A typical Danish interior- unwritten ‘rules’
Have you noticed that there is a certain aesthetic to the interior of a Danish home?
An unwritten set of rules, and appearing effortlessly, there is usually a carefully curated collection of key items that can be found in most Danish homes.
It’s almost like a uniform to identify your Danish nationality, and what I love about this is that these items champion Danish design, mixing high end with high street.
For High Street, think Jysk (or Ikea although Swedish, still acceptable) for practical items of furniture. For high end think Royal Copenhagen, Georg Jensen, Louis Poulsen and Fritz Hansen for those statement pieces and final additions.
You may have noticed by now that Danes are not a particularly consumer-driven society. Quality, sustainability, and durability are principal factors for Danes, Danish design items are built and bought ‘for life’ and often carry a price tag to reflect this.
So how do so many Danes come to obtain or afford these more expensive items? Well, also known for their practicality, the Danes have ingenious ways of working around the price tag. You may be familiar with an ‘Ønskeliste.’ It is a common tradition in Denmark and perfectly normal to have a ‘wish list’ that you create and share around family and friends in advance for birthdays and Christmas. It’s also perfectly normal to ask them for their wish list in return!
The wish list often contains these sought after and practical items, and allows family and friends to either purchase these, or group together and contribute to them. This can often be a bit of a culture shock to the uninitiated. Never mind holding out hope for a romantic or surprise birthday gift. Better put it on your wish list. Otherwise, you may be surprised; no point secretly hoping for that bottle of perfume for your birthday. In Denmark, with the proudly practical Danes, you are more likely to be the recipient of some tea towels or mixing bowls instead.
Outlet stores and outlet sales are another way to obtain high quality ‘seconds,’ often indistinguishable from the mainline items. Royal Copenhagen has outlet stores including Vejle and Frederiksberg.
And many Danish workplaces also offer the option for employees to choose a personal corporate Christmas gift from a list of items and providers, which includes the usual suspects.
So, what does this unspoken ‘inventory’ include? A quick rummage around a Danish household will surely produce some of the following:
Royal Copenhagen plates, mugs, serving bowls. Are you even Danish if you do not own a good collection of Royal Copenhagen? Mixing and matching of patterns is also commonplace.
A Verner Panton portable flowerpot lamp. Or any other Verner Panton lamp. My personal favourite is the VP Globe but my unimpressed teenage daughter proclaimed she was sure she could fashion something similar by sticking together some nondescript cups and saucers for a fraction of the price!
Georg Jensen items; anything from candle holders to salt and pepper mills, to decorative jars. Just do not forget the candles- candles are particularly important for the ‘hygge’. You can never have too many candles if you are Danish!
A hoptimist; these cute and comical wooden characters with springs seem to pop up everywhere!
And of course, ‘træsko’ or clogs for those quick and easy runs to the local recycling station.
The list is endless: these are just a few ideas, but I am sure you’ve noticed this phenomenon. What other items would you add?
