If you’re on Pinterest, you might have come across today’s host Julie Wijckmans. This web designer is one of Belgium’s leading ladies on the inspirational platform, but she’s got many more talents than merely collecting pretty pictures on the internet. Julie is an interactive designer at Flemish newspaper De Standaard and runs her own label JW, for which she creates logos, visual identities and business cards and designs and codes websites. She lives in Antwerp with her boyfriend Thomas and on the weekend she loves to stroll over the market at the Theaterplein, to indulge in wafels van ons bomma (“Those waffles with frangipane are truly amazing!”) and bring home eucalyptus branches or a bouquet of flowers.

Julie and her boyfriend were sub-renting a duplex apartment in the South of the city when they were looking for a new apartment. “Even though it was a beautiful place, we never really felt at home, because the furniture of the owner was still there and we could only bring a few pieces of our own into the interior.”

To really feel at home, she needs her plants, picture frames and other decoration, preferably surrounded by white walls, although she doesn’t mind the mint green wall that the previous owners left in her current apartment.

They had been looking for a new place for quite a while but never really fell in love with any of the apartments they visited. Eventually, they found one that was good enough. “We took the papers home, ready to sign, and were cooking when Thomas decided to check the immo website one last time. This apartment had just been uploaded and the photos looked so good that we immediately called the owners and left our pots and pans on the stove while we paid a visit.  When we merely entered the hallway, we looked at each other and could tell that we both thought ‘This is it!'”

It’s a good thing they found an empty apartment to fill with their favorite furniture, because Julie had been claiming one of her parents’ two garages for years. She had been gathering furniture from thrift shops, vintage markets and secondhand websites for years and thus collected half of the furniture that is in their current home.

“I really get a kick out of browsing sites such as tweedehands.be and suddenly bumping into a true steal! After looking for a vintage Persian carpet on line for a very long time, I bumped into this one for only €20 and it’s one of my favorite pieces in our home.”

The fact that Julie already had such a big collection of furniture on hand, also meant that her boyfriend Thomas didn’t have that much to say on the interior choices, but he did make the gorgeous dining table.

 “My favorite spot in the house used to be the living room, but now that we finished our dining room table with these hairpin legs, I’m in love with it! It’s a great spot to work on my computer or to have dinner.”

When I asked her why she loves living in Antwerp, she said they never even considered moving anywhere else. They were both working in the city and enjoy everything Antwerp has to offer.

“I love going out for a coffee, whether it’s with a friend, my boyfriend or on my own. The bar at caffénation is one of my favorite spots to read a book or a magazine and enjoy the start of my weekend.”

Another Antwerp favorite is Wunderkammer, which is one of her favorite shops for unique interior decoration items.

“Most of my inspiration comes from pinterest and instagram, in particular ettrumtill, herz.und.blut and pjmattan because… well hello trampoline in the living room!”

“My dream home would be a loft with big open spaces or an old mansion with the original wooden floors and high ceilings, but for now I’d just love for our bedroom to be a bit cosier. As it’s quite small, we only have room for a bed, a wardrobe en two tiny nightstands. With a book drawer above the bed, we’d have more decoration space for a plant, a photo frame and a few books!”

Julie Wijkcmans - website - facebook - instagram - pinterest - Daily Dose of Denim