Takea quick glance at Lisbeth
Kamstrup’s home in a small town
on the outskirts of Copenhagen
and you’d be forgiven for thinking
it was the epitome of Scandi cool. Surrounded by lakes
and woodland, with all those blonde pine floorboards,
the monochrome accents, those greys tinged with
Danish blue... But in fact Lisbeth’s inspiration for
the design comes not from the aesthetic of her
homeland, but from somewhere much further away- yes, you guessed it (or perhaps you didn’t): Japan.
Citing the starting point for this pared-back look
as the Far East is not as far-fetched as you might
imagine – as Lisbeth says, the styles of the Orient
and her own country have many similarities. ‘In the
Japanese design tradition they have a great penchant
for good craftsmanship, simplicity and viability in
the homes they create, very much like us here in the
Nordic region,’ she says. It’s a cultural connection she
first noticed while on an extensive trip around Japan
in 2008 with her husband Jesper, before her three
children were born. ‘Some of the ideas I brought
back with me included how good they are at keeping
the inside a mystery while looking at the building
from outside – there aren’t so many clues as to how
the interior will be laid out if you’re standing on the
street.’ It explains why her pine-clad house looks like
a black box, with no indication of the layout behind
the doors. ‘We did not really go to Japan with the
purpose of being architecturally inspired, but I was
so taken by the Japanese ability to both focus on
detail and the whole that when we found the empty
land here, I just knew I would design a house for us
that was inspired by our trip.’
A designer who has worked with Vipp and Novo
Nordisk, and the owner of Lillerød, a basket-making
company, Lisbeth designed the four-bedroom,
two-storey home from scratch, having the pieces
built off-site and assembled, pre-fab style, on the
plot. Ready to move into it in 2010 – ‘I wouldn’t say
it was finished then, as we still add to it all the time,’
Lisbeth smiles – it’s now also home to the couple’s
three children, Ingrid, nine, Samuel, seven, and
Astrid, five. Surrounded by a lush green garden, an
exterior staircase leads to the front door, behind which
lies the large open-plan kitchen and living room. An
inner cube, lined by glass panels, the lower of which
are frosted, takes up one corner, and forms Ingrid’s
bedroom, a recent addition designed to give all the
children their own rooms. ‘Things are constantly
evolving as our needs change,’ says Lisbeth. ‘We really
just wanted to create some frames around our life,
where the food, conversation and family are the
main focus.’ The plans for the house were simple- large spaces to gather in, serene nooks for quiet
contemplation, a palette that encourages serenity.
‘The subtle colours are definitely an inspiration from
Japan as well – it’s all about feeling nature close to
you in both shades and materials,’ says Lisbeth. She
is particularly fond of the bath, positioned under
a skylight. ‘I can lie in it and look up at the sky.’
That sense of simplicity seeps into all of Lisbeth’s
furniture choices, too, where pieces from Hay, lamps
from Le Klint and tiles from Villeroy & Boch make
for an understated collection of statement pieces. She
effortlessly mixes Ikea with Arne Jacobsen, including
anything in her home that fits with her vision. ‘I’m
constantly considering whether the things around us
add value to our lives, because if they don’t then they
shouldn’t be there,’ says Lisbeth. ‘I’m looking for
things that are durable and that I’ll want to keep for
a long time. And if they are made with thought and
love, then they make sense to me. I’m really inspired
by many of the old furniture classics, but I also love
it when old design traditions are reinterpreted. And
I love everything that’s unique and handmade.’&
INSPIRATION