ARTICLE // ELISE OUWEHAND
OYOYHOMES // VISITING THE OUWEHAND FAMILY IN ROTTERDAM
The family consists of Elise, 33, her husband Gwenn, 39, and their children Fiene, 5, and Seff, 2. In 2018 the family moved into a newly built house in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
2,5 years ago, Elise started a sales agency, Seffien Agency. After years of working in the cosmetics and children´s segment, she decided to quit her job and bring the love for these two worlds together in her own company. Elise represents several sustainable brands in the Dutch market. As a mother of two small children, she is daily looking for honest and reliable products that makes her heart beat faster. She appreciates to be able to represent the products that she herself is enthusiastic about. Gwenn is Key Account Manager at a logistics service company.
Elise describes the furnishing of their house as a calm, clean base with different design items, which is combined with bohemian accessories. Natural materials such as wood and rattan, together with the soft color palette of powder pink, terracotta and shades of brown, creates a nice warm atmosphere in the house. A neutral base is ideal, so she can regularly replace accessories and create a different atmosphere. Elise also likes personal pieces. The home is furnished with many new pieces of furniture, but also vintage items. She likes to combine from old and new.
'A warm and cozy home with a mix of natural materials with a Scandinavian touch' is how Elise describes her style.
Childhood memories also influence Elise’s décor. Certain items from her childhood home, are now in Elise’s home. She remembers having rattan items in her childhood home, which is also seen a lot nowadays. For example, Elise has a rattan cabinet at home, which her father already had in his first house. Also, Elise's old wooden closet, and her sister's closet, are now used in the children's rooms.
As a child she was always busy decorating her room. Once in a while she changed the room, something that she still likes to do.
When Elise, and her family, moved into the house 2,5 years ago, she bought her first OYOY item, The Follow the Rainbow Wall Rug. This item is still one of her favorites. When she looks at it, it makes her feel happy. Also, it is a real eye catcher in her daughter's room.
Recently, Elise invested in new cushions for the couch. In fact, cushions from OYOY Living Design.
We asked Elise if she thinks COVID-19 has affected the way people live? Whether it has any influence on the way people decorate their homes. Elise answers: ‘Yes, I guess so. People are much more assigned to their homes. Because we spend so much time at home, we find it even more important to feel at home and to find rest here. Home is more important than ever; we work at home, we spend time here with our loved ones and we need to be able to relax here too. Here in the Netherlands, and I think also in the other countries, a lot of people are doing jobs and projects from their homes’.
The entire COVID-19 situation has also influenced Elise and her family personally. In the first months their children were at home, they did not go to school or to daycare. At home the kids had to do schoolwork, but Elise and Gwenn’s jobs continued as well. This was not always easy with children at home. Fortunately, this is not an issue anymore, but corona is certainly not a part of the past yet. They are still very alert every day and have to deal with the adjusted measures on a daily basis. For now, it has become a way of life, which they know how to deal with.
In relation to predicting trends in interior design and styling in 2021, Elise expects a lot of natural shades, like dark brown, but also tending towards a dark rich purple eggplant color, in combination with natural materials like wood. The subject of sustainability also remains a hot topic and will be implemented more and more in all houses. The living trend ''Japandi'' appeals to Elise personally, a combination of Scandinavian interiors and Japanese interiors. She expects this to continue in 2021.
Elise’s future project in her home is a renovation and a expand of their top floor. Elise and Gwenn want to create a new bedroom. Also, their daughter's room will get a makeover.
When she goes out at night, she enjoys visiting her favourite restaurant, FG Foodlab, in Rotterdam. Her favourite summer drink is Aperol Spritz with spa rood prosecco and an orange slice.
