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My Houzz: White Simplicity Offers Peace in a City Centre Flat
This fashion blogger’s job involves a constant riot of pattern and colour, so she made her home a calm white sanctuary
As a fashion stylist, blogger and former fashion editor, Maiken Winther (pictured) has spent years obsessing over the latest trends in colour, fashion and décor.
Counterintuitively, her home in Nørrebro, in central Copenhagen, Denmark, is practically colourless. “When you work so intensely and for so many hours in fashion every single day, constantly travel abroad and see shows and presentations, and even style and create things yourself, your head is constantly bombarded with an insane number of impressions,” Maiken says. “So when I get home, I can’t really handle any more colours. The more white, industrial and clean it is, the better. Everything in my home is like that.”
Counterintuitively, her home in Nørrebro, in central Copenhagen, Denmark, is practically colourless. “When you work so intensely and for so many hours in fashion every single day, constantly travel abroad and see shows and presentations, and even style and create things yourself, your head is constantly bombarded with an insane number of impressions,” Maiken says. “So when I get home, I can’t really handle any more colours. The more white, industrial and clean it is, the better. Everything in my home is like that.”
Maiken’s home is extremely minimalist. Some might think that it could use more furniture. However, this emptiness is a deliberate choice so the apartment doesn’t feel too packed or cluttered.
“Things should be useful, but, most importantly, they must be easy on the eye. They should be beautiful and nice. This is crucial when I buy things. It’s not so important whether it’s a trend or in fashion. I just want to put something together that I think looks great,” she says.
“Things should be useful, but, most importantly, they must be easy on the eye. They should be beautiful and nice. This is crucial when I buy things. It’s not so important whether it’s a trend or in fashion. I just want to put something together that I think looks great,” she says.
White, white, white: there’s no doubt it’s Maiken’s favourite look for the home, but in the middle of the bright living room stands a single dark blue piece – the sofa.
“The only reason I, unfortunately, do not own the white version is that I know myself. I spend many hours sitting on my couch –because I often work at home – and I love chocolate. Chocolate and a white couch aren’t a good combination,” she says.
“Even if it’s important for me that things are beautiful to look at, it’s also important to be able to exist in the home I’ve created for myself.
“The coffee table is actually an element I want to do more with,” she adds. “It’s not even intended to be used as a coffee table.”
Sofa, Greta Grossman’s Modern Line collection, Gubi. Coffee table, Prism series, Fredrik Paulsen.
“The only reason I, unfortunately, do not own the white version is that I know myself. I spend many hours sitting on my couch –because I often work at home – and I love chocolate. Chocolate and a white couch aren’t a good combination,” she says.
“Even if it’s important for me that things are beautiful to look at, it’s also important to be able to exist in the home I’ve created for myself.
“The coffee table is actually an element I want to do more with,” she adds. “It’s not even intended to be used as a coffee table.”
Sofa, Greta Grossman’s Modern Line collection, Gubi. Coffee table, Prism series, Fredrik Paulsen.
Maiken chose the few pieces of furniture she has in her home very carefully. “I never go to [Danish design store] Illums Bolighus and think, ‘I should buy something now.’ I find out about something interesting first and then hunt it down,” she says.
Lamp, Inga Sempé’s Vapeur collection, Moustache.
Lamp, Inga Sempé’s Vapeur collection, Moustache.
“I also have stuff from Ikea,” Maiken says. “It just can’t be avoided. But I would really like to not own any of the mainstream things that everyone else has. If I were rich and famous, I would only own offbeat things. They wouldn’t have to be vintage – they could be new as long as they were not overly accessible.”
Maiken travels extensively for work, so she frequently comes across weird and wonderful things she would love to decorate her home with. “But you just can’t take a couch home from Paris or an old lamp from San Francisco. After all, your suitcase is already filled with shoes,” she says, laughing.
Chair, PK4, Poul Kjærholm.
Maiken travels extensively for work, so she frequently comes across weird and wonderful things she would love to decorate her home with. “But you just can’t take a couch home from Paris or an old lamp from San Francisco. After all, your suitcase is already filled with shoes,” she says, laughing.
Chair, PK4, Poul Kjærholm.
Perhaps the most spectacular item in her home is this three-dimensional work by artist Zenia Kirkegaard from Artéleri – “my popcorn”, Maiken calls it.
“I’m absolutely crazy about it! For many years, I had nothing on the wall, because it quickly becomes too ‘here we have an adult living in a real home’. But when I saw this work of art online, I was really excited and wrote to the artist that same evening that I just needed to have it,” she says.
The piece consists of foam rubber mounted on a heavy wooden board. “It’s both large and loud; but, on the other hand, it also blends perfectly into the room,” she says.
Cabinet, Ikea.
“I’m absolutely crazy about it! For many years, I had nothing on the wall, because it quickly becomes too ‘here we have an adult living in a real home’. But when I saw this work of art online, I was really excited and wrote to the artist that same evening that I just needed to have it,” she says.
The piece consists of foam rubber mounted on a heavy wooden board. “It’s both large and loud; but, on the other hand, it also blends perfectly into the room,” she says.
Cabinet, Ikea.
Brothers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec designed Samsung’s Serif TV. It gets its name from the fact that, from the side, it looks like the capital letter I in a serif font.
“It’s nice to look at even when it’s turned off, and that is extremely important to me,” Maiken says.
Find an interior designer on Houzz today to kick-start your own renovation project.
“It’s nice to look at even when it’s turned off, and that is extremely important to me,” Maiken says.
Find an interior designer on Houzz today to kick-start your own renovation project.
Although Maiken sticks to bright white in décor, she’s also a big fan of dark colours, especially black, when it comes to her outfits. However, both preferences are driven by the same philosophy.
“I have a very rigorous, practical – some would say boring – and manly style. About 80 percent of my wardrobe is black or dark navy, because, just as I want the apartment to be easy and quiet, I also don’t want to have to mess about deciding what colours I’m going to wear.”
“I have a very rigorous, practical – some would say boring – and manly style. About 80 percent of my wardrobe is black or dark navy, because, just as I want the apartment to be easy and quiet, I also don’t want to have to mess about deciding what colours I’m going to wear.”
Still, in Maiken’s view, there’s a lot of clutter in the home. “I’m a minimalist at heart and feel that I live in a minimalist way. But I don’t really, because the place is filled with objects, junk and gizmos,” she says.
The DSW side chair was designed in the 1950s by Charles and Ray Eames.
The DSW side chair was designed in the 1950s by Charles and Ray Eames.
This is one example of a space she finds cluttered. “For me, there is a lot happening in this corner, where there’s just a bottle of lotion and a book,” she says, referring to the small bedside table. “But in another sense, it looks very minimalist, because it’s so bright and sticks to one colour scheme.”
Likewise, in the kitchen, only a few cooking utensils and ingredients are visible. “If I had enough cupboard space, I’d hide everything away there, though I’d probably get a little tired of having to rummage deep through the cupboard all the time,” she says.
Generally, the fashion stylist quickly has her fill of anything that stands out too much. “Flowers are the hardest things for me to buy, because they can easily become too girly. I’ve had some Lyngby vases for many years, but now they’ve become so popular that they’re almost too much. It’s much easier with just white candles.”
She bought the three-legged Ant chairs, designed by Arne Jacobsen, at an auction a few years ago. “It’s not often that I shop this way, because it’s simply too nerve-racking, whether you’ll win the bid or not,” she says.
“I dream of covering my whole bathroom with white tiles from top to bottom. I also tend to only buy white beauty products.“
Two very small apartments were merged to form Maiken’s 753 sq ft home. Although she’d like more space, she’s so fond of the neighbourhood and her quiet white oasis that she’s unlikely to move in the near future.
“At some point, I’ll want to move, but they’ll have to build something like this,” she says, laughing.
Tell us…
What elements of this minimalist home appeal to you? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
“At some point, I’ll want to move, but they’ll have to build something like this,” she says, laughing.
Tell us…
What elements of this minimalist home appeal to you? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? Maiken Winther, the 38-year-old behind Danish fashion and beauty blog Nouvelle
Location Nørrebro neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark
Size 753 sq ft (70 sq m)