Most people, it seems, move from city to country, in search of quiet, more space, more nature. But not long ago, Jesper and Vibeke Panduro did a reverse commute, so to speak, moving from the Danish countryside to a trim, salmon-colored house in the harbor city of Aalborg. They renovated the 1928 house with their trademark eye, leaving as much original detailing as possible (molded ceilings, marble windowsills), adding washes of pastel to the walls, and filling the rooms, sparingly, with standout Scandinavian designs. The results are some of the freshest-looking, unexpected interiors we’ve seen: no surprise; this is the couple, after all, behind the family-run Danish housewares brand Skagerak, a longtime Remodelista favorite.
Take a look inside and see what you think.
Photography courtesy of Skagerak.
The couple kept original details where they could, and added their own quietly bold choices—pastel walls included. “We wanted to give the house the same character on the inside as well as the outside, and we worked closely together with a master painter to find the right colors and tones,” they say. A dark blue entryway (not shown) gives way to lighter, fairy-tale hues: blues and a pale pink that echo the exterior of the house. “We love the view throughout the living rooms, where you get the picture of all the pastels at the same time.” The paints throughout were sourced from Danish brands: Nordsjo and Kabe Copenhagen.
(“After finishing the house, the master painter nominated their work to compete nationwide with other renovations—and our colorful house and the master painter won,” the couple adds.)
(In the US, Skagerak wares are available via these retailers, via the brand’s Stateside wholesaler, Objects by Camilla Vest.)
Now, tall wainscoting—more formal and traditional—mixes with clean-lined Scandinavian designs and leafy plants.
The Skagerak ethos carries over into the couple’s own space. Named for the Skagerrak strait (two r’s) that runs between Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, the company is “similar to the strait: forever the same—unchangeable—yet always on the move and presented in new ways… constantly mixing state-of-the-art ideas and methods with longstanding knowhow and virtues deeply embedded in the Nordic culture,” the couple writes on the outfit’s website.
The couple opted for an unexpected pairing alongside: a custom, locally made brass sink.
Take a look at a few more favorite houses in Denmark:
- Daring Color Ideas to Steal from the Finn Juhl House in Copenhagen
- Danish Heritage: A Copenhagen Townhouse Renovated by Hand
- The Dinesen Family House: A Historic Renovation for Danish Design Royalty
