Danish delight

Just when you think you have Scandinavian style down pat, Tina Seidenfaden Busck comes along to change your perception. She imbues her own distinctive version of Danish design with bold colour, tactile pattern and a touch of folk sensibility. Her vision is a kaleidoscopic collection of juxtaposed design and her philosophy is intensely personal — a true curator if ever there was one.

With a discerning eye and an illustrious career at galleries including Andersen’s Contemporary and auction house Sotheby’s behind her, Seidenfaden Busck founded The Apartment in Copenhagen in 2011. Her ‘shop the home’ concept of carefully curated art, design and furniture was a revolution in retail — much admired, and emulated, worldwide. Always innovating, Seidenfaden Busck’s most recent project, an accommodation concept two floors up from the store that started it all, offers two bedrooms, both complete with English 19th-century iron beds, a central sunny space overlooking the canal, drawing room with a selection of books to peruse, colourful kitchenette, and bathroom clad in swirly green Swedish marble. Seidenfaden Busck and her family reside on the level between the gallery store and accommodation in the 1750 building in the historic district of Christianshavn. “My husband’s family has been based in this building for two generations,” she says. “I like the diversity, from the infamous Freetown Christiania to top restaurants such as Noma, Christianshavn is like its own village within the city.” This diversity ››

“I believe that my aesthetic expression derives from mixing MATERIALS, tactility, colours, periods and places of origin”

‹‹ is also reflected in the designer’s covetable collection, which mainly features European design from the 1920s to ’70s. From Danish classics to ’60s Italian to current-day pieces by Ilse Crawford, it’s all skillfully arranged to feel effortlessly cohesive. Regulations make it challenging to renovate and modernise in a building of this heritage, but such charms are what Seidenfaden Busck is drawn to. The floor slopes somewhat — fitting, given the houseboats that line the canal below — and each window is a slightly different size.

This deeply personal style of accommodation offers the intimacy and exclusivity that a hotel chain cannot match. Every design choice is considered to create an aesthetic nirvana — “by mixing differing mediums of art, colour, tapestries and textiles, as well as contemporary and vintage design pieces, I have strived for luxurious at-home comfort to create a restorative stay,” Seidenfaden Busck says. From a green Flos Snoopy lamp to a candy-striped daybed, every element is vibrant and soulful but meticulously edited. “I believe that my aesthetic expression derives from mixing materials, tactility, colours, periods and places of origin,” she says.

“At the end of the day that’s what I find interesting to create.” With much of her inspiration from the art world, not surprising given her former career, her private art collection is on display, from ››

‹‹ contemporary artists such as Tómas Saraceno and Nathalie du Pasquier to Mexican, Japanese and African folk art — a true maximalist mix. Seidenfaden Busck’s passion is for textiles and pattern. It’s her signature and is evident everywhere you look. “I like the idea of wrapping rooms with colours and patterns, and the warmth and character that this creates before even placing any furniture,” she says. “I’m fascinated by the techniques and craftsmanship behind them.” Wallpapers are varied. There’s the striped paper by Helene Blanche in the smaller bathroom — “it’s one of my favourite rooms… It feels like a jewellery box”. There’s also the dotted pattern in the living area by Farrow & Ball as well as traditional wallcovering in both bedrooms by Marthe Armitage. “The British designer is in her 80s and creates the most elegant hand-drawn designs,” says Seidenfaden Busck. “Such meticulous craftsmanship adds personality.”

Textiles used as wall decorations are a trademark technique— her vintage American patchwork quilt collection lines the walls and covers the beds, while an Asafo flag with cotton appliqué, created by the Fante communities of Ghana to represent military groups, features in one of the bedrooms. Seidenfaden Busck also has a soft spot for Japanese textiles: noren curtains made of banana fibre from Okinawa hangs on a wall in the bathroom.

The Apartment accommodation is so immaculately appointed it’s almost unbearable to leave. The only solace is that if you do fall in love with something during your stay, you can take it home as a keepsake, as almost everything is available for purchase.

theapartment.dk @theapartmentdk

In the central room, of Tina Seidenfaden Busck’s The Apartment accommodation in Copenhagen, Cassina Carimate chairs by Vico Magistretti; Long table by Muller Van Severen; vintage oriental kilim rug; vintage Picasso exhibition poster; CristaSeya aubergine sculpture by Giacomo Alessi; and patchwork elephant sculpture by Jessica Ogden and Lee Benjamin, all from The Apartment. Details, last pages.

THIS PAGE in the bedroom, rattan armchair 311 by Josef Frank from Svenskt Tenn; stool by Piet Hein Eek; Azucena Monchella floor lamp from The Apartment; Willow wallpaper by Marthe Armitage. OPPOSITE PAGE in the living room, patchwork armchair from The Apartment; Polka Square wallpaper by Farrow & Ball; rug by Märta MååsFjetterström; artworks by Karin Mamma Andersson and Georg Baselitz; masks by Jan S Hansen.

FROM RIGHT in the bedroom, Old Man’s Beard wallpaper by Marthe Armitage; vintage Moroccan runner from The Apartment. In the smaller bathroom, vintage brass mirror and Japanese Kokeshi dolls from The Apartment; Tapet-Cafe Painted Stripe wallpaper in Orange/Noir by Helene Blanche. Details, last pages.