Luisa – @how.luisa.lives on Instagram – lives in Germany’s beautiful Taunus mountain range, just outside Frankfurt am Main. Here in this home tour she shares her take on interior design and explains why she chose Thonet furniture.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m Luisa Reichert, I live in the picturesque Taunus region and I share my passion for interior design on my Instagram account “how.luisa.lives”. In addition to interior design, art and culture are also two mainstays in my life – both of which serve as my primary sources of inspiration.
I just finished completely remodelling the house I grew up in and had the opportunity to really unleash my creativity when it came to the new look. It’s a funny experience to take your old childhood room and turn it into a new bedroom or to see the living room from your youth become an office. My grandfather designed and built this house, which is why I was even more thrilled to be able to breathe new life into it and make it our own.
What are your priorities when it comes to the interior design for your house?
Over the last few years my style has changed when it comes to colours and design. I used to gravitate towards vibrant, on-trend colours and designs that were generally more in-your-face. Nowadays, it’s more important to me that a room feels peaceful and harmonious. I tend more towards subtle hues and my style is generally a bit more classic. In our new house, I have also tried to take inspiration from the colours in our natural surroundings and bring them inside. I really love the feeling of calm that I get from the forest here, and my goal was to replicate that in our indoor space.
However – regardless of whether my colour palette is vivid or muted – one thing has always been important to me: choosing furniture with beautiful aesthetics and exceptional craftsmanship. I have always prioritised investing in timeless, lovingly crafted furniture that pays no heed to trends and can be a part of my home for many decades.
Where did you first encounter Thonet furniture and why did you choose these pieces?
Thonet has been a part of my life for a long while now. I’ve always been fascinated by iconic designs such as the bentwood chair and the tubular steel classics, and these pieces were also a part of my childhood.
For the interior design of our house I wanted to make good use of these classic models because their elegance is timeless and they are pieces that you never tire of. Every time I set our dining table I find new joy in the combination of our solid oak tabletop with the leather chairs. I love the sense of quality and class that these materials, particularly in combination, bring to the room.
My Thonet desk has served me well for many years and now it has the perfect complement: my beautiful new desk chair with its canework seat and backrest. I personally love the subtle finesse that canework lends a room.
Were longevity and timelessness also factors in your decision to choose these pieces?
Absolutely! Longevity is particularly important to me when I’m investing in furniture. I like to surround myself with pieces that are allowed to develop a patina and that will “grow old” with me. Thonet represents precisely this type of durability – furniture that can be used for generations without ever going out of style.
Which Thonet pieces are still on your wish list?
I definitely have my eye on the Thonet 2001 armchair, perhaps in a more unusual fabric. I love the unique combination of modern design paired with bentwood armrests. It’s a very beautiful piece and would make the perfect addition to our living room.
