Copenhagen Archives - Style&Minimalism

STAY Copenhagen

This post was created in collaboration with STAY Copenhagen.

Last month, Brittany Bathgate and I took a trip to Copenhagen for the weekend. It’s a city we both have quite an obsession with; we’ve been previously, on separate occasions. This time around we stayed at STAY Copenhagen, an apartment hotel in the Islands Brygge area of the city. They have 172 apartments, ranging in size from studio apartments to penthouses, that have all been designed by HAY (one of my favourite Danish brands) in a minimal monochrome palette. Each feels bright and open with huge windows on either side. As the sun set, the light in our apartment flooded in, casting beautiful shadows across the floor and furniture. We stayed in one of their top floor penthouse apartments, each with our own double bedroom and bathroom. My bathroom was partitioned from my room with a dramatic clear glass wall. We had a large balcony, that on warmer days would have been lovely to use. And if that’s not enough, there’s a huge rooftop terrace for everyone to use. The block looks like an ‘A’ from above, creating an inner terrace which some ground floor apartments back on to. On the other side are a mix of cafés and restaurants, including Scarpetto, WabiWabi, Le Marché and Emmerys. It’s a beautiful decked space with raised geometric flower beds dotted around.

Previously known as the ‘A-House’, the block once housed some of Copenhagen’s top creatives. Some of the apartments are still adorned with remnants of their previous owners; a scribble on a wall, a print on a ceiling. The building still reflects its artistic past with the apartments and rooftop regularly being used for all sorts of things like pop-up restaurants, recording studios and photoshoots.

Just across the harbour from Islands Brygge is Dybbølsbro station where you can get a train to Nørreport in about 10 minutes. There’s also Kødbyen (the meatpacking district) just beyond Dybbølsbro station where you can find lots of cool bars and restaurants, including Kødbyens Fiskebar.

Inside Frama’s Studio Store

There were so many amazing places I wanted to visit when I was in Copenhagen; and high on my list was the Frama Studio Store. As the name suggests, it is a studio-cum-store, a space for Frama to showcase and sell all their wonderful designs. It’s such a beautiful space, very calming, and filled with designs I would love to see in my own home. Brittany, Hannah and I arrived in the rain and were immediately invited to sit down for a coffee and a chat with Johanne from Frama; it was super relaxed, as I’ve come to realise is the norm everywhere but London.

The 250m² space was at one time St. Pauls Apotek (an apothecary), then in 2013 it was sympathetically renovated by Frama. It now blends old with new in an unexpected way. I’m all for mixing classic with contemporary design, as it brings character and depth to the clean modern design that I love but it takes a lot of practise to make it work this seamlessly. As you enter the space you’re greeted with the original pharmaceutical cabinets that line two full walls. The rooms are light and airy, and there’s this feeling that you’re walking through someone’s home, only they keep it as perfectly ordered and curated as a gallery. I found each room so inspirational and came away with a long wish list for our home.

Frama Studio Store, Fredericiagade 57, 1310 Copenhagen

Autumn In Copenhagen

**Weekday** Voyage Jeans in Black | **Jaeger** Camel Coat | **Amplified** Ramones T-shirt in Grey | **Oliver Sweeney** Montemerano Trainers in Gold* | **KayK Goods** Leather Clutch in Black via **Etsy UK*** | **CF Concept** Tusk Necklace in Gold | **Sally Lane** Boomerang Earrings in Gold* | **Ace & Tate** Heather Sunglasses in Latte* | **Cate & Nelson** No. 165 Watch* | **Auree Jewellery** Tembo Shina Bracelet in Rose Gold*

Copenhagen is one of my favourite cities for design and that extends to architecture, too. There are some incredible buildings all over this city. We were staying in Islands Brygge, so it was the architecture here that we saw the most, and got pretty excited by. Everyday we walked past the incredible Frøsilo, two huge dockside silos that have been converted into private housing. We stayed nearby in one of the penthouse apartments at STAY Copenhagen, an old industrial building that was renovated by Holgaard Architects. The roof of the building has been converted into a huge roof-terrace. Large wooden steps undulate up and down over the 6th floor apartments, along the A-shape of the building, like a zig-zagging amphitheatre, with a large open area at the apex of the ‘A’, where we shot these photos.

My style in the last few years has been highly influenced by Copenhagen style. When I’m there I feel quite inconspicuous, most people dress the way I do and that makes me feel at home. Although, don’t even think about asking me to speak Danish, I’ve tried and failed so many times. Food-wise I’m always impressed and eat so well. This time around we ate out for dinner at Bæst and Scarpetta (one of the Cofoco restaurants), and had the most delicious porridge on Saturday morning at Grød in the Torvehallerne. I would recommend all three, Scarpetta also for its beautiful interior design. Eating out is a casual affair in Copenhagen, people dress well but they don’t get dressed up. It’s more about getting together with friends and family, and eating well in a relaxed environment; something I can totally relate to.