Round 1980s @mehr.von.mia Munich Apartment Tour Photos

Name: Mia, boyfriend Fabian, and dogs Vincent, Leni, and Josef
Location: Munich, Germany
Size: 1,020 square feet
Type of Home: Rooftop apartment
Years Lived In: 3 years, owned

Mia, a creative director in a marketing agency she co-founded 10 years ago, found this incredibly unique apartment in Munich, Germany online three years ago, deciding to buy it the moment she laid eyes on it. She saw past the out-of-date interiors that would need renovation, transforming this space into a one-of-a-kind home, which she shows off on her popular interior Instagram account, @mehr.von.mia.

“I fell in love with the special shape and history of the house: It is a Bauhaus-inspired architect’s home from the early 1970s and completely round. I knew it was a rough diamond and enjoyed every aspect of making it our home,” she writes.

“I’m also incredibly thankful for our huge shared garden and rooftop terrace that are really hard to find in a city like Munich — especially when you are buying on a limited budget. It makes this place a little paradise and we mostly live (sometimes even sleep) outside during summer.”

Which time periods/decades inspired your home’s design the most? I wanted to reflect the heritage of the house in my interior, so I would describe my style as a combination of ’70s glam and ’80s design (Memphis, Post Modernism). I love playing with colors, materials, shapes, and graphic patterns and always try to find the right balance between calming and bold, e.g. by combining soft pastels with vibrant pops of color.

The only original elements I incorporated into my design are the wooden shiplap walls and doors — but of course I had to give them a colorful twist.

Favorite Element: It is really hard to choose only one, but if I had to, it would probably be the sunlight hitting our soft pink window curtains. The place is incredibly bright and that creates a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere.

Biggest Challenge: The biggest challenge was definitely the round layout of the apartment. We were used to living in square-shaped homes, so it was not easy for us to give each room a structure that made sense. It was a lot of trial and error — just imagine playing Tetris on giant slices of pizza.

Besides this, we could only place custom-made furniture on the round outer walls of our home, so I designed them all by myself.

Proudest DIY: I’m still super happy about how my entrance door DIY turned out. I painted the outdated wooden door in light pink with a dark green accent and framed it with white tiles. Since it is located prominently in the apartment, it was the best decision to highlight and incorporate it into my overall design. 

Is there something unique about your home or the way you use it? For our open living space, I wanted to create a multifunctional piece of furniture, so I came up with the idea of a room divider that at the same time provides a lot of storage and seating. Like all of the large pieces of furniture in our home, I decided to go for a microcement surface, the same material as our floor is made of (a super smooth kind of concrete) to create a seamless look.

Biggest Indulgence: The best yet, very cost intensive, part of the renovation was to remove the ’70s woodchip from the walls and ceiling. It wasn’t wallpaper, but some kind of liquid woodchip, so it had to be done by professionals. We also invested a lot of our budget into flooring and the bathroom (e.g. I imported special tiles from Morocco I had always dreamed about). It was so worth it, and I would do definitely do it again.

Where are your favorite places to buy or find vintage home decor? There is an eBay platform called “eBay Kleinanzeigen” in Germany that I believe more vintage and private sellers use than eBay itself. It is really good for hunting treasures and making bargains.

Finally, what’s your absolute best home secret or decorating advice? If there is one thing I had to learn over the time, it would be that sometimes less decoration is really more. My interior is far from being minimalistic, but I recently decluttered our apartment from a lot of things I had purchased over the time. Instagram can be very tempting, but you don’t always need more and new things in order to feel happy in your home.

This submission’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

This piece is part of Throwback Month, where we’re revisiting vintage styles, homes, and all kinds of groovy, retro home ideas. Boogie on over here to read more!