Basking in the warm sunlight of a charming village in Northern Germany, Anna Cor - a trained lawyer turned interior photographer - divides her time between vibrant Berlin and the serene countryside near Lübeck. Drawn by her husband’s new job in this small town, they decided to search for a cozy cottage to renovate - and ended up discovering an old schoolhouse. Over the past few years, Anna has lovingly renovated this gem of a house, carefully blending its vintage charm with eclectic, modern touches. During an early fall visit, she shared the unique challenges of raising teenagers - who have plenty of opinions about where they want to live and the balance between city and country life.
For those who don't know you, would you like to introduce yourself?
I am Anna - a photographer and stylist. My work is built around interior. I am in my early forties, married and mom to three kids.
Tell us a bit about the ups and downs your family has experienced moving to the countryside?
(The contrasts in city life vs. country life, living in an apartment vs. house etc.) Well, for us it really rather was a process instead of a prompt and final decision to leave the city. My husband found a job he really wanted to take in the north of Germany. We agreed he should try and I would stay in Berlin with the kids. When he decided to stay there we wanted to renovate an old house again as we had previously done already. We wanted to create a second home that we could come to whenever it would be possible to see my husband. That worked out fine. We found the old schoolhouse and started the renovation. After a while we thought, we could try to move the kids there too, but were already aware that this might not be a good solution for all of our kids as our boys had been already 17 and 15 years old. So we just went for it and spent a year together there and then I just recently moved back to Berlin with the kids. It was too hard for the boys - the contrast was too harsh and we had already told ourselves beforehand that the kids come first. We experienced a lot in this time: we were welcomed with open arms in our village - and that is not self-evident. The people in our village are really open minded and liberal and love to have parties and celebrations. We have grown really fond of the community. For me also being able to garden every day and just take the dog for a walk in the woods and fields that are around the village is like meditation and I do miss it so much. I have always been a country girl that somehow got stuck in Berlin for almost 25 yrs now. For our kids it was hard to adjust. It was the easiest for our little girl (even though she struggled too) and our younger son also was fine after he had changed schools there twice (so that was a bit of a struggle too). But our eldest - I have to say - I have never seen him so sad. It broke husbands and my heart to see him like this.
You moved into an old school in the countryside - tell us about the renovation process and turning this into a home?
Yes - its an old schoolhouse and a small stable that were connected in the 70s. We started to renovate in two rooms that were really run down. One of them is the living room the beautiful new seating area was installed in now. We really renovated all in here - walls, floors, electricity, heating, stucco… We also pretty soon renovated the entrance hall as it was quite disgusting with very old carpet tiles and one of the bathrooms in which everything was blue, even the toilet. Other rooms we left the way they were as we are saving up to give them a proper renovation in some years. Some other rooms just got new paint. We’re taking it slow as the house is now very livable for us and everything takes a lot of time and money…. Also: our kids are still all at home and we want to enjoy them as long as this will last. Our eldest is 18 years old now and we really have to cherish every moment together. Life will change soon.
Following this we ask you to finish the following sentences:
The atmosphere and decor I wanted to create in our home…
It is supposed to be calm and a bit eclectic. It also added antiques as I love it to be a bit old fashioned. It’s a house where you can have tea time - I hope you know what I mean!
Whenever I need inspiration…
I have to stop consuming social media. It makes me confused in what I really love for myself as I really admire what other creatives do!
Photography to me is…
Something I will enjoy until the end of my life.
My outlet is…
Working with my hands no matter if it’s gardening, pottery or painting the facade.
It makes me proud to…
Well, to be honest I am never really proud of anything. It is not how I was brought up, haha. No, honestly. I am so very content with my life in general. To live in peace with myself and the ones around me makes a day a good day.
If I wasn’t doing what I’m doing today, I would…
Work as a lawyer. I am a fully trained lawyer and love this work a lot too!
What I value most in my home, besides my family of course, is…
To have a place where I can retreat to and where I can calm down and feel safe.
The MELLIZO sofa speaks to my decor by…
Providing the best mix between cosy and classic. The Boucle fabric is very lush and soft and I love it in combination with a rather formal design of the sofas shape.
If money or logistics weren’t factors I would live in…
I find it so rewarding to…do a lot of renovations myself. Really good to see the process one has made in a day.
The last text I sent said…
It will work out tomorrow!
On my wish list is…
So much and then I never buy it!
My best clothing/furniture/art purchase ever is…
ceramics by Richard Batterham.
Your five favorite places/activities in Berlin or Lübeck
1. In Berlin: Bode Museum for its architecture and wall colors / a place where I frequently go.
2. In Berlin: Staatsoper Berlin. I often go there. You can often get tickets at the evening in the box office.
3. In Berlin: C/O Berlin for the love of photography
4. In Lübeck: Füchtingshof. I think it is the most beautiful courtyard I have come across in Lübeck.
5.In Lübeck: "Kaffeehaus im Schulgarten" near lovely Wakenitzufer