1.12.2010

Coveted Home: Finn Juhl House

The last few days I've been thinking about images to show the couple I'm doing freelance work for; we haven't even begun to talk about aesthetic, as thus far my work has been extremely straightforward -- basically surveying and recording existing conditions. Luckily, I came across images that I've collected of the Danish furniture designer Finn Juhl's house, in the Ordrupgaard suburb of Copenhagen. Its modest exterior ...



reveals a rich and ordered interior:



I had the great pleasure to visit when I was living in Denmark last summer, and was immediately seduced by its warmth and clarity. There are wonderful gathering & working spaces scattered throughout the house ...



... and details I love, like the massive 17th century Chinese exportware punch bowl being used as a wastepaper basket in the lower left. It doesn't hurt that there are lovely things like Kandinskys hanging around:



Almost all of the furniture is his own work:



Another stellar detail: the extension of the hearth bricks beyond the hood of the fireplace and into the room:



To my mind, Juhl was one of the great colorists of the 20th century, and the subtlety and grace of his color use in these interiors is lost in the photos; like so many things, you have to be there. But one thing I particularly love is his active use of colored ceilings (which reflect and effect surrounding light in a marvelous way). It's also a great way to integrate color in a way that is less aggressive than an overall paint color, and less imbalanced than an accent wall (a concept I despise). All of his rooms have considered ceilings, but the most distinct is in the dining room:



May I recommend you visit?

7 comments:

P.K said...

Thank you for posting these photos. I am always thrilled to see photos of his house. I think if I ever visited an interior like that it would be a problem to get me out. The green dining chairs are amazing, and I like how the green appears in paintings and small details.

K:ra said...

This is amazing...i adore the dining room. Would have loved to have toured this home with you, drat!

Mlle Paradis said...

Another gorgeous post Nick!

Nick Heywood said...

Everyone should visit. It is not well known enough, but maybe that's better. And next time we're both in Denmark, K:ra (is this how we're spelling the name these days?), we must go together. I did it with Liz literally the day before I left, along with Rosenthal Castle, and those may have been the loveliest things I saw all summer. And not even a whisper about them from good old DIS!

Lisa Borgnes Giramonti said...

Are those your photos? They are quite breathtaking. I grew up in Norway and Sweden surrounded by furniture like this (I'm sitting on an inherited Arne Jacobsen leather Oxford Chair as I type this) and your post brings it all back, especially that thin Northern light. Thanks for this. xx

Nick Heywood said...

Lisa,

I must admit that these pictures are 'borrowed' from the house's website, but they don't allow any photography and for this reason I feel little remorse for this little theft.

And I agree the light is remarkable -- for whatever reason, colors seem to take on a greater specificity, and every hue is sharpened dimly.

Ah, Scandinavia ... I envy your childhood there. Sweden in one of my absolute favorite places to be, and Norway is on the short list of places I want to go next. I hear the landscape is very dramatic, or so Karen Blixen tells me, but I think she tarts things up for a good story.

Anonymous said...

I dunno what it is but this home makes you feel so warm.

-Zane of ontario honey

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