A look inside Ellen’s colorful and worldly apartment in Leeuwarden: ‘This is my dopamine house’

“Welcome!” Ellen is standing in the doorway. A cheerful appearance. Her appearance already gives away a bit of what we can expect from her interior. A purple blouse with embroidered decorations, colorful flared pants with print, her body decorated with jewelry and tattoos, neon orange painted toenails. ,,Come on in.”

Up the stairs, dog Boomer welcomes us from above with barking and a busy wagging tail. Ellen (33) lives on the first floor of a former drive-in house from 1920, in the heart of Leeuwarden. What used to be the indoor garage is now also a home. “My best friend used to live here, but when she moved in together I was able to move in here. That was great because I had been looking for something different for a while.”

We immediately step into the living room. Small but nice, the kitchen and living room are located on an area of ​​about 25 square meters. Upstairs a clothing, bedroom and bathroom. “Big enough for just me.” And there is a balcony. “It’s lovely to sit outside there in the summer. Quite special, you are in the middle of the city and yet it is a fairly quiet area, only local traffic comes here.”

Passion for gemstones

At first you don’t know where to look; there is so much to see. Just take the open cupboard that is packed with gemstones, neatly displayed by color and type. “I have them all over the house, on the couch, under my pillow, in the bathroom, and I also carry them with me. It has really become a passion. I think they are so beautiful, how special is it that they just arise in nature?”

She received her first gemstone from her grandfather at a young age. “My grandfather and grandmother regularly traveled to Israel and Jerusalem and often took stones with them as souvenirs. It was only years later that I started to delve deeper into how the stones work. After a reorganization at my previous employer, I suddenly found myself at home. Shit, what now? I just couldn’t remember anymore. Then I decided to take time for myself, went on holiday, started doing yoga, pilates, and meditating. So I became more and more interested in the spiritual world.”

Favorite type is the (purple) amethyst. “I found that really big one via Marktplaats. From a collector. That man had an entire collection at home, but he was forced to get rid of it because he was going to a nursing home. He wanted the stone to end up with an enthusiast, so I could take it over for a very reasonable price.”

How does she do that with dusting? “Well, it’s a bit of a collection that got out of hand. But it is actually a very nice job, very meditative. Sometimes I just do one plank at a time. I don’t buy new ones that often anymore, only very rare ones.”

Then Frida Kahlo. Can be seen in all kinds of forms in the interior. The Mexican, free-spirited artist has won a place in Ellen’s heart. “Yes Frida… what a powerful woman! Her story touched me so much. How she stood up for herself at that time, what she went through, her passion for painting, her looks, very inspiring!”

India also inspires. “Those three canvases in the kitchen? That is my vision board . The cities of Jaipur, Varanasi, and the Taj Mahal. Visiting the country has been on my agenda for a long time wishlist . The colors alone, many houses and buildings are completely blue or pink! Also the smells, the culture, the rituals, it is so different living there. It’s just a feeling, it attracts me enormously. This month the time has finally come, I will be traveling through India for three weeks, I’m really looking forward to it!”

All colors of the rainbow

We clearly see the color palette of India. Not one wall is left white. “I have always had a lot of color. Mint green comes back every time. In the beginning I wanted everything to match that, but at some point I let that go. Well, then the dam was closed. I now have the entire rainbow palette at home. And yet it matches! I once painted my living room in the middle of the night: neon purple. If I have something in mind, it has to be done immediately.”

Much is second-hand. “From Marktplaats, or from thrift stores. And I bought that table with swivel leg near the sofa on Vinted. I always think like this: everything can be painted. With a lick of paint you can make almost anything suitable for your own interior. The dining table and chairs are also from the thrift store. I like to go to Van Oud naar Goud on the Voorstreek, the Rustiek home furnishings store, and in Appelscha you have the Camel Market, also very nice! I love browsing around such shops and markets, it’s like a treasure hunt!”

An Ellen sauce

The fact that she is creative is reflected in the homemade clay works: some of the candlesticks on the dining table, the brightly colored pendants above the door. “You see that in many homes in Mexico. Working with clay is a wonderful activity, I can completely immerse myself in it. I’m often full of inspiration.” And then the many tassels. On the balcony, upstairs with her homemade four-poster bed. “You can brighten things up with that. I also bought a jute basket, which I found a bit boring so I attached tassels to it. This is how I give many things an ‘Ellen sauce’.”

Ellen is clearly doing her own thing. “I don’t go along with living trends, if you only buy things because it is ‘in’, it is made that way. Above all, stick to yourself and a unique atmosphere will automatically arise. This interior also developed gradually, you naturally grow into something that suits you. It’s funny, when visitors come over for the first time, I often hear: ‘This is also what I expected from you.’ I think it is also due to my clothing style, which is just as colorful, which matches my interior. And when friends come over I get the standard question; ‘Do you have this new or that?’ And I’ve had that for ages haha. I get it, there’s a lot here too. It’s like a museum.”

An exuberant and incredibly colorful museum in which every corner is richly filled. Ellen beams: “Yes, this is my dopamine house.” Yet she completely relaxes here. Especially by reading. Ellen devours a lot of books. “Thrillers, fantasy, novels. I read a lot of different genres.”

Not a day goes by without reading. “In the summer I sit on the balcony reading all day, now on the couch in the living room. Or I go to bed extra early. The four-poster bed gives me such a secure feeling, which you used to have in a tent as a child. A very cozy place. Put on some incense or some oil, read a good book, Boomer next to me. Delicious! What else do you want?”