A Magnificent Danish Home With a Touch of Hygge!

I am not sure when we last saw the sun here in Southern Sweden, so we're busy making our own light in a way the Scandinavian's know best: with candles. A few bridges away on the Danish mainland, Helle Rye is doing the same in her magnificent apartment in Aarhus, Jutland. Dating back to 1899, the palatial property features parquet flooring, beautiful period touches and large, awe-inspiring rooms which lead through to one another via double doors. Light and airy the space may be, but Helle has also create a wonderfully cosy home for herself and husband Bo. Look closely and you'll spot sofas laden with cushions and blankets, cosy daybeds and sheepskin throws draped over the back of chairs. Oh, and candles, plenty of candles! Welcome to Helle's hyggelige world! 

I am so curious about the black curtains - my guess is that they are in place to dampen the sound, but they also add a certain cosiness (and drama!) to the space too. UPDATE: Helle tells me that she's put the curtains up to hide some really ugly paintings (it's a rental and they're not allowed to do anything about them!).

Does this scene also remind you a little of a sun lounger under a palm tree? Such a great idea to soak up the winter sun (when it appears!). 

Oooooh wow!  Isn't this lovely?!

There's something incredibly regal about Helle's home - and yet it feels cosy and personal too.

Is there anything in particular that stood out to you?

See more of Helle's magnificent home on her instagram A Nordic Moment (news alert: she's started decorating her home for Christmas and it looks magical!).

There's also a load of other danish homes in the archives, I'm loving this Copenhagen family home,  an enchanting apartment in shades of sea-green and an art-filled apartment in Aarhus.

Hav en dejlige dag! - I hope someone, somewhere is enjoying a little sunshine, and if you are - please send a few rays this way!

Niki

Photography: Helle Rye

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A Dreamy Copenhagen Home Full of Books, Art and Danish Design

Friday totally calls for something fabulous. And when I discovered the Danish home of architectural technology student Freja Bak Petersen I knew I'd found just the place! Freja's Copenhagen apartment is a total dream! Just the glimpse of the books in her dining room in yesterday's Danish home round-up had me searching instagram for more, and her feed was awash with room after room filled with mid-century Danish design pieces, colourful art, stacks of books and subtle details that make the space truly unique and personal. Buckle up friends, you're in a for a real ride! 

Freja found the Børge Mogensen dining table on Scandinavian auction site Lauritz.

I could climb into that classic Kludestolen chair by Bernt Petersen and read all weekend, how about you?!  I also love floating bookshelves it helps to maintain a lovely light and airy feel (unfortunately, we don't have many walls in our home that could support this - do you?). 

Freja built the shelves herself (you can see a slide show of the process, including before pictures, here). So clever!

Instead of ripping it out, Freja kept the original 1920s kitchen and updated the cabinets with a lick of Retro paint by Beckers. The kitchen walls have been painted in Salt, also by Beckers. 

A plaster wall in the living room breaks up the white and adds a load of texture to the sitting room. 

It's the subtle touches in Freja's home, like the colour of the floor, that makes it so personal. "I painted the floors in a very light blue with a touch of grey. I love that they are light blue!" Freja told me. 

The velvet 'Floyd sofa' in matt beige is from the Sofa Company. 

What a perfect way to create room for a home office in a small space without having to stare at your work / study notes from bed! So inspiring! Freja made the desk herself using IKEA legs and a lacquered MDF board. The lamp is from Møller & Rothe.  

Oh, how I loved this home tour. I hope you also felt inspired!

Did anything stand out to you in particular?

I love the light blue floor (Freja has promised to come back with the exact colour code over the weekend. I'll stop by and update the post as soon as I receive it.

In the meantime, you can see plenty more pictures of Freja's home over on instagram here.

It seems the Danish design love fest has become a two-day affair! If you missed yesterday's post, I strongly recommend you pour yourself a coffee and hop over there now - so many dreamy spaces!

Other dreamy danish homes to love over the weekend include a rare peek behind the facade of Copenhagen's colourful Nyhavn, the cool home of a Danish architect and hygge and pops of colour in Hanna Järver's creative home.

Have a fabulous couple of days, friends!

Niki

If you're an interior designer or architect make sure you stop by over the weekend as I'll be announcing a very exciting contest!

Photography: Freja Bak Petersen, shared with kind permission.

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15 Fabulous Danish Spaces That Will Brighten Up Your Day

Nothing puts a smile on your face quite like a home with a touch of colour (OK puppies, kittens etc might also do the trick - but I'm talking strictly Scandinavian interiors here!). And in my mind, no one does colour quite like the Danes. Our Nordic friends seem to have a knack of finding shades that are both bold and earthy in equal measure. Think soft pink, deep blue and mid greens applied to walls, pieces of furniture or a subtle hint in a painting or book jacket. Either way, combined with whitewashed walls and floors as well as art and books, and the overall look is fresh, vibrant, relaxed and effortlessly stylish. Another Studio, a Danish creative content and product development studio run by Julie Wittrup Pladsbjerg (who's home I recently featured here) and Mikkel Dahlstrøm, has an innate ability to seek out some of Denmark's finest homes for interior magazines. Here are 15 relaxed spaces from their portfolio - that really put a smile on my face, I hope they brighten up your day too! 

1 & 2. The colourful home of Sofie S. Boisen featured in ALT Interiør.

3. The pretty studio of artist Little Detroit featured in BoligLiv

4. Why have a bare wall when you can fill it with art like Karen Emilie Skou.

5. Princess and the pea (AKA one of the world's cutest pups) in the home of Mai-Britt 

6. Books piled high on the floor (featured in ALT Interiør)

7. Colourful book jackets make a wonderful feature in the home of Freja Bak Petersen.

8. Pretty in pink in the Aarhus home of Danish fashion blogger Maria Kaas featured in Femina DK.

 9. There's so much to love about Mia's dining room starting with the dark blue wall and touches of pink and gold1 

10. Sometimes all it takes is some colourful cushions and a deep blue pouf and the room is made, as seen in the home of @toves_room and featured in BoligLiv.  

11. When you have windows like these in Mia's home, it would be rude not to sit there and enjoy the view. With a coffee. For hours. 

12. A little table, a floor lamp, art and a vase in Kristiane's home (featured in ALT Interiør). Because no space needs to be dead space, not even if it's tucked behind a door in the corner of the room! 

13. How's this spot for a quiet afternoon siesta in Hanne's dining room

14. Feeling the blue touches in Karoline's sitting room (featured in BoligLiv)

15. Balancing colour to perfection: a bright blue floor which matches a fabulous lamp! I'm so curious to see the rest of Tova's danish home, how about you? 

Are you also feeling full of inspiration? 

Seriously, this is just the tip of the iceberg from all the fabulous spaces Julie and Mikkel have styled and photographed. Hop on over to the Another Studio instagram feed for countless more spaces! 

If you're feeling the Danish style, you might also like to come and join me in the danish home archive too - it's one of my absolute favourites (warning - you can get lost in there for hours!). If this post pops up first, just scroll on past. 

In the words of the Danes - ha en dejlige dag! 

Niki

Credits: Styling and photography by Another Studio, pictures shared with kind permission. 

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Peek Inside A Family Home In The Danish Fishing Village off Dragør

Our very first sail of the year is always to Dragør, a charming fishing village on Denmark's east coast, not far from Copenhagen. The harbour, is lined with pretty golden cottages and seafood restaurants serving fish fresh off the boat and the happy sound of children crabbing echos across the water. I have often wondered what lies behind the facade of the ochre houses and today I stumbled across the home of Mille Emilie (AKA SANOMA SEVEN), Lasse and three-and-a-half year-old Frida who reside in the village. Imagine my excitement! Their house was built in 1923 and used to be made up of two properties. Today, the family of three (soon to be four - they are expecting a little girl in December) occupy the ground floor while they continue to renovate the entire house. Mille and Lasse are carrying out as much of the renovation as possible themselves while ensuring everything they do reflects the style of the house down to the last detail. Here's a sneak peek at some of the lovely rooms they've completed so far!

Although not the facade of Mille and Lasse's actual house, I couldn't resist sharing this picture of a cobbled road in Dragør which I snapped on a recent trip to the little village they live in.  

The prints in the sitting room have been picked up at Desenio, Fabrek and Hein Studio*. The sofa is from Bolia. 

"We were keen to renovate the house so that it matches the style of the period in which it was built - using good materials and attention to detail." 

A Panthella lamp* designed by Verner Panton adds a mid-century touch to the living room. 

I've seen these iconic Ljungby vases many times in the past, but never as a big a group like this - love this idea! 

The kitchen is still a work in progress - but we're already seeing some fine details - including an island crafted by Oak Studio and a faucet from Quooker Denmark (it looks a little like the brass one I have in my summer cottage kitchen - I absolutely love this slightly aged look!). 

"We are doing a lot of the renovation ourselves. We have been tiling the kitchen, renovating the bathroom - what a job with all those tiles! And we're trying to put our own personal stamp into everything we do."  

In the bathroom, the pair have opted for a sink cabinet from IKEA, traditional brass faucet and shower from AQUADOMO and opal wall lights from Nuura. 

Total side note, but this reminds me - I featured a loo on my instagram squares the other day for the first time and it's gone completely bananas - over 17000 likes so far and growing rapidly. Loo round-up to follow soon perhaps! Meanwhile, the one in this bathroom is pretty smart, don't you think? 

The trick to creating a bed which makes you want to dive under the covers and stay? Layering! Mille and Lasse have dressed their bed with a graphic throw from Danish brand Semibasic and Dromedary bedding from Swedish brand Midnatt. I also spy the iconic Flos Parentesi light* in the corner. 

I absolutely love this children's room. A lot of the items are from Ferm Living including the Katie Scott Animals wallpaper*, kilim 'borders' rug* and apple braided storage basket*. 

What's next?  One day Mille and Lasse hope to divide the house into two once again so that Mille's parents can live next door. "My Father was very sick last year and is still recovering. It would be great to have him close by" explained Mille.  In the meantime, Mille and Lasse will continue to renovate the house in preparation for their new arrival in December.

You can keep up to date with their latest renovation projects on Mille's blog SANOMA SEVEN and instagram @mille_emilie.

I can't wait to see what they do next, how about you?

Is there anything that stood out to you in particular about their home?

There's a load more Danish style to feel inspired by this weekend in the Danish Home and Danish Apartment archives. So many goodies in there!

Right. All that's left to do now is sit back and enjoy the fact that it's Friday! Woohoo! I have to say, I never really recovered from my long day to Stockholm on Monday (do you find things like that have a knock on effect?). So my family and I have agreed to have a VERY lazy morning tomorrow: hang out in our PJ's, sip coffee, eat croissants - and generally take it easy. Oh and there's also the small question of a hamster cage that needs cleaning (did I mention we caved under pressure and 'Dexter' joined the Brantmark team last weekend?! He's very sweet). Let me tell you now, cleaning his cage is definitely not my job but I know it'll end up being me! Do you have any experience from this kind of thing?

I hope you've got a lovely weekend lined up too - and most importantly, that you get a chance to chill!

See you Monday!

Niki

Photography: all photos by Mille Emilie except the second picture, which I took with my phone on a recent sailing trip to Dragør. 

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