Elfa story | Cecilia Blankens

Cecilia Blanken's luxury fashion hut

The dull, cramped basement space Elfa turned into a cozy and stylish clothes storage for fashion entrepreneur Cecilia Blankens. Bohochict, with many features, such as pull-out shoe shelves!

By Charlotta Flinkenberg Photos Cecilia Blankens

”I was incredibly pleasantly surprised!”

Fashion entrepreneur Cecilia Blankens runs her own shoe brand "Blankens" and has been living in Enebyberg in Danderyd, north of Stockholm, for a year in a Mexican brick house from the 60s. Previously, the family, which consists of Cecilia, her husband Per and their three children, lived in Los Angeles for seven years. - Our house consists of four half floors and the floor plan is a bit but incredibly good. Under one of the stairs, on a half level, there is this storage space without windows, with partly low ceilings. Our bedroom is located just above. At first I thought this was a place we could put the vacuum cleaner and a little something else, says Cecilia Blankens. Since Cecilia with her professional role has a lot of clothes, she started to sneak more and more clothes into the storage space. But the disorder was total and there was no structure at all. - Honesty, I had no great hopes that Elfa would be able to perform any kind of magic with these conditions, but was incredibly positively surprised!

”Graphite gray felt more cozy and pleasant than white”

Before

After

Describe the process?

- I gave all measurements to Elfa and they came up with a made to measure solution, which I liked right away.
The space are well utilized for maximum storage and the door to the storage room was removed in favor of a sliding door.

– It was genial to change to a sliding door, it was quite crowded before when the door was opened inwards. I became very fond of the graphite gray color for the shelves. I'm not a white person, it's really not my favorite color. To avoid the feeling of a laundry room or storage room, I chose gray, which felt cozier. Since our house was built in the 60's with straight, hard edges, the interior in my walk-in closet harmonizes nicely with that style.

Do you have a special system when you hang up your clothes?

– Well, not like in a store where you color-sync the garments. I try more to follow my own system and hang certain categories of garments together. Preferably things that work well together, ie layer upon layer of clothing buddies. Such as shirts, long dresses and vests close together. It may look messy and unstructured to others, but to me it's clear!
Cecilia's passion for fashion is evident in her love of vintage and second-hand finds. These beautiful garments is part of the interior and the feeling of her walk-in closet, and she does not want to hide anything.

”I love my clothes and love to see them”

– I love my clothes and would like to see them. I'm not the type who cleans out or is minimalist, on the contrary, I have a very hard time throwing things away. My wardrobe consists mostly of basic garments but also a fun set of coats, hats and kinky shirts. I look for unique things that no one else wants and have, for example, some luxurious, used bags, but never those IT bags that everyone else buys. Looking into a person's wardrobe is like looking into her interior, into the soul. One can easily draw conclusions if the person in question is creative, colorful, or a strict excel character - just by studying the clothes.

How do you think about shoe storage?

– Since I have my own shoe brand, I own several hundred pairs of shoes and not all of them fit in this wardrobe. I have a separate room just for shoes. But some of my favorite pairs I keep down here. What I love about Elfa's shoe shelves is that they are extendable! So convenient. When I decide what outfit to wear, I always start from the bottom with the shoes and then continue upwards. Of course, I only wear shoes from my own brand. My mood for the day determines how I dress, whether I want to be sharp or look like Cher, one of my absolute style icons.

How would you describe the wardrobe in your own words?

– Everything is so perfectly arranged and it is so cozy to be down here. My luxurious little hut. Or woman cave, as I call it!

Cecilia's tips for a bohochic clothes storage

Let the beautiful garments and accessories be part of the interior. When they are exposed, it becomes more motivating to keep in order, than if you throw them in a box or hide them in a cupboard.
Invest in a sliding door.
A cozy, odd rug enhances the feeling. Cecilia's rug is nomad-knotted and comes from Persia.
Thin velvet hangers allow you to fit many garments and give a calmer, uniform impression when the clothes are differently colored and patterned.

Cecilia Blankens

Age: 41 years.
Job: Fashion entrepreneur. Runs her own shoe company - Blankens. Blogs on Femina.
Lives: Villa in Enebyberg, Danderyd, Sweden, with her husband Per, their children Bonnie, 11, Rio, 9 and Remy, 5 years and two dogs.