If Rose Hermansen looks familiar, that might be because she’s been a model for 17 years now. “Crazy!” says the 30 year old. In Copenhagen, where she lives, Rose is even better known these days as as a designer specializing in interiors and furniture. She’s one half of Atelier Axo, the firm she and architect Caroline Sillesen, a childhood friend, established in 2019.
We recently featured Restaurant Bobe, the composed Copenhagen hotspot designed by the duo. Today, we’re dropping in on Rose at home in the 958-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment she shares with her partner, Loke Rahbek, a musician and graphic designer, and their toddler, Jakob. Eager to trade up from their rental, Rose found their place via some blurry photos: “we were both self-employed and I had a new company, so we looked online at cheap co-op apartments. This one had a tiny kitchen, no bath, and dark floors, but I could see it had good spatial qualities and wonderful light. We planned a meeting and quickly bought it.”
That was before Jakob was born, and Rose and Loke embarked on, in her words, “a huge renovation on a very tight budget: we tore down a wall, lifted up old floor tiles, removed wallpaper, planed the floors, and built a shower.” They did the work themselves with help from family and friends, whitewashed the walls, and staged picnics on their shored up living room floor. Here are the results.
Photographs by and courtesy of Rasmus Weng Karlsen (@rasmuswengkarlesn) for Sixtysix, unless noted.
![a vintage hans wegner inherited from rose\2\17;s uncle stands near the e 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-1.jpg)
![rose grew up in skovshoved, a harbor town outside of copenhagen, immersed in ha 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-3.jpg)
![the couple loosely organize their books by color. the posters are a souvenir fr 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-4.jpg)
![loke mans the family hangout purchased on the danish resale site dba. \2 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/loke-rahbek-of-croatian-amor-portrait-by-rose-hermansen-1.jpg)
![atelier axo\2\17;s jakob chair, named for rose\2\17;s son, was de 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-5.jpg)
![the living room opens to a newly combined dining room and kitchen. rose and lok 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/designer-rose-hermansen-in-her-copenhagen-apartment-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-3jpg.jpg)
![the eat in kitchen has a gallery wall of work by artist friends of rose and lok 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-6.jpg)
![the couple built their dining table out of birch with store bought metal legs. 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-10.jpg)
![the kitchen components are a homemade mix: cabinets and drawers with stainless 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/50b2a63f-3feb-46b3-96c3-bcf2bf52724c-1-102-a.jpeg)
![a down home display. note the cookbook by bo bech—he\2\17;s the c 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-8.jpg)
![alongside the stainless steel sink is jakob\2\17;s toy stove, a flea mar 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-9.jpg)
![the pale wood floor and period moldings continue in the bedroom. rose\2\ 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-15.jpg)
![a haptic lab sailing ship kite hangs in the window. the oak and washi paper uno 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-21.jpg)
![before jakob was born, rose added the built in drawers and the extended windows 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-20.jpg)
![rose sits in a chair by furniture designer søren betak, a fellow graduate 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rose-hermansen-apartment-copenhagen-photo-by-rasmus-weng-karlsen-18.jpg)
Follow Atelier Axo @atelieraxo.
More creatives at home:
- Urban Indoor-Outdoor Living: A Young Couple’s Redesign of a Row House in Ghent
- Self-Design and Build: Izat Arundell’s Stone House in Scotland (for Rent This Summer)
- The Soot House: Conjuring the Ghosts of Old New England on Spruce Head in Maine
Frequently asked questions
Who is Rose Hermansen?
Rose Hermansen is a 30-year-old model turned designer specializing in interiors and furniture, currently living in Copenhagen.
What is the name of the design firm founded by Rose Hermansen?
Rose Hermansen co-founded Atelier Axo with architect Caroline Sillesen in 2019.
With whom does Rose Hermansen share her Copenhagen apartment?
Rose Hermansen shares her 958-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment with her partner, Loke Rahbek, a musician and graphic designer, and their toddler, Jakob.
How did Rose Hermansen and Loke Rahbek renovate their apartment?
Rose and Loke did a huge renovation on a very tight budget, involving tasks like tearing down a wall, lifting up old floor tiles, removing wallpaper, planing the floors, and building a shower.
What is the name of the chair designed by Atelier Axo in collaboration with Copenhagen artist Lulu Kaalund?
The chair is named the Jakob Chair, after Rose's son, and was produced in an edition of three, each in a different finish.
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