Good day pals and blissful Friday. I’m writing now on decor8 Substack, so should you observe this weblog you definitely nonetheless can however for each day musings, observe me on Substack and be a part of my pretty decor8 neighborhood the place you’ll be able to subscribe and be a part of me there. So, blissful Friday! Let’s take a house tour, lets? This house is so enjoyable and surprising that I’ve to share it together with just a little interview that I made with the home-owner, Inside Stylist Susanne Otter, primarily based in Leeuwarden, Holland which is the capital of the province of Friesland positioned within the northern a part of Holland close to to the North Sea (so northeast of Amsterdam).
Susanne lives in one of many oldest components within the coronary heart of town in a seventeenth century home (circa 1669) with a lot of character, sample, coloration and a enjoyable mixture of furnishings and intervals, of artwork, classic and new design, it’s certainly light-hearted and enjoyable. She shares the area along with her husband and two kids. “My fashion, that’s such a tough factor to outline, I don’t know. I’ve referred to as my enterprise Frivole Studio, frivolous. It’s not too severe, playful, light-hearted,” Susanne confessed… And Frivolous is true!
They renovated for over three years and declare to know each nook of their dwelling by now. Susanne confessed, “It’s been an awesome journey transferring from room to room till the tip of the renovation. We’ve began from scratch and will do all of it in accordance with our view and style.” She additionally talked about that it’s not a typical home as a result of this one was constructed for dwelling and dealing again in 1669, “What’s now our entrance room downstairs was the earlier proprietor’s office, a goldsmith. Our lounge is upstairs with the kitchen. In between there’s a ground with only one room. The weird association of the rooms is what I like essentially the most. And it’s so outdated, it outlived so many individuals, world wars, I can’t even think about what 100 years really feel like not to mention 300.”
“I fell in love with the rooms with excessive ceilings, all of the woodwork, the outdated home windows, nothing is straight, you’ll be able to hear the cracking of the ground below the load of your ft.”
Susanne advised me a few life lesson she realized in a really arduous approach, that I wished so as to add to this publish as a result of it could resonate with you as a lot because it did for me. Particularly when she speaks about her tackle having fun with the moments of a renovation and never stressing your self out about it…
“After the start of my son, now 13 years outdated, I almost misplaced my life. Every thing that would go mistaken went mistaken, the docs even advised my husband to arrange for the worst. Since then I stay day-to-day, no worries for what’s coming, no stress about issues forward, I solely have now and this second, I’m 41. I believe that’s why renovating our dwelling was such a beautiful journey for us. No planning, no schedule, we couldn’t get burdened a few deadline. Please take pleasure in life the way in which you need, I’ve seen so many individuals round me working arduous for one thing they by no means reached, or adopted the foundations for a contented and wholesome life however ended up having most cancers, dropping their job or relationship whereas they didn’t do what they liked however what they thought they wanted to do. Life is tough sufficient. Please be form to your self and have targets, however don’t stress your self an excessive amount of.”
What’s her favourite room within the dwelling? She advised me that it actually depends upon the season. In summertime, it’s the entrance room downstairs as a result of it by no means get’s scorching even throughout a heatwave. She additionally loves her rest room with the pink bathtub. I personally assume her canine and cat like the lounge couch greatest… What do you assume?
I used to be additionally curious to learn the way life has modified for Susanne for the reason that large C and the entire lockdowns, as we had a whole lot of them right here in Europe. This was her reply…
“Not a lot has modified throughout lockdown and every little thing modified throughout lockdown. I’ve moved out at a extremely younger age and have seen and finished all of it. I stay a easy life and don’t exit that a lot so for me it wasn’t a giant adjustment. My husband went from working a day or generally two at dwelling and at all times on the street on different days of the week to working from dwelling full-time. It would sound unusual however at first It felt a bit like an invasion of my private area having him dwelling on a regular basis. Often my kids, Pepijn and Annabel, and I had dinner with the three of us. We have been so used to do issues our approach and ready for Anne-Roel to return dwelling after dinner however now he was dwelling on a regular basis and even meddling in. The entire dynamic of our household modified. It took a while to get used to it however these days I can’t even keep in mind the way it was earlier than and I like having him round, we exit for lunch (dwelling within the coronary heart of town means eating places throughout us), I prepare dinner lots much less, undecided I even understand how anymore, ha ha. However I’ve to say, we stay in a home with sufficient area so we will earn a living from home with out getting in the way in which of one another. That makes it simpler for us. And we simply completed renovating as lockdowns started, so the timing wasn’t dangerous.”
“I’m very artistic, so I’m at all times doing one thing artistic. The factor is, I’m so dangerous at ending stuff. I’m at all times beginning one thing, I like macrame, crochet, portray, and so on. Our home is full of al the issues I as soon as began, however half finished. I’m the worst. And I don’t present it. It feels to private to me so I hold it to myself. I might love to indicate a few of my concepts and what I’ve made however since they’re solely half approach there and I don’t end them, I simply disguise these! 🙂”
I requested Susanne about these pretty items of artwork and she or he advised me that they’re by Dutch painter Grace Spiegel who solely makes use of 6 paint colours which she mixes, “The colours actually work nicely with the colours in our dwelling and the portraits have a serene really feel to them, it’s how I believe our dwelling seems like, a great match,” Susanne says.
I needed to ask Susanne about this attractive Zebra wallpaper. She went on to inform me just a little story about it which you will discover as charming as I did.
Susanne: “Oh, the zebra wallpaper! The look on individuals’s faces once I advised in regards to the plan for our kitchen, particularly once I advised them we have been going to wallpaper all of the partitions of the kitchen, hilarious! To me it isn’t daring or daring. I actually wished a brass kitchen however my husband’s dream kitchen has at all times been a chrome steel industrial kitchen and he’s the chef more often than not so we went for his alternative. I don’t like kitchens that really feel very chilly and medical, I prefer it extra as a room with a kitchen in it.”
She continues…
“Years in the past I discovered the zebra wallpaper within the Dutch subject of Residence (journal) and ripped out the web page to avoid wasting so I knew I wished to make use of it in our dwelling. Metals work nicely collectively, metal, brass, copper, chrome, and so on, you’ll be able to simply combine them. So the chrome steel kitchen works very nicely with the gold and black wallpaper, it’s not that large of a distinction, it’s straightforward on the attention… And I bought to have that contact of gold regardless of not getting the brass kitchen.”
Extra on her alternative of the sample on the kitchen partitions…
“The factor is, most individuals select wallpaper for only one wall in a room with white partitions, a wallpapered function wall. More often than not it isn’t finished proper and the wall is an excessive amount of in your face which makes a room stressed. It’s all about steadiness, a pleasant circulate, you’ll be able to combine and match no matter you need however hold it in what I name a household. The metals are one household, pastel colours are a household, numerous colours in the identical shade are a household and totally different shades of the identical coloration are a household. Now we have a whole lot of totally different wallpapers in our home however all of them have one thing related. A lot of the wallpapers have a contact of gold and a few have a marble sample. Now we have emerald inexperienced marble sample carpet in our bedrooms, marble tiles in our rest room and in a number of the wallpapers we utilized in the remainder of the home. You get an ideal combine by repeated use of sample however not in the identical materials, however comfortable carpet, shiny tiles, so it doesn’t get boring and predictable.”
I requested Susanne about coloration mixing, as I like her tackle mixing patterns…
“The identical with colours, distinction however not too large of a distinction, a steadiness. I solely use colours of the identical shade, grey-ish colours. If you happen to’ve ever been to a development market to search for colours to your dwelling you’ve seen the paint samples. The samples normally go from mild to darkish shades of the identical coloration. If you wish to combine colours and also you don’t know the best way to begin, put the samples subsequent to one another and select the shade you favor. You may go darkish, mild, one thing in between, that’s your private alternative. However use the identical shade for each coloration you select, they may work nicely collectively as a result of there’s no large distinction, it blends in completely. And take your time to regulate to your new inside. We individuals don’t do nicely on adjustments, it takes time to take all of it in and get used to. Not days however weeks. Our mind wants at the least a couple of weeks to regulate. So don’t rush to color over that wall that doesn’t really feel excellent immediately.”
Susanne makes use of largely paint colours from Dutch paint model Portray The Previous. She’s been working with their paints for over a decade and mentioned they even produce scented candles since their motto is, “Don’t fall in love with a coloration with out understanding it’s perfume.” Isn’t that fascinating? I requested her what her favourite scent is at dwelling, it’s Rosewood & Velvet Plum. She additionally used Rosewood within the entrance room downstairs for the ceiling and shutters and Velvet Plum for the window frames in the lounge upstairs. She mentioned that the perfume actually matches the colour. Her second favourite is Eucalyptus & Sage. Now I’m inquisitive about this Dutch model and need to look them up – fascinating idea of blending candles and paint in the identical world, don’t you assume?
In order that’s a wrap! I hope you’ve loved seeing this pretty Dutch dwelling as a lot as I’ve liked sharing it. Susanne is such an inspiration, a artistic who leads from her coronary heart, and this evokes me a lot. I like how she simply lets go and decorates, with out restraint, with out fear about public opinion or no matter. We are able to generally really feel so held again at dwelling, attempting to make every little thing excellent or “proper”. Susanne is the proper instance of how liberating it may be to only observe your coronary heart and create rooms that you just love, that talk to you and your loved ones.
In case you’re curious, Susanne’s rugs are all from The Souks. She loves pottery by a neighborhood potter in her metropolis, Lydia Pieksma and the kitchen/dwelling store Dille en Kamille. You may observe Susanne on her Instagram right here: @frivolestudio
Have a beautiful weekend everybody!
Love,
Holly
(Images with permission from Susanne Otter)
Supply: Decor8
