A neutral, minimalist home curated by Karakter and Ark Journal

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I not too long ago went to Copenhagen for 3 Times of Structure – Denmark’s annual layout festival showcasing the ideal in Scandinavian design. The event is cost-free and open to anyone – style enthusiasts flock to the cash to get a peek inside showrooms and galleries, and see the most recent exhibitions and layout talks. It was so nice to at last be ready to see structure up near and personal, just after two yrs or so mostly trapped at house thanks to the pandemic. There is nothing like seeing a piece of home furnishings in particular person, touching the products with your possess arms and observing the craftsmanship in detail.

A person of my favourite shows of the pageant was Co/Get the job done by Danish layout manufacturer Karakter and style and design journal Ark Journal. Their exhibition, impeccably styled by Pernille Vest and established in a neutral, minimalist apartment in the city centre, targeted on the interplay amongst residence and perform. That includes new designs and relaunched classics, it offered a refined, stylish globe that blurred the boundaries among formality and ease and comfort.

Karakter’s home furniture has a sculptural high-quality that lends alone to a innovative way of residing. The place presented could be a sculpture’s atelier, but it could also equally be an artist’s property or a collaborative work studio. It presents the problem, are Karakter’s designs a piece of artwork or a purposeful piece of home furniture? Potentially they do not have to have to be a single of the other. But relatively this is evidence that you can curate your property like your have individual art gallery, and design your business as you would at home.

All images Cate St Hill

I initially discovered Karakter all through Milan Layout Week and afterwards at 3 Days of Style and design in 2018. Karakter’s ethos pairs the Scandinavian style and design tradition with an global outlook (they’re component of the very same business as Italian manufacturer Cassina).

They operate with present-day designers this kind of as Aldo Bakker and PlueerSmitt, but they also have the rights to a selection of style and design icons by the likes of Bodil Kjær, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Paul McCobb and Joe Colombo. It’s this assembly of previous and new that presents the brand a timeless aesthetic that defies time durations or developments.

For 3 Days of Structure, in the location of this minimalist condominium, Karakter showcased the GB Lounge chair by Dutch industrial designer Gijs Bakker. Designed in 1972 and influenced by a competition held by Dunlop, Bakker created a cozy modular chair by bending a piece of foam and securing it with a metal frame. To start with upholstered in denim, it was initially dubbed ‘the Levi’s Chair’. Just like a pair of nicely worn jeans, Bakker desired to create a peaceful, easygoing design that expressed the independence of the Seventies.

The GB Lounge can be arranged in a variety of techniques, applying connectors to remodel it from a one particular-seater chair to a generous multiple seating technique.

The easy lines and refined forms unite Karakter’s household furniture into one particular spouse and children. I like how the black frame of the GB Lounge is mirrored in the black legs of the desks, the floating black shelves and the black task lights. It helps build a cohesive place that feels relaxed and controlled.

My favorite Karakter pieces are the TriAngle stool by Aldo Bakker, the Bronco stool by Guillaume Delvigne, and the Libreria Pensile cabinets by Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni.