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A Clever Small Space Hack in a Beautiful Danish Apartment


Hey friends! How are you this fine day? 

One of the things I have always admired about Scandinavians is how practical and resourceful they are. Something needs fixing? Out comes the toolbox. Car tyres need changing? Out comes the jack! And this practical approach transcends to the home too. Scandinavian homes might be beautiful, but they're also user-friendly and comfortable. 

This comes particularly in handy in a small space, where every inch counts.  

A few days ago I was browsing Simply Scandi magazine (if you don't already subscribe, it's a must! And I'm not just saying that because I'm a proud contributor, honest!) - and stumbled across Vasia Moragianni's home. 

After her divorce, Vasia and her young son Emil moved into a one bedroom flat in Copenhagen. Determined to ensure privacy and maximise space, Vasia devised a plan to turn the 60 sq.m (645 sq.ft) space into a spacious and bright two bedroom apartment. Read on to discover how! 

The original floor plan:
When they first moved in, Vasia and her young son Emil shared a bedroom. 


Glossary: værelse - bedroom, stue - sitting room, køkken - kitchen, bad - bathroom, entré - hallway

Floor plan after: 
Vasia swapped the bedroom and sitting room areas and removed a wall between the kitchen and sitting room to create one large room. A wall was erected to divide the bedroom into two separate rooms. 





Kitchen before 
This is how the kitchen looked before the wall was removed:  


And this is how the room looked after the renovation: 


The open-plan space includes a small sitting room and dining room area. 

One bedroom becomes two
Vasia was particularly keen to ensure Emil had his own room. The answer was to divide the single room into two.

In order to maximise floorspace, the bed can be rolled through a hatch into the adjacent room, fitting neatly under the raised bed in the adjacent room.  


While, initially the larger room doubled up as a bedroom and office. These days, the rooms have been swapped and Emil occupies the larger room. When the bed is removed, he has plenty of space to play! 

What a clever idea - so unique! 

The best thing about this renovation is that it ticks all the boxes for small space living: it's multifunctional, flexible, has zones for all activities and allows a wonderful flow of light for a spacious feel. 

Could you imagine doing something like this in your home? Or perhaps you have a friend dealing with a similar conundrum? If so, please do share this post with them in case the idea comes in handy! 

For other small space solutions today, check out: 


You might also like to scroll through the entire small space archive which includes ideas for studio apartments, smart room dividers and more! 

Thanks so much for dropping by this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Niki

Photography: @small_nordic_tales, shared with kind permission

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This Fabulous Colourful Copenhagen Home is On Airbnb

Hej kompisar! Is it just me, or when planning a holiday or weekend away, the lion's share of the work is in finding the perfect place to stay? I guess it's because, if like me, your environment can add so much to your time away! 

The good news is, if you're visiting the Danish capital, I might have saved you hours (weeks... months...?) of scouring the net! Look no further than this incredible three bedroom apartment in the hip neighbourhood of Vesterbro which features sky high ceilings, beautiful period features, original wood floors and incredible light-filled rooms. 

Owned and run by host Nikolaj Paaby Normand, the abode is filled with incredible one-off pieces, art, make-you-smile colours and a riot of pattern. Needless to say, these pictures taken by Anitta Behrendt, have graced the covers and pages of some of Denmark's finest interior magazines and the airbnb is considered a firm 'guest favourite'. 

Ready to take a nosey around? Step this way! 

Have you ever seen such a colourful dining set arrangement? It works thanks to a very calm backdrop, making it a focal point of the room. 


The apartment is full of one-off pieces which adds intrigue around every corner. 


Colour, texture, and pattern come together in the sitting room, giving the space a relaxed feel. While the furniture and Svenskt Tenn pattern have mid-century appeal. Again, a calm backdrop helps to draw the eye to the centre of the room and ensures the look doesn't become too chaotic. 


A calming blue accent wall appears in the bedroom, while the vibrant quilt and cushion ties the look in with the rest of the living space. 

Oj oj oj - as they say in Sweden. It's one thing seeing an incredible space like this in a magazine, it's another knowing that you can actually stay in it as an airbnb. 

Meet you there?

More information about this Copenhagen apartment on Airbnb

Would you like to dream over a few other Airbnbs in Scandinavia? Hey, why not plan an entire tour of the region? Here are a few of my favourites:


Aaaand that's it from me this week. I hope you have a fabulous weekend and the sun shines for you! 

Niki

Photography: Anitta Behrendt
Design / owner: Nikolaj Paaby Normand
Shared with kind permission

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Sarah's Earthy and Calm Danish Apartment

When I featured Sarah's small Copenhagen apartment in 2021, it was one of the most popular tours of the year - for good reason (revisit it here!). I was excited to see that Sarah and her partner have since moved and are now busy renovating a 19th century apartment in the heart of the danish capital with "sustainability, recycling and minimalism" at the core. What's more, they are doing much of it by hand to save money. 

The apartment is still a work in progress but I couldn't resist sharing a sneak peak of where the pair are up to. I love the earthy tones, Scandinavian vintage furniture and beautiful textures. A great sign of things to come as it slowly but surely becomes a home! 

So calming!

Sarah's style looks so effortless but having completed a DIY budget make-over on our downstairs loo I know just how much work they would have put in to get here. If you'd like to see exactly what they've been working for and how much of a gut job it has been, I can recommend taking a peek at Sarah's highlights over on instagram

One thing I haven't pointed out yet, is just how incredible the bones are in this apartment. They are very typical of the beautiful neighbourhood of Frederiksberg where this place is located. I was once lucky enough to shoot a home nearby for my book The Scandinavian Home and it remains one of my favourite homes to this day! 

Would you like to take a look inside a few other Danish apartments today? How about: 


Have a fabulous start to the week! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of @milevidt, shared with kind permission. 

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A Bright and Modern Danish Apartment With Art and Vintage Pieces

Why, hello there friends! Happy New Year! It's great to be back blogging again after a break over 'Jul'! If like me, you like a fresh start, you're going to love today's home tour, so let's dive straight in. 

This beautiful old apartment in Randers, a city on the Jutland peninsular, Denmark belongs to Anne Hundborg and her family. Anne had applied fresh light tones to the floors and walls, which serve as a neutral backdrop so her art collection, rugs and vintage furniture can pop! Keep a look out for all the glass cabinets, cool lights and touches of pattern too. Although pared-back, her home is full of fab details! 

Velkommen! 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover the kitchen is from IKEA! Designer items like a tap from Pulcher Denmark and lighting from Nordlux (over island), Verpan and By flou elevate the look.

The large kitchen also has a dining table and sofa as well as a back entrance. 

I love the vintage shoe rack, we could do with sometime like this in our house! 


In the sitting room a mid-century style table from Warm Nordic sits in front of a Hay sofa

A second hand cabinet and a wired shelf from Montana serve as storage beside the TV. 

Anne repainted a secondhand cabinet picked up from danish second hand store DBA. The rug is from Benuta and the wall features art such as Vinyl Guy by Jenny o Jens

The striped bedspread steals the show in the bedroom (I can't find a source, could it be handmade? I'll follow up with Anne and get back to you!), together with the Point chair from OK Design, rug from Benito (as before) and wall mounted second hand cabinet. I love the laces on her Adidas trainers too (below!). 

A second smaller bedroom features a HAY mega dot bed spread, IKEA cabinet (to the left) and an iconic Fritz Hansen Dot stool

What a beautiful apartment. I always think the Danes make it look so effortless to add pops of colour and funky touches to their homes, while still keeping the look calm. It's definitely an art form! 

Is there anything that stood out to you in particular about Anne's home? 

See more and feel inspired over at @by_blogliv. And check out a collection of other fab Danish homes with pops of colour here

Have a great start to the week friends, see you Wednesday with a tour of my new attic storage make-over - I'll tell you now, it was a lot of work clearing out the mountains of stuff, but I'm so happy with the results! 

It's good to be back! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of  @by_blogliv, shared with kind permission. 

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