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smow Homestory: At home with Yannick from aaroninteriors

Mid-century modern meets vintage wood furniture in the home of Yannick Aaron


Yannik from aaroninteriors

Yannick Aaron loves one thing above all else (aside from books): interior design. In his home he combines design classics in a mix of old and new. And before Yannick buys a piece of furniture, he always extensively studies its history.

On his Instagram account aaroninteriors, Yannick invites us into his world: you can almost smell the espresso and hear the crackle of the music from vinyl. And can certainly sense his connection to design classics, his love for Bauhaus and Mid-century Modern, and his admiration for Jean Prouvé.

Yannick used to live in Berlin, but has since decided on a quieter life with his partner in Baden-Baden; however, things can still get turbulent from time to time in his job as a teacher, thus making it all the more important that his home forms a harmonious haven of peace.



At home with aaroninteriors

#smowathome with aaroninteriors

Design classics, USM Haller and Jean Prouvé

Anyone who has ever been at Yannick's home would like to stay forever: well-known design classics dominate the interior, without turning it into a museum, while thanks to Yannick's talent for decoration and the clever combination of furniture from different eras, a perfect harmony is created that invites you to linger throughout the apartment.

In addition to furniture icons such as the Eames lounge chair or the chaise longue by Le Corbusier, USM Haller shelving plays a major role in Yannick's interior, a decision for a functional storage solution whose modular tubular steel design aesthetically complements the furnishings and ambience. We were allowed to accompany Yannick as he redesigned his two USM pieces of furniture.


Living room with a favorite couch, Guéridon coffee table and Capitol Complex Chairs

Bedroom with airy, light USM Haller wardrobe and Jean Prouvé chair


Introducing Yannick

In Yannick's apartment, design classics such as the Eames Lounge Chair, Nelson Bench, Wishbone and Wassily Chair as well as Louis Poulsen lamps stand in unity. An absolute dream for all classic fans. We spoke to Yannick about his interior design style and his design favourites.

smow: Yannick, introduce yourself!

Yannick: I'm Yannick and I've been curating the Instagram account "aaroninteriors" since 2022, on which I invite my now 70,000 followers into my home. For me my home is a bit like my little stage where I can form my own taste and develop my aesthetic. My main job is actually as a high school teacher for music and German; interior design is currently just a hobby. But who knows where the journey will lead...

smow: What is your biggest quirk?

Yannick: Strangely enough, my books, whether on a bookshelf or on a sideboard they always have to be placed exactly parallel and at the perfect angle. As soon as the book slips even a millimeter, it drives me crazy and I have to readjust it.


smow: Where does the love for interior design and design come from?

Yannick: I actually prefer design classics in my furnishings, because for me a piece of furniture is more than just a decorative or everyday item. In addition, I am totally interested in history and that is why the history behind a piece of furniture plays a big role for me. Before I buy a piece of furniture, I always invest time to research the designer, the time it was created, its reception, the design, etc. I particularly like the Bauhaus designs and midcentury furniture, which you simply can't go wrong with and are good to combine.


Design from 1947: Petite Potence by Yannick's favorite designer Jean Prouvé

Bauhaus Design: Kaiser Idell lamp by Christian Dell


smow: Can you briefly describe your interior design style, preferably in 3 adjectives?

Yannick: Classic. Progressive. Warm.

smow: What was your first piece of designer furniture? And how did you get a taste for design?

Yannick: My first piece of designer furniture was the opal glass lamp by Wilhelm Wagenfeld. My grandma got it when she subscribed to a newspaper and I always admired it as a child and wanted to have it with me too. I've always been fascinated by beautiful things, and by timeless things, but it was only through my current apartment that I really immersed myself in the world, which, because of its space, caused my passion for interior design to take root and develop.


Yannick's workplace

Books are Yannick's passion


smow: What is important to you in your interior?

Yannick: Anyone who has followed me for a while knows that I have constantly developed over the last year and a half and my aesthetic is evolving more and more. I've recently begun to place a greater emphasis on combining new furniture with old pieces to allow their true beauty to shine. I like playing with different eras, materials and influences from other countries to create a personal home.

smow: Who is your favorite designer? And do you particularly like a manufacturer?

Yannick: That's hard to answer, but I really love French designers like Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé. Today Prouvé is produced by Vitra and Perriand by Cassina, so the two of them.

smow: What do you think makes good design?

Yannick: Timelessness, functionalism and comfort. And of course you should be in love with the piece of furniture and look forward to it every day.


At Yannick's home, everything is perfectly staged

Attention to detail: Yannick is a master at combining and decorating


Yannick: I love timeless design and I definitely needed storage space for my study. During my research I came across USM, who have been producing their modular furniture since 1960. And since I have an antique wooden cupboard in my study, I definitely needed something modern and chic as a contrast. So I created a sideboard in the configurator for my needs at the time, which I was now able to easily expand three years later. For me it is the perfect piece of furniture for rooms that require (ever-increasing) storage space.

smow: We were also allowed to accompany you in converting your USM unit: you carefully planned your “new” USM unit together with smow Stuttgart, down to the equipment extras, and the conversion was also carried out with USM techicians from smow. We are absolutely thrilled with the result. Completely new pieces of furniture were created from the existing system, offering storage space without losing any of its airy lightness. They fit precisely into your interior and round off your interior.


Before: After three years the exisiting USM sideboard was simply no longer sufficient for all the collected papers, and needed to be expanded

Professional conversion from sideboard to a larger shelving unit

After: The sideboard has become a storage space miracle with shop windows


Before: The white USM sideboard was due for a complete makeover

Conversion of the USM unit by trained assembly professionals

After: The USM unit allows the light to shine through, thus bequeathing the room not only storage options but also space


smow: If you could choose three more items from our shop, what would they be?

Yannick: The Akari UF4-33N, the Soft Modular Sofa by Vitra and the Guéridon table by Jean Prouvé.


Akari UF4-33N from Vitra

Soft Modular Sofa from Vitra

Gueridon Tisch from Vitra


View from Yannick's favorite spot into the living room

Yannick, in all smowly succinctness:

Your first sentence when you have an unexpected visitor?
- What can I offer you to drink?

Your favorite place?
- On the sofa looking into my living room.

A bad purchase?
- Actually the Wassily Chair. It's so beautiful but not quite as comfortable for somene my height as it could be. I hope it's okay to call the Wassily armchair a bad purchase, even if I bought it from you. But the answer is honest.

Your housing-related vice?
- Seating furniture - there are just so many beautiful ones...

Carpet yes or no?
- Definitely, no question!

Your favorite activity at home?
- Fliping through illustrated books and moving furniture

White or colored walls?
- You can't go wrong with white, but maybe I'll dare to work with some color at some point...

You collect ...?
- Books

Thank you very much Yannick!


Classic meets modern for re-styling

For Yannick, classics should always be combined with modern pieces. The mix of old and new gives rooms their certain charm and harmonious coherence. It is important to Yannick not to make his home look like something out of a catalogue. And for this we prescribe smow's "serving suggestion" in three keywords: DESIGN CLASSIC / PLAY WITH CONTRAST / COLOUR HARMONY


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