Small Stories
A home filled with curls and natural colours
Small Stories
A TALK WITH SOFIE ENGELL
Sofie lives with her family in Copenhagen, where she shares their everyday lives on her Instagram @byengell. "I work with vulnerable families, and therefore it is essential to us that our children develop a good amount of empathy, learn to show care, not to judge others and learn to say "whatever" if something doesn't go their way." Sofie explains, "therefore, we talk a lot with our children about their daily experiences".
They make sure that the children clean up their room before going to bed, as it gives them a great and peaceful start to the day waking up in a tidy room. A new day where they can explore all their toys once more and invent new ways of playing. With two small boys at home, there is always a lot going on from early morning till late night. Evenings are usually spent playing wild or calm games, depending on how tired the children are. They, therefore, cherish their evenings a lot. Here the whole family gathers around the table for approximately 30 minutes with a jug of tea and half a bun with butter before bedtime. This allows talking about the day and makes sure no one goes to bed
hungry.
"We try not to make plans for every day and instead leave some spare time, so we can act spontaneous and immerse ourselves in toys and creative projects at home, which we need after a long day of impressions."
- SOFIE ENGELL -
What is important to you when looking for children's furniture?
It is important to me that the furniture creates a calm and relaxing atmosphere. The right furniture needs to complement the shape and size of the room. You can always change the accessories and thereby change the mood of the room. Therefore, I always recommend natural materials in white and untreated wood, easy to spruce up with simple, colourful wall stickers. This is the safe way, and then you can invest in more expensive and durable furniture as these do not need to be replaced when style or needs change.
What is your best advice when it comes to the decor of children's rooms?
Listen to your child's wishes, but make sure that it is easy to change the interior again, as children often change their minds. So instead of painting the walls in vibrant colour, get some cool wall stickers that are easy to remove. Always remember green plants in the children's room, as they create a nice atmosphere and a healthy indoor climate. It is important to stick to subtle hues in the children's room; calm surroundings usually result in calm children. We redecorate the children's room quite often to suit the children's wishes and needs, which is why it is important to us that everything is removable and easy to move around.
