The White Room: Anne-Sophie & Oskar's Frederiksberg Apartment

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Anne-Sophie Rosenvinge, a Danish photographer and creative, moved into her 80 square metre apartment with her boyfriend, landscape architect Oskar Frelin, in November 2018. After a month of renovation, including sanding the hardwood floors, they moved into their minimalist yet colorful space, bringing only larger pieces from their previous apartments. “We sold a lot of our furniture before moving in together, just for practical reasons, ” Anne-Sophie explains, adding, “But we brought with us all the more storage-friendly items like chairs and lamps. It’s been so fun being able to start from scratch with the bigger statement pieces, like our sofa and dining table. We are still building on our collection, starting with second-hand finds, slowly replacing them with items that we’ve saved up for.”

One of those items is their sofa, the Ellis by SOFACOMPANY in Danny Amber, an earthy textured ochre. The sofa is modular, so that it can be arranged in a number of ways. “Our living room is quite compact, so we put together three Ellis modules in order to have the options for dividing up the sofa in smaller compartments. We decided on the Ellis because it can fit both of us lying down, but also because the color really just spoke to me! Burnt orange is my color,” says Anne-Sophie.

As to how she began decorating her home, Anne-Sophie says she works from the larger pieces, such as the bed and sofa, and then moves outwards.

“A sofa is one of the largest and most significant furniture pieces in the home. Both visually and in volume. When redecorating or planning a living space, I like to think of the sofa as that first piece in the puzzle; everything else that comes after it, has to align with its color, shape and style. You need to make sure the ripple effect is a positive one,” she explains.

With that boldly-colored sofa at the heart of the home, Anne-Sophie has done an incredible job of creating a space that is both colorful and minimalist, full of both new pieces and unique second-hand finds. Anne-Sophie leans into her love of small objects, going to flea markets often to hunt for treasure. “I have found a lot of things on flea markets and second hand stores over the years. I’ve come to love the Swedish loppis the most, perhaps because there are so many of them and the prices are always great. It takes a bit of the pressure off knowing that, no matter what, it was a bargain. One of my favourite finds is a pale yellow three-armed candleholder that I got in 2018, as well as a curved pink vase. Both from my secret second-hand store in the North of Sweden, found on different occasions. They are both on display and I enjoy them every day,” Anne-Sophie smiles.

And indeed, her home is artfully curated with beautiful, small items that each seem to have a story attached. These objects, as well as the way she uses color, create moods and narratives throughout her home that are at once engaging and calming. Despite so much visual stimulation, Anne-Sophie’s home seems quite minimal. How does she do it?

“The wall color in our living room is a warm beige. It acts as a neutral backdrop for the things in our home, which is perhaps why it feels calm and minimal. We’ve done a few DIY hacks to create concealed storage space for our things. We’ve also created designated displays for ‘where things can happen,’ object and color-wise, like the shelves in our dining room. What happens around them is more calm, which makes it feel curated and consciously minimal. I also think a lot about where the colorful items are in relation to one another,” she says.

Anne-Sophie and Oskar’s home is clearly one that is well-thought through. Even though it might not be fully finished (and what home ever is, really?), they take pride in the process of design, not just the outcome. Anne-Sophie’s approach of starting with the larger items, such as the sofa and bed, and building out from there has led to a tone-in-tone, highly thoughtful and atmospheric space. What a treat to see it!