bedMATE du mois #14 : Paulien Riemis

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 cushion serves as a headboard, but also as a cuddle buddy, a friend who provides support.

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

This month, all-round creative Nicole Huisman visited the Belgian Paulien Riemis (31), who not only provides her followers with the necessary (style) inspiration every day, but also provides second-hand wedding dresses.

At a young age she won a modeling competition, which immediately resulted in a great job. She decided to start blogging, being one of the first at that time and already at the age of twelve (!) she was sharing outfits, inspiration and backstage stories of modeling life online. 'It was a spontaneous but logical new hobby for me. I could play for hours with layouts, loved taking and editing my own photos and suddenly met a lot of new people online. After my studies (language and literature) I combined my modeling and blogging with a job as a social media manager and copywriter at an Antwerp fashion company. Then it was finally time to fully choose myself and pursue my brand full time.' Paulien has now grown into one of the largest Belgian influencers who still takes her followers into her life every day.

'For two years now I have had an extra passion: I started Something Something, a pre-loved wedding dress platform. You can visit my showroom to buy or sell second-hand wedding dresses. The unique contribution to a very special day, the sustainable aspect, the fashion touch... For me it has everything to make me happy!'

Paulien lives in her favorite city of Antwerp with her fiancé Daan and cat Pjotr. 'We stumbled upon our house six years ago by chance and it was love at first sight. With the ground floor furnished as a Something Something showroom for me and a music studio for Daan and our living spaces on the first and second floors, our house is the perfect combination of work and private life for us. We love being able to both work from home and then have lunch together, for example.'

The interior is a collection of everything over the years. They didn't live together before moving into their dream home, so they merged their furniture and introduced new pieces every now and then. 'We love second-hand finds; so we found a great travertine dining table for a small price and my father-in-law made me a desk with an old piece of marble that I found online. I like to relax in my interior (probably because I also work from home), while Daan really likes bright colors. Our interior is therefore a nice mix of soft basic elements with bright eye-catchers.'

Even though she likes peace, color is important to Paulien. 'I really use color to express my mood. For example, I switch my colored vases per season to instantly give a different vibe to my interior! On a daily level, I wear a different color almost every day, depending on my mood and my vibe that day. So color is literally expression for me.' With spring in full swing: 'spring has sprung and I really want to wear cheerful citrus colors with beige. Fresh, light and sunny. From the first spring sun onwards I always bring out a lot more color!'

Paulien is currently working on a completely new showroom for Something Something. 'My current space had become too small for all the dresses, so it was time for something bigger. It is a wonderful place with herringbone parquet, meter-high ceilings and beautiful evening light that pours in - truly a dream. The space itself will definitely take my showroom and therefore also brand to the next level, which I am really looking forward to. I'm ready to make even more brides happy with a pre-loved dream dress!'