Lillian's Diary House Tour in Vienna

I need to take a break from reading and approving contest comments to sink into a lovely little home tour for some inspiration. Are you with me? Good. So let's visit the home of Katrin who is known online as Lillian's Diary -- she has a Flickr page where you can follow her as she shares her home and inspirations. I found her via Flickr recently so I contacted Katrin to see if she'd like to share her home on decor8 because it's a small space and so very charming. I'm happy that she has given me permission to share her warm nest with you -- it's too cute!

I took a moment to have a rather informal interview with her as well and it really helped me to understand her style a little better once I learned more about how she approaches decorating. Are you ready to visit a sweet spot in Vienna, Austria today? Let's go!

Katrin is a PR spokesperson who, like most Europeans, speaks more than one language -- she knows German, English, and basic French. She has lived in Austria for 4 years now with her fiancé Moritz (they are both German) and has rented the 1950s apartment shown here for 3 years and it is 60 qm (which translates to approximately 650 square feet). It has 3 rooms if you count them the German way (a kitchen and bathroom do not count as a room). Together with 2 cats Marlene and Lulu, they have a kitchen, living room, small office, one bedroom and a garden.

What do you love about your city? Everything in Vienna is old/historic. When we first moved here we used to say that Vienna is an open air museum. I still love that about Vienna.

Favorite vacation spots in Europe? The Northern part of Portugal. It's beautiful, incredibly inexpensive and more or less undiscovered by tourists.

Please tell us about your decorating style: So hard to answer! I just pick what I like! :)

What inspires your decor? Design blogs (like decor8!), Magazines (love Living Etc.), people and their spaces on Flickr.

How would you define your style in 3 words? Colourful, clean lines, cheerful.

Where do you shop for your home items? IKEA, Habitat, eBay... and Etsy mostly for art. I love Etsy.

What are 5 decorating tips that you'd like to share with decor8 readers?

• If you can't afford something, try a DIY version. Buy a sewing machine. Try stencils on a wall. Spray paint lamps. Don't be afraid.

• Paint is a cheap but very effective way to transform spaces. In my opinion you don't need outstanding furniture if you have the right paint color on your walls.

• Don't be afraid of big furniture pieces in small rooms. Our huge gray chair is working well in our small office. You don't necessarily need tiny furniture for tiny spaces. (Restrain to one big piece though).

• Pare down. Everyone who visits our house asks me where our "stuff" is. Seriously, you don't need "stuff".

• Keep everything organized. This is key especially when living in a small space. All our storage spaces are neatly organized and everything has its place.

Thank you so much Katrin for sharing your decorating tips and your pretty home with us today!

So tell me friends, after careful inspection of her little nest, what did you find personally inspiring? Did you notice the kitchen wallpaper? It's not wallpaper! It's stenciled by Katrin. And did you see that she also painted her heat radiator in her kitchen navy blue? I love that touch. Her kitchen is so charming, I like how it is very functional and everything is out in the open yet it looks so neat - really, really great.

(images: lillian's diary)