At Viktoria's, in Berlin
For years, her light-filled walnut kitchen has fascinated us. Almost every week, Viktoria makes it the stage for her poetic floral compositions, without ever revealing too much of herself. Discreet, she prefers to let her interior take centre stage. Mouldings, picture rails and patinated brass… It must be said that her apartment, nestled in the heart of Charlottenburg, is truly charming! A cleverly designed cocoon, which owes a little to early 20th-century Berlin architecture, and a lot to the creative's ideas for giving it character. Guided tour.
Paris-Berlin
Do you have to give up on personalising your home when you’re renting? You have three hours. Viktoria Askerow has already made up her mind. Like the vast majority of Berliners, she doesn’t own her flat. So what? Inspired by the Haussmann-style aesthetics of Parisian buildings, she has, over the years, created a nest in constant evolution, guided by her keen eye for detail.
Interior – day
Typical of pre-war flats, the entrance is in fact a long corridor leading to the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathroom before opening onto the living room. That's no reason to neglect it! Viktoria has installed a walnut dressing area that extends all the way to the ceiling to accommodate shoes and coats. The rounded open unit creates a smoother transition whilst offering shelves that set the tone.
Rear Window
If the hallway feels like a cocooning embrace, reinforced by dark wood and warm fabrics, the living room, by contrast, is bathed in natural light. The double windows, which shield against the German cold and open onto a charming balcony, draw attention to the high ceilings. These original features all enhance the sense of space in the room, to the point of making it feel almost intimidating…
Eye catching
Viktoria worked around this pitfall by creating visual markers on the walls to give them rhythm and dress them up on a budget. Inspired by the original rosettes, she followed the thread by gluing picture rails and decorative mouldings bought from a DIY shop, before painting them in a slightly greyed beige that contrasts with the white ceiling. The latest addition, a crenellated cornice, reinforces the theatrical feel of the room.
Table of Contents
Nestled as an extension of the living room, the bedroom appears to share the same design language. Look more closely: here, the mouldings have given way to walls painted in brushed limewash, which adds texture to the room. The choice of materials is far from incidental: from the wardrobe in raffia and natural oak that echoes the flooring and furniture, to the well-placed mirrors and cream linen, each element plays with light and adds depth. Like a common thread, the black light fittings bring the whole look together.
The sky is the limit
For the dressing area, Viktoria played with stacked Metod cabinets placed above Pax units to extend her storage and maximise useful space, whilst preserving the ceiling mouldings. Our arch raffia design adds an organic touch to the room whilst bringing a sense of lightness to this wall-to-wall arrangement. The perfect balance of practicality and aesthetics!
Mix & match
U-Shape drawers, frame doors, natural walnut and Stone painted oak. On paper, this combination would have sent the Studio Plum team into a cold sweat. Yet Viktoria managed to bring together styles and colours in perfect harmony. As in the living room, decorative mouldings were added to dress the walls, while the white floor with black cabochons lends character to the kitchen. The U-Shape walnut fronts, meanwhile, contrast with this classic aesthetic by adding a more contemporary touch, reinforced by the floating marble shelf that extends the worktop and splashback.
50 shades of green
On the opposite wall, the technical elements are concealed behind Stone facades that stretch up to the ceiling. Viktoria has played with paint, sometimes matching it to extend our Stone onto the adjoining wall, sometimes contrasting it by opting for a beige with a subtle green tint, more understated than a pure white. A bespoke setting for the designer's floral arrangements.
Detail-orientated
Viktoria has taken the mix & match concept right down to the finest details. The Alessi small appliances converse with the time-worn patinated brass accessories, whilst the contemporary light fittings inject a burst of energy into the mouldings and vintage furniture.
The test of time
A shower, a bathtub… and a generous dose of charm. If it ain't broke, don't fix it: as in the rest of her flat, Viktoria has played with materials and vintage finds to set the tone of her bathroom. Here, the wood-panelled dado structures the room and helps highlight the wallpaper chosen in neutral tones.
The ideas that inspire us
- The mouldings added throughout the flat to dress the walls inexpensively and give them character
- The fitted units stretched up to the ceiling to make the most of all the available height
- The brass details sourced from second-hand shops that develop a patina over time
- The lime-washed walls that add texture and depth without resorting to colour
