For most people, their own home is among the most private things imaginable often described as a mirror of one’s personality, as it reveals countless insights into individual tastes and preferences. Opening the front door to strangers? For many, that would be unthinkable.

Stephanie Thatenhorst, however, made this decision very consciously. The Munich-based interior designer recently moved into a spacious period apartment in Munich’s Schwabing district. But instead of claiming all 260 square meters solely for herself and her two sons too much space, she thought - she quickly came up with a different idea: to simply use the apartment as a Show Flat.

The concept? To open her own home to visitors by appointment and transform it into an exclusive exhibition space where every piece of furniture, artwork, and accessory can be purchased.

For the interior designer, it was clear from the start that this apartment had to bring together everything she loves—from a wide array of colors and fabrics to carefully chosen furniture pieces, such as the Baxter chairs in the dining room that had captivated her ever since the Salone in Milan.

“In the end, I only surround myself with pieces that truly mean something to me,” Thatenhorst explains. “I’ve known many brands and designers for years now, and through these friendships, each piece carries its own little story.”

In the living room, the beloved modular sofa Vicious by Giopagani found its place, accompanied by the brand’s Blackbird Coffee Tables. She paired them with armchairs by Tacchini and Atelier de Troupe, upholstered in cheerful powder pink and yellow fabrics. The walls, meanwhile, were painted in a soft dove blue - a shade that reappears in the kitchen.

For Thatenhorst, the kitchen is the heart of the apartment. A special design, tailored entirely to her individual wishes, was therefore inevitable. “The kitchen above all had to be open and communicative, create a sense of spaciousness, and integrate seamlessly into the color concept,” the interior designer explains. She commissioned the carpentry company Design.S, which also produced the other built-in furniture in the apartment, to design the open-plan kitchen. The result is a pastel dream, where soft blue, rocky gray marble, and mirrored surfaces take center stage. While the integrated mirrored front visually enlarges the space, the rounded kitchen island and separate bar table emphasize the room’s communicative character.

From the kitchen, one enters the apartment’s dining room, where the aforementioned Baxter chairs are arranged around a hexagonal dining table with a copper top, drawing all eyes to them. Beneath, Thatenhorst placed a cheerfully colorful rug by CC-Tapis, while the walls are enveloped in a fresh apricot hue. “I love color, that’s nothing new,” says the designer with a smile. “And for this apartment, gentle tones just felt right—it somehow has such a gentle soul of its own.”

That gentle character is also expressed in the bedroom, which she clad entirely in a sand-colored, textured wallpaper by Philip Jeffries. Yet, if the bedroom were not to bear Thatenhorst’s unmistakable signature, the wallpaper would lack something exciting and unexpected. To achieve this, she simply added a few casual mirrored doors to the custom-made wardrobe—creating not only a fresh look but also a sense of visual spaciousness.

The bathroom continues in a similarly homely manner. While there is no wallpaper on the walls, a set of patterned curtains and a plush rug—just as large as the lemon-yellow double washbasin—bring warmth and character. “For me, the bathroom is not just a wet room, but a space like any other,” explains the designer. “There always has to be an interplay of warm and cool materials, because that’s what makes it feel inviting. I clearly rely on textiles to create a sense of warmth, even in a tiled environment.”

An equally clear and indispensable element for the interior designer, alongside textiles, is art—carefully selected by Munich art curator Martina Tauber. Naturally, art belongs in the bathroom too; for Thatenhorst, that’s not even up for discussion. Art is placed wherever the interior designer deems appropriate, whether in the entryway, the living room, or—unexpectedly—above the radiator.

Eccentric, textile-rich, and above all full of color—that’s how Thatenhorst would describe her style. “I love everything that falls a little outside the norm,” the interior designer reveals. “After all, it’s about telling a story. And in this case, that story was mine.”

A favorite place, Indoors and Out

From the kitchen, you step directly onto the sunny balcony – designed as a peaceful retreat in the middle of the city. Here, the sculptural Clay outdoor table by Studio Loho meets the iconic Tropique chairs by Gubi. The cushions on the outdoor sofa come from our in-house ST Collection, adding colorful accents and soft comfort.