“Don’t expect too much!” Marijke told me before I came by for this photoshoot.  I did have high hopes for her interior, as her instagram feed and her old blog had already convinced me of her good taste and knack for decoration.  Like I expected, she didn’t have anything to worry about.  With the beautiful wooden flooring, that cosy handmade bench in front of the bay window, her collection of knick-knacks that reflects her personality so well, the cute original kitchen and her impeccable taste altogether, Marijke’s apartment fits in perfectly to the INSIGHT series.

You might know her from her old blog Goesting, but at the moment Marijke Vissers spends her weekdays as a social media expert at Telenet and runs a dance school on the weekend. “My weekend ideally exists of teaching dance classes, taking a walk through the streets of Antwerp or in one of its parks and definitely a lot of food!  I enjoy cooking for my friends at my place or going for brunch at one of my favorite places.”  For the latter, she recommends Tinsel and “Biologische dynamische bakkerij”.  “While most new places look more or less the same, that bakery is a rather atypical place: it has all these interesting murals, a beautiful garden and a very domestic atmosphere that I really enjoy.”

“I studied in Antwerp and love how small it is and how many of my friends live here.  Ghent might be prettier, but it’s a bit too alternative for my taste and while Mechelen is a beautiful city as well, it seems to be quite boring. In Antwerp, there are great coffee bars at every corner, we have the river Scheld and there’s definitely never a dull moment. ”  Marijke stuck around in Antwerp after she studied and moved into a house with a few friends.  “We had a lot of fun together but after I while I felt it was time for a place of my own.” 

That’s when she moved into this apartment, together with her two gerbils, Jenny and Rosa, named after two sisters in a popular Flemish soap.  This was only the second apartment she visited and she immediately fell for the wooden floor, the cute kitchen and the great location.  (Right around the corner of my previous apartment, so I can confirm!)  “The bathroom and bedroom are rather small, but I don’t mind at all as the rest of the apartment is so spacious.” 

“I’ve always been a fan of decorating spaces and I prefer interiors that are not too clean but feel warm and personal” she tells me, “I love wandering through thrift shops and jumble sales, which is probably why my interior is such an eclectic mishmash! .”  The most obvious example of that eclectic mishmash are her second hand dining chairs, where she opted for a mix instead of a set of identical chairs, as these don’t come cheap.   “Troc in Wilrijk is one of my favorite thrift stores but I recommend to visit the thrift shops in small villages, where prices are often lower than in the city.  Also, I often bring home souvenirs from travels, which mostly don’t come from the prettiest stores but from antique shops or stores that seem to sell only junk.  There you’ll often find the best and most original items!”  

As far as new furniture and decoration goes, she loves Sissy Boy, Dille and Kamille and an occasional piece of Ikea, like those black racks in the living room for instance.  Initially, she wanted to install simple shelves and brackets there, but when these Ikea shelves turned out to fit perfectly into the dining room, the decision was easy.  Her dad made the bench at the bay window and Marijke created the fuzzy cover from an old bedspread and some foam.  “It’s cosy and warm here when the heating is on, so it’s the perfect spot for reading a book with a cup of tea, and I often find myself here when I’m making phone calls.”

When I ask her for her favorite pieces in her interior, she mentions the pictures of her grandparents and the coffee table she got from a friend, who insisted it didn’t fit into her own interior but would look great in Marijke’s apartment.  “I also love my travel souvenirs, like the dried flowers I brought home from Portugal and the blue vase I bought in New York…  Actually I’m quite a fan of my own home, I could go on and on with this list!” she laughs.

The only things on the wish list for her interior at the moment are a big plant and a lamp from Flos’ IC collection. “Unfortunately that lamp is just too expensive right now, even though my home is the one thing that I can always justify spending money on!” 

Someday, Marijke might consider leaving this lovely apartment in the city for a manor house on the country side, surrounded by a garden with trees.  But for now, it seems that Marijke, Jenny and Rose are pretty satisfied with their home…

Marijke Vissers - instagram - blog

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