Daiva creates interiors for feeling: a house being renovated in Širvintos in the style of an ancient city is already receiving applause | Lifetime

Zuehlke has lived in Germany with her husband and diplomat for 28 years. Creating interiors has always been a great hobby for a woman, from which, as she says, she also managed to earn money. For many years he enjoyed designing interiors in Germany, now he has also started doing it in Lithuania.

“Art has always existed. As a child, I attended the Justinas Vienožinskis School of Art in Vilnius, willingly painted and joined the acting school, but the winds happened to blow Germany. As the children grew, I was a mother and a wife, but the interior was always a lot of fun for me.

I used to buy a house in Germany, create an interior, a facade and sell. That has always been my hobby, not my business, but now I feel that my heart is very inclined, the children have grown, so I am starting to take the interior of a rustic-style house and Shabby Chic more seriously, “says the interviewer, who is currently working more like installing a house built in Širvintos for half a century.

I wanted to build a semi-detached house

Mrs. Daiva has a farm in Širvintos, which she comes to in the summer. Last year, during the holidays, she saw an old house and wanted to buy it. “I had a lot of ideas, I wanted to implement them to create a house in the city,” says D. Zehehlke.

The house in Širvintos was built in the 1960s. It is wooden, but brick. It has three rooms, a kitchen, a hallway, a veranda and a bathroom. Both rooms are fully equipped, the living room lacks a coffee table, which is currently with the restorer, the bathroom is also complete. The facade of the house has been fixed, but still, according to D. Zuehlke, it is necessary to finish organizing the environment.

When asked what the idea of ​​what the interior of the house will be like, the interlocutor says: the object itself.

“Ideas of how I would like to install a house always come up when I see an object. In addition to the period during which it was built, it is possible to combine the interior. I always say that we have to tune into the house, not the house for ourselves. They tell their story when they were built, what kind of people lived in them. We cannot make them what they are not.

When I saw those shoulders in this house, I thought it would be horrible to knock them down. Or those hardwood floors that are of such quality are covered with laminate, and people often make such a mistake, my heart bleeds when I see those things. Even if they are not sanded, it is enough to repaint, that special aura of the house remains. And when you put laminate, you make an apartment in a wooden house, ”says interior designer Daiva.

The woman says that she also wanted to keep the windows authentic in this house, so she didn’t change them, she gave them to the restorers.

I have always loved old houses because they have an aura, a character, their own history.

“I wanted them to give spirit to the house. Now everything is fine, and if I had put the plastic windows together, it would have been a tragedy, “says the interlocutor with a smile and affirms that this choice to preserve authenticity cost him a lot:

– I know no one will appreciate it. Both hours of sanding and cracked glass that needed to be replaced when I thought about how much it cost me, I was able to install plastic windows three times. However, I left the old ones, which have gaps and maybe not so tight in winter, but I really wanted them. Especially since this house was a carpenter who worked a lot with wood and of course those windows were very good in those days. “

The bedroom has a Belgian noble bed.

Daiva says: “When I have a vision of what the interior should look like, I look for things and furniture for him everywhere.” This house is no exception. The woman clearly knew what details had to appear in each room, so she sought them everywhere, at auctions, through family restaurateurs. He found impressive objects, but not everything he wanted.

“The ideas of the interior and the facade of the house are born in my head, I have wonderful teachers, in Panevėžys, great restaurateurs who help carry out all my whims,” ​​laughs the interlocutor. – It’s not really easy.

Suppose I found out what wallpaper would be necessary for a room. It looks like wallpaper: millions, just a collection. But I did not find what I was looking for. I even sent from America, only they, unfortunately, did not reach me. I had to compromise that the wallpaper sheets would be green, not blue, because I wanted both the leaves and the flowers to be blue. My mother said: “God, Daiva, you change your mind” (laughs)

For the same flowery bedroom, I was looking for a chandelier with many metals and necessarily a blue accent. It was at that time that I found an auction in Germany that was in line with my imagination. “

In his search for interior furniture, Daiva works closely with renowned restaurateurs who work with antique furniture dealers. She draws, tells her vision, they find the furniture they want, they restore it. Thus, the place of Širvintos’s house was discovered by many of these special pieces of furniture: one of the rooms now features a bed from a Belgian nobleman, bought at auction in Belgium, in the bathroom, an old oak chest of drawers with two sinks.

As you wander inside, your eyes notice chandeliers, clocks, porcelain plates, a sewing machine, and a carved wooden image of Vytautas the Great hanging on the wall in the living room.

“Unfortunately, I cannot specify who is the author of this work, I only know his name, also Vytautas. I am a great patriot of my country, I adore our beautiful country, its history, the rulers of our past and I am very proud to be Lithuanian “Says the interlocutor, why that detail appeared inside.

“Old houses have an aura, character”

Although Daiva sometimes also has to touch the interiors of the new houses, the woman says that she is much more willing to work with the old ones.

“Friends in Germany once asked for a very modern mosaic bath. It took me longer to turn my head to reconcile everything. And here, the country style just floats in my hair: I close my eyes and see everything, says the woman with a Smile – I have always loved old houses because they have an aura, a character, their own history. They are so wonderful and special to me, I really adore them. “

According to the interlocutor, restoring an old house is very difficult: unexpected and unexpected problems can always arise. And it is not cheap unless the work is done by the people themselves, so it does not require a large investment.

“I always say that you don’t need a lot of money to create a good aura, you need taste. Furniture can also be bought from second-hand furniture stores and then renew yourself, so you can save even more,” says D. Zuehlke.

When asked about the interiors, what do you think about the very popular Scandinavian style, Daiva says she really likes it.

“The Scandinavian interior is so cozy for the summer, laid back, bright, so I was very happy when I discovered this house, because I was able to add a lot of whiteness to the white shoulders and white wood floor.

However, our house in Germany is more of an English style. There is a large heavy fireplace in the bedroom: gray wallpaper and a heavy antique mahogany wardrobe. I really like everything related to antiquity ”, says the interlocutor.

A big mistake when people lay the laminate on a natural wood floor.

Advised on what not to do when renovating an old house

When asked to share some advice on what to do and what not to do when renovating an old house, Daiva says: “Firstly, as I mentioned, it is a big mistake for people to lay laminates on a natural wood floor when making windows of plastic in a wooden or log house. It costs more to put the wooden ones, but the plastic windows do not look good, they are also very airtight, and a wooden house is “breathable”, then spray is chosen on the windows.

I would never destroy the roof joists, if they are, I would choose more rustic (Lithuanian) and might not choose those light and white Scandinavian colors at all. I would apply the old Lithuanian style, as it used to be in Samogitia, or the Bavarian mountain style, where there is a lot of wood, oak.

Another terrible thing for me is when people build very nice log houses and install modern light kitchens in them. Then it disappears. Of course, there can be modernity, it is important that the kitchen is also functional, because comfort is the most important thing when living in a house, but in such cases it must be combined: for example, there must be wooden countertops, which are much more thicker than standard. “