Creating A Tastefully Layered Interior With A Story To Tell

In the Hamburg home of Danish designer Karin Schandorff, the old is mixed with the new, creating a tastefully layered interior with a story to tell

- Anja Blinkenberg

When interior designer Karin Schandorff and her entrepreneur husband Jens bought the 5,920 sq ft house in Hamburg, Germany, five families lived in it, so it has been a massive undertaking for the couple to transform the house to how it looks now. The house in Hamburg was built in 1890 and has been rebuilt twice since, and when the developer had finished, he still thought it was too small, so he added a beautiful tower, which unfortunately has disappeared during the Second World War, says the Danish designer.

Schandorff, who runs Hamburg-based firm Little Chelsea, has been living in the city for over two decades and saw a major renovation to be necessary for this new abode. It took more than a year to restore the original twostorey house, which she now resides in with her husband and their labradoodle dog Freya. Their two daughters, who live and work in Los Angeles, use the guest room upstairs whenever they're back home in Germany.

Featuring a freshly painted white facade, the two-storey house is situated on a site with a slight elevation above street level and is surrounded by lush greenery. The spacious light-filled living area is connected to Schandorff's home office, as well as the rest of the rooms on the ground floor.

When it comes to decorating, the self-taught interior decorator has no fixed rules for what one can or cannot do, which is reflected in her home. When I modernise old houses, I often relocate the windows and doors, in order to maximise the natural light in the interior and create transparency and openness, says Schandorff, who loves to get the best out of the old houses while respecting the building's original style.