My Houzz: Mickey Mouse Presides Over a Fashionable Mélange
A clothing boutique owner blends whimsical elements and design classics in her family’s Frankfurt home
The family home of fashion buyer and store owner Kerstin Görling looks like a blend of Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekulla and the fabulous world of Amélie. Here, an English puppet sitting in a bird cage on a yellow couch is nothing out of the ordinary. Yet the home looks anything but ragtag, thanks to Görling’s talent for mixing patterns and combining colors and styles.
The couple’s style is colorful, eclectic, detail-oriented and often served with a humorous twist. “I wildly mix styles and epochs,” Görling says. “Everything is then complemented by souvenirs from our travels, alongside design classics and knickknacks from flea markets.”
The small pouf (at the right of the photo) by Azucena, bought from The Apartment, holds a special place in Görling’s heart. “It is covered with an Hermès fabric and is a perfect complement to the Persian rug,” she says. “The first thing children always want to do is throw themselves onto this pouf, because it’s covered with an animal motif. And every time, I think, ‘Please let it survive.’ ”
The small pouf (at the right of the photo) by Azucena, bought from The Apartment, holds a special place in Görling’s heart. “It is covered with an Hermès fabric and is a perfect complement to the Persian rug,” she says. “The first thing children always want to do is throw themselves onto this pouf, because it’s covered with an animal motif. And every time, I think, ‘Please let it survive.’ ”
Fashion and furniture trends share a lot in common — currently velvet, for example. “And this season, also patterns,” Görling says. “Isabel Marant is showing colorful velvet dresses — which I would also like to have as pillows. One of these days, I’ll go looking for some. Otherwise, I’ll sew them myself.”
And other trends? Liberty prints and leopard prints. “A floral chair or a leopard sofa are on my wish list,” Görling says. “House of Hackney is one point of reference.”
Görling’s friend Katja Holtz, who’s based in New York, created the Mickey Mouse oil painting over the couch. “Her paintings just make me happy,” Görling says.
Forest green velvet couch: Kontrast; dark wood coffee table: eBay
And other trends? Liberty prints and leopard prints. “A floral chair or a leopard sofa are on my wish list,” Görling says. “House of Hackney is one point of reference.”
Görling’s friend Katja Holtz, who’s based in New York, created the Mickey Mouse oil painting over the couch. “Her paintings just make me happy,” Görling says.
Forest green velvet couch: Kontrast; dark wood coffee table: eBay
One of Görling’s go-to rules for arranging decor is iteration. “I always make sure that colors and patterns are repeated, so that the hodgepodge does not look chaotic but coordinated,” she says. “For example, the yellow sofa matches with the yellow boxes. The eye must be able to find anchor points in the space.”
Yellow couch: flea market; rug: eBay; pendant lights: 2nd Home; Eames rocking chair and lounge chair: Vitra
Yellow couch: flea market; rug: eBay; pendant lights: 2nd Home; Eames rocking chair and lounge chair: Vitra
Görling found these vases at a flea market during a trip to Milan. The artwork of a woman carrying an iceberg in her chest is by Paula Bonet.
When it comes to furniture, Görling and Steindorf both make the decisions. “I’m responsible for odds and ends, and Daniel brings home the classics. They harmonize well. We always agree. It is very important for me to live the way I like,” Görling says.
This also includes not taking themselves too seriously. In the bird cage from DekoWoerner lives Tomasz, an English puppet. “I found him at a flea market. I couldn’t pass up a thing like that,” Görling says.
This also includes not taking themselves too seriously. In the bird cage from DekoWoerner lives Tomasz, an English puppet. “I found him at a flea market. I couldn’t pass up a thing like that,” Görling says.
“I couldn’t relinquish anything in our home. I love every detail,” Görling says. “Moreover, the apartment is so beautifully bright. Large windows, rooms in which you can take deep breaths. From here we can see a ginkgo tree, and behind it the synagogue. When you open the windows, you can often hear the chants. Beautiful!”
Desk: House Doctor; chest of drawers: flea market; silver swan, once part of a fountain: flea market
Since work and home life go hand in hand for the couple, their shared workspace is located right next to the living room. The chairs on either side of the door, as well as Görling’s desk chair, are from the Alte Oper (Old Opera House) in Frankfurt. “They were on sale for 25 euros each. I immediately went for them,” Görling says.
Pictured here is Otto the Labrador, lounging on a carpet from Medina in Marrakech. “I rolled it up and took it with me onto the plane. You only have to pay a small surcharge at the airport,” Görling says.
Pictured here is Otto the Labrador, lounging on a carpet from Medina in Marrakech. “I rolled it up and took it with me onto the plane. You only have to pay a small surcharge at the airport,” Görling says.
Görling’s insider tip for cool furniture and accessories? “I love junk markets,” she says. “You can find the best vases, dressers and decorations. If you mix them with classics, it makes for an unmistakable style.”
“I love to craft a world that I like for myself,” Görling says. “I am quite a Pippi Longstocking. It’s the same in my job: Shopping, shop decoration and social media strategies are great fun.
“The constant pressure, however, is the flip side of the coin. It’s hard to stay at ease, and when it gets to be too much I often have to force myself to take a break. Then we quickly book a flight and take off for a while. This changes our point of view and refreshes us.”
“The constant pressure, however, is the flip side of the coin. It’s hard to stay at ease, and when it gets to be too much I often have to force myself to take a break. Then we quickly book a flight and take off for a while. This changes our point of view and refreshes us.”
The birth of their daughter didn’t really change the apartment. “Because we live very colorfully, one could have thought that children already lived here,” Görling says, laughing. She quotes American author Ursula K. Le Guin: “The creative adult is the child who survived.”
“My boyfriend’s desk is always super organized. On the contrary, mine is rather chaotic,” Görling says. “Sometimes I go over to him and delete things at random from his to-do lists,” she says, laughing.
Steindorf is also a buyer, for his own men’s fashion store, Uebervart. Sometimes they sit at their desks until nighttime, thinking about projects. “Even the bookkeeping is only half as boring if you order bills and receipts together while listening to good music,” Görling says.
Steindorf is also a buyer, for his own men’s fashion store, Uebervart. Sometimes they sit at their desks until nighttime, thinking about projects. “Even the bookkeeping is only half as boring if you order bills and receipts together while listening to good music,” Görling says.
The baby’s crib is on wheels and is always being moved around. Görling upholstered it with an African wax print fabric from Vlisco.
The open-plan kitchen connects to the study. It features built-in closets from Küchenhaus Süd. The rest is typical of Görling’s eclectic curating.
“I love the ceiling light in the kitchen,” she says. “It is called ‘Peggy’ and was made for the Peggy Guggenheim museum by Vistosi. There are only [about] 20 pieces in existence, and we snapped one of them up.” The circus boxes are from DekoWoerner. “You can always find great little things in there.”
“I love the ceiling light in the kitchen,” she says. “It is called ‘Peggy’ and was made for the Peggy Guggenheim museum by Vistosi. There are only [about] 20 pieces in existence, and we snapped one of them up.” The circus boxes are from DekoWoerner. “You can always find great little things in there.”
Colorful woven dishes and an oil painting by Holtz decorate the wall above the dining table. A kitschy Japanese cat and a sugar bowl round off the eclectic look. “I call my style the Hayashi look,” Görling says, referring to her store. “Shop decor often finds its way into my home. On the other hand, sometimes a vase disappears and lands in the shop window.”
This long-legged wall decoration was once a shop window installation of the Schirn Kunsthalle, a Frankfurt art gallery. “I just hung them on the wall,” Görling says.
The orange couch is mostly reserved for Otto. “From here he can see the things that matter most to him: the refrigerator, the dining table and [his] bowl,” Görling says.
The orange couch is mostly reserved for Otto. “From here he can see the things that matter most to him: the refrigerator, the dining table and [his] bowl,” Görling says.
In the hallway, Heiko the elephant sits happily. “He’s from the Bon Marché department store in Paris,” Görling says. “I was pretty far along in my pregnancy, caught between showroom deadlines for Fashion Week and looking for baby stuff, and there sat Heiko in the best mood. We dragged him through Paris for the rest of the day — a funny sight.”
The hallway may appear simple, but it’s anything but. Four masks by Hay, which were once displayed in the store, hang on the wall. The vases and pictures are collectors’ items. The armchairs, discovered in a flea market, provide seating for putting on shoes.
Speaking of shoes, a fashion buyer can never have enough of them. “I hide sandals, pumps and sneakers that I just do not wear in the pretty shoeboxes on the bedroom closet,” Görling says.
Closet: Pax, Ikea; bed: Fennobed
Closet: Pax, Ikea; bed: Fennobed
So are they missing anything in their home? “Just a large, planted terrace that does not need to be watered,” Görling says, laughing. “And one more room for our little daughter. We always look in Frankfurt, but the housing market is a catastrophe.” There are still some gems to be found on the outskirts, but Görling is and will remain a city dweller. “Looking at the forest makes me feel melancholy,” she says. “I need movement, colors and energy.”
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Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kerstin Görling of the Hayashi clothing boutique and her partner, Daniel Steindorf; their daughter, Toni Wilma; and their Labrador, Otto
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Size: 1,780 square feet (165.4 square meters)
When you’ve participated in every youth trend from punk to grunge, hip-hop to techno, then committing to a single style is out of the question. Such is the case for Görling, seen here with her partner, Daniel Steindorf, and their daughter, Toni Wilma.
Görling studied fashion management at the Academy of Fashion and Design in Düsseldorf, and in 2007 she opened her boutique, Hayashi, in Frankfurt. Since then, she’s been selling a curated selection of fashion and accessories from brands including Philosophy, Vivetta, Marni and Isabel Marant. Every Friday she also presents her outfit of the week for Journelles.
“I’m a real nerd. I read thousands of blogs, comb through Instagram every day, read fashion and interior design magazines, love art and music and travel a lot,” Görling says. “All this together led me to my style, which is constantly evolving. I don’t like standing still.”