Name: Stephanie Strauch
Age: 33 years old
Family: Mother to twin boys Mauritz and Malcolm, and older sister Lykke. Engaged to Jonas for ages, but we never get around to getting married because planning has always been overshadowed by pregnancies. But who knows, maybe 2022 will be the year I become a proper wife, and my children won't have to be bastard kids.
Occupation: Former shoe buyer who now works with her social media.
You just renovated your entire apartment, what did you focus on most?
I wanted to create a home that feels like me. And I am a jumble of color, emotion, and playfulness. Art deco is my guiding star. I love mixing different materials and nothing bothers me more than holding back.
What was your thinking when choosing colors?
I wanted an eccentric hallway floor in green and white checkerboard pattern, to match that we chose a minty similar shade for the living room ceiling and the fireplace. All other colors are muted and creamy, but since the entire apartment is adorned with the most intricate, sublime stucco, not much more was needed to create that "Parisian" effortless feeling.
What should the perfect living room contain?
Whatever makes you happy. For me, I want to feel curiosity and warmth in my living room. I think you get that when you mix warm materials like wood, with contrasts like stone, velvet, and colorful furniture. And then some lovely sentimental object. I love my quirky palm lamp. I want my living room to be personal, harmonious with a touch of quirkiness. No one remembers a coward.
Describe the best recipe for cozy sofa time?
Cozy sofa time is definitely a parade activity in my life. As a mom to 3 small children, the sofa is definitely the piece of furniture that gets the most love. To begin with, my Dahlia sofa in Cream velvet is everything my dreams desire. It is spacious, deep and soft as a dream. Jonas and I usually sit in our Dahlia loveseat in Amber opposite, watching our little 3-person circus take shape.
Our loveseat always reminds me of my grandparents' velvet sofa in their apartment in Spain, which they had 20 years ago, in a similar mustard yellow color. It brings me peace of mind. My 3 little monsters occupy the sofa and frantically eat cheese doodles and sour cream and onion potato chips, while I somewhat hysterically try to keep the sofa clean from crumbs. After a while, I give up, take a sip of wine and a piece of "the chocolate block" because red wine and chocolate are somewhat gifts of life, and discuss the week with my children.
Jonas lights the fire that slowly crackles in the background, and then I cut up some Gruyere cheese, an olive or two slips down, and maybe a slice or two of Pata Negra. It's already dark outside and not even the color of the house opposite can be distinguished, but it doesn't matter much, because in my living room it's always warm and colorful.
What does a dream weekend look like? My dream weekend is a mix of adult and child activities. No Saturday evening is as wonderful as when your children have also had the day of their lives. Shared joy is, after all, double joy.
The weekend of a lifetime consists of a long breakfast together, with pancakes and lit candles. Then, if it's summer, we take the boat to the very end of the archipelago, to Ahlskär, and swim all day. My mom is always with us, and she always cooks incredible lunches that we pack. Our friends join with their children. The children collect shells, rescue fish, and go exploring.
At 5 PM, we leave, but the sun is still high. We then have dinner together at Motorverkstan. Mauritz and Malcolm fall asleep in the stroller, Lykke is having the evening of her life because she just got ice cream, and I eat a buttery lobster roll and drink a cold glass of bubbly.
At 8 PM, we drive home into the sunset, and the wind is still warm. (In reality, there's more crying and screaming than in my dream, but a character trait I'm very proud of is that I'm never too afraid to try.)
Which series/film should we not miss? I'm a real sci-fi addict; thankfully, I've found a guy who's also obsessed with all things weird and quirky. The last one I saw was Squid Games, but that doesn't feel very original to recommend, as probably every soul in our elongated country has already seen it.
Yesterday, Jonas and I rewatched X-Men: Days of Future Past. I had completely forgotten how good those movies are. So now I have to rewatch all 13 films. You do it too, escapism at its best.
