Small flower bouquets and home-made lemonade were the secret to Charlotte Lynggaard being able to buy her dream home. “It took quite some time to convince the owner to sell it to us.” But sell it to them she did, and for the past 18 years or so that powdery-pink cottage in the north of Copenhagen has become the designer’s perfect hideaway.
With the forest on one side and a beautiful sea view on the other, it’s not hard to see why Charlotte fell in love with Tea Rose House. “Nature is a major source of inspiration for me—watching the crisp light from the sea in the early morning from my bedroom window fills me with energy and life,” she says.
And like the scenery, Charlotte’s home is constantly changing. “Throughout the years we have made changes to the house,” she says. “The entire kitchen with a basement below, for instance, is an addition to the original building. And the outside of the house is dressed in cedar tree that we sailed in from the US because it wasn’t available locally when we first needed it.”
But the designer, who has recently produced a collection for LaPrendo in Singapore, can’t help but tweak what she calls her “work in progress.” “My husband says that whenever he sees a certain distant look in my eye, he knows a decorating project is about to emerge,” she says.
However, while Lynggaard’s creative mind is always ticking over, she’s keen to make sure her home always has a certain kind of calm. “It’s a home decorated with contrasts, mixing elements of Japanese minimalism with a romantic touch,” she says. “I wanted to create a serene mood and maintain its summerhouse atmosphere.”
Like every welcoming home, the kitchen is where Charlotte, her husband Michael and three children Sofia, 17, Laura, 15, and Julius, 13, spend most of their time. “Each room has its own special atmosphere, mood and light, but the kitchen is definitely the heart of the house, where we spend a lot of time with family and friends,” she says.
“All the things in our house have a special meaning. Our house is composed by elements that we have collected throughout our lives, things that I have found on journeys, flea markets, antique stores,” Lynggaard explains. “It’s a home with many stories—things that remind me of my childhood home, my grandparent’s home, a special journey or a special occasion of our lives.” ■

PHOTOGRAPHY: BIRGITTE DREJER