Tropical Living In Berlin: Coroto Vintage Store

Now there are many good reasons to plan a trip to Berlin. But today I won't speak about the vibrant and creative Berlin lifestyle nor about its magnificent sights. Instead I will tell you why I need to go to Berlin very soon again - a brand new vintage furniture and home accessories store called 'Coroto'.

Recently this fantastic and super inspiring store opened its doors in Berlin's hip Friedrichshain district. The Karl-Marx-Allee used to be one of the main shoppings streets in the former German Democratic Republic and it feels just right that a store like Coroto opens right there.

Coroto describes its own style as 'Tropical Living': A slick mixture of vintage furniture and accessories from various periods stretching from the 1950s to the 1980s, native handicraft from Latin America, Scandinavian vintage ceramics and home textiles with ethnic and tropical patterns. In a nutshell: It sounds like shopping paradise to me!

My wallet might be relieved that Berlin is not a stone's throw away from Munich, but sooner or later I will have to set foot in this beautifully curated store. Judging from the pictures I could buy literally everything - or even yet, simply move into the store and never leave again.

Without further ado, make sure this store is on your next Berlin itinerary - it is on mine for sure!

Coroto, Karl-Marx-Allee 134, 10243 Berlin, www.coroto.de

Photography by Christoph Sagel

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Place To Roam: Roamers In Berlin

Currently I am on yet another work mission in Berlin for an entire week. Even though I am working all day long here (for my regular day job), I am trying to visit some Berlin hot spots that I've researched in advance. One of those must-see places is a small café in Berlin-Neukölln called 'Roamers'.

It was actually my Urban Jungle Bloggers fellow Judith who told me about this place as it seems to be a real little urban jungle itself. Then I realized it is located in the neighborhood where I used to live many years ago while doing a PR internship in Berlin. And they seem to have delicious coffee, cakes and sandwiches - enough reasons for me to go and check it out in situ.

Yesterday I used the opportunity and went to Roamers. It was a sunny afternoon and I sat down on a table in front of the café and ordered an incredibly creamy and delicious avocado smoothie and a juicy apple tarte. I really enjoyed it there - a great place to watch a very hip crowd of young Berlin folks and admire a real jungle of houseplants inside and outside the café. 

If you ever plan a visit to Berlin, mark this place on your list of cafés to visit. Now that I tested it myself I can truly recommend it. And if you love avocado, just try the avocado smoothie. Heaven!

See you soon!

Photography via Roamers Tumblr

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From Place To Space: 25 Hours Hotel Bikini In Berlin

Last week I was off on a work mission in Berlin. Not for the blog but for my regular day job. However, I wouldn't be a blogger if I didn't try to squeeze in something that would yield a new story for my Happy Interior Blog. Given the fact that I was working from morning till evening in a studio producing some corporate videos, the only option I had was the hotel. So I did what a good interior design blogger has to do: I picked a hotel I would really love to visit and feature on my blog. Thus, I opted for the recently opened 25 Hours Hotel Bikini in Berlin.

I've already experience the 25 Hours Hotel in Hamburg, Germany, but every hotel of this cool design hotel chain has a different concept and tells a different design story. The new Berlin based hotel is in a historical building complex that is referred to by the Berliners as Bikini. It is located in the city's west between the landmarks Memorial Church and the famous Berlin zoo. Its peculiar location resulted in the hotel's design concept called 'Urban Jungle'. Now you can imagine that I as an Urban Jungle Blogger was all ears when the hotel's manager told me all about the story.

The concept was created by the famous German designer Werner Aissliger with an extended team including guest designers like the Japanese artist Yoshi Sislay who hand drew illustrations in every room and other public areas of the hotel. The juxtaposition of an urban life and the jungle vibe from the adjacent zoo led to a combination of urban materials, vibrant colours and lots of plants. While the rooms on the 'urban side' (facing the Memorial Church) use raw materials like concrete floor screed, copper and cooler colours, the 'jungle side' (facing the zoo) uses natural materials like wood and nature inspired colours with floor-to-ceiling windows and a hammock to relax and watch the monkey jump around in the zoo. 

It is the monkeys that also triggered the naming of the top floor hotel bar, the Monkey Bar. A big rooftop terrace and a relaxed atmosphere with warm hues, colorful furniture and lots of kilim cushions invites every guest to enjoy a drink while enjoying a bird's eye view over Berlin. For the hungry ones there is the wonderful Neni restaurant placed in a greenhouse on the top floor with an abundance of houseplants and delicious Middle Eastern influenced cuisine. 

The public area on the third floor includes a cool reception area made of old Berlin metro tiles, a bakery for a grab & go breakfast, working spaces, a music area, conference facilities, funky green public restrooms and a little design shop of the Berlin based Gestalten publishing house. On the ninth floor guests will find a little gym, a relax zone and a sauna overlooking the Berlin zoo - fancy!

All the above mentioned facts, the attached pictures and the very reasonable prices for a design hotel make the 25 Hours Hotel Bikini a perfect home base for your next Berlin trip. Thumbs up from my side!

Happy new week!

Photography by Igor Josifovic, design products shot by Gestalten

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Design In Berlin: Styling For 'Fashion For Home'

This Monday I have told you about our great design blogger tour to Berlin in THIS post. Today I want to continue with the design story from the German capital by showing you one of the highlights: Our styling challenge for Berlin based 'Fashion for Home'. 

Some of you know that I am a fan of 'Fashion for Home' - for example, my coffee table is from one of their collection and I blogged about it HERE. It was a frosty Friday morning when we set off to go to their showroom in Berlin-Mitte. I need not mention that I had a terrible cold and literally no voice at all, but I fought my way through a crazy snowstorm in Berlin (see the breakfast pic) and arrived a tad exhausted at the showroom. Luckily, the folks of 'Fashion for Home' prepared a great and festive breakfast for us all and one of the founders, who founded the company as fellow students back in 2009, gave us an introduction to the brand's beginning and philosophy. Key beliefs of this brand are design for every budget and environmentally friendly processes. 

After the introduction we were challenged as stylists. Our group was split into two and I teamed up with Emma of Emmas Designblogg, Desiree of Vosgesparis and Anna of La Maison d'Anna G. We decided to style up a real-life setting of a dining room. The other group opted for a product styling with various home accessories. We were lucky to work with a professional photographer and what I like in particular about such styling challenges is that we get to do everything from A to Z in a short time - we have to come up with an idea and a concept, find the best spot, ascertain the light, source the furniture and props, brief the photographer, style, restyle, double check the shots, discuss, change and then signing the final shot off.

Now even though both our stylings are totally different, I could not decide which one I like more. Our styling has a more real-life setting, whereas the other one is a more catalog like product styling. Do you have a favorite?

Photography: Final styling shots via 'Fashion for Home', rest by Igor Josifovic

This post has been brought to you in collaboration with 'Fashion for Home'

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