Karina and Marcus Mencke Vagnby, who designed this house in the trees, admit to some nervousness when the copper cladding they used on the double-storeyed living volume was first installed. “We had to be patient as the façade started off a dazzling rose-gold and, for a couple of months, its shine was quite extreme,” says Karina.  

The small town of Søllerød, 20 kilometres north of the Danish capital, Copenhagen, is steeped in a fairy-tale landscape of lakes and forests. The two industrial designers, both of whom studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, have their own eponymously named business. They had previously renovated the ground floor of a charming villa on the fringe of the city but its large rooms and high stucco ceilings could not make up for a lack of greenery. “We both grew up close to nature and really missed that.”

They started looking for the perfect spot and found it here occupied by a worn-down timber ‘lodge’ with a good basement on land right next to a beautiful forest. Marcus, who also studied architecture, and Karina, who has an artist’s eye, couldn’t wait to craft a family home that harmonised with its surroundings.

Their first plan was to work with the existing wooden house: to lift the roof and extend it – until they discovered it was structurally unsound. “So, we dismantled it carefully, took the wall panels, insulation and cables to the recyclers, while most of the old windows and terrace doors were used to rebuild a friend’s allotment hut in Copenhagen,” says Karina.

Plan B involved creating two intersecting boxes: one contains the office; the other is an elongated open-plan living zone with a pop-up second level for the bedrooms. Karina: “We pay tax per square metre [of house] each year in Denmark, so the planning is tight with big living and office spaces while keeping the bedrooms as small as possible.”

Along with a construction team from Germany, the pair was involved in the build, working on site, starting with the laying of the insulated concrete slab and continuing right until the last railings went up on the roof terrace. They clad one box containing the office in dark wood that has a rustic quality. The other, they sheathed in copper. “The two materials have a lovely contrast and, colour-wise, they blend into the forest, especially in autumn and winter,” says Marcus.

Of course, they didn’t only design the spatial aspects but turned their hands to the crafting of fittings. Case in point is the striking staircase that links the levels. “We wanted an open hallway and to use a minimum of room, so we designed it as a spiral,” says Marcus. The couple has long been interested in the possibilities of bentwood veneer and this inspired them to make the stair and its handrail in one continuous form. “It’s like a huge helix of wood.”

The other eye-catching feature is the kitchen which, like a Kinder egg, has a surprise inside. In essence, Karina and Marcus hacked an Ikea kitchen by using it as the carcass and then gluing custom-made brass panels onto the frame and drawers. Great idea and budget friendly – but, yet again, there were some anxious moments. “In the beginning, it all looked awfully shiny but, after using it, a darker patina with a wonderful glow emerged.”

Furnishing a house isn’t difficult when you’re both designers. Many of their own pieces – designs that have their roots in the mid-century – fit seamlessly with the architecture. Bar stools in black oak contrast with the gilded island bench, and the dining table and chairs in pale beech epitomise the simple, crafted look we have come to associate with the Scandinavian aesthetic.

“They’re the Viggo chair and table, which was one of our first furniture designs,” explains Karina. “The backs are braided together with the seating so they’re so flexible and comfortable but they still have a classy look.” A fine brass screw that holds the construction together makes a special detail that is repeated in the table legs.

It was important to the pair to make this area as comfortable as possible because they are both keen cooks and like to entertain regularly (in fact, when they first met at design school, they bonded over a love of food). You’ll seldom find a frikadelle (Danish meatball) here; more likely, it will be pasta or Asian dishes and the outdoor pizza oven runs hot in all weather.

Now that the couple has two young daughters, on weekends, they can enjoy everything the home and its surrounds have to offer a family. Marcus calls the living room the ‘gallerina’ as it is filled with art that Karina has created. In the garden, there’s a playhouse made of leftover materials from a previous renovation project, a trampoline (Marcus’ wish), a slackline web (Karina’s) and a whole woodland to explore.

Then, when all the activity comes to an end, there’s the house to return to, warm and cosy, its rust-toned coat now far more low-key. “It’s a wonderful house to live in,” says Karina. “The five-metre stud, with huge windows on both sides of the living room, lets us be a part of nature and of the seasons, day in and day out.”

When the girls are in bed, there is yet more to appreciate. When they are relaxed into the pair of self-designed Hermann chairs around the fireplace, looking out at the falling snow as deer and foxes wander by, they know, without a doubt, that leaving the city was the right choice.

This article first appeared in Urbis magazine.

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