The house of modernist Jorn Utzon with New Year's decor

The new owner of the unusual house — florist and stylist Henrietta Stib — has preserved its historical appearance and simplicity of interiors. Let's see what kind of decor she chose to decorate the rooms for Christmas (spoiler: there was no traditional tinsel and red-green color scheme!)

In the Danish town of Fures there is an unusual house on stilts, designed by the modernist architect Jørn Utzon. The main feature of this one—story wooden building is the "legs" that lift the building a meter above the ground. It turned out that this was done not because of the peculiarities of the local soil, but ... so that the owner of the house could better see the lake located nearby! On the other side, the building has glass facades, through which a perfect view opens, and from the outside, trees and the sky are reflected in the large windows.

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When the house, built in the 1950s, was put up for sale two years ago, stylist and florist Henriette Staib could not miss such a chance, and she and her husband bought it.

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In his work, Jorn Utzon (1918-2008) adhered to the principles of organic architecture. His projects are always correlated with the natural and human scale, whether it is a public building (the National Assembly and Parliament in Kuwait or an Opera House in Sydney, a religious one (a church in Bauswerda) or a residential building, like this project in Fures. 

"This house stands on stilts, which is very unusual for the work of an architect. Usually its buildings are located in rural areas, where they repeat the topography and hills in the landscape. However, in this project, Jorn Utzon decided to lift the building above the ground in order to fully enjoy the landscape," says Lineorskov Eriksen, a researcher of Danish architecture (Line Nørskov Eriksen). 

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Henrietta is the owner of the flower shops De Fire Årstider, she is interested in interior design and understands it well. However, when she and her husband moved into this house — a monument of Danish modernism — she had to give up a lot and change a lot in her preferences in order to live here. Outside and inside the house is protected by the law on the protection of monuments — the owners cannot even repaint the walls in a different color, all shades are fixed. So Henrietta and her husband had to break their heads, thinking over the situation. The starting point for the selection of furniture was the original blue and red shades + the color of natural wood, with which the walls are decorated from the inside.

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The living room is narrow and long, with large windows, with simple furniture that does not attract attention to itself and gives a "solo party" to architecture. And, of course, the nature outside the window: Henrietta did not clutter up the room with things so that you could admire the views from anywhere in the room, be it a soft sofa against the wall or a classic of Danish design — Hans J. Flagline armchair. Wegner. The white Muller Van Severen floor lamp complements the austere atmosphere of the living room.

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The staircase leads to the very center of the longhouse. The hostess decorated this area with paintings, vintage posters and a collection of ceramics that Henrietta adores. 

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The new kitchen, according to the law on the protection of monuments, was supposed to resemble the original, which was already missing at the time of the housewarming. Therefore, the kitchen set was made to order from old photographs: the facades are made in similar neutral shades, and the island is covered with wooden panels, like the walls in the rest of the house. The apron and countertop of the main work area were tiled with lava stone from File Under Pop.

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At Christmas and New Year, Henrietta opens the doors to the nature surrounding the house, decorating it with dried flowers, branches, dried mushrooms, cones, apples and fir paws. She chooses natural, restrained shades, harmoniously combined with the original colors of the house, so the New Year's decor — from candlesticks and bouquets to textiles and Christmas decorations — does not create visual noise.

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The dining table is surrounded by vintage Knoll MR chairs, the wicker seats of which are combined with the walls and with a light linen tablecloth.

Henrietta always decorates the New Year's table with floral arrangements. This year, instead of traditional vases, she chose tall bowls on legs to create a feeling of lightness and soaring for large bouquets. She complemented the delicate colors of flowers with the greenery of coniferous branches and the rich red color of ripe apples laid out on a linen tablecloth.

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The bedroom is located behind the living room, long narrow windows give this small room enough light. A giant Christmas mistletoe hangs above the stairs, welcoming guests and upcoming holidays.

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