Not every day you come across someone who applies art into their daily life in the same way as Anke (aka @onze.casa) does. Take one look at her home, and you'll see what we mean. Today we had the pleasure of learning a bit more about her world.
Q: Hello Anke, can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
A: So my name is Anke and I live in the south of the Netherlands. I live with my husband and my 2 kids, Nino and Zoey. I work as an art teacher at a college. In my country we have a lot of school-holidays. During the holidays I love to redecorate the house and share it on my Instagram.
Q: We absolutely love your home, it is not only beautiful but also very playful and creative. Can you tell us about your approach to styling and interior decor? Do you have some sort of process?
A: I love to look at other homes on Instagram and I then get so inspired that I want to change the rooms in our home. It drives my husband nuts because some walls have had three colors in three years. Every year I keep changing things drastically. So in my process i don't include him. I will have a project in mind and wait for my holiday. When my husband comes home from work, things have suddenly changed. It's weird but he seems to be okay with that... Sometimes he doesn't even notice it!
Q: Do you have any background within interior design, or is it more of a hobby?
A: No. I studied to be an art therapist and after that I did another bachelor to become a teacher. This is what covid 19 and the lockdowns did to me: Being creative and being locked up at home, made me develop a new hobby. So happy with that!
Q: Your boy's room caught our eye in particular. How long did it take you to design this room? Can you take us through the process, from beginning to end?
A: I was approched by a wallpaper-webshop and I loved their wallpaper, but I didn't have any walls left for a new project. So then I thought of my least favourite wall and came up with my son's room. It was going to be the third wallpaper in three years time so I really wanted it to be more neutral this time. I also picked paint that would match the wallpaper. Then I saw an Instagram account that had painted waves on the wall. That idea inspired me to do the same, but to also fade the colors into each other to create a unique effect. When everything was finished, I styled it with items that had matching colors. I am a huge fan of brown which creates a warm vibe in my son's room. He loves to sit under the bed with little lights on and 'read' ( he is 5 ). It is so cosy!
Q: That wall! How did you come up with this stunning idea? We can't even understand how you've done it?
A: Well, out of a pizza-box I just cut one wave and then drew that on the wall a few times with a pencil. Before covid happend I had my own business as a professional body painter (@chicart_paint). In my body paints i learned how to combine colors and make a fade-effect. Now I used that knowledge to do that on the wall.
You will need 2 brushes; one with the darkest color and one with the lightest. Then you put both colors next to each other on the wall and then you use the light color brush to mix them. The tricky part is to do this quickly because both colors still need to be wet.
Q: We couldn't help but notice that you are also brilliant at repurposing things. You even made your Swedish Linens sheet into several different items?
A: Yes, I love recycling. I had a sheet for a small bed but my girl got a bigger bed when she turned two. So then I decided to make 2 pillows and a mobile with little moons from it... From just one sheet. Thats real recycling right?
Here Anke is repurposing our crib sheet into various pillows, mobiles, fabric pocket for storage and more.
Q: It seems like color and patterns are very important for you. How do you choose and combine them together?
A: That's true and that's why I love your sheets. They have the right colors and I love the designs. Well I don't have a strategy, I think it is just my artistic self that sees combinations. But I do make photos in the process to see if things come across right. It is just like a painter that takes some distance from their art to look from another perspective, and then goes back to creating.
Q: We are so curious to hear what you think about the role of bedding and bed sheets in particular, when it comes to designing a room?
A: I think bedsheets are like decoration, so they need to have patterns and colors that matches. If you have put a lot of energy in decorating a room and then put down some boring bedding it is such a waste. It's great to go for patterns and matching colors. In my case I used a pink color sheet for my son's room because it matches so well with the brown. Luckily my son is only 5 years old, so he still loves everything his mom does. I fear for the day that he wants Disney-bedding.
Q: We love that you used shades of pink in your boy's room. Was that a conscious choice on your part to encourage unisex thinking or you simply don't associate colors and patterns with genders?
A:
I think in color combinations and terra-pink goes so well with camel-brown in my opinion. My son is only 5 years old and he likes every color. So he lets me be free in all the decisions. Hopefully it stays like that! I think it is better to let go of stereotipical colors (blue for a boy and pink for a girl) and just go with the flow. So no limitations!
Q: Any tips for someone who is starting to design a room and feeling completely stuck? Where should they begin? What is most important when starting a new styling project?
Getting inspired by others. Creativity is a gift to share, so please take it. Go on instagram and pinterest and make a moodboard. Then find out what style you like the most and find a great theme together with your child. Then look for unique webshops and combine items from all over Europe. You will get so much energy and motivation from such a project. Good luck and most of all... enjoy!
Thanks Anke, for taking us into your world! To see more from Anke, check out her Instagram account @onze.casa.
In her boy's room Anke has made the bed with our Terracotta seashells sheet.
