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Danish House Tour: Karina's Countryside Creation

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Name: Karina's Parents--Marianne and Bent

Location: Holbaek (2 hours northwest of Copenhagen, on a fjord)

Size: 1000 sqft, 1 bedroom vacation home

Years lived in: 3 years worth of summers/holidays

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Karina is an up and coming architect in Copenhagen. As soon as she received her degree, Karina embarked on her dream of designing a vacation home for her parents. The dream got a big boost by by Karina's passion for architecture, a great real estate deal on a parcel of land in the town where Karina was born, and an incredible capacity for DIY construction on the part of her parents....

 
 

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Once the design was complete, Karina's parents set to work. Other than the concrete chimney and the foundation, Karina's parents built every inch of their home, from the structure to the tiles, the plumbing to the floors. While many Danes are wary of paying exorbitant contractor costs, they are more than willing to get their hands dirty. Bent is a policy wonk but has been building kayaks by hand for most of his life. Marianne is a social worker and very very hearty.

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Karina's goal as architect was to blur the lines between the indoors and outdoors. The flooring is the same throughout and in the summer when all the windows and sliding glass doors are open, it is an easy concept to adopt. The house is soothing and all year round, the 'light therapy' it provides is addictive. Karina loves to retreat there for self-restoration but also to follow the house as it adjusts to its inhabitants and visa-versa.

The home stands out in a small village of traditiional Danish homes. But by keeping the materials within the vernacular, Karina's radical design manages to blend into its context.

Initially, Karina had to defend her design decisions. Her parents had a different idea of what their home would look and feel like and had to learn to live in it as Karina intended. Their trust in their daughter quickly transformed into a real appreciation of Karina's vision!

Style: Modern architecture by Plusgaard arkitekter DK

Inspiration: A family project--collaboration, designed for the family to use

Favorite Element: The chimney works like an anchor for the house

Biggest Challenge: Making a house modern that fits into a traditional context

What Friends Say: They love it.

Biggest Embarrassment: The tiles in the bathroom are crooked.

Proudest DIY: The whole house is DIY.

Biggest Indulgence: The kitchen from Hansen Living

Best Advice:Do not compromise the best solution

Do you have an idea for a house tour? Let me know! jill@apartmenttherapy.com
For all House Tours, click here!

Tags

House Tours, DIY, Copenhagen, Hansen Kitchen, Summer Home, SummerHome, Wood Home

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Comments (18)

not my thang. the outside is lovely though.

posted by joebelt on March 12th 2008 at 7:33am
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Pure genius. I would take this over Jeanice Skvaril and Jason Fuchs home any day. ;-)

posted by spinsLPs on March 12th 2008 at 7:37am
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I love it- especially the hansen kitchen!

posted by a to the toy on March 12th 2008 at 7:50am
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Very organic.

The Hansen pieces are absolutely gorgeous. I love the Hansen furniture in a bathroom setting as well.

posted by art on March 12th 2008 at 8:04am
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i'd like to visit this place, it seems very serene and the design doesn't obstruct that feel.

posted by SD913 on March 12th 2008 at 8:37am
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Lovely place. I am particularly intrigued by the black pigmented linseed oil rub on the outside. Does anyone have any more information on this?

posted by roseTO on March 12th 2008 at 8:57am
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great place that i'd love to hang out in. how fab is that tv?!

posted by lala on March 12th 2008 at 9:20am
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Are they interested in a house swap? Brooklyn 1 BR for Holbaek 1 BR? :)

posted by Fjorder on March 12th 2008 at 9:39am
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house swap—as in temporary, vacation...

posted by Fjorder on March 12th 2008 at 9:39am
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love this place! especially the black exterior and the hansen pieces

posted by mschatelaine on March 12th 2008 at 9:57am
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Love it. Love love love. I especially like the panoramic windows that view the sea, the incredibly simple kitchen & dining table, and the outdoor sink.

posted by Molly Margarita on March 12th 2008 at 12:38pm
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Wonderful!
The only thing I would add would be some more textiles to warm it up a tad (i.e.: a rug and maybe some unobtrusive curtains to frame those marvelous windows) Of course, that just falls under the realm of preference.
Again, great job, Karina!

posted by martita on March 12th 2008 at 1:00pm
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I LOVE this house, especially all the light. I was married in Copenhagen and have a soft spot for it. Remarkable place and remarkably beautiful.

The people there are gorgeous too!

posted by rose on March 12th 2008 at 4:52pm
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i absolutely love this kind of one full open space...greattt retreat.... Cheers karina

posted by shaila on March 14th 2008 at 2:37am
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anyone recognize the fireplace/woodstove?
would like one here in ct.

posted by fontaine on March 14th 2008 at 7:36am
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Great house tour. I really feel like I got a 5 minute vacation to Scandinavia.

posted by SFGail on March 14th 2008 at 7:58am
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wow. amazingly beautiful and I can almost picture your parents living there so comfortably! I'm also a student of architecture, and have long planned on building a home for my parents when I'm capable to. your home is such a great inspiration, and a reminder of what awaits at the end of this long, long, omg so long road of being a student. thanks! :]

posted by jenniejenjen on April 5th 2008 at 8:21pm
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Wonderful, wonderful house! Well done. I particularly liked the furnishings; there's not a piece there that I wouldn't use myself.

Also liked the soot marks above the fireplace and the old 1980's TV, looks like it's just for using on sick-days :-)))

posted by AnastasiaBeaverhausen on May 15th 2009 at 3:22pm
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