A Scandinavian tastemaker's coolly harmonious Copenhagen apartment
Buying a previously uninhabited, new-build property is like being confronted with empty sheet music. The staves are there, but it is up to the composer to decide the key (major or minor?) the tempo (fast or slow?), the different moods and notation that dictate how a space might be used. But crucially to pick the notes – the objects and decoration that will make a place melodious, and not just a blank ream of horizontal and vertical lines.
This couldn’t have been truer than for former musician Josephine Akvama Hoffmeyer when it came to redesigning her new apartment in Copenhagen. Founder of interiors company File Under Pop, when she bought the three-bedroom property it was as good as a blank page: ‘It was completely new: new kitchen, new flooring, white, completely white all over the place,’ says Josephine. The flat is itself in the ‘new’ Vesterbro district of Carlsberg City which, once home to the private residence and factory of the famous brewer, is being rapidly regenerated, and includes Amazon amongst its new inhabitants.
Josephine moved into the apartment 18 months ago with her partner and son. ‘We used to be in a big 200 sqm flat in the heart of Copenhagen with ornamental features, but we wanted to live somewhere smaller,’ says Josephine. Owning a summer house close to Copenhagen, which they use at the weekends and even on weekdays, a smaller pied à terre indeed made sense. Whilst initially sceptical of the new neighbourhood, it was doing a project for a developer there which won her over, in particular the mix of ‘well thought-out, modern living’ with heritage buildings (the area's famous elephants are just around the corner).
The apartment building, designed by Dorte Mandrup, is ‘a twist between Southern European style and the simplicity of Scandinavian architecture,’ says Josephine. Having lived in Italy (and her partner in Madrid), this hybrid appealed, and, after small structural renovations which included adding a sliding door to the bedroom, the first major design decision was to change the cheap wood flooring to Sicilian stone tiles. With floor-to-ceiling windows and 31 square metres of terrace to contend with, the stone ‘creates a nice relationship with the outdoors,’ but has a soft grey-yellow colour and a ‘sandy’ texture which makes it appropriate for the indoors.
Being a south-facing flat in Copenhagen, light was another outdoor factor to contend with. As her ‘keynotes,’ Josephine selected File Under Pop paints ‘Under My Skin’ for the walls and ‘Stone and Bones’ for the ceiling. With pink and grey-yellow hues respectively, the colours are not stable, but ‘change around all day’ depending on the light. Their super-matte finish creates a ‘softer, more peaceful feel’ – whether its candles and artificial lighting in the minor-key months of winter, or relentless sunshine in the major-key months of summer.
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The next step was to create a sense of rhythm. ‘I like dwelling spaces, where you can just be’ says Josephine. In the living area a Flos Arco lamp perches over the two white sofas. ‘In such a small living space it really helps to frame it,’ she explains. In the hallway, she has placed a grid-like rug (her own design) and artfully curated paintings to adorn the wall: ‘I didn’t want it to just be a pathway from one place to another.' Grids and lines proliferate throughout the apartment, and Josephine doubles down on them, creating a dynamic feeling out of something innate to such a modern build. She even decided to fill in the ceiling grouting with stripes of paint, allowing the staves themselves to sing: ‘If you can’t hide something, you might as well bring it out,’ she says.
Josephine has accented walls in brighter colours – such as oranges, browns, green and blues, adding top notes to the underlying white colour. Such colour and pattern was also crucial in reflecting Josephine’s Ghanian heritage as well as her love of travel. Many of the artworks, fabrics and antiques were sourced during her trips to Africa as well as India. The overall effect of the flat is a balancing act between ‘minimalistic, simple Scandinavian design and [something] more vibrant and intense.’
Entered through a red door, the kitchen is perhaps the most melodious space in the apartment. Whilst they kept the fixtures the same, Josephine changed the tiles to her own hand-painted ones. Their simple black stripes look a little like a plain music score, but by using a different finish they create a subtle, almost jazzy discordance with the otherwise lacquered surfaces. ‘It’s these small dynamics which bring peace to a place,’ says Josephine. On the ceiling, are two more lampshades – moon and sunlike – which rhyme with the spherical-patterned ornamental plate, and the circular table. Rather than add cupboards, Josephine's collection of glassware and ceramics are displayed openly: ‘It’s not so much about showing them off. It’s about me being close to them.’
All in all, the apartment is an expression of Josephine’s personality, and that of her family. ‘We really feel at home…my son was really worried about the fact it wasn’t big: “how could that be cool?!” But his friends love to visit. I think you just sense us,’ she says. But like any musical composition, it is up to the individual, and not the owner, on how to interpret the notes before them: ‘It’s not too in your face. You can breathe, and be who you want to be.’
Line Klein1/14With its red door and well harmonised curation of objects, the entrance and kitchen to Josephine's flat offer a warm welcome: House of Finn Juhl chairs; Knoll Saarinen Tulip table; Vitra Akari lamp; Le Klint lamp in the window seat; lava stone cutting boards on the table and wall by File Under Pop and Helle Mardahl leopard lamp (bottom right).
Line Klein2/14Silver pendant light by Flos; handcrafted tap by TONI; glazed lava stone top, ‘Under My Skin’ wall paint and flooring by File Under Pop.
Line Klein3/14Various vintage and contemporary ceramics that Josephine has collected over the past 25 years, including Sferico glasses from Karakter Copenhagen by Joe Colombo.
Line Klein4/14Rather than change the kitchen over entirely, for a more subtle makeover Josephine added hand-painted chromatic File Under Pop tiles. Glazed lava stone top and cutting boards and vase also by File Under Pop.
Line Klein5/14Josephine wanted the corridor to be a space of dwelling, and not only transition. Featuring Arco Flos lamp; B&O speaker on the floor; Helle Mardahl glass pendant; File Under Pop check runner; artworks by Mathias Malling Mortensen, Cathrine Raben Davidsen and Inger Odgaard among others.
Line Klein6/14Detail of artworks in Josephine's corridor, featuring artwork by Kristine Engelbrecht (top right) and vintage handcrafted religious Indian artwork (bottom right).
Line Klein7/14The main living area, featuring De Padova Eres sofas; Flos Arco lamp; collage by Karl Monies; wall sculpture by Inger Odgaard; File Under Pop vase in the window; vintage Ghanian fabric throw on the sofa; handwoven and hand painted curtains by File Under Pop in collaboration with &Drape.
Line Klein8/14The south-facing apartment uses the File Under Pop shade ‘Under My Skin,’ with a subtle rosy tone which shifts and stays warm whatever the light source.
Line Klein9/14De Padova Eres sofa; to the right a photographic artwork by Naomi Akvama; to the left artwork-lamp by Lisa Mcdonald; vintage Ghanian fabric throw on the sofa; Le Klint lamp; File Under Pop prototype table with glazed lava stone top; wall paint is ‘Everybody Loves Nuts’ also by File Under Pop.
Line Klein10/14The main bedroom, featuring hand woven and painted curtains by File Under Pop in collaboration with &Drape; lamp by Astep; Dux bed and vintage chair.
Line Klein11/14In Josephine's son's bedroom: paint ‘Electric Indigo’ by File Under Pop; Dux bed; vase by File Under Pop designed by Elisa Ossino Studio and pillows with Kvadrat fabric designed by Raf Simons.
Line Klein12/14Agape toilet; mirror by Københavns Møbelsnedkeri; Tekla towel; handcrafted tap by TONI; artwork by Cathrine Raben Davidsen; flooring and 'Old Yellow Bloke' wall paint by File Under Pop.
Line Klein13/14The nearby Von Bartha Gallery located in the old lighthouse of the former Carlsberg Brewery.
Line Klein14/14Elephant Gate at the former Carlsberg Brewery. ‘The elephant gate represents the four surviving children of the Danish brewer Carl Christian Hillman Jacobsen, who was also known as an art collector and philanthropist,’ says Josephine.
