Louise Knauer, businesswoman and friend of the house, sat down for a conversation with ARNE AKSEL. Together, they discussed color, personality, decisiveness, and all the other factors that make her unique house in northern Copenhagen, a home.

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“We had looked at so many houses, lived in so many houses, but right when we arrived at this place, it just stood so beautifully on its own, with the most gorgeous, yet simple and harmonious aesthetic.”

Louise explains that her house was almost built to be a mosaic of memories and stories. The house used to be occupied by a famous Danish painter, and served as his atelier. The remnants of which are not hidden; the paint marks from the artist can still be seen on the walls of the kitchen. The artist was even a geologist, which inspired Louise and her husband to use green marble for the kitchen counters, keeping the spirit of the artist while continuing the natural and raw feeling that the space exudes.
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Moreover, what makes the space unique for Louise is that the spacious 900 m² house is made up of such few rooms, allowing simple yet impactful storytelling. However, sometimes the story isn’t more complicated than a certain coloured curtain; one that unifies and brings the energy a room needs.

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“I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m always dressed in color, I always have coloured nails. I love to be surrounded with color, it brings me so much joy.”
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“What I loved about the ARNE AKSEL curtains was that it was such an elegant way to introduce color; it’s not a huge print, or a floral pattern, it’s just the color itself that’s allowed to shine through. Then when you bring in the way the wind and the sun interact with it, it just brings new life every single time.”

Louise talks about how this versatility in the curtains depending on the environment is what really makes them complete the space. She describes the joy of being able to change the position of the curtains, and thereby completely changing the mood of the space. This versatility also helps the curtains accompany the many stories this house has to tell through its interiors.

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“There’s certain places in the house where the choices of materials are very decisive, and others where we more simply fell for something during the process.”

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Trotting back and forth between impulsive and thought-through decisions, is what Louise really cites as the key to her home. However, in the end, the feeling should speak for itself.

“I think the curtains bring an immense calm and warmth to the whole house. It makes it okay that we have tons of colors and haphazard personal items, because there’s a powerful ambience that comes with the curtains, one of decisive elegance and ease. I think without them the house would feel so different, so unfinished.”

Louise also describes comparing her own home to others which are more uniform, organized, and minimalistic. However, she digresses and says that it’s the personal details that don’t really fit together, that truly tell the story of her life and family; and that the bright curtains that tie the spaces together, are what makes her happy to walk through the door every morning. 

“I don’t think too much about any of this, I just do what makes me happy,”

Louise says.

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Arne responds instinctively,

“that’s the key to it all, no? People tend to overthink these decisions, consulting one too many opinions, and that’s precisely how they end up with beige.”

They both laugh in agreement.

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