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Despite limits on how much they could alter this apartment in Copenhagen, potter  Anne Black and husband Jesper Moseholm have created an idyll among the rooftops that

echoes her pared-back style Words Laura Snoad Photography Birgitta Wolfgang Drejer/Sisters Agency

Creative calm

Homes Apartment Redesign

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this picture The open-plan kitchen/living space has been zoned into smaller areas defined by their function; an office area with filing cabinets is tucked beneath the sloping ceiling

Homes Apartment Redesign

Homes Apartment Redesign

NThe layout: 130sqm

Danish ceramicist Anne Black creates simple, delicate pieces that combine organic form with a minimalist aesthetic. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the Copenhagen

apartment she shares with her husband Jesper (the CEO of her pottery business) and children (thirteen-year-old Malte, Alva, who’s seven and Magda aged three) has been crafted with a similarly restrained approach.

‘I guess I try to create the feeling of space in both my design work and my home,’ muses Anne. ‘White is one of my favourite colours because it does that – it’s calming, both aesthetically and mentally. Many of my ceramics feature lots of white around the patterns, and that’s quite similar to the way I collect my furniture into small groups with plenty of room around them.’

Anne and Jesper first moved into this apartment four years ago, relocating from a smaller flat in the same area of Frederiksberg, but a little further out from the city centre. It’s a calm area of the Danish capital, lined with restaurants and artisan shops, including Anne’s new pottery boutique, which she opened in mid-March.

Drawn to the apartment for its views over Copenhagen’s rooftops and the large windows that line every side of the building, the couple wanted to create a space that felt warm and open. It also had to provide a base for their young family, which grew to five when youngest Magda was born just after they moved in. One of the biggest challenges was the steep slope of the roof, which meant that changing the function of the rooms was difficult. Instead, Anne chose to put her stamp on the place by painting it her trademark white, and filling the resulting blank canvas with a mixture of vintage Danish finds, industrial touches and her own work.

‘My interior style is very much a result of our lives,’ she explains. ‘We don’t have lots of money or time to dedicate to furniture and decor, so we’ve ended up with a collection of things that’s more or less random, formed from the possibilities that showed up along the way.’

At first, the largest bedroom had belonged to Anne

bedroom

bedroom

bedroom

liviNg area

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this picture The couple’s decor is an eclectic mix of antique, utilitarian and mid-century modern

left Anne with her daughters Magda and Alva

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office

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above left A balcony edges the open-plan kitchen, ideal for summer eveningsabove middle Industrial touches, such as these filing cabinets, run throughout the flatabove right Anne and Jesper run their ceramics business from their home office

this picture Anne loves to use natural materials in her schemes, including these two rustic stools in the entrance area

Homes Apartment Redesign

above left Magda and Alva’s colourful drawings are on display in the hallwayabove middle Bright fabrics and accessories contrast with the white walls

above right The neutral theme continues in the family bathroom

this picture Anne’s daughters share the largest bedroom, which features a contemporary coat rack and fabrics in a mix of soft pinks and deep blues

this picture A Finn Juhl sofa takes pride of place in the living area, alongside artwork by Christian Skeel (christianskeel.dk). Photographic lamps light darker areas of the apartment

Homes Apartment Redesign

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SuppliersfiXtUres & fittiNgs kitchen Ikea (0845 358 3363; ikea.co.uk) Porcelain knobs Anne Black (+45 3510 7327; anneblack.dk) fridge and gas cooker Smeg (0844 557 9907; smeguk.com)fUrNitUre & accessories sofa Finn Juhl Japan sofa (+45 702 771 01; finnjuhl.com) freestanding photographic lights For similar, try Habitat (0844 499 4686; habitat.co.uk) dining-area pendant light For similar, try Fly suspension light by Kartell at nest (0114 243 3000; nest.co.uk) dining table Karsten Lauritsen at Designer Zoo (+45 3324 9493; dzoo.dk) dining chairs Ant chair by Arne Jacobsen for Fritz Hansen (0844 800 8934; fritzhansen.com) kids’ coat rack Hang It All by Charles & Ray eames for Vitra (020 7608 6200; vitra.com)

Bring the calm-yet-colourful feel of Anne and Jesper’s home to your interior with the buys on p80

and Jesper, but recently it has been transformed into a room for the girls, with the adults taking the smaller room – a space just large enough to squeeze a double bed in to. Malte has his own room and, like that of his younger sisters and the rest of the house, it’s been whitewashed to form a calm background for collections of books, drawings and toys.

The standout space of the apartment has to be the large open-plan kitchen and living area which Anne has divided into smaller zones defined by function. The dining table, with its monochrome mismatched chairs, butts up against the kitchen island; the office area consists of a corner with factory-style lockers and a minimalist desk, while the living room is a cluster of mid-century seating, including Anne’s most prized possession – a Finn Juhl Japan sofa.

‘Each piece of furniture has its own history,’ Anne explains. ‘Some bits have followed me around for years and I’ve just got used to them – I might not even choose them today – but they’ve somehow become integral to my style. Some pieces Jesper and I chose together, but, since the flat is quite small, we also had to limit what we bought, buying items for their size rather than picking our dream designs.’

The couple are also keen collectors, and have added warmth and personality to the white interior with a number of artworks. Jesper’s sculptor father gifted them a few of his impressive bronzes, and the couple also picked up a colourful geometric collage by young Danish artist Evren Tekinoktay and pencil drawings by Lisbeth Eugenie Christensen, with whom Anne went to design school. ‘My favourite piece is a painting by Christian Skeel,’ says Anne. ‘It shows foggy, dream-like trees in a surreal layout. It really makes my thoughts wander.’

Unsurprisingly with a growing collection of both art and children, Anne and Jesper have their eyes firmly on the next project. Their dream is to find an apartment in the same area with larger bedrooms and, despite the success of the large open-plan space, a separate kitchen away from the family noise. ‘In my next home I long for big rooms, thick doors and straight walls,’ laughs Anne. ‘But, of course, white is still going to be a dominant feature.’

‘White is one of my favourite colours

– it’s calming, both aesthetically

and mentally’