There was no denying it: The wall behind their bed, swathed in an almost-black blue, felt too dark.
It wasn’t that London-based designer Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein yearned for a brighter hue—she had long been a minimalist, a habit formed in the days when she and her husband, Timothy, a product designer, were 20-somethings on a tight budget. No, she knew this had to do with her brain.
After a year heavy on updating and repurposing, creating something from scratch last spring was a thrill. Judith winged it per usual, sketching her vision—a wavy-door plywood cabinet with rounded feet—on paper. Timothy translated it into a proper Adobe Illustrator file and sent it to a CNC woodworking service. But Judith went off script for the piece’s interior, coating it top to bottom in an uncharacteristically vivid Yves Klein Blue.
“It’s a personal transition,” explains Judith. “There’s nothing wrong with black, but it represents a different period of my life. I associate it with a sternness about myself that I’m trying to let go of. This playfulness and color speak to something frivolous that I want.” She dresses Philou in all the shades of the rainbow. A cherry red velvet chair holds court in the living area. “It’s interesting,” she says of her newfound chromatic curiosity. “That’s also psychology.”
Lo and behold, a circa-1999 IKEA secretary was available on Facebook Marketplace only an hour away. Judith is the researcher of the duo, unearthing the perfect parts; Timothy spearheads assembly. Back home, they replaced the fold-down hutch with an accordion door and swapped the original legs for more pipes.
“I don’t enjoy the process very much, which often means I figure things out in my head and rush ahead to make them happen, and then have to find ways to fix problems along the way,” admits Judith. “Timothy, on the other hand, really enjoys the process and is obsessed (much to my annoyance sometimes) with finding the most optimal way, which means he will force me to make drawings and test materials and often be the one to figure out the ‘how’ of putting things together.”
When the couple upgraded to their current two-bedroom in 2018, Judith didn’t just bring along their IKEA Ivar cabinets–turned–platform bed, she disassembled and rebuilt the cupboards as five new things. “If you can make storage look almost like a piece of art, it can be both beautiful and functional—and unique,” she says. One Ivar is now a stand-alone unit with tubular pipes as legs (it’s also covered in wood balls; imagine an actor’s motion-capture suit), while two more pairs float on a wall in the office. (Psst: The bas-relief effect is simply painted-over foam pieces.) Their bedroom bench is yet another hack, this time using the Swedish retailer’s Nordmela dresser and sheets of burl-wood veneer.
The pandemic—and their vintage dining table breaking in half—spurred another wave of DIYs in the open-concept kitchen, living, and dining space. “It made us think about all the ways it wasn’t working for us 100 percent,” explains Judith, like the fact that constant conference calls were not conducive to sharing a workspace. She needed a desk (that didn’t look like a desk) in the main living area, and as with those Ivars, “if I want something specific and I either can’t afford it or it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it,” she says.
“I’ve found that my background, especially in the perception of space, has really helped me explain why things work, as opposed to just saying, ‘This is the new trend and you should go buy this,’” she says. “I love taking what people already have and adjusting layouts.” After all, a rebel is a rebel, whether they’re smashing boundaries or steadily chipping away at them.
Which isn’t to say Judith plays it safe. Ever since the designer found herself the only child at her preppy private school sporting utilitarian hiking boots (“My mom is very practical when it comes to clothing, as most Germans are”), she doesn’t worry what anyone else thinks. “It was such a normal thing for me to not fit in that now I don’t have that need,” she says.
“It’s great for going to sleep, but you do have to wake up in the morning,” Judith points out, an act made even tougher when you are exhausted new parents (the couple’s son, Philou, arrived in December). Stenciling a series of white shapes over the top was all it took to solve the issue—the unpigmented swoops have the opposite effect, bouncing light around. Bonus: It’s built-in baby entertainment. Philou, who can only see in monochrome for now, loves to stare at it.
Judith is a fount of these aha moments: An all-white room appears bigger because your eyes have a harder time focusing on the corners; it seems to have no limits. Humans naturally like to stand far enough away that we can see someone’s mouth and eyes at once—about 3 feet—so that’s the ideal distance between furnishings. Red stimulates the brain, which can cause your heart rate to rise and your space to feel warmer.
Before Judith launched her studio, Atelier Akuko, in 2020, she earned a master’s degree in the psychology of fashion—and soon came to the realization that the same concepts applied to decorating. For one, our perception of color is informed by light, therefore a strong reaction to red or blue or green is innately a response to its wavelength and how much light it absorbs versus reflects. In this case, the moody navy’s short wavelength had a calming effect (good), but the color was sucking up the few rays coming into the L-shaped space (not so good).
For London creative
Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein, decorating is both an art and a science.
MIND
Photography by Yuki Sugiura
Words by Lindsey Mather
Styling by Jennifer Kay
Credits
This image: Sergio Table Lamp, Bloomingville. Above: Blanket, Arket x Linnéa Andersson; Framed Photograph, Min Ryu; Mural, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein.
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Dots Wood Coat Hooks, Muuto
(from $24)
Chair Gropius CS1, Noom
($1,050)
Simrishamn Table Lamp, IKEA
($50)
Blanket, Arket x Linnéa Andersson
($99)
Both Cassandra Rhodin’s home renovation and her Swedish children’s brand, Mini Rodini, are forever evolving.
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Credits
This image: Vintage Table. Right: Hacked Nordmela Dresser; IKEA; Graffito Fabric; Kelly Wearstler;
Art, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein.
Credits
This image: DIY Corkboard and Lamp, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein.
Right: Hacked Ivar Cabinet, IKEA; Smart Desk, Autonomous; Vinyl Desk Covering, Vinyl Depot.
Credits
Hacked Ivar Cabinet, IKEA; Chair Gropius CS1, Noom; Roly Poly Chair, Faye Toogood for Driade; Vintage Sofa by De Sede, 1stDibs; Demi Rug, My Furniture.
Credits
Curved Side Table, Kristina Dam Studio; The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV, Samsung; Paper Flowers, Emmeli Kimhi. On Judith: Dress, Sister Jane; Hat, Lack of Color.
Credits
This image: Custom Cabinet, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein and Timothy Achumba. Right: Vintage Table; Pleated-Shade Pendant Light, H&M; Custom Upholstered Vintage Chairs by Pierre Mazairac and Karel Boonzaaijer for Castelijn, Vinterior; Confetti Vase, Arket; Paintings, Caroline Denervaud.
Credits
DIY Table Lamp, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein; Floating Lines Shelves, West Elm.
Credits
DIY Wavy Shelves, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein; Dots Wood Coat Hooks, Muuto; Zellige Tiles, Mosaic Factory; Cabinetry, Wren Kitchens; Vinyl Cabinet Coverings, Vinyl Wrap Interiors; Vetro Table Lamp, Made.
“It was such a normal thing for
for me to not fit in that now
I don’t have that need.”
“If you can make storage
almost like a piece of art,
it can be both beautiful and
functional—and unique.”
“If I want something specific
and I either can’t afford it or
it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it.”
“It’s a personal transition,” explains Judith. “There’s nothing wrong with black, but it represents a different period of my life. I associate it with a sternness about myself that I’m trying to let go of. This playfulness and color speak to something frivolous that I want.” She dresses Philou in all the shades of the rainbow. A cherry red velvet chair holds court in the living area. “It’s interesting,” she says of her newfound chromatic curiosity. “That’s also psychology.”
drag wrestler Jassy delivers a fresh performance at his New Orleans home.
Read the Next Story:
Credits
This image: Custom Upholstered Canopy Bed; Custom Bedding in Fabric by Lee Jofa; Modern Side Table, Chairish; Lennox Stool, Christian Siriano; Vase, Oatmeal. Right: Vintage Burl-Wood Stools; Memphis-Style Italian Chair, Chairish; Painting, Julian Cardinal. Above: Paintings, Ashley Longshore and Sunny Sunshine; Vintage 1970s Lucite Stools; Vintage Demi-Lune Table.
Credits
DIY Wavy Shelves, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein; Dots Wood Coat Hooks, Muuto; Zellige Tiles, Mosaic Factory; Cabinetry, Wren Kitchens; Vinyl Cabinet Coverings, Vinyl Wrap Interiors; Vetro Table Lamp, Made.
Credits
Above: Custom Cabinet, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein and Timothy Achumba. This image: Vintage Table; Pleated-Shade Pendant Light, H&M; Custom Upholstered Vintage Chairs by Pierre Mazairac and Karel Boonzaaijer for Castelijn, Vinterior; Confetti Vase, Arket; Paintings, Caroline Denervaud.
Credits
Curved Side Table, Kristina Dam Studio; The Frame QLED 4K Smart TV, Samsung; Paper Flowers, Emmeli Kimhi. On Judith: Dress, Sister Jane; Hat, Lack of Color.
Credits
Hacked Ivar Cabinet, IKEA; Chair Gropius CS1, Noom; Roly Poly Chair, Faye Toogood for Driade; Vintage Sofa by De Sede, 1stDibs; Demi Rug, My Furniture.
Credits
Hacked Ivar Cabinet, IKEA; Chair Gropius CS1, Noom; Roly Poly Chair, Faye Toogood for Driade; Vintage Sofa by De Sede, 1stDibs; Demi Rug, My Furniture.
Credits
Top image: Vintage Table. Above: Hacked Nordmela Dresser; IKEA; Graffito Fabric; Kelly Wearstler; Art, Judith Achumba-Wöllenstein.
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