax, Ikea; bed: Fennobed
So are they missing anything in their home? “Just a large, planted terrace that does not need to be watered,” says Görling, laughing. “And one more room for our little daughter. We always look in Frankfurt, but the housing market is a catastrophe.” There are still some gems to be found on the outskirts, but Görling is and will remain a city dweller. “Looking at the forest makes me feel melancholy. I need movement, colours and energy.”
What do you think of this fun family home? Let us know in the Comments below.
What do you think of this fun family home? Let us know in the Comments below.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kerstin Görling of the Hayashi clothing boutique with her partner, Daniel, their daughter, Toni Wilma and their Labrador, Otto
Location: Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany
Size: 1780 square feet (165 square metres)
When you’ve participated in every youth trend from punk to grunge and hip hop to techno, then committing to one single style is simply out of the question. Such is the case with Kerstin Görling, pictured with boyfriend Daniel and daughter Toni Wilma. Görling studied Fashion Management at the Academy of Fashion and Design in Düsseldorf, and in 2007 she opened her boutique, Hayashi, in Frankfurt. Since then, she has been selling a curated selection of fashion and accessories from brands like Philosophy, Vivetta, Marni, and Isabel Marant. Every Friday she also presents her outfit of the week for Journelles.
“I’m a real nerd. I read thousands of blogs at the same time, comb through Instagram every day, read fashion and interior design magazines, love art and music and travel a lot. All this together led me to my style, which is constantly evolving. I don’t like standing still.”