Copenhagen Cool: Yvonne Koné at Work and Home - Remodelista
Pale pink is our new favorite wall color: Take a look at Danish accessories designer Yvonne Koné’s just-opened Copenhagen boutique... Apartment photography by Line Klein for Elle Decoration Denmark via Est Magazine; styling by Stine Langvad. ...where the shade assumes a sophisticated–and decidedly ungirly–guise that serves as the perfect backdrop for Koné’s dark leather shoes and bags. A fashion graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Koné launched her business in 2011... ...and has since become known for her pared-down, architectural approach to Italian-made leather goods, including a signature “bum bag” that has us reconsidering the fanny pack. Located in what had been an antiques shop in a landmarked building, the boutique was designed by Oliver Gustav... ...whose own interior design shop and studio is just a few doors away. Oliver presented me with an environmentally friendly, water-based, chalk paint made from natural pigments. Koné’s satchels, wallets, and bum bags hang from hooks on an iron bar. The rusty lamp came from a Paris flea market. The shelves are painted with the same dusty pink as the walls... ...and both are finished with two layers of environmentally friendly sealer–the paint is custom blended and is available, like many of the shop accessories, via Studio Oliver Gustav. For trying on Koné’s plum pumps: an Oak Stool by German carpenter and film director Fritz Baumann Display blocks made of terracotta stand in front of one of the original arched windows. Evidently we like a lot of the same things that Koné does–such as fiddle leaf fig trees and Industrial Chandeliers by Brooklyn firm Workstead (a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory). The boutique is located at 3 Store Strandstraede, next to Nyhavn, Copenhagen’s 17th-century waterfront. Several years ago, Koné and her family lucked into their apartment in the middle of Vesterbro, in a 1910 art-nouveau-style building designed by architect Anton Rosen. The low tables are from eBay–”I think they were used in factories to stack,” Koné says. “We had the bookcases built and treated the pine floor with white oil; that’s it,” Koné says. Above L: Dried poppy pods and a photo mural. Brass vases that were props from a theater are paired with an African hairdresser sign, a perfect addition to the apartment’s black-and-white palette. Above L: There’s even a balcony. A hallway leads to the kitchen and a shared kids’ room. The runner is Tine K Home’s Jute Kit. In the kitchen a white Ikea cabinet supplies essential storage and replaces existing white wood cabinets that were new but made to look old: “I don’t like fake vintage,” Koné says. Above L: A kitchen tableau on a lacquered wood counter: “I didn’t like the reddish color... ...so I stained it black and after that lacquered it many, many times to make it durable and easy to keep.” Above R: A vintage cupboard holds some of the kids’ artwork. The master bedroom’s platform bed frame came long ago from a futon shop. Above L and R: The black-and-white theme extends to the bathroom.