Vintage flair in a Berlin apartment

Dustin Hanke’s Berlin pad: the perfect combination of nostalgic accents and dashes of rock ‘n’ roll!

5. November 2018

Dustin Hanke started his blog aged just fourteen. “Shiggers on Street” has since become one of the most influential German men’s blogs. We paid a visit to the 23-year old in his central Berlin apartment.

Dustin, how would you describe your style, both in terms of interior design and fashion?

For both aspects I try to strike a balance between extravagance and timelessness, and always incorporate a dash of rock ‘n’ roll. In practice, though, I like a bold mix: (lots and lots of) vintage paired with designer pieces, coarse structures with soft elements, basics with statement pieces.

Collage of Dustin Hanke: portrait and side table — Dustin’s style: at once extravagant and timeless – and always with a side of rock ‘n’ roll

You recently moved house. What’s the concept behind how you’ve decorated your apartment? And how did you plan what you wanted to do?

I’m not really the type of person to make huge plans, especially not when it comes to decorating my apartment. I could never decorate and say ‘yes, it’s finished now’ and leave all my furniture in the exact same place for years at a time – I love mixing things up, painting walls and buying random pieces at flea markets. So furnishing my apartment is more of a spontaneous thing for me, apart from a loose colour scheme which I do plan in advance.

Stacks of books and magazines in Dustin Hanke's apartment — Countless books and magazines are stacked on the floor

What’s your favourite colour combination?

Black and white with beige and brown tones, because they bring a certain warmth and cosiness to my apartment. For both fashion and interiors I tend to gravitate towards pinks, red, oranges and blues.

Do you have a style icon?

Mick Jagger.

If you moved again, where would you go?

I’m hoping in the future I’ll get a chance to go to Los Angeles or Paris for a couple of years – I like moving around and love both of those cities. Although I wasn’t born in Berlin, I do feel at home here and will probably always keep coming back.

Balcony collage of Dustin Hanke's central Berlin apartment by MYCS — Compared to the interiors, Dustin’s balcony has a real simplicity: it’s the perfect place to relax.

Is there a particular piece of furniture or homeware you wish you could design yourself, perhaps something you haven’t been able to find elsewhere?

To be honest I wish I could design all of my furniture myself…but if I had to pick one piece, it would probably have to be a drinks cart. Or a daybed. Or maybe a chair? And room fragrances! Ah, I can’t pick one!

Which is your favourite piece of furniture – is there one piece that you’ll always keep?

A mirrored chest of drawers that I found in a little junk shop in Wedding. I saw it and fell in love with it, and now I’ll never part with it.

Collage of Dustin Hanke's living room — Brass and silver catch the light and add a touch of glamour.

What made you choose this particular MYCS side table?

I had been searching for months for something made of green marble but hadn’t managed to find anything quite right. While browsing for a new side table on the MYCS website, I saw the green marble SYDE table and put it straight into my basket. At first I wasn’t too sure where to put it as we had only just moved in, but this little corner with its pink walls, books and the MYCS console table has since become one of my favourite corners of our apartment.

Dustin Hanke marble side table by MYCS — Dustin Hanke styles his MYCS console table with vintage accessories. And the perfect accompaniment to the marble table top? Cacti.

Would you say that Berlin has a particular interior style?

I think Berlin style is a bit of a wild mix: from Scandinavian minimalism to the retro trend with lots of colour, you can find everything here. What I particularly appreciate about that, though, is that Berlin interiors feel effortlessly cool, often without being too modern.

Lifestyle