- Interior
Designing your own home remains special, even when you have a lot of professional experience to lean on. Designer Frederik Werner can confirm so. As one of the partners of the renowned Norm Architects he perfectly knows what distinguishes an amazing from a successful concept. His renovated private residence in Copenhagen is the culmination of his personal taste, experiences and wishes, so allow us to tell you all about it.
In the past, we have already presented several projects from Danish studio Norm Architects. Since 2008, they develop architecture and design meant to make aesthetic and wellbeing enhance each other. Frederik Werner is part of the core of this team. In their work, the individuality of every place and every client is incessantly central. Concerning the types of design, their portfolio knows a telling variation, ranging from residential and industrial to hospitality and creative direction. According to their shared philosophy, a home should be an environment that answers to our universal needs as humans. Starting from a similar reasoning, the designer committed himself to a project that would become his own home. The house needed a large-scale renovation that would suffice on the long term for the wishes of him and his family. After a careful process, the last detail was finally finished, and now they come home every day in a design that was literally tailored to them. 
Hard work, persistence, and patience are indispensable
Previously, he and his partner lived in the central part of Copenhagen, but the city walls had started to emotionally cave in on them. With time, they felt a growing longing for a garden, and of course the extension of their family also required more room. During their search, they eventually stumbled upon a rundown but promising property. An additional bonus was its location in the region where both were born and raised. They knew from the beginning that a resolute renovation was in order, but this was anything but an obstacle that withheld them. Werner enjoyed an education at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. There, he laid the foundations for the functional and minimalistic style that is typical of the projects of the studio. Logically, he continued down the same route in his private life. Next to this, in his work he focuses on furniture and product design. His experience covers both a national and international field. For instance, he has worked with a considerable number of foreign clients and even worked from Japan for a certain period. Creating coherent collections is in his nature, even though he has also developed unique pieces that were used on special expositions. All these experiences helped shaping his creative identity, which he could place in clear daylight with this private project. The result completely adheres to his style and, at the same time, bears persuasive similarities with the work of the studio we know him from. 
With 1914 as building year, it is no big surprise that the house they bought did not live up to modern standards. This immediately became the primary challenge they needed to deal with. In general, the original construction of the free-standing building was preserved, yet the outlook has completely changed. Initially, the floorplan mainly consisted of small and dark spaces. These were broken up, with more free movement and light incidence as consequence. For the kitchen, they came to the conclusion that it would be better to move it to the other side of the house, so that a connection with the living area and the terrace originated. On the first floor, they added a third bedroom. This was a decision to quickly bear its fruits, since only a year ago the couple welcomed their second child to the world. Furthermore, all the installations were updated, and they installed isolation and wooden cladding. Because of this, the property become more climate-friendly. A lot of changes were pursued that not only altered the style, but also on a fundamental level aligned the home with modern living comfort. Werner himself is mainly proud of the fact that he has been able to compose an environment that is in every detail synchronised with his family life.
Want to read more about this impressive project? You can read about it in the December 2023 edition of Imagicasa Magazine.
Photography by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen
Text by Cara Jacobs