HENK at home with Olja and Mauricio
In the ‘HENK at home’ series, we visit inspiring people to offer a glimpse into their daily home lives. This time, we’re visiting Olja Ryzevski and her husband Mauricio F. Corridan, a creative couple living in Amsterdam with their son Leo.On a sunny morning, we arrive at Zeeburgereiland, one of the small islands surrounding Amsterdam, where Olja and Mauricio live in a spacious, modern apartment with views of the IJ. Having lived all over the world, from Berlin to Seoul, we spoke to them about the places that inspire them, as well as how to childproof your home and how colour can add a playful element to your interior.
How would you describe your interior style?
Our style is minimalist, sleek, and modern with an industrial edge, thanks to our concrete floors and stainless steel kitchen. We love to be inspired by Scandinavian and Japanese designs. We try to minimise the use of accessories; we prefer to keep it simple. Additionally, we find it important that our furniture pieces are both comfortable and functional. What inspires you in terms of interior design?
We have been inspired by the many designers and different styles we encountered during our travels. We fell in love with minimalist design when we lived in Seoul, South Korea. Japandi design is our current crush. It contains all the elements we are attracted to: natural shapes and colours, highly aesthetic designs that are functional at the same time. You have a wonderful son, Leo. How do you ensure your home is childproof? Are your choices influenced by parenthood?
We definitely rearranged our interior a bit to make sure it's safe for him to walk and play around. Instead of completely removing items – such as vases or plants – we ensure he understands which things are currently off-limits to touch. We always take careful time to consider before investing in new pieces. Now that we have a baby, we take this into even greater account. What is your favourite spot in the house, and why?
Mauricio: It's hard to choose just one spot, but I'd have to say the living room. It has amazing views, and it's so nice to sit there in the evening and relax after a long day! Olja: Our bedroom – it's very cosy, and I'm in love with the decor. Everything works perfectly with the concrete floor. I feel so calm and inspired by it!
You have our Guiseppe Lounge in blue. Do you have any tips for working with colour in your interior?
We both really like neutral colours such as beige, black, or grey when it comes to our clothes and interior. To make it a bit more playful, we like to add a touch of colour here and there. If you have such a sleek and minimalist space, it's important to choose one or two colours that you'd want to see every day. These could be colourful accessories like vases or artworks. In our case, we decided to choose the Guiseppe Lounge Chair in blue, one of the most calming colours in interior design. The colour pops in our sleek and minimalist living room, works perfectly with beige and the wooden accents we have in the space, and it makes the whole look more playful. Why did you choose the Guiseppe Lounge Chair and the Elements Coffee Table?
We already had a large sofa, so we were looking for a really comfortable armchair. When we saw this lounge chair, we both immediately fell in love with its classic and timeless design. The Elements Coffee Table is our latest addition from Studio HENK and fits perfectly into the space. It adds a Japanese touch, and we love the dark brown wood and design. Inspired by Olja and Mauricio's Japanese influences, such as our Elements Coffee Table in smoked oak stain? Personalise your furniture piece using the configurator on our website. We have replaced the Guiseppe Lounge Chair in our collection with a similar, but slightly bolder model. Do you also want to add a touch of colour to your interior? Discover our Cave Lounge Chair in Tonus 4 210 fabric.