25 Beautiful Homes – July 2019

25bh |

for stockistsgo to where to buy

danish apartment

A

lthoughtheycould

seethata lotof

renovationwork

wasrequired,Sofia

HalprinandherpartnerKim

Ardalwereundaunted.The

fourth-floorapartmentstill

hadallitsoriginal19th-century

featuresandit wasintheideal

locationfortheirthreeyoung

children,Jacob,PixiandOlga,

togrowup.‘Welivedina larger

propertynearbybutPixiwas

veryillasa babyandfora long

whileouroldhomewaslikea

hospital,’saysSofia.‘Weneeded

tochangetheenergyinour

lives,soin 2016 wedecided

tomove.Itwasa karmathing.’

Theirnewtop-floor

apartmentis inthequaint

ØsterbroLatinQuarterof

Copenhagen,whichhascobbled

streets,restaurantsandboutique

shops.‘Wemadeanofferas

soon as we saw it,’ says Sofia.

‘I wasastoundedbytheamount

oflightinthesouth-facing

receptionrooms.Evenon

cloudydaysyougetanamazing

feelingofspaceandjoiedevivre.’

However,a totaloverhaul

wasneededbeforethefamily

couldmovein.Manyofthe

originalfloorboardswereloose

orrotten,electricalwiringwas

hangingfromtheceilingand

woodchipcoveredthewalls.

Theworktooka yearto

completeandincludedlaying

newfloorsthroughoutthe

wholeapartment,replacing

alloftheelectricalwiring,

andaddinga newbathroomto

theexistingone.Theoriginal

kitchenwasatthebackbutSofia

andKimmovedit tothecentre

oftheapartment,nexttowhat

isnowthediningroom.

‘Wedidthissowe’renear

to where our children play, and

alsotomakethemostofthe

wonderfullight,’saysSofia.

Attentiontodetailwaskey,

andfurtherjobsincluded

replacingthewindowsillsand

skirtingboards.Theseallhad

tobemadetoorder,because

nothingwasa standardsize.

Theonlythingsthecouple

retainedwerethebeautifulold

radiatorsandthecrookeddoors.

‘Ilovetoseethemanylayersof

paintthathavebeenaddedover

thedecades,’saysSofia.‘I don’t

mindif thedoorsdon’tshut

perfectly– I preferauthenticity

topracticality.’Theyalsopaida

lotofattentiontothedurability

ofeverythingtheyrenovated.

‘Wedon’townanythingthat

thechildrenarenotallowedto

playwith,’saysSofia.‘Allofour

thingsaresupposedtobeused.’

Workinginfashionand

writingforlifestylemagazines

has honed Sofia’s sense of what

decorshelikesanddislikes.‘My

styleis unpretentious– I always

gofortheless-formaloptions,’

shesays.‘I guessmystyleis

quitesimplebutI trytocreate

a spacethatishyg gelig(cos y).’

Sofiapaintedthemajority

oftheapartmentbrightwhite

becauseit maximisesthelight

duringthedarkDanishwinters,

andslippedinpopsoflightblue

throughoutforinterest.‘Light,

brightcoloursaremyfavourite

• theymakemefeelhappy
  andatease,’shesays.
  ‘Whenit comestoour
  decor,I canspendyears
  searchingfortheperfectitem,’
  saysSofia.‘I likethefactthat
  thingsevolveovertimeand
  ourhomegrowswithus.To
  me,a homeis a placewhere
  everyonewholivesthere,
  andtheirguests,immediately
  feel comfortable.’

favourite room ‘I love

thekitchen– everythingfromthe

palebluecolourschemetothe

calming,welcomingatmosphere

is completely divine’

MAsterBeDrOOM

Walllightsaretheperfect

solutionforleavingbedside

surfacesclutter-free.

LeKlintwalllight,£478.80,

Clippings,is similar.trystriped

cottonquiltedthrow,£55,

Natural bed Company

BAtHrOOM

Whitetongue-and-groove-

styleporcelainpanelling

isa classicandsuitsthe

feeloftheapartment.

LargeSurreybasinonframe,

£795,Chadder&Co,is a

match.edoturquoiseArtDeco

tiles, £231sq m, File under Pop

68 | 25bhjuLy 2019