Tour a Historic Berlin Apartment Renovated by a Husband and Wife Designer Duo

“This apartment will never really be finished because I’m always thinking of something else I want to change,” Adele Helmers says with a laugh. She and Stephan Raczak are the perfect couple when it comes to renovating and furnishing a historic Berlin apartment. Raczak runs a real estate company that designs and renovates properties. Helmers, who is originally from the United States, studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and has projects in both the US and Berlin. The couple’s apartment was a true diamond in the rough when they found it, and now they have polished it into a unique home. Here, Helmers tells us more about the design and renovation of the couple’s dream apartment.

Adele Helmers on renovating her Berlin apartment

AD: Adele, let’s start from the beginning, where did you grow up?

Adele Helmers: I grew up in South Carolina with four other siblings in a very old house that my mother had lovingly renovated and decorated. Part of my childhood even included going to antique stores with her and my siblings. We used to call them candy stores back then because the owners would always give us something to snack on. So I grew up around antiques. After school, I started studying textile design at the Rhode Island School of Design.

What happened next?

After my studies, I moved to Morocco and worked for various non-profit organizations. I then moved to Berlin, where I met my husband relatively quickly—that was around eight years ago.

Did you like Berlin right from the start?

Berlin has now become my home, I love the city very much. But if I hadn’t met Stephan, I certainly wouldn’t have survived the first winter. We quickly moved in together and started renovating this apartment bit by bit.

At what point did you decide to open your own interior design studio?

When we started the renovation of our home, I started sharing the process on social media. And we also love entertaining! Suddenly I started getting more and more requests—“Hey, I moved, can you help me too?” and that was the beginning of Adele Helmers Studio.

Do you now have a specialty?

I mainly work on projects on the East Coast of the US or here in Berlin. I usually renovate old buildings; places that I breathe new life into. For me, it all starts with the architecture and how it shapes the visual and emotional rhythm of a space. I work very intuitively and always try to create a concept that goes deeper than mere surface aesthetics.

The interior styles of Americans and Germans are very different. How do you deal with this in your designs?

In my designs, I combine both: the cozy, tactile aesthetic of American interiors with the clarity and visual order of German designs so that nothing feels overdone.