bedMATE of the month #30: Floor Knaapen

Every month we visit a creative and inspiring person. She or he is the 'bedMATE of the month'.

The bedMATE is the most iconic item in our collection. The extra long pillow serves as a headboard, but also as a cuddle buddy, a friend who gives support.

We crawl into bed with the 'bedMATE of the month'. We take a look at their homes and their colorful (bed)rooms. In conversation we discover how they experience the SUITE life. What goes on in their minds? Where do they get their inspiration from? And in what color do they dream?

This month, together with photographer Marie-Louise Hodge, we visited Floor Knaapen. Floor lives in De Pijp in Amsterdam. Although you might expect a third-floor apartment to be small and cramped, you enter Floor's spacious oasis of color, creativity and design objects. Floor is an art director, set designer and photographer — and all these talents come together in her interior.

Eighteen years ago Floor Knaapen graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven. Shortly after she started as an editor, stylist and photographer for various interior magazines and built her own studio, specialized in art direction, set design and photography.

With her team, she works from concept to execution for various clients, nationally and internationally. Floor makes editorials for magazines, campaigns for film or photo, for various brands, and alternates this with exhibitions and events. Whether it is a small shoot or a large-scale production, she directs the creative process and team with flair.

“I believe in authentic storytelling and trying to innovate the way we tell stories – whether that's through photo, video, social, online or print.”

When we spoke to Floor, she was just finishing an editorial for a fashion magazine, in which she did the set styling. “With fashion productions, it’s always a fun challenge not to let the set dominate,” she says. “Together with the fashion stylist and photographer, I look for the right balance between environment and model.” This shoot had a minimalist concept. “We ended up using only about 10% of all the stuff we brought with us,” Floor laughs.

“We sometimes say on set: 'Options is my middle name.' You want to be able to choose, so that during the shoot you really feel free to create what you envision.”

Your favorite movie/book/song? Best album ever: Mariah Carey MTV Unlugged, I can listen to it until I'm sick of it

What snack do you always have in your house? White Chocolate Covered Strawberries from Muji (we always bring a supply from Paris when we are there)

Do you have a favorite architect ? I like a bit of drama in architecture, hard to choose between Tadao Ando, ​​Luis Barragán and Ricardo Boffil, but I think I'll go with Ando. I recently had the chance to visit Genius Loci and Museum San in South Korea and found it a magical experience again.

How to relax? Theme dinners with friends

Do you sleep together or separately? Do you use one big duvet or do you wrap yourself in your own duvet? One big duvet that we sleep under together, but since I always want to be completely wrapped in a blanket, this is actually not convenient haha. This literally makes for 'complicated' tuck-in rituals.

What's on your interior wishlist? New dining table to match my original vintage Pamplona chairs. And more drawings by my lover on the wall!

What's the craziest place you've ever slept? Craziest place: On a Monday morning sleeping in a bed in a moving camper from Lowlands festival to home, without realizing it. Suddenly I was home! The most beautiful place: In the middle of the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, under billions of stars with 2 camels. The noisiest place: In an open bamboo hut above a rice field with a trillion frogs in Indonesia.

What can you really not sleep without? Earplugs, I sleep so lightly and my boyfriend snores

What is your favorite color combination? And why? Light yellow vs. gray, I always liked this combination and used it a lot in shoots. Now I suddenly see it everywhere, in old buildings on the canals, but also in random sneaker designs or graphic expressions. It gives me a timeless feeling (probably I will think completely differently about that next year, but for now it's a YES) Also always nice: Pastel blue vs. burgundy And this one too: Baby pink vs. dark brown

What did you want to be when you were younger? A police officer, I thought it was cool and I wanted to help people. It turned out a bit differently.

Which item in your home says a lot about you? The pink shag rug: I can't seem to get rid of it! I've used it in dozens of photoshoots, from Doutzen for Hunkemöller to Christmas for de Bijenkorf. I've been looking for something else for a long time, but apparently I can't say goodbye to it. My head is done with it, but my heart still loves pink. I'm bad at saying goodbye.

How would you describe your interior style? My interior is really a mix of all kinds of styles mixed together. All together they are left-overs from shoots, timeless classics mixed with art and designs from friends and family heirlooms. Because I deal with so many different styles for my work and am always busy creating new interior sets or decors, in which new material combinations, colors and items can be seen, I prefer to have a different style in my house every week. I have always had a love-hate relationship with stuff. Or better said: having it. On the one hand I love to innovate, inspire and experiment with different styles, but I have also created an aversion to having too much of it. In the meantime I have made it my job and a nice big studio and storage where I keep treasures that I can use to create new worlds. This allows me to keep my house and therefore my head minimalistic and cool. I always like to have a tidy environment, I try to live up to that both at home and in my studio (not that I succeed, but the will is there!)

Can you tell us something about your favorite place in the house? Bathroom on the top floor. Despite the apartment in the middle of the busy Pijp in Amsterdam, I stand there in the beautiful daylight that shines through the large skylight on the plants. A real mini paradise, feels like a vacation every time.

What is a must-have on your bedside table? Wake-up light, which I then use as a sleep-in light. I am very good at getting in my head (worrying) and certainly when it gets dark, so secretly I fall asleep best with the light on. I feel like I am more in the here and now, instead of in my head. Sleeping is not necessarily one of my best qualities.

What is your biggest work-related dream? I've been able to do a lot of great things! But I would like to do production design for a major feature film at least once. It seems awesome to dive into a world and spend months on it. Then I would like something abstract and art heavy a la Wes Anderson, but not Wes Anderson ;)