Friederike Stelter

Berlin, Germany

I always say that Berlin apartments is such a major inspiration for this community since day one. There are so many amazing homes out there, one of the cities I feature the most, and Friederike’s home is a unique one for me. She lives in this renovated apartment with her husband and three kids. Her Berlin home is the result of a long, detailed renovation that she planned and designed herself. She explains every step in detail, from redoing the ceilings, adding storage spaces, to redesigning the kitchen and bathrooms, taking us through all the behind the scenes. The space is a combination of warm, natural tones with pop colors, creating a great balance of different styles. I have been posting and admiring her home for so long now that I’m very excited to share this interview!

You can find her here. Enjoy!

Tell us a bit about yourself, how did your interest in interior design begin?

My husband and I live in an apartment in Berlin with our three kids. Our son was born 3 months ago, our two daughters are 2 and 4 years old. My husband is currently founding a start up and I am on maternity leave from my job as a management consultant - so I have lots of time for my interior passion. I was born in Germany, but also raised in Brasil and the US and I spent a year in Canada and studied in France for 4 years. Moving around so much has definitely shaped me and instilled a certain restlessness in me. I would love to move abroad with my own family as soon as the opportunity arises.

As for my interest in interior design: I have always been interested in design and furniture and in the past years it has become a real passion. I can recall being fascinated by all types of interiors from a young age and still recall a few interiors that particularly impressed me as a child.

I always say this on my platform but Berlin is such a major inspiration for NORMAL. There are so many amazing homes out there, one of the cities I feature the most, and your home is a unique one for me. How did you end up deciding this home is the one? How did you start decorating your space? Did you have a mood board in mind, did it happen organically? What are your biggest inspirations for your interior and decorating?

Like in many big cities, apartment hunting in Berlin is far from easy. Before we moved to this apartment, we were living in a two bedroom apartment in Mitte which was becoming too small as our family grew. I always wanted to move to the corner in Prenzlauer Berg where we are now living, but we were also looking more broadly to increase our chances.

We were looking at both buying and renting, also to increase the likelihood of finding an apartment that we like. My husband and I agreed on the criteria which were most important for both of us e.g. lots of daylight, a balcony, minimum size, an elevator and so on. I saved a search on ImmoScout24 and checked daily. It took over a year to find this apartment, but I knew the second I stepped foot in it, that it would be perfect for us. It was a dream come true both in terms of layout and location.

Once we renovated and moved in, decorating the space happened quite naturally. We mostly used the furniture we already had, the biggest new addition being the sofa. We didn’t rush anything and have been filling the apartment with additional furniture little by little. The process for acquiring something new usually takes a while as we both like second hand furniture and do not always intuitively set our minds to the same piece, so „negotiations“ can take a while until we are both happy with the result.

I feel like a lot of abstract inspiration is instilled in me from living and working in different places and from traveling. But more concretely I find inspiration in magazines such as Architectural Digest, on platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest and in my day-to-day life in Berlin and my friends apartments.

You include color into warmer, neutral tones in your space. That pop pink sofa in the middle of your living room stands out from all angles, and it is a personal favorite, but the rest of the space is more simple, calmer. How did you decide on this bold choice, what was your intention behind your choices?

When I was still living in Munich with my sister about 7 years ago, I discovered this pink sofa in a Hay store. I immediately fell in love and we were able to buy it at a reduced price since it had been on display in the store for a while. 

When I left Munich to move to Berlin, the sofa stayed with my sister and we used the couch that my husband already had (a white leather couch that I never really learned to love).

I really missed the pink couch, also because it was so comfortable. When we moved into our current apartment, we decided to go to the Hay store in Berlin to buy the same model I had previously owned. Originally we wanted to buy a more neutral tone, but ended up ordering the exact same pink again. In the end I really love this color because it is bold but still easy to combine with the rest of our furniture.

And while I like having 1-2 statement pieces in each room, I don’t want my place to look too noisy. Given that the sofa already adds a good splash of color, I paired it mostly with softer tones and wooden furniture. .

Do you have a dream piece of furniture you have in mind? I know you have a wishlist on your profile, but can you share some with our readers?

Oh, there are many, but if I had to pick one I guess it would be the Vitra Lounge Chair. I would definitely try to buy a vintage version - I honestly love pre-owned furniture. These pieces are of such high quality and only become better with age. The patina they develop makes them so unique. And of course I like the sustainability aspect of pre-owned furniture.

And if they weren’t so expensive I would love to own an entire set of tableware from Ensoie. It is a Swiss brand and they make the most beautiful ceramics from tableware to vases and large fruit bowls - I love all of them! I received one of their checkered vases as a gift from my mom - my favorite vase!

Also I do want to get some insights of living in Berlin. Can you let us know some of your go-to furniture and decor stores, shops and places that inspire your style around the city?

Of course Berlin has a lot to offer in terms of furniture shopping. You can find all the classic designer brands in places like „Ruby Design Living“ in Mitte or „Living Berlin“ in Charlottenburg.

But what I love most about Berlin are vintage shops where I can spend hours looking for beautiful, pre-owned pieces.

One of my favorite shops is a vintage shop called „Kunst-a-Bunt“ close to my apartment in Prenzlauer Berg. The owner and his son regularly travel to Paris and other places and bring back the most beautiful vintage furniture, carpets, lamps, art and decorative pieces.

I also love the flea market at „Straße des 17. Juni“ on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s also a favorite among my friends who come to visit me in Berlin, so I go there quite often. Also in Charlottenburg, you can find a large selection of vintage stores in a street called Suarezstraße.

For amazing mid-century furniture, you have to visit Holm Vintage in Mitte. A great store with beautifully curated furniture.