Colour Palettes: At Home with Sarah Ramroth Colour Palettes: At Home with Sarah Ramroth

Discover Scandinavian style with a colourful twist

Discover Scandinavian style with a colourful twist

Sarah greets me with a smile as she opens the door to her bright apartment in the heart of Hamburg’s Eimsbüttel district. Instantly, she comes across as a natural host with a passion for entertaining—something that’s also reflected in her blog, aptly named Wohnglück, which translates as “Happy Living”. Originally from a small town near Münster, she has now fulfilled her life-long desire of living in Hamburg, where she works in fashion and has found her dream home in a trendy neighbourhood, surrounded by friends.

A long-time disciple of neutral, Scandi-style palettes, Sarah professes that she now can’t do without touches of colour—essential for keeping her mood positive. As a child, she had fun painting her walls in every hue imaginable and was constantly rearranging her furniture. Today, nothing has changed. Ever since the blogger dove head-first into the interior world, she’s never stopped evolving her style, always arranging, rearranging, repainting, and decorating until she finds the perfect balance. “It’s the journey that counts, not the destination”, Sarah muses.

We visited her Hamburg home to admire the stunning selection of wall art she chose with our Senior Art Curator Martin—a combination of abstract motifs, monochrome tones and bold colours, providing Sarah with inspiration for her blog and giving her apartment an originality worthy of her warm personality.

I’m a very minimalist person: I like to own very few things. For me, true Scandinavian design is furniture that is self-sufficient.
Sarah

Sarah admires interiors full of trinkets and ornaments but favours moderation when it comes to her own living space. To her, furniture and objects should be intrinsically beautiful, not purely practical. Two or three months after moving in, Sarah had laid the foundations for a timeless apartment, one that would be Instagram-worthy, but she still found something lacking, the details that would make it truly hers. This is at the centre of Sarah’s décor philosophy: to create something new within a world of Scandinavian interiors, something beyond restrained aesthetics, neutral tones, and functional minimalism.

 

How to infuse colour into your interior

Three tips from Sarah to transform your home

1. Don’t be afraid to reach for new hues

“I love black and white interiors, but these days I need colour in my life”, the interior blogger admits. And what better place to start with than the walls? Sarah’s living room—her favourite room in the apartment—features an accent wall coated in a royal blue, giving the room a cosy atmosphere in which she likes to spend time writing for her blog. Painting this wall was the beginning of her adventure into a world of simple and elegant hues, highlighting the minimalist furniture she loves so much.

This appetite for colour didn’t just come overnight, however. It’s something that’s been brewing for years, starting in childhood when she would paint her walls in all the shades she could get her little hands on.

I think I had all the colours you can think of in my room when I was a kid.
Sarah

It’s not surprising that Sarah likes elements to match or contrast in a complementary way. In her living room, royal blue and gold blend perfectly, while in the dining room she uses shades of white, grey and light wood. The result is striking: two neighbouring rooms that contrast in both look and atmosphere. Next on Sarah’s decoration list? Painting a new wall, of course!

 

2. Incorporate abstract wall art

Even with these splashes of colour, however, Sarah was left with the feeling that something was missing—something original, something personal. She already had a small abstract painting and a framed photo taken by a friend. But when Sarah has an idea in her head, she doesn't do it half-heartedly.

The idea was to create two gallery walls: one in the living room and one in the dining room. She called up Martin, JUNIQE's senior art curator, and asked him for some advice on colours, styles, and materials. Martin quickly recognised that abstract wall art suited her best as a style. Together, they chose designs that work in terms of colour combinations: yellow, black, and pink for the living room, and grey and orange for the living room. Sarah’s bright idea? Hang a gallery wall in a corner across two adjacent walls, adding a sense of spaciousness to an otherwise small room.

Her attention to detail is also evident from her choice of frames, through an eclectic mix in the living room and an assortment of wooden frames for the dining room. Martin’s touch? In addition to having a seasoned eye for frame sizes, he knows the blogger well, and knows that she and the artist Studio Nahili have long been fans of each other’s work. Naturally, he chose one of the artist’s designs for Sarah’s wall.

In the meantime, her friends have been quick to compliment her décor (“It really stands out from the crowd!”), but above all, she loves that she never tires of these designs when writing and thinking about her blog posts from the comfort of her BoConcept chair. Sarah’s favourite source of inspiration? “Untitled 160318” by Iris Lehnhardt in the living room and “Earth” by Paul Aidan Perry in the dining room.

3. A floral touch

Being fortunate enough to live on the same street—or even same building—as several of her friends, it’s not surprising that Sarah receives a lot of flowers. She doesn’t claim to possess any magical culinary powers, but her aptitude in beautifully decorating the dining table is not something she hides. Whether for her guests or simply for herself, Sarah thinks that flowers should by no means be overlooked when giving life and character to a room.

“It’s funny because I was just telling my friends the other day that I think I found my favourite florist in the neighbourhood. She makes bouquets that look rustic and freshly picked—which I prefer to more traditional and solemn bouquets.” For Sarah, having fresh flowers that change up every week is a pleasure she loves to indulge in.

And by combining them with exotic plants like her monstera and a balcony decoratively furnished with colourful blossoms, her at first glance minimalist apartment takes on a cosy and lively dimension—an atmosphere added to by her regular guests.

Flowers are very important to me. Probably because my parents always had fresh flowers at home. It gives the place a cosy touch.
Sarah

“Since I moved in, I wake up every day with a smile on my face, happy to be living here.” Sarah tells us that she’s not only happy but also proud to have made this apartment her home, after the long journey to get to where she is today—and it’s her goal to share this spirit with her friends and the readers who loyally follow her decorating advice on her blog. As for us: we can’t wait to see Sarah’s talents continue to bloom.

Text: Diane Mironesco

Translation: Nicholas Potter