Houzz Tours
Houzz Tour: Light Is Right for a Modern German Home
Newly found natural light illuminates photo shoots, kids' playthings and a snuggly attic for a family in Münster
When cookbook author, blogger and designer Lisa Nieschlag bought the house she shares with her husband and child in Münster, Germany, she was greeted with small rooms, tiny windows and five types of wallpaper. "It was dark and depressing. We needed to stretch our imaginations to think of the house as a place in which we could really live," says Nieschlag. She enlisted the help of an architect and her husband, Michael, to help transform their tired, dusty and dark house into a light, functional and modern family home.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Lisa Nieschlag, husband Michael and their 2-year-old daughter, Selma
Location: Münster, Germany
Size: 1,450 square feet; 2 bedrooms; 1 1/2 bathrooms
Date of build: 1964
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Lisa Nieschlag, husband Michael and their 2-year-old daughter, Selma
Location: Münster, Germany
Size: 1,450 square feet; 2 bedrooms; 1 1/2 bathrooms
Date of build: 1964
BEFORE: Mismatched wallpaper, drab carpet tiles and a lackluster kitchen greeted the family.
BEFORE: Nieschlag took out the back door (left of image), expanded the living room to meet the property setback and filled the old doorway that led from the kitchen to the living room (right of image).
Nieschlag also uses the kitchen and the dining area as her workspace and photography studio for her food blog, Liz & Jewels, a site she shares with Brooklyn, New York, photographer Julia Cawley.
"I work on the tabletop area by my kitchen on weekends and in the evenings. Its proximity to my kitchen is very practical, given all the food-related projects that I'm busy with," she says.
"I work on the tabletop area by my kitchen on weekends and in the evenings. Its proximity to my kitchen is very practical, given all the food-related projects that I'm busy with," she says.
Props for photo shoots are kept in an armoire next to the dining table.
The workspace's proximity to the kitchen and windows is deliberate; most of her food photos are taken with natural light coming through unadorned windows.
Nieschlag integrated part of the outdoor terrace into their living room to increase the space inside, and added a slim window with forest views and full-height glass doors and windows (not in this picture).
"In our house, cooking, eating, playing, entertaining, photo shoots and relaxing — all of these daily life functions happen on the ground floor," says Nieschlag.
"In our house, cooking, eating, playing, entertaining, photo shoots and relaxing — all of these daily life functions happen on the ground floor," says Nieschlag.
The homeowners opened up their roof and added a dormer to bring more fresh air into the first floor. A slim staircase leads from the first floor to the attic.
Nieschlag maintains a greenhouse in the backyard where she grows vegetables, many of which she uses in her blog posts and cookbook recipes.
She loves the ease of planting beans. "They don't require a lot of care. And what's great is that the surrounding glass windows in the greenhouse usher in so much light no matter what the season, so it's perfect for photo shoots," says Nieschlag.