Danish house on Oprah

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Started 2 years ago by PrairieGal
Latest reply from klutzgrrl
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PrairieGal
Member

I just watched Oprah’s episode on women around the world. Has anyone else seen it? If not, here's the clip.
http://www.oprah.com/media/20091021-tows-stine-home-tour

I loved the Danish home. I loved the big windows, clean design, and clean house. I’d like to take a nod from the Danes with all of their built in storage and everything put away. It feels very calm to me.

But on the other hand, it also feels stark and a little too sterile. It’s not cozy at all. I think the cubby of a kids’ bedroom is cute, but what happens when they are teenagers? I don’t like the master bed in the kitchen. There’s no privacy! I quite like my bedroom walls. And I really don’t understand the open bathroom leading to the den. Can anyone explain this too me? Anyone on the boards from Denmark or have ever lived there?

If I could design and build a house I would build tons of hidden storage, just like this Danish house, but I would have solid walls on my bedroom and bathroom.

What do you think?

Posted 2 years ago #
pkilmain
Member

Wow! I agree, the huge windows and the built in storage are great, but it does feel like no one lives there. The kids' room is cute, and though they don't show it there was apparently a crib for the youngest just beside where you climbed up to the cave. But I'd surely want walls on my bathroom and bedroom!

But having seen houses in other countries, I've come to realize that even what most Americans call a small house is really good-sized compared to many European ones.

Posted 2 years ago #
candy
Member

I'm Swedish, and I lived in Denmark for 9 months. I am sure that you are aware that this is not a typical Danish home. It is indeed very minimalistic even from a Scandinavian point of view.

Having said that, I love most of the apartment. What I don't like is the open bathroom. I have however stayed in a hotel where they had a glass wall between the bathroom and the bedroom, but there was the option of curtains to draw if you wanted privacy. I found that absolutely beautiful - it was possible to have a bath and look through the window in the bedroom, but if I would have wanted privacy I could have it (I was staying there alone so it wasn't a problem for me, but with a roommate things would be different).

I also see the problem with that particular apartment when the kids grow up (they had three).

I agree with you on the tons of hidden storage, that would be great. I could actually imagine an open bathroom but with the possibility to close it off, and I don't think I'd need solid walls for my bedroom. I have a separate bedroom now, but I don't have any door to the bedroom and I could well imagine to have it separated from the main room with just a screen or something like that.

Posted 2 years ago #
candy
Member

I think that what you call small vs. what you call good-sized is also a matter of where you live in a particular country. I live in the capital of Sweden, Stockholm. I'm single, and I've got all of 53 square meters (570 square ft) all to myself. That's a rather big apartment for a single person - here. However, if you move outside of Stockholm, most people would probably consider that a rather normal or even small apartment for a single person.

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

i could live happily in that apartment, but not with 3 kids.
i loved the clean lines, the big windows, the natural light.
it all made for some very serene spaces.

i love white walls and our own place is painted with stark white walls...but i like to hang things with a bit of colour and texture to warm it all up a little.
the size of that apartment looked fine to me....we lived in 56 sq metres for ten years.
we are in about 96 sq metres now, but it's sort of all one big room...a converted farm machinery shed! with NO storage built in!
i really liked the long hidden cupboards everywhere and i've got a whole wall i could do that with, now that i think about it.....

Posted 2 years ago #
PrairieGal
Member

@Candy. Thanks for the insight! The piece made me think that all of Denmark lives like this.

Posted 2 years ago #
jazzeriah
Member

I would love to know what all of you think about that crazy article describing the NYC couple who have no food in their apartment and no garbage can.

Maybe there is already a forum about it?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/cozy_crazy_couple_makes_tight_studio_R15ToNFTaJE3c17zkw4efP#

Posted 2 years ago #
misskittin
Member

I saw that piece on the couple with no garbage can. It seems really weird and like a waste of time to walk each piece of trash to the garbage chute. And what about bathroom trash? Seems kinda gross. Sort of uncluttered in an extreme OCD way.

Posted 2 years ago #
PrairieGal
Member

Ya, it's silly and I feel bad for the cats. I think stashing clothes all over town would be a lot of work. And what about the expense of drycleaning and eating out all the time? No trash can? I don't get it, but owell. It feels like a dorm. There's no where for alone time (even I need a break from husband once in a while), there's no room for projects (I'm a crafty gal, so I need some work space). It's kind of cute, and I could probably do it if I HAD to, but it isn't something I would choose.

Posted 2 years ago #
bandicoot
Member

i could do it alone...no husband and no cats.
i think it's dreadful having cats cooped up in a space like that.

Posted 2 years ago #
pkilmain
Member

The NY place was worse than the Danish one! At least the Danes had a table, and the mom spoke about how they valued family meals. And I need to have some time away from my husband as well. And like PrairieGal, I'm a quilter and a knitter, I need space for fabric, sewing machine, yarn, etc.

Posted 2 years ago #
PrairieGal
Member

It's really just a very nice bedroom or even a hotel room. Last night I was wondering, where do they keep their hobbies? I know they run, but they don't do other sports or music? What do they do for fun?

Posted 2 years ago #
badkitti
Member

I'm laughing at Oprah's surprise at the fridge! That's the size of most English fridges. What on earth do US fridges look like?

Posted 2 years ago #
rachel_413
Member

Oh my, the fridges here in the US are almost always taller than I am. The one she showed was as big as something you'd see in a hotel room or a college dorm room. And they usually don't match the cabinets, but I think it would look nice if they did.

Posted 2 years ago #
nws2002
Member

<<What on earth do US fridges look like?>>

They're about 6ft tall and 3ft wide or so. Pretty big when compared with the normal European models. The big models in Europe are what we call apartment-size here.

I think we tend to stock up more on shopping trips though and use the extra space, at least that's the idea. I know my fridge is never full, but it's a normal US size, about 18 cubic ft or so.

Posted 2 years ago #
Claycat
Member

Badkitti, some of us are so far from the grocery store, it would be very hard if we didn't have a larger refrigerator. I know the custom in Great Britain and Europe is to shop more frequently and buy smaller amounts, but often your stores are in walking distance. I would prefer that myself, but I'm 25 miles from the supermarket where I shop.

Posted 2 years ago #
badkitti
Member

Wow! Those are big fridges. I wasn't having a dig, just I was surprised that Oprah was surprised IYSWIM. I appreciate why you might need them.

I'm now trying to think what fits in my fridge on three shelves after a restock:

3x 4pint milk cartons (we are English and we need it for tea!)
1x large loaf of bread
several packs of meat for H's sandwich
Large block of cheddar and another cheese
Salmon for the week's dinner
Mayonnaise jar
Ketchup container
2 x jam
6 - 12 yoghurts
1x 2 litre bottle of fruit juice
Defrosting sausages/other meat
Eggs

And the veg drawer with salad, peppers, potatoes, etc

In fact here's a pic I took recently for a photo a day project (not the most uncluttered opr clean fridge - sorry!):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/badkitti/4279738750/

What I need is a large chest freezer in the garage as mine never takes enough - I could then bulk cook more and take advantage of good meat deals at the farmer's market.

Currently I shop roughly every fortnight with small top ups for milk in between.

Posted 2 years ago #
Sky
Member

Wow. I bought a new fridge this month. 20 cubic feet, with 2 veggie drawers and one meat drawer. It is about 58" X 30". I never knew there was such a difference. We Americans are ridiculously spoiled! There are so many choices from 18 cu ft to 27 cu ft with prices up to $3000!! Freezer on the top, bottom, side by side and french doors on top.
Interesting.

Posted 2 years ago #
badkitti
Member

To be fair I should shleves in the door but the deep one for milk and juice has long departed.

You can see prices and sizes here - most people have a combi fridge freezer.
http://www.comet.co.uk/shopcomet/category/1735/Fridge-Freezers

Average UK size for both fridge and freezer sections combined seems to be from 4 to 12 cubic feet.

How often do American's shop and how full are the fridges? I like to keep my freezer full as its more efficient and I shop every two weeks or so for just me and the H. We've heard those away from cities need to shop in greater bulk but do those Americans in cities have similar size fridges?

Posted 2 years ago #
Sky
Member

I shop once a week and usually end up going again for something I need. My fridge stays full. I shop the sales and keep my freezer full. Also keep a water pitcher and iced tea pitcher in the fridge as well as what badkitti has in hers. Our grocery stores are huge and have everything from batteries, air conditioning filters, toiletries and animal food to flower shops and deli's. There are 4 grocery stores within 3 miles of my house and the competition is huge.

Posted 2 years ago #

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