Today I have another highlight from this year’s 3 Days of Design – the new showroom of New Works, which has long been one of my favourite Danish brands and whose pieces appear in numerous places around my own home.
The just-opened space occupies the second floor of Bernstorff Palæ, overlooking the famous Marmorkirken (‘Marble Church’) in the heart of Copenhagen’s Frederiksstaden district. It’s three times the size of New Works’ former base just around the corner, but it still retains the same DNA – and the brand’s hallmark mix of calm minimalism, sculptural forms and honest materiality.
Bernstorff Palæ is a building with quite a history. Built in 1752 for German-Danish statesman Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, it was designed in the Rococo style by Johann Gottfried Rosenberg and subsequently inhabited by a raft of royalty and nobility, including Prince Frederik and Princess Caroline, George I of Greece and Prince Carl (later Haakon VII of Norway). Yet despite this grand past, New Works’ co-founder and creative director Knut Bendik Humlevik and Swedish stylist and interior designer Lotta Agaton, who have collaborated for many years, have managed to imbue the entire space with an intimate and very homely feel.
Key to this is a clever use of neutral colours, with Knut and Lotta choosing to work with the light and the journey of the sun around the building rather than fight against them. There are also lots of beautiful little details such as books, sculptures and curios, curated to capture the feel of a real, personalised home – and importantly, many of these were transferred across from the previous showroom, the idea being that we collect items over time and take them with us when we move.
The showroom consists of four main spaces set beneath the building’s pavilion roofs. The first catches the bright morning sun and has been turned into a lounge, with gentle greys, beiges and off-whites creating a serene, airy and uplifting mood. At the moment it’s furnished with New Works’ popular ‘Covent’ sofas in a tactile Romo Linara fabric and architectural ‘Atlas’ coffee tables in pale Travertine, but there are some new pieces on display too – most notably the lantern-like ‘Kite’ light by Panter & Tourron, arranged in a striking chandelier-like cluster over the centre of the room. It’s all finished off perfectly by tactile sand and alabaster sculptures by Swedish artist Kajsa Melchior.
The second pavilion has been dubbed ‘the library’ and is decorated in more muted tones, giving it a hushed atmosphere that’s conducive to winding down in the afternoon and evening. Here, ‘Shore’ sofas and lounge chairs in greys and taupes are grouped around walnut ‘Mass’ coffee tables, with modular black shelving lining the walls. I particularly like the way the panelling and woodwork have been picked out in a subdued brown to highlight the gorgeous period features. This room is also a wonderful example of how to zone a large space, with the two sitting areas each defined by large rugs and low-hanging ‘Nebra’ pendant lights, whose pleated shades can be inverted using an interactive built-in mechanism.
At the far end of the showroom, the third pavilion acts as a gallery and event space, with windows on two sides and views over Marmorkirken. It’s currently being used to show more new launches: Stockholm-based British designer John Astbury’s curvaceous ‘Coda’ modular sofa, which snakes its way elegantly across the floor, and a fully upholstered and very comfortable version of the existing ‘Bukowski’ chair, first created by Steven Bukowski in 2022. My personal favourite, though, is the ‘Tenon’ lounge chair by Spanish designer Omayra Maymó, which celebrates the beauty of opposites by offsetting a sturdy oak frame with softly shaped cushions.
Opposite the gallery is the fourth of the pavilion rooms, now the office of Knut and fellow New Works founder Nikolaj Meier. I’m always fascinated by how people decorate and furnish their workspaces and this one is stunning, with light streaming in through the arched windows and versatile zones for concentrating, hosting informal meetings and reading.
Connecting the various pavilions is a long corridor flanked by more offices and meeting rooms. I enjoyed getting a peek at the in-house design team’s studio, with its shelves of prototypes, material samples and sourcebooks. I also liked the look of the smaller breakout spaces, which are incredibly cosy thanks to their upholstered chairs, decorative items and layered lighting.
Last but not least, the showroom has access to a garden at the rear of the building, with carp-filled ponds bisected by stepping stones and terraces dotted with New Works’ outdoor ‘May’ furniture series. It’s a calm green oasis in the middle of the city, and a great counterpoint to the indoor spaces.
All in all, New Works’ new home is a fitting showcase for the brand’s beautiful collection, and a wonderful source of soft minimalist design inspiration. I’m already looking forward to revisiting during next year’s 3 Days of Design!
See New Works’ full collection here.
Second image by Brian Bouchard, courtesy of New Works; all other photography by Abi Dare
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