A Playful Home with Louise Kaas
Refined taste and the feel of home, that’s what you encounter when you walk in the door at Louise Kaas. With a background in the design field, Louise recently started her own business as interior stylist, all while juggling family life with her husband and two kids. We had a talk with Louise about her passion for creating meaningful spaces and bringing play into everyday life.
What's important to you when creating a home for you and your family?
The name of our street "Hellested" translates to "safe space", which is exactly what I want our home to feel like — a safe space for us to retreat and reset.
I've aimed to create a home that caters to each of our individual needs. Personally, I find peace in nice aesthetics and clean lines, while my husband is more 'free-spirited', and it's important to me that our daughters can let loose and have their own space as well.
What's a ‘playful’ home to you?
When I decorate, I see the space as a frame. While some people keep it playful with colours, etc., I prefer to keep it neutral and calm. Then, you can go crazy with colours on objects like toys and interior details, letting everyday life unfold within the frame.
Speaking of everyday life, we’ve also chosen to have a lot of open space, allowing room for everyone to come together. You’ll find that we have very few doors, which allow the kids to roam more freely — a huge plus with our MODU!
How do you incorporate 'play' into your home decor?
We’ve set up a play room for the girls, but we’ve also incorporated storage solutions around the house for toys, etc., as a more practical measure, to accommodate their need to have various activities on hand.
It’s important for us to engage in playtime with the kids and spend time together as a family, and having more open space fosters that. In general, when it comes to our interior, I want our girls to feel free to play hide-and-seek in the curtains or jump on the couch. We encourage them to clean up after themselves and be mindful, but if something breaks, that’s also okay.
How does MODU fit into your home and everyday life?
We use MODU every single day, and the girls really enjoy playing together. They build rides and push each other around, and Ester, the eldest, loves all kinds of balance play.
The toy seamlessly blends into our daily routine because we can shape it however we want. Sometimes it's for play, sometimes it's for practical things. One day we made waffles, and we built a little dining set. That was really sweet.
Esther is at an age, where she does a lot of role play, so we’ve built a shopping cart and a hair salon for her. I love the creative freedom and the principle of open-ended play, teaching the girls that there are many ways to be creative.
What's currently your favourite way to play with MODU?
Ride-ons are a huge hit, and Ester absolutely loves the balance board! After spotting the picture of the girl skillfully balancing in the Inspiration Booklet, she was immediately fascinated and determined to learn. Now, she's confidently standing on it all by herself. Watching her setting a goal for herself and the joy of achieving that goal has been really amazing.
