MELIMELI HOMES - Stephanie Strauch

Name: Stephanie Strauch

Age: 33 years old

Family: Mother of twin boys Mauritz and Malcolm, and big sister Lykke. Engaged to Jonas for a hundred years, but we never get caught up in getting married because the planning has always been overshadowed by pregnancies. But who knows, maybe 2022 will be the year I become a spouse, and my kids won't have to be bastard kids.

Do: Former shoe buyers who now work on their social media.

You've just renovated your entire apartment.
I wanted to create a home that feels like me. And I'm a jumble of color, emotion and playfulness. Art deco is my guiding light. I love mixing different materials and nothing shakes me as much as when I hold back.

What have you thought when choosing colors?
I wanted an eccentric hall floor in green and white shack pattern, for that we matched the living room ceiling and the fireplace in a minty similar shade. All the other colors are dull and creamy, but since the whole apartment is clad in the squiggest, most sublime stucco, it didn't take much more to create that "Parisian" effortless feel.

What should the perfect living room contain?
What makes you happy. For my part, I want to feel curiosity and warmth in my living room. I think you get that when you mix warm materials such as wood, along with contrasts such as stone, velvet and furniture in color. And then there's some lovely affection item. I love my wacky palm tree lamp. I want my living room to be personal, harmonious with a touch of quirky. No one remembers a coward.

Describe the best recipe for a couch potato?
Couch cuddling is definitely a favorite activity in my life. As a mother of 3 young children, the sofa is clearly the piece of furniture that gets the most love. To begin with, my Dahlia sofa in Cream velvet is everything my dreams want. It is spacious, deep and soft like a dream. Jonas and I usually sit in our Dahlia loveseat in the color Amber opposite, and watch our little 3-man circus take shape.

Our loveseat always makes me think of my grandmother and grandfather's velvet sofa in their flat in Spain, which they had 20 years ago, in a similar mustard yellow colour. It gives me peace of mind. My 3 little monsters occupy the couch and frantically eat cheese curds and sour cream flavoured country chips, while I try a little slightly hysterically to keep the couch clean of crumbs. After a while I give up, have a sip of wine and a bite of "the chocolate block" because red wine and chocolate are a bit of a gift of life, and discuss the week with my children.

Jonas lights the fire that slowly snaps in the background, and then I cut up some Gruyere cheese, some olive slips down and maybe a few slices of Pata Negra. It is already dark outside and not even the color of the house opposite can be discerned, but it does not do much, because in my living room it is always warm and colorful.