Sarah Van Peteghem is an interior stylist, designer and blogger based in Berlin. She is also the author of the beautiful blog Coco Lapine, which I've been following for some time. Recently Sarah started styling homes for the real estate site Fantastic Frank. Founded in Sweden, the company is known for making every home look stylish and inviting, by enlisting the help of photographers and stylists from the interior design, architecture and fashion industries.
I'm fascinated with the way the company works, because they take a very different approach to that of the NZ real estate market. While there may be some home staging here, the photos are still taken in a traditional real estate style, using wide angle lenses. The lights are turned on and things like TV's and fridges are in full view! Fantastic Frank on the other hand, create photographs that would not seem out of place in the pages of the best interior design magazines, and that's why you will see them regularly doing the rounds in the blogosphere. I have featured Swedish homes from Fantastic Frank several times here on the blog, and I'm excited to be sharing one from Berlin today, where they have recently opened up a new office.
Having been working with Fantastic Frank in Berlin, Sarah got in touch to let me know about this latest project. She says that even though Fantastic Frank and other real estate agents like Alvhem and Stadshem have been around for quite a while in Sweden and their approach is known there, it is still quite new for Berlin. I thought I would take the opportunity to ask Sarah some questions and share her latest work with you.
Can you tell me a bit about your background and how the styling work for Fantastic Frank come about?
I studied Product design and Interaction Design in Belgium and the Netherlands and moved to Berlin to work as a designer for a company that produces hardware and software for music producers. Even though I like that a lot, I felt the need to express myself in another way as well and started my blog to share my passion for interiors. I'm always looking for interior inspiration and often try out different compositions in my own home and post them on Instagram. The people from Fantastic Frank picked up on that and asked me to do a styling project for them at the beginning of this year. It was a very fun task to do!
How many projects with Fantastic Frank have you done now?
So far I have done three (1, 2, 3) and there is another one planned for later this week, so I'm working very hard to get everything ready for the shoot.
How would you describe your own personal aesthetic and how does this translate to the homes you style?
I'm always very inspired by Scandinavian interiors and I guess you can also notice that in the homes I style. I don't really think about it though, if there is something I like and I think it fits in the home, I just use it, regardless of which style it has.
What have you learnt along the way?
To take a look beforehand at what are the interesting angles to be shot. The home has to be presented with a relatively small amount of pictures, so it's crucial to know in advance which areas are going to appear in the shots and from which angles.
Tell us a bit more about the collaboration with Llot Llov and the products used.
Llot Llov is a design company from Berlin with a wide range of very original and fun products. I first came to know them from their Matt lights - a woollen light with a very long cable which can be knotted together to create interesting shapes. When I figured out they were based in Berlin I immediately contacted them to work together. I think their designs and especially their lamps worked great in this tall home. And it was of course very interesting for me to get to know Anja and Jacob behind the brand and pay a visit to their workshop.
You also created some of the prints used in this home. Tell us about those.
Yes, the prints that you see in the living room and bedroom are geometric compositions that we (me and my boyfriend) composed out of pictures of moving objects. I think they turned out to be quite interesting, so I will soon add them to the range of prints available in my shop.
Where is this home situated?
The home is located in Prenzlauer Berg, which is one of my favourite areas in Berlin. It has a lot of old buildings like this one with high ceilings and nice facades and there are coffee places around every corner. I'm actually looking to move around that area myself, but unfortunately I'm not the only one with that idea.
Huge thanks to Sarah for taking the time to answer these questions for us. I'm sure you'll join me in following both her blog, and future work with Fantastic Frank!
Have a lovely weekend, especially the Mums who are celebrating Mother's Day on Sunday, and don't forget to enter this week's Worldwide Giveaway. I'm looking forward to announcing the five winners on Monday morning!
Styling & photography by Michelle Halford for TDC
