For my latest home-tour post I’m taking you back to a Danish property which I’ve featured before and which has recently undergone a bit of a makeover. Located north of Copenhagen, it’s named the PH House in honour of renowned designer and architect Poul Henningsen, who once used it as his summerhouse, and was renovated by Norm Architects following a devastating 2014 fire. They’ve now been back to freshen it up, and the updated interiors are a wonderful example of warm minimalism in action.
Norm Architects’ original brief was to restore as much of the house’s period features as possible while reconfiguring it to suit modern living. They started by extending the first floor to incorporate additional bedrooms and bathrooms, before opening up the ground floor and adding a floating solid-oak staircase topped by large skylights. They then decorated the interiors with a mix of crisp white, grey and black, offset by teak, amber-glass and brass accents.
The latest incarnation retains the same layout and airy feel, as well as the restored parquet floor and wall panels. But the monochrome scheme has made way for a warmer palette of browns, creams and beiges, with honeyed oak and pale stone alongside textured rattan and linen elements.
The transformation is most evident in the kitchen, where the smoked-oak cabinets and grey marble counters have been replaced by lighter-hued materials. I love the subtle bevelling on the fronts, which reflects the grid-like pattern of the panelling and traditional windows, and the way the bank of full-height cupboards has been broken up with an open section that provides additional display and worktop space. Sleek cylindrical downlighters and a minimalist bar pendant finish things off perfectly.
The clean lines and warm materials of the kitchen are echoed in the living area beyond, where bespoke oak cabinetry has been built to house books, ceramics and other items. A grey wool-covered sofa and loop-pile rug add texture and cosiness, while gently crumpled linen curtains, stoneware bowls and slightly wild-looking plants break up the angular shapes.
Much of the furniture in the house, including the marble-topped ‘N-CT01’ coffee table, the ‘N-DT01’ dining table and the ‘N-DC01’ dining chairs, come from Karimoku Case Study – Norm Architects’ ongoing collaboration with Japanese furniture manufacturer Karimoku. All encompass Japanese and Scandinavian design influences, and their simple yet elegant forms work brilliantly alongside classic pieces such as a bent-wood Thonet armchair, created by Gebrüder Thonet back in 1900 and now a true design icon.
As for the main bathroom, it’s been brightened up with a pale stone sink, complete with plenty of storage beneath. It makes the nook beneath the sloping ceiling look much more spacious, and it catches light and shadow perfectly. The brass tap is the same as before but has acquired a beautiful patina over time, adding a lovely touch of character to the otherwise sleek space.
All in all, it’s a contemporary, timeless and very inviting scheme, and further proof – if you need it – that minimalist interiors needn’t be cold or soulless. That said, there was something about the striking contrasts of the house’s previous decor that really appealed to me, and I can’t quite decide which incarnation I like best! How about you? Which is your favourite?
All photography by Norm Architects
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