{"id":14128,"date":"2022-09-06T09:30:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T07:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=34489"},"modified":"2022-09-06T09:58:10","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T07:58:10","slug":"an-antiques-and-vintage-filled-apartment-in-rome","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/an-antiques-and-vintage-filled-apartment-in-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"An antiques and vintage-filled apartment in Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Katie Pike\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 06 September 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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\u2018I have a hard time buying things that are extremely correct,\u2019 says fashion illustrator Liselotte Watkins. \u2018I\u2019m drawn to pieces that are a bit awkward. Things that don\u2019t have a place.\u2019 This explains, in part, how her home \u2013 an apartment in Rome \u2013 has such an effortless feel. Pieces aren\u2019t bought because they\u2019re fashionable (although there\u2019s no denying that the look she\u2019s achieved is seriously stylish) but because they speak to her. Nor do they conform to a certain style \u2013 something that could come down to the fact that Liselotte has lived all over the world.<\/p>\n

She was born in Sweden and counters her Swedish influences (think Svenskt Tenn textiles and Scandinavian mid-century furniture<\/a>) with quirky vintage homeware bought while living in Paris, New York and \u2013 more recently \u2013 Rome. \u2018The Swedish and Italian approaches to decorating are completely opposite but they work beautifully together. If you want things to work together, then they do \u2013 somehow,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

Liselotte and her family \u2013 husband Jonas and children, Ava and Wim \u2013 moved here three years ago. The interior was decorated in such dark hues when Liselotte viewed it that she didn\u2019t have much to go on, but she and Jonas were pleasantly surprised when they moved in and discovered freshly painted white walls, airy, light-filled rooms and amazing geometric-patterned tiled floors. \u2018It\u2019s a good job we aren\u2019t minimalists,\u2019 she laughs.<\/p>\n

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Although Liselotte loves colour (\u2018I\u2019ve never thought of decorating with colour as being a daring thing to do\u2019), the white walls act as a foil to her vintage<\/a> finds and collections of art. When it came to buying vintage, she started young. \u2018I was 10 years old when I began going to auctions<\/a>. My grandparents would give me \u20ac10 and I\u2019d buy these huge items, such as sofas and chandeliers<\/a>, and convince my parents to find somewhere in our home for them,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everything was so cheap as, at that time, everybody wanted new stuff. I wish I had a time machine so I could go back and buy more. It was heaven.\u2019 Now, there isn\u2019t much that isn\u2019t old in her home \u2013 from the B\u00f8rge Mogensen sofa to the vintage Ikea sideboard. \u2018I find the idea of someone else having owned something before me very comforting. I like to fantasise about their lives,\u2019 she says. \u2018Plus, with antiques<\/a> and vintage you\u2019re always learning. Whether it\u2019s discovering a new designer, artist or aspect of social history.\u2019<\/p>\n

As an illustrator, artist and textile designer, art is a big part of Liselotte\u2019s life. The walls of her apartment are filled with posters (often from museum shops<\/a>), oil paintings in mismatched frames and, of course, her own pieces: bright and bold abstracts of the female form, which are mirrored in her ceramic designs. Her collection of still-life paintings, displayed en masse in the kitchen, was started 20 years ago, and is made of flea-market finds. \u2018The paintings provide snapshots into the everyday. I love how they depict ordinary items in a beautiful way,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n

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Elsewhere in the apartment, a cluster of portraits hangs in the master bedroom, while posters are teamed together in the living room and hallway. When asked for tips on how to display art<\/a>, Liselotte confesses that she doesn\u2019t have grand schemes but does tend to group pieces. \u2018I like how works play off each other. I love juxtaposing something precious with something cheap. It makes it more fun.\u2019<\/p>\n

Fun is at the core of this home. The children\u2019s artworks are proudly displayed on their bedroom walls<\/a>, an industrial filing cabinet is put to use in the kitchen and, case in point, one of Liselotte\u2019s most treasured belongings is a leather hippo duo. \u2018People are so obsessed with how your home should reflect your personality or your success, but I think it should be welcoming and fun. Our kids and their friends love it here \u2013 there\u2019s so much to look at.\u2019<\/p>\n

She finds great joy, too, in rearranging her belongings \u2013 a process that helps her relax before she delves into work. \u2018It\u2019s so calming when you find the harmony in a composition of objects or art, and fun to see how things look when displayed in different ways,\u2019 she says. \u2018I would love to have a store although I\u2019d never sell anything. I\u2019d just go around rearranging it all.\u2019<\/p>\n