IN THE HOUSE No stranger to colour, art director Katharina

INSIDE | OVERSEAS INSPIRATION

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Danish art director Katharina Beckmann has a can-do attitude to colour and design so tried out lots of ideas on her fifth-floor loft, which is variously a place to unwind or a banging party venue

CHEAT SHEET

Who lives here Katharina Beckmann, a young art director at a media, marketing and advertising company, and her boyfriend Simon. Style of home A converted roof space at the top of a five-storey building in Copenhagen. Katharina removed some walls in the entry and kitchen areas, and added extra windows and skylights.

LIVING (this page and opposite) DIY queen Katharina rendered the feature walls of her loft in a plaster product called Kabe (Lava), which sets off the pastel pieces of furniture. She also loves to knit and always has a wool basket handy. Sofa, Formel A. Lounge chair and coffee table, &Tradition. Cushions, Hay and Christina Lundsteen. Wall lamp, Le Klint.

Kath arina Beckmann grew up with a father who own s a paint store so she is not afraid of colour – or hard work. The advertising art director’s confidence came in handy during the hot Danish summer of 2019 as she was renovating her second home, a loft apartment in

Copenhagen’s Østerbro district.

“ W hen I bought the apartment it was pretty boring – all white walls with an institution-like kitchen and cat hair everywhere,” says Katharina. “B ut it was within my price range and I always put on my ‘transformation goggles’ when I see a space like that.

It’s kind of a work habit I have. I knew I could make something great out of this space. The only thing I hadn’t considered was that the building didn’t have an elevator.”

That hitch didn’t hold Katharina up. In an impressive solo effort, she took down a few small walls boxing in the hallway and kitchen and deftly dismantled the old kitchen , then dragged all the old stuff from the 5th floor down to the ground. In her spare time she then carried many of the new building materials home from various stores in a trolley. But while there was some help from good friends and her new boyfriend Simon, the effort of renovating and working full-time that July became too much for

Katharina and she booked a vacation to New York , leaving various trades to set up the new kitchen in her absence.

Two weeks later, w hen the couple returned from the US, the bottle -green kitchen had been in stalled and Katharina was more than happy with the result. C olo u rs and textures are a constant

source of inspiration for her. “As a child I was always in the paint shop, and I tried out every colo u r,” she says. “D usty green and blue tones are my favo u rites, and I’m sure the matt green in the kitchen will look great for years to come.”

The living space is on the lower floor of the loft and Katharina’s bedroom and bathroom are in its upper reaches. To visually connect the two levels, she rendered many of the walls in Kabe, a Danish brand of coloured wall plaster designed for DIY application. “I’ve treated several walls in different shades, and I love having that variation in the surfaces.”

As well as the concrete-look plastered walls, Katharina used light timber wall panelling, lilac linoleum flooring, with rugs dotted here and there. “ This space gave me the opportunity to trust my instincts and experiment with some new ideas,” she says.

Behind many of the wall panels is storage, built into the bottom of the slope, which puts most of the furniture in the middle of the space. Katharina’s soft-pink velvet sofa, purchased from Formel A, is the centrepiece, paired with a coffee table and armchair by &Tradition. All around are beautiful ceramics and green plants of all shapes and sizes. “They kind of calm me down, and I love that the plants are natural elements that live their own lives with their own shapes and colours,” she explains.

Katharina says she feels very much at home in the apartment and loves entertaining when she can. “The decor is quite personal but it works. It’s great when I’m relaxing with Netflix on the sofa and when it’s ‘dressed up ’ for partying on a F riday nigh t!”

KITCHEN (both pages) A new skylight has made a big difference to the light level in here. The cabinetry is by Aubo and the grey tiles making up the splashback were left over from Katharina’s previous apartment. Forbo Marmoleum Walton flooring in #3363 Soft Lilac. Dark bowl, from a flea market. White bowl, Stilleben.

INSIDE | OVERSEAS INSPIRATION

DINING (both pages) The stairs are on one side of the eating area. Under them is a Muuto bookcase, Ro toolbox and vintage PH copper light. The dining table and chairs are Fritz Hansen. Rectangular pendant, Anour. Rug, Bolia.

INSIDE | OVERSEAS INSPIRATION

“With sloping walls, it made sense to put the furniture in the middle”

KATHARINA BECKMANN, HOMEOWNER

INSIDE | OVERSEAS INSPIRATION

“I made the dormer into a reading area. When the window is open it’s like a balcony” KATHARINA

before & after SPECIAL

MADE TO GREY

1 The first stage of the renovation was opening up the kitchen and replacing all the cabinetry, which Katharina bought as components from Aubo. 2 The Kabe wall finish is easy to apply, so she and a few friends did the job themselves. 3 Last on the list was prepping the bedroom floor for the new linoleum, which is Marmoleum Walton.

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BEDROOM

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1 Entry 2 Fire escape 3 Bathroom 4 Kitchen 5 Living space 6 Dining area 7 Reading nook 8 Bedroom

BATHROOM It’s near the kitchen, so Katharina used the same cabinetry, with wood panelling overhead to warm things up. Mirror, Gubi. Shelves, Menu. Pink vase, Stilleben. READING CORNER (opposite) In front of the deep-set window is a chair by Hans J Wegner. Side table, Gubi. Vintage Kaiser Idell lamp. String shelf, available through Arrival Hall.

INSIDE | OVERSEAS INSPIRATION

GREAT FINDS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Fritz Hansen ‘Series 7’ chair, $860, Cult. Raw Earth large hanging planter in Chalk White, $159, Angus & Celeste. Laminate surface in Fresh Spring, $81.07 per sq m, Laminex. Fresco interior paint in Shell Grey, $154 per 4L, Porter’s Paints. Carl Hansen ‘CH25’ easy ADDITIONAL PRODUCT SOURCING: NATALIE JOHNSON chair, $6300, Cult. Harper velvet sofa in Blush, $1699, Life Interiors. Grace round velvet cushion in Forest Green, $29.95, Pillow Talk. Savana vintage washed cushion , $59.99, Adairs. Ferm Living plant box in Dark Green $149, Designstuff. Fiddle-leaf fig faux tree , $80.95, Freedom. Mantis floor lamp , $2060, Spence & Lyda. Urna vase in Pink, $395, Marimekko. Minty tartan throw , $269, Kip & Co. Sax wall light , from $1800, Great Dane.

BEDROOM (both pages) Though the space is tiny, Katharina’s layout is clever, especially the way her clothes rack and dresser are partially concealed by a wall. Layering with plants has brought nature up here too. Bedding, H&M Home. Plant box, Ferm Living. Black table, Skagerak.

LESSONS LEARNT

“ TRY TO USE ALL THE

AVAILABLE SPACE”

KATHARINA BECKMANN, HOMEOWNER “I hate it when space isn’t used. No corner was forgotten here, especially in the lower parts of the sloping roof, where I installed a lot of cabinetry.

Even while I was renovating I was playing around with the decor and planning how to get the most out of the apartment. And even though the space isn’t large, it’s open so it can handle a lot more furniture than I initially thought.”