Living room

‘The original stained-glass window on the left inspired the pink accent colours. It creates a beautiful effect when the sunlight pours through.’

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Lykke Hindsberg, a lifestyle blogger, lives here with her husband Thomas Skovboe, who works in finance, and their two children Philip, five, and Frederik, six.

WTHE PROPERTY

A 1920s villa in Vanløse, Greater Copenhagen, bought in 2014.

“The fact that everything in this house needed a loving hand appealed to us, as we could get it exactly as we wanted”

hen Lykke and Thomas decided to start a family, their hearts were set on a period house with a big garden. A 100-year-old detached villa in Vanløse, Copenhagen, ticked all the boxes. They were charmed by its stainedglass windows, ornate ceilings and three interlinking reception rooms. ‘It hadn’t been touched for 50 years and still had the original kitchen,’ says Lykke (lykkestunder.dk). ‘There was ancient hessian covering all the walls and water damage in the living room.’

Upstairs, two rooms have been knocked together to create a spacious new bathroom, while a ground-floor bathroom has been transformed into the kitchen. ‘We removed a wall between that and the dining room to make the spaces flow. What works well is the open-plan feel, but the glazed internal doors mean the reception rooms can be closed off from each other, too. There’s room for play, entertaining, relaxing and eating all at the same time,’ says Lykke.

A palette of white, grey, beige and pink has been used throughout, while furniture inherited from Lykke’s grandparents is mixed with modern designs and lots of textures, for a homely feel. ‘Furniture and accessories have to be more than just beautiful; they should serve a purpose. I like to change up accessories and restyle in a calm and simple way. To break things up, I’ll group items in similar tones but with different finishes.’ A neutral backdrop works well for the Christmas decorations Lykke makes using natural materials from the garden and a nearby forest, which fill the house with the scents of spruce and pine cones. ‘For the whole year I look forward to getting started on them. It makes the short days of winter a lot more fun when you have some good old traditions to hold onto and look forward to.’