My Houzz: Art Has a Special Place in a Compact Copenhagen Flat

Design enthusiast and budding art collector Svend Terkelsen wanted an intimate space where he could have room to showcase his art and furniture. The lawyer found it in a bright and airy converted attic flat he rents in central Copenhagen. He embraced the 550-square-foot apartment’s quirks to turn it into a tiny gallery for his collection. His pieces reflect a casual, modern vibe. “I wanted them to come together in a kind of symbiosis,” he says.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Svend Terkelsen
Location: Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark
Size: 550 square feet (51 square meters); one bedroom, one bathroom
Year built: 1888


“My living room is the heart of my place, where I live and where I have guests over,” lawyer Svend Terkelsen says. “If I am by myself, I usually read or watch TV in my chaise longue.”

His furnishing style is a mix of high-end designer statement pieces with dependable Ikea ones, like the red love seat. The 1950s steel coffee table was designed by Jørgen Kastholm and Preben Fabricius and the leather chaise longue is by Le Corbusier.


Just moving or adjusting some of the furniture can also change how the space functions. A case in point is the dining table, a Swedish Gustavian-style piece from around the turn of the last century. “If I have guests over, I enjoy making dinner and experimenting in the kitchen,” Terkelsen says. “My dining room table can be expanded so it’s possible to sit 10 to12 people around the table.”

The bronze chair was designed by Maison Jansen.


Terkelsen, pictured, has learned to make the most of his compact yet efficient kitchen over the last seven years. The 80-year-old kitchen was last updated in the early 1990s, before he moved in. Though the space is small, Terkelsen finds it’s big enough for him to entertain and cook for a handful of guests.


Terkelsen got his appreciation for fine art from his father. “One summer, my father announced to our family that we [had] to forgo our annual vacation because he had decided to invest in a painting instead,” he says. “It didn’t seem fair at the time, but now I see that preserving art [is important], just like memories are important.”

The painting seen here is by British artist Simon Keenleyside.


This little window beneath the eaves is decorated with a pre-Columbian-era mask and a Nepalese altar fragment from the 13th century. The PH 3/2 table lamp is by iconic Danish architect Poul Henningsen and the vintage oak side table is from Terkelsen’s parents.



Terkelsen acquired these Ming dynasty glazed clay horses at an auction.

The flat is located in Copenhagen’s vibrant Vesterbro neighborhood and looks out on the meatpacking district, which is full of classic dive bars and trendy restaurants.


This handsome mahogany desk, whose maker is unknown, is from the 1930s. Terkelsen found it at an antiques store.


“I’ve tried to keep a casual modern vibe while incorporating some pieces of modern art, antiques and heirlooms,” Terkelsen says. “I have an eclectic sense of buying new acquisitions and buy what I like and what fits into my space, rather than a specific period or style.” For example, on his bedroom side table is a vignette of an Azimuth watch from Switzerland, a bronze lamp by German Art Nouveau artist Franz Rosse and an amethyst crystal souvenir from a trip to Brazil.


Some of the flat’s design challenges stem from the limited space and the slanted walls. “Which means,” Terkelsen explains, “you have to put low furniture like a sofa along the outer walls. It minimizes the options where you can put the furniture, but I think it adds charm and a sense of coziness.” The 1930s Art Deco Danish brass bowl on the dining table, stamped by Tinos, belonged to his grandmother.


Beautiful untreated oak floors help create a clean, gallery-like space for Terkelsen’s growing art collection. The apartment’s walls were replastered and the floors resanded before he moved in.





A Joan Miró lithograph hangs on one wall of the flat. All the walls are covered in plaster, making them delicate and the hanging of art a challenge. But the piece, which was acquired from the Louisiana Art Museum in the 1970s by Terkelsen’s father, was a “must hang.” A vintage black-and-white photograph of Terkelsen’s family and a painting by Danish artist Emma Augusta Løffler, which Terkelsen bought at an auction, sit on the floor. He purchased the 19th-century brass candelabra on a trip to Paris. The bronze greyhound is a custom-made hood ornament from the 1930s.

Together, the pieces epitomize Terkelsen’s approach to design and to his art and furniture. “I love to find new pieces at auctions, flea markets, secondhand shops and galleries,” he says. “I get my inspiration from auction catalogs and magazines.”


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