Sustainable living

We create interiors in which we strive to select products from suppliers, which take great care in designing and manufacturing products that leave as little a mark as possible on our current and future environment. Products, which already during the design process, are created to serve the client best considering functionality and quality and manufactured with as sustainable materials and processes as possible. Our manufacturers make clear statements concerning sustainability in design and production.

We let a selection of our suppliers speak for themselves: 

Carl Hansen & Søn:

„At Carl Hansen & Søn, we feel a great responsibility to keep bringing this sustainable idea forward of producing furniture with a long life, made of wood harvested from sustainably managed forests and treated in a way that is as gentle as possible for the environment.“

Fritz Hansen:

„Sustainable quality refers to solutions where the quality, design and sustainability aspects are all equally important.“

Montana:

„Over 25 years ago, we introduced our own set of environmental accounts in consultation with The Danish Environmental Protection Agency and became one of the first Danish businesses to run ‘cradle-to grave’ analyses of the environmental consequences of a given product.“

Louis Poulsen:

„We are well-known for working with energy-saving light sources and for continuously updating our products to ensure that they feature contemporary, durable technologies. Our manufacturing process is environmentally certified and our annual eco report precisely accounts for the materials and resources we use throughout the year.“

Kasthall:

„Kasthall stands for a longer perspective. Our clients enjoy their rugs for many years, thanks to their long-lasting quality – in design, materials and manufacturing. To sum up our philosophy: Quality never goes out of style.“

Swedese:

„Our activities shall advance so that we continuously improve both the manufacturing and the processes involved, in favour of the economy of resources with ever increased recycling of materials.“

Artek:

„In the spirit of its founders, Artek is investing in material research, in the development of systems and standards, and in sustainable design. Aesthetics, ethics and ecology are in the DNA of Artek.“

Many of our suppliers have been around for a long time. A hundred years ago, a producer needed to be able to produce out of materials which were easy to find nearby, to secure renewable supply and reduce transportation cost. A consumer knew, that purchasing products for your home meant you were going to spend a lot of money, so you had to know how to take care of them, to make them last.

Much of this thinking disappeared, almost completely, when inventions in materials, transportation and manufacturing were made and costs could be cut, but is now revived, due to the current state of our environment. Manufacturers again take greater care in using as much of the raw material as possible and in finding alternative uses for left overs or even in creating beautiful new designs out of them. Many also provide spare parts, which will prolong the life of a piece of furniture even longer. Ask us for the availability of spare parts or let us show you examples of how production takes place.

The photos shown from the different production sites were made during visits in 2017 by Anna Berg and Peter Kaufmann.

If we select furniture and other interior objects with great care and invest a substantial amount of money to buy them, taking care of our furniture and interior objects should be as normal as taking care of our clothes or shoes or as natural as taking care of ourselves. Whether it’s a piece with a utilitarian or aesthetic value, it deserves the best care we can give it.

So, what you can do, is to find out how best take care of your purchases, in order for you to be able to enjoy them for a long time, and after, pass them on to friends and family or sell them off on the second hand market in good condition. Yes, it takes a daily effort, from you or whomever is helping you, but we believe that the cumulated effort is much smaller than the efforts we will have to make later on, if we don’t care now.

Nature plays a big role in Scandinavian interiors, in form of the raw materials, shapes or colours used. We love to work with natural materials, because of their beauty but also because they make every item unique: wood has different grains, leather has scars of insect bites and stone has various marks from deposits and veins which developed during its formation.

It is important to remember, that natural materials will adapt to their environment. For example, during dryer periods, wood as well as linen fabrics will contract and during more humid periods they will expand. This might result in fine cracks along the veins of the wood, slightly shorter curtains or in a drawer not fitting perfectly. All these changes will reverse during more humid periods. 

Damages to furniture and other interior objects usually occur due to:

• poorly managed environment, such as temperature, humidity and light, or 
• carelessness, auch as lack of daily care, handling and maintenance.

There is really no perfect environment for your furniture, there are only conditions that contribute to the preservation or deterioration of them. A perfect environment would imply that you couldn’t use them at all. However, there are optimal conditions to strive for. 

Do:

• place furniture in rooms with a relative air humidity of 40-50% and a temperature of approximately 20°C. 
• place furniture away from radiators and other heat sources. 
• use trivets when placing hot, greasy or dirty items on surfaces.
• soak up any fluids immediately, since they might stain the surface and be absorbed by and later, damage the material.
• leave furniture in the dark; pull curtains or cover with breathable fabric when not in use, in order to reduce the damage from light.
• move a piece of furniture that is exposed to sunlight by 180° now and then, if possible, to avoid differences in coloring
• keep extension leaves attached to avoid differences in coloring.

Don’t:

• leave objects on the surface, especially during the first months when the colour of a new piece adapts the most, to avoid damage from light.
• use airtight material such as oil cloths on a table for more than 12 hours.
• use indoor furniture outside.
• store furniture in unheated rooms.

If daily care and periodical maintenance are carried out correctly, there shouldn’t be any reason for you not to be able to enjoy your loved furniture for many years to come.

care & maintenance advice

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