Sandra Juto’s Berlin Apartment
I was so excited when I woke up this morning to finally see the long awaited feature that FvonF, a German interiors blog based in Berlin, had planned for my friend, Sandra Juto, and her husband Johan Pergenius! Here is a quick peek into their Berlin apartment, located in Friedrichshain, but the FvonF blog has many more photos plus a lovely interview.
I put FvonF in touch with Sandra and Johan not long after they moved to Berlin from Sweden, so it was good to see that FvonF fell in love with Sandra and Johan too. It makes me happy to see more of Sandra’s apartment online – I’ve often wondered what her kitchen looks like – now I know. Her pretty apartment is so inspiring to me – I love the old German ‘altbauwohnung” details seen in so many of the turn of the century buildings that we have here. The herringbone wooden floors, high ceilings, plasterwork on the ceiling, it’s all so inspiring to me. I love the natural light and the painted wooden floors in Sandra’s office. Don’t forget to notice how she arranged her Polaroids on the wall…
I LOVED the part of their interview where they went into a bit of the emotional process involved in finding their apartment. I’ll quote Sandra and Johan directly from FvonF . Sandra explained, “The online photos of the apartment looked so terrible (in an intriguing way) that we had to come see it to compare it to the other, more polished, places we had looked at. When we stepped inside we looked at each other and we couldn’t ignore the fact that we both had fallen in love with the place. The condition of the apartment was more or less a disaster. The previous tenant lived here for 40 years before she died and seemed to like chain-smoking more than cleaning.” And I couldn’t help but laugh at how Johan described the first viewing, “When we showed up for the viewing, the real estate agent said we were brave to come see it. He was sitting in his car outside because he was so sure that no one would come.” What a riot! And what a good example of how one has to believe in something for themselves – who cares what others think – even when it comes to home selection. YOU have to love it.
View the entire interview here.
(images: Philipp Langenheim)
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October 17th, 2012 at 11:16am
I love the polaroids collection on the wall!
Tina from A Few Pretty Things´s last [type] ..Time for some fall decoration
October 17th, 2012 at 11:27am
That apartment would have had me at hello, warts and all. What a beautiful space to live in.
Tiffany Grant-Riley´s last [type] ..Yearning For White Space Living
October 17th, 2012 at 11:31am
I have followed Sandra’s work for years now, and was thrilled to see a peak to her home here. Lovely. The unfinished looking surfaces bring so much character in the apartment!
Tiina – Fanni ja Kaneli´s last [type] ..Espanjalainen katkarapu-papupannu
October 17th, 2012 at 11:54am
The wing chairs are brilliantly quirky, got to love them.
October 17th, 2012 at 12:14pm
It´s a beautiful place, just lovely! Great mix of things and charming!
tinajo´s last [type] ..OK, hold your horses now..!
October 17th, 2012 at 12:47pm
what a beautiful place! Love the lights!!
Marie´s last [type] ..I heart Ballet!!!
October 17th, 2012 at 12:56pm
I think househunting always takes bravery.
Glenda Childers´s last [type] ..A perfect autumnal day
October 17th, 2012 at 1:19pm
Such a surprise to see Sandra & Johan and their very charming apartment on FvonF! Loved the interview too!
Judith´s last [type] ..The balcony scene
October 17th, 2012 at 1:52pm
I love the story about their apartment. It reminds me of when I ‘m vacationing at a beach. I tend to get nervous in the morning because so many people are already out looking for treasures – but I know, I will anyway be much more interested in the stuff that others don’t look at and leave behind …
Looking at the pictures of Sandra’s apartment it almost feels to me as if the walls and windows would talk. You can literally feel and hear all the big and small happenings from the past…
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October 17th, 2012 at 1:59pm
I’m a sucker for Polaroids on the wall!
Yelle´s last [type] ..Weddings + incorporating books
October 17th, 2012 at 2:19pm
love the rooms!!!
Samira´s last [type] ..A J.Crew Toothpick
October 17th, 2012 at 2:26pm
So open and airy! I love the unfinished wall.
Tracy A.´s last [type] .."The wind in the ash tree sounds like surf on the shore at Truro. I will shut my eyes . . . " ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay
October 17th, 2012 at 2:36pm
Oh my, what a gorgeous place-and I love the way FvF take their completely natural shots too. I love all the period apartments you have in Hannover-visited my friends there many times back in the 90s, but I expect its changed so much since then. Look forward to your book signing Holly! :-)
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October 17th, 2012 at 5:33pm
What a lovely space they created for themselves! Love that they kept one wall unfinished and all the little details that make the space. If I ever move back to Germany I would prefer living in an Altbau as well…
October 17th, 2012 at 10:06pm
Oh man. Looking at these pics makes me want a big ‘ol beautiful altbau Berlin apartment with lots of charm and character at a fraction of Munich prices. Oh well!
October 18th, 2012 at 12:18am
What a beautiful story and a really lovely apartment … I could live there in a heartbeat. There’s something about imperfection that’s so intriguing! Our last home was built in 1918 and a had a lot of character. :)
Thanks for sharing, sweet Holly. xo
October 18th, 2012 at 1:19am
Jealous … Love the unfinished look and the high ceilings!…. this is the thing… in Europe you find small apartments with such a personality !… so hard to find here… especially in Miami
KMP´s last [type] ..Modern Ceilings that make a difference
October 18th, 2012 at 4:47am
So inspiring! Calls for creativity. Would definitely live in this space.
October 18th, 2012 at 11:01am
Yes! So refreshing to see a place full of style, taste, and LIFE! Makes me wanna become friends with them right away ;) Thanks for the link, haven´t been to the fvonf blog for a while.
Lena @minamoka´s last [type] ..BALKAN STYLE
October 18th, 2012 at 4:37pm
I use to live in Berlin Friedrichshain, so funny to come across this apartment on Pinterest….. I now live in Cool, California and sometimes miss these old character building in the old parts of berlin….
October 19th, 2012 at 12:50am
Such a beautiful and calm space. I ADORE the Polaroid gallery wall, such a great idea!
how2home´s last [type] ..Celebrating with my grandma
October 19th, 2012 at 8:56am
Nice place! It’s a good reminder that home is such an important place. I better pull my socks up and sort our flat out
October 19th, 2012 at 9:27am
So simple, but so beautiful.
I love the windows, il love the polaroids.
(and thats not the question, but I love Berlin !)
Thank you for those photos.
October 19th, 2012 at 11:06pm
Woww! that’s incredibly beautiful! :O
October 22nd, 2012 at 8:42pm
In love with this space! Be still my heart ;)
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October 27th, 2012 at 5:33pm
Thanks for sharing link + photos, what a white dream this is!
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November 28th, 2012 at 11:33pm
The unfinished wall is beyond gorgeous. Was it left that way during the fixing-up process? I feel like a wall that perfectly imperfect had to be created naturally, but who knows…there are some talented decorators out there! :) I love that the style is very spare, simplistic but so open and beautiful. Definitely the home of an artist.
November 28th, 2012 at 11:35pm
The unfinished wall is beyond gorgeous. Was it left that way during the fixing-up process? I feel like a wall that perfectly imperfect had to be created naturally, but who knows…there are some talented decorators out there! :) I love that the style is very spare, simplistic but so open and beautiful. Definitely the home of an artist.
January 11th, 2013 at 6:57pm
Scandanavian designs are so clever. I really wish I could live in such a fabulous space!