Interior design inspiration: Designeria Berlin

Situated on the relatively discrete location of Hohenzollerndamm in the Western side of the city, Designeria Berlin offers interesting reconverted industrial design and furniture items as well as clothes, at medium prices. 

Vintage pieces refurnished for the needs of a modern house are its main strongpoints, which brings a nostalgic feeling and make you think about your grandmothers' cosy homes.

There are two big showrooms, stuffed with a lot of interesting objects, predominantly in wood and neutral colours. All you need is to have a lively wallpaper to bring more joy and colours into your room. 

Some corners are ready made to be taken away and installed as such in your room. I particularly loved the lamps, minimalistic yet chic, that can be snuggled easily everywhere. 

The clothes section is not the strong point of the store, many of them keeping up with the vintage, old style which does not necessarily suit any age.

Jewellery pieces are vintage too, recoverted from various items. I've found many of them too complicated or heavy to wear every day, but some of them are interesting. 

The ambiance was pleasant, with classical music in the background. The customer service was non-intrusive, meaning not too keen to help or ask questions or assist at all.

Polish Design in Berlin: No Wodka

I am following the achievements of Polish design, especially the one introduced to the Berlin/German audience, for a while but did not have any idea that there is a full shop dedicated to it, where else but in the fanciest and most design-oriented part of the city: in Prenzlauer Berg. To be very honest, I did not know what is the nationality of the design works presented in the shop I passed by on Pappelallee 10, but I felt invited by the honey colour of the wood and the natural inspiration of some of the objects. 

Under the shop brand of No Wodka, the Polish design is introducing to the Berlin audience its best production, be it interior design, furniture and fashion. 

Out of the many choices presented, the fashionable part was the least attractive: the colours too aggressive for my taste, the lines too chaotic and the style different of mine. 

Recently open, the organization of the space is not the strong point of this shop, that has though a friendly customer service, communicating both in German and English. The crowded space can accommodate though the irregular shapes of the tables, perfectly fit, it seems for the design needs of many apartments in Berlin. 

The 'herbal' design of the bed linen are one of the most interesting products. The high-quality cotton satin is designed to look like a big stack of straw, reminding of the hot sunny Polish summers. I tried to imagine this gay chaos in my home and realized that, regardless of the grey season outside, it creates a certain feeling of freedom and well being that would love to keep at home all round the year.

The pieces of furniture presented are light, very colourful, with a lot of reminiscences of the pop-art but less pretentious and for sure less kitsch. 

It's not a single aspect of design that seems to be missing from the shop. The simple white plates are decorated with a lot of humour. 

The room lamps are minimalistic, answering the technical needs of the high concerns for less energy consumption - it suits various types of bulbs, created effects that offer the best light while avoiding the waste of resources.   

The mixture of colours and elegant spectacular line made my afternoon, and the feeling of well being when I see something interesting kept me company for a long time after I left the shop. Maybe I should come back a couple of months after to check out what's new and get back in touch with a certain chaotic yet joyous Central European spirit that I am missing sometimes. 

Provence inspiration in Berlin

In the vicinity of Fasanenstrasse, in Uhlandpassage, there is a small shop where you can feel the fresh air of the beautiful Provence. Inspiredly called 'Charme de Provence' it offers mostly furniture and accessories as well as inspiration to the happy owners of country residences. But although you might be a bit far away of owning two residences, one of them out of town, the furniture can easily be used for a 'normal', year long apartment or house.  

The furniture is simple, of massive wood, but big enough to require spacious rooms. The lamps and other decorations are also simple, aimed to create comfort while offering the occasion to enjoy the simple things in life. 

Although most of the furniture is ready made, it is possible to request your own models, especially suited for the dimensions of your room. Everything takes time. A really special piece of furniture may take 4-5 weeks to arrive to your door, and for the mirror, around 6 weeks.

Besides the furniture, natural products, sold at quite high prices, are also available, among which a full variety of products based on argan oil.

There are a lot of small details that should be considered when you decorate your countryside residence and this small shop, has a lot of interesting suggestions.

I especially loved the white simplicity of most of the porcelain sets. In such a company, you can fully enjoy the quietness of life in the middle of the nature. 

The customer service is very friendly and ready to help with suggestions and answers to different practical questions. My only problem concerns the overall design of the shop as such, where so many nice things are crowded in haste in the show rooms. When you have such a beautiful range of products, it would be a smart idea to care about a certain design sending the guests inspiration about a specific lifestyle. Small details will turn the shopping experience into a very pleasant visit.