I’ve already written about our recent return to Copenhagen, but I had to dedicate a post to the apartment we stayed in – not only because it enabled us to really ‘live like locals’, but because we actually stayed at the award winning, 8 Tallet.
Since 2009 I’ve watched many a BBC arts programme featuring the development and interviews with its very talented designer Bjarke Ingels. Little did I think that one day I’d be staying there.
So you can imagine my excitement back in January when my husband discovered an apartment available to rent there on Airbnb.I just want to add that this was our first Airbnb booking, but can assure you it won’t be our last.
So as our host rode off on his bike back to his family and summer house, what struck me was just how much the BIG Group got it right.
All the new architecture in this rising suburb of Orestad is very different to what we see on new housing developments across the UK. There’s no peeling mock-Tudor facades, piles of abandoned wheelie bins because there’s nowhere to store them, or even double parked cars because we need four to every household.
Instead there are 10 floors of mixed affordable apartments and small houses all linked by a cycle path and communal green spaces, a deli, restaurant and even a nursery school. To top it off it overlooks a nature reserve and is just a five minute walk to a direct metro stop to the centre of town.
8 Tallet truly is how community living should not only look but function. You could almost taste happiness in the air and the community spirit was infectious.
The apartment too was the epitome of Nordic living – light filled with simple furniture, no clutter and everything in its place. Just key items on display that not only look good but did their job too, and always everything was softened with rugs, cushions and lots of plants.
I’ve stayed in a lot of great places over the years but this experience has given my husband and I a lot to think about. Not only has it given us some obvious decorating ideas, it has inspired us to rethink how we live our everyday lives and, more importantly, what home should feel like.
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