Interiors
Kokon A home furnishing dream
Fotos © Kokon
Opening Times
Monday till Saturday 10.00-6.00
Address
Kokon Store Seefeld
Graf-Toerring-Straße 13
82229 Seefeld
.How to get there
Contact
Update: The store in Munich was closed in 2016. But you can still find decor inspirations in the new Kokon shop in Seefeld!
I can exactly remember the first time, years ago, when I stepped into the fantastic palace at Lenbachplatz, in which Helmut Ronstedt was presenting all the countless one-off pieces which he had collected in Asia. I was completely overwhelmed, not just by the incredible choice but also by the atmosphere. I always wondered if this was the reason behind the name of the shop „Kokon“ (for which the English translation is 'Cocoon'), as I always had a wonderful sense of being at home – unusual for a furnishing business of this size.
The founder invested his heartblood to implement his vision of bringing diverse furniture, home accessories and home textiles back to Europe from his travels in Asia. Helmut Ronstedt first travelled to the Orient as a teenager which was when his love-affair with the style began. However, despite the considerable draw of these countries, his desire to return home never left him. With his furnishing objects, he brought back a piece of his adored lifestyle to Munich and in this way founded the concept of Kokon.
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In 1971, his first small business, the "Mashallah", opened its doors in Schellingstraße in Schwabing. The range consisted mainly of home textiles and home accessories from the countries of south-eastern Asia. Then came the idea to import antique furniture, mainly from Java, which as a meeting place for Arabic, Indian, Chinese and European cultures at that time was a melting pot for antiquities from all over Asia.
This called for more space which the owner and founder, Helmut Ronstedt, found in 1992 in Schloss Seefeld at Ammersee. Since then there has been furniture exhibited for sale in the stables of the old Schloss, which at the time set off an enormous trend for colonial style furnishing in the industry. All the Munich prominence descended on the shop and bought everything they could get their hands on. Even more space had to be created to meet demand.
In 1998, when the new Kokon opened in the historic Bernheimer palace at Lenbachplatz in the centre of Munich, the trend continued. In the time-honoured halls that once housed Bernheimer, the former largest antique dealer in Germany who had presented his carpets and antiques here, was born that which these days we call a 'concept store': a giant, bright Eldorado for wonderful, select Asian furniture, fabrics, cushions, rugs, kelims, ceramics, porcelain and garden furniture.
There is even a cosy café as well as a grandiose florist and a literature department as well as hundreds of home accessories in stone, metal, mesh and wood...the vast choice just takes your breath away. Now that the colonial style trend is beginning to wane, the style is developing in a more modern direction, interpreting the credo "Nature and Design" in a new way. There is quite simply a lot to discover so make sure you aren't in a rush!
