Catch of the day
Hidden among the fishing huts that hug this harbour on the outskirts of Copenhagen, a photography-loving couple’s home captures the wild beauty of nature
Wild, untamed nature provided the palette for a Danish harbourside home belonging to landscape photographers
the small fishing harbour of Sluseholmen is a largely undiscovered patch of untamed nature on the outskirts of Copenhagen. Inhabitants of the Danish capital would be forgiven for not knowing it’s there, but for landscape photographers Maria Rosendal and Martin Bay, founders of Foto Factory, and their two daughters, this was the ideal place to call home. Having lived for a time near Edinburgh, the pair had developed a taste for wild beauty.
The house, a new build, was bought in 2010, and for 10 years remained a plain white box – little more than a window on the world – until, last year, when a redesign turned it into a place as pleasing as its views. The mastermind behind this transformation is Kate Imogen Wood, a Copenhagen-based interior designer and stylist, originally from the Lake District, who bonded with the couple over a shared love of dramatic countryside.
Her aim was, she says, ‘to create warmth and softness, while keeping everything very organic. The house’, she adds, ‘had to work as a backdrop for Martin and Maria’s photography.’ When visiting, one of the first things to strike Kate was the magical quality of the light that plays off the nearby water. ‘It can be really bright, which was actually a bit of an issue because,’ explains Kate, ‘typically for Denmark, the couple had no curtains.’ By adding generous linen drapes, she has softened the whole feel of this home. ‘Now,’ she says, ‘the light really makes the atmosphere.’
Adding to the patterns the sunlight now paints on the walls, Kate has used a palette of natural hues – cornflower blue, oatmeal and an earthy beige. ‘I wanted the colours to have a calming influence,’ she adds. Throughout this home, an ever-changing array of photographs blends beautifully with the scheme.
This seamless interaction between the outdoors, the indoors and the couple’s work was something that Kate strove to perfect. ‘I wanted everything to blend,’ she explains. There are a few British furniture designs in the mix that speak to her background, but the most important aspect when choosing pieces was to add maximum texture with minimal objects. ‘The idea was to inject feeling,’ she adds. ‘Everything needed to be tactile – bamboo chairs, a bobbly fabric on the white sofa and lots of ceramics.’ Even the kitchen, once a soulless black box, was given a new look with bespoke plywood cabinets, sketched by Kate and crafted by a local carpenter.
Martin and Maria have now moved even further away from the hustle and bustle, making a new home in the coastal town of Tisvilde, but this hidden harbour remains their bolthole in the city. Just a 15-minute bike ride from the centre, it is now the perfect gallery and shop, giving visitors a chance to experience the escapism their work portrays. kateimogenwood.com; foto-factory.com
‘The aim was to create softness, while keeping everything very organic. It had to work as a backdrop for the couple’s photography’
‘The idea was to inject feeling. Everything needed to be tactile – bamboo chairs, a bobbly fabric on the white sofa and lots of ceramics’