A continuation of our home tour series, we visit the home of Philux’s Steph Kienle.
Many would expect the Managing Director of Philux to have a beautiful home with world-class design and the most sophisticated interiors—and this is certainly true. As the family of Stephanie Kienle grew, her house also grew its collection of pieces from travels and memories of adventures. While these primarily define the character of the house, Steph emphasizes the need to allow creativity to flow through sprucing up parts of the house, especially over lockdown. For Steph, designing her home is all about a mix of “our history, our passions, and aspirations.”
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Allowing creativity to flow
Like most of us, Steph understands how the pandemic incites fear and anxiousness. However, she and her sister Jessica turned this worry over an uncertain future into an opportunity to inspire and give hope to people. “During the strict Enhanced Community Quarantine, I wanted to keep our creative juices flowing,” she says. Together with the Philux team, they produced a video series, covering topics like redesigning areas and creating a tablescape for a date night. From redecorating the entrance foyer to styling a coffee table, Steph and Jess were very informative and inspiring in walking their viewers through the creative process.
In sprucing up parts of a home, the good thing is one does not need to purchase new furniture or decor. As seen in the videos, Steph and Jess worked with existing pieces. The strict quarantine made it difficult to bring in new elements, after all. So, it was all a matter of being creative and knowing what one wants to achieve for the final look. “I am a very visual person, and therefore decide on what to layer and what to remove throughout the process,” Steph clarifies. Of course, the visual appearance is not the only aspect to consider. “Make sure that you consider the flow of your space,” she says, adding, “It will only become homey if you seriously consider function and comfort.”
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Growing a green thumb
Apart from pieces that reflect her family’s history and travels, Steph has always loved incorporating plants in her home. “They bring life and energy to any space,” she says. At the entrance, a tall arrangement of cullum leaves mixed with dried branches welcomes the guests. Going further into the house, there are a couple of fiddle leaf fig trees that can grow until six feet or taller. This makes it among the best options to create statement pieces in the house. Out onto the deck, one might get an impression of a jungle, but certainly an inviting one. Staghorn ferns, Peruvian ferns, Bougainvillea, and Zamio or the Instagram-worthy house plant, make up the terrace. She accompanies all these lush greens with decor like a stunning bronze sculpture from South African artist Lionel Smit.
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Little additions
Since online classes started for many schools, parents like Steph made sure to create a workspace in the house for their children. “The little Philux COPEN desk for my eldest, Andrea, was another addition to [prepare] her for a school year online,” she says. A piece of sophisticated furniture, it has enough drawers for Andrea to stash in her materials and important files for school. Another new piece Steph added to their home is the Philux Stockholm bed for her two daughters who now share a room. These additions may have been brought in out of necessity, but Steph affirms, “I will certainly take the opportunity to make this a fun, creative design project for our family.”
Without a doubt, Steph’s home reflects much of their family’s character and taste. While she fills it with beautiful, bold, and dramatic pieces, she never overlooks the importance of function and flow of space. Redecorating certainly helps in enlivening the energy, allowing its dwellers to remain inspired and comfortable right at home.
Scroll below to watch Steph’s redecorating and tablescape set-up videos.
Photos from Steph Kienle and Philux Instagram accounts.
