Instead of Wallpaper - Shabby Chic Walls

"Sometimes less is more"

In this particular living room, you can see quite clearly that family heirlooms, such as this beautiful piano and an old sewing machine table, can be combined perfectly with Ikea furniture.

Instead of Wallpaper - Shabby Chic Walls

Removing old wallpaper to reveal unfinished plaster walls – walls with real patina – has a fabulous effect in pre-war apartments. Sometimes several layers of old wallpaper from different eras come to the fore. Depending on the wallpaper’s motif and condition, you could even consider leaving a piece of it on the wall. This will underscore and preserve your apartment’s unique history. Especially in Berlin, wonderful old East German wallpaper motifs that you won’t be able to find anywhere else in this day and age crop up occasionally. As a prop master / film set designer and expert for historical films, I have a weakness for living spaces that reveal this kind of travel through time.

Even though shabby chic style is, in the meantime, starting to fall out of fashion a bit, wall design with patina is always a wonderful, economical, exciting and customized wall solution. Unfortunately, we weren‘t able to preserve any of the old wallpaper rests in this pre-war flat in Berlin. But the unfinished plaster wall with patina that emerged lends the apartment a very earthy character. If you opt for this kind of wall design, your credo should be: "sometimes less is more". The more you let yourself be guided by minimalism in terms of furniture and accessories, the clearer your living experience will be. Depending on the look of the unfinished plaster surface that emerges, it may be necessary to smooth the sections that are too restless.

Beautiful original parquet flooring materialized in the living room when the carpeting was removed in this pre-war apartment in Berlin.  In other parts of the apartment, old floor boards in good condition revealed themselves. For them to be restored to their former glory all that remained to do was sanding and refinishing them.

To renovate and remodel economically and as quickly and as possible, many construction companies radically rip out original features and detailing in old apartments as they are transformed. Much of the lovely old-style flair of pre-war apartments in Berlin is lost this way. As a room designer with historical awareness, I try to preserve as much as possible of the original features in order to show them off within a new setting, staged with very modern furniture and accessories.

Unfortunately, most of the old coal-burning ovens that used to be so ubiquitous in old residential buildings in Berlin have already been removed. A part of history is simply extinguished. For this reason, especially in West Berlin’s Charlottenburg district, we have very consciously decided to preserve the beautiful ornamented tiled stoves even though they are no longer used for heating purposes.

Currently I am working on an apartment from the 60s with beautiful built-in wardrobes/cupboards in immaculate condition and with unique detailing. My client wants to rid the flat of these features but I am hoping to persuade him otherwise because I consider it a duty to preserve some of our old heritage. Admittedly not everything can be preserved. But a mix of typical construction elements that reflect the spirit of their age and purist luxe furniture and accessories will allow just about any old room to shine in a whole new light.

I will gladly make myself available for an on-site consultation with you.

The following entries from my Interior Design Berlin blog might be of interest to you:

• Hygge Furnishing: Danish-Style Feel-Good Oasis
• Furnishing ideas for flats in pre WWII tenements
• Eclectic interior style/style mix: Customized, individualized kitchen design