Köpenick
Apartment
A new home in Berlin,
designed in English.
An apartment in Köpenick for a young professional couple relocating to Berlin. Neither of them spoke German, so the whole design had to run in English, from the first consultation to the final shopping list.
The apartment was a clean slate: white walls, pale oak floors, a white fitted kitchen and good daylight. What it lacked was character, and anywhere to put things.
Stylish, practical,
and room for everything.
A stylish but functional home that suited the way the couple live, with a harmonious balance of textures and colours. Underneath it sat the real priority: storage, designed in rather than added on, without the rooms losing their calm.
As non-German speakers, they also needed the design handled in English from start to finish, including the suppliers and the detail they would otherwise have had to work through in translation.
One bold wall, and storage
everywhere else.
The design began with an online consultation to refine the brief, then a mood board, space planning layouts and colour 2D elevations. Once every detail was approved, the couple had a complete shopping list to order from.
- A feature wall with nerve. Wallpaper by Wallism in deep blue hues gives the living area its one bold statement, set against an otherwise light scheme.
- A bespoke TV unit. Custom-made by one of our suppliers, it combines open oak shelving with closed cupboards, so the wall that holds the television holds everything else as well.
- Furniture chosen for everyday use. A sofa from The Sofa Company as the neutral, comfortable base, with the coffee table and dining table from Kave Home.
- Texture rather than colour. Light oak and subtle brass accents, layered with marble, corduroy, linen, cotton and tweed, so the calm palette never reads as flat.
- Lighting and styling to finish. Contemporary light fittings and curated accessories, with layered lighting defining each zone of the open-plan space.
For a couple new to the city and the language, the risk is rarely bad taste. It is a hundred small decisions made in translation. Running the whole design in English, down to a shopping list they could order from, took that risk away.
Where things came from.
We name suppliers on our projects, so you can price a scheme like this yourself.
How this project ran.
A combination of our Basic and Premium room makeovers, the Level 2 Furniture Design package for the custom storage, and additional consultancy hours. If you are relocating and furnishing a home in a language you do not speak yet, the place to start is a call. Fifteen minutes, free, and in English.
Book a discovery call