Berlin’s gigantic, dirt-cheap apartments are the stuff of urban legend. Expats more acquainted with the exorbitant rents and floorplans measured in centimeters common in London, New York, and Paris are often rushed to our local krankenhäuser (hospitals) after fainting dead away upon getting a gander of their spacious new digs. Even as the dollar drops into the muck, it can still procure a comfortable flop in the city center convenient to transit, shopping, and the hot-bodied waitstaff of the local watering hole. But as noted here and there, furnishing one of these cavernous pads brings challenges of its own. For the young at heart or soft in wallet, scouring the secondhand shops and flea markets for functional furniture is a time-honored way to scrape up some scary-looking lumps of comfort. And Berlin’s three Ikea branches, like Shakespeare’s witches, can also help one brew up a bubbling blond broth of Danish style domesticity without having to auction off a kidney. But if the wads of cash saved on the monthly nut are burning a hole in the pocket of your way-too-tight designer jeans, consider outfitting your sexy expat flat with status-enhancing seating and surfaces from one of Berlin’s designer furniture boutiques. Whether created by some globetrotting, Mac-toting turtlenecker or one of the city’s hemp-smoking homegrown talents, the eye-catching, ass-bearing designs can make your new digs look like a million worthless dollars. Those credit card killjoys may make a stink, but your butt will thank you. (via Berlin: Sitting Pretty in Berlin)
