A home for the family

There’s a difference between an interior and a home. An interior can be finished, but a home continues to evolve. In our founder’s family home, colours, textiles, art, books and pieces collected over the years sit comfortably alongside everyday life.

We don’t believe you should have to choose between a beautiful home and one where children have room to be children. Here, the family hasn’t had to adapt their lives around the interiors. Instead, the home has been shaped by the life they lead. The children’s things are part of the home, the rooms are lived in, and beautiful objects don’t have to be put away simply because there are little ones around.

Has having children changed the way you approach interiors and the pieces you choose for your home?

– Not when it comes to the aesthetics, actually. I don’t think you have to give up beautiful things just because you have children. It should still be a home that the adults love living in, too.

We’ve never really put away everything fragile or valuable just because the children are young. I believe children can learn to respect their surroundings. If there are always little vases of flowers, candlesticks and other objects around, they simply become part of everyday life, and the children learn to be careful with them.

I almost think the opposite happens when you put absolutely everything away. Suddenly, the day something does come out, it becomes incredibly exciting. To me, a child-friendly home isn’t about removing everything beautiful. It’s about creating a home where both children and adults have their place.

And of course, you have to accept that things will occasionally get broken. That’s part of having a home that’s actually lived in. – Isabelle

Layer by layer

The thinking behind our founder’s home is perhaps most apparent in the bedroom. Rather than relying on one particular feature, the headboard, wall colour, curtains, cushions, bench and smaller details all contribute to the room, building on one another, layer by layer.

Colours and patterns are mixed without everything having to match, while the textiles bring softness and character. The result is a bedroom that feels considered, yet still personal and lived in.

What kind of atmosphere did you want to create in your bedroom, and where did you begin?

– It’s not just about making a bedroom beautiful. It has to have the right atmosphere, too. After all, it’s where you begin and end each day. I love our bedroom because of its angles, different shapes and windows, which give the room so much character. And I’ve really been able to indulge in what I love most: colour and textiles. I love when a bedroom feels calm and intimate, with the walls drenched in colour and textiles bringing an added softness to the room. I can’t stand white, minimalist bedrooms. I genuinely sleep badly in them! – Isabelle

It All Starts with a Feeling

When we help our clients create a bedroom, we rarely begin by asking which fabric or headboard they want. Instead, we start with the room itself and the atmosphere they would like to create.

Which colours are already there? What are the proportions of the room? Which furniture and details would they like to keep? 

In our founder's home, earthy tones set the foundation. The walls are painted in Mouse's Back by Farrow & Ball, a warm grey-brown shade with subtle green undertones that brings softness and warmth to the room. From there layers of textiles, colours and patterns have been introduced, gradually shaping the bedroom's character. 

 

What came first in your bedroom – the wall colour, the textiles or a particular piece of furniture?

– The colour came first. The room was white when we moved in, and I immediately felt the need to change the atmosphere of the space where we would sleep. I wanted a bedroom that felt warm and intimate, so the wall colour became the starting point. The textiles then built on that feeling – the headboard, the bed valance and the bedding. From there, the room came together layer by layer.

The headboard is naturally a central feature because of its visual presence, but then came the bench, curtains, a thousand cushions, bed linen and rugs. For me, it’s all those layers that make a bedroom feel warm, inviting and complete. – Isabelle

The headboard sets the tone

A headboard naturally has a strong presence in a bedroom and can change both the proportions and the overall expression of the space. Here, the headboard is part of the wider interior, working alongside the wall colour, bedding and surrounding furniture rather than standing on its own. It’s also how we approach design at YLSE. We don’t simply consider which shape or fabric looks beautiful on its own, but how it will work within the particular room it’s being made for.

What influenced your choice of headboard shape and fabric? Was there anything about the room that guided your decision?

– I chose the Österlen shape mainly because of the room itself. With the sloping ceilings, I really wanted to make the most of the space and allow the headboard to be as generous as possible. I wanted it to have a strong presence in the room rather than trying too hard to accommodate the angles of the ceiling.

That’s exactly why I fell for the fabric from Dedar. From a distance, it appears to be a solid colour, but when you get closer, you discover the embroidered details and the beautiful texture of the fabric. There’s such a lovely contrast between its understated appearance and the decorative details. I love textiles that don’t need to shout to make an impression, where you discover the beauty in the details over time. It gives the headboard a sophisticated, almost jewel-like quality, while still providing a calm foundation for all the other colours and patterns in the room. – Isabelle

Colour, Pattern and Textiles

Textiles are one of the simplest ways to bring colour, pattern and softness into a bedroom. In our founder’s home, different fabrics share the same space. Stripes sit alongside smaller patterns, while different materials are layered through curtains, cushions and upholstered furniture. Everything doesn’t have to match perfectly. In fact, combining different fabrics is often what makes a room more interesting. A good place to begin is with one detail that sets the direction – perhaps a headboard, a particular fabric or a colour you love – and build the rest of the room around it.

How do you approach combining different fabrics, colours and patterns in the same room?

– I don’t think everything needs to match. Quite the opposite, actually. What matters is having something that connects the different elements, whether that’s a recurring colour, a particular tone or an overall feeling.

I love mixing stripes with smaller prints or more graphic patterns, then introducing a few quieter fabrics to balance everything out. There can be lots of different textiles in one room, as long as there’s something that ties them together. – Isabelle

YLSE at home

In our founder’s home, we also get to see YLSE in its most natural setting. Once a headboard becomes part of a home, it’s no longer just a headboard. It becomes part of the wall colour, the artwork, the bedside tables, the books beside the bed and everything else that already has its place in the room. That’s exactly how we want our pieces to feel. Like a natural part of the home.

How do you incorporate YLSE into your own home? And do you approach choosing pieces for yourself differently from when you’re helping a client?

– YLSE is present throughout our home, particularly in our furniture – the headboards, ottoman and bedroom bench – as well as all the bespoke textiles we’ve had made for the different rooms.

At home, I really get to explore my creative side. It’s my own little oasis where I can play with colour and textiles and try out new ideas.

But choosing things for my own home is actually the hardest part! I have to think much more carefully when it comes to my own choices. Whenever I’m making a bigger decision, I usually want to talk through my ideas with one of my co-founders, Mikaela or Daniella, before making the final call.

When I’m helping clients, on the other hand, I can usually picture the result very clearly. I find it easy to understand the atmosphere they’re looking for and translate their thoughts and ideas into a finished YLSE piece.

Of course, you have to consider the individual or family, the room itself and how they want their home to feel. The most important thing is that it feels personal, considered and, above all, like something they’ll want to live with for years to come. – Isabelle

A Bedroom to Make Your Own

There’s no set formula for how a bedroom should look. For us, it’s about finding the right combination of colour, proportions, textiles and details for the person who will actually live there. Our founder’s bedroom has a character of its own, while still feeling like a natural extension of the rest of the home. A room shaped by the things she loves and wants to live with. 

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