Rental Revamp: This Designer Couple’s Vibrant Berlin Apartment Is Constantly Evolving

Sina Gwosdzik and Jakob Dannenfeldt met as product design students at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, and soon fell in love, moved into their Berlin apartment, and launched their design studio, Jäll & Tofta. Their first apartment from 2007 is still their home today, 17 years and two children later.

"Ten years ago, our home looked like a totally different apartment," says Sina. "I can remember the Ikea sofa and white walls with bright yellow stripes." But today, reflections differ between them: Sina thinks the home is calmer now, but Jakob believes it’s more colorful. "The hallway used to be reddish pink; now it’s green," he says. "We try to keep it clean and simple, so when you walk in, you don’t get overwhelmed, even though it’s a strong color."

Sina and Jakob’s three-bedroom apartment is on the third floor of a five-story, early-1900s building in Berlin’s trendy Kreuzberg area. It spans an entire block on a broad promenade, which is often used as a film set because it shows how old-world Berlin looked before much of it was bombed during World War II. Like most apartment blocks in the city, the building has two apartments on each floor, one facing the front street and one in the back. Theirs is at the front.