Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Wooden Furniture Anchors Ever-Changing Danish Interior
This blogger’s wooden furniture reminds her of her grandparents — it’s the only thing in the house she’d never change
Louise Johansen, the blogger behind Mor til Mernee (Mother of Mernee), loves DIY and redecorates often. Her only rule is that any new decor in her home in Hedensted, in the middle of Denmark, must go well with her wooden furniture — because that is definitely here to stay.
The dining room’s eye-catching plywood wall is one of Johansen’s many do-it-yourself projects. She got the idea from a similar wall on Instagram.
“I thought it was very nice and immediately showed it to my husband, Jesper. He got a little angry because he knew he’d be the one who would have to make it. And he was quite right — before the week was up, we’d been to the hardware store and had installed the panel,” she says.
However, the wall came down again three months later, shortly after Houzz’s visit, because Johansen had just invested in a new wooden dining table. She says the combination of wood on the wall, table and chairs was just too much.
This rapid redirect is a good example of her overall approach to interior design. Johansen doesn’t take things too seriously: As long as it’s not at the expense of the wooden furniture, she isn’t afraid to swing a brush or knock down a wall.
“I guess I’m not so afraid to try things out. Sometimes it works and sometimes not, but then, luckily, you can redo it. The only requirement I have is that it must fit with our wooden items. My chairs and bookcases are here to stay, so the other things have to be adjusted accordingly.”
“I thought it was very nice and immediately showed it to my husband, Jesper. He got a little angry because he knew he’d be the one who would have to make it. And he was quite right — before the week was up, we’d been to the hardware store and had installed the panel,” she says.
However, the wall came down again three months later, shortly after Houzz’s visit, because Johansen had just invested in a new wooden dining table. She says the combination of wood on the wall, table and chairs was just too much.
This rapid redirect is a good example of her overall approach to interior design. Johansen doesn’t take things too seriously: As long as it’s not at the expense of the wooden furniture, she isn’t afraid to swing a brush or knock down a wall.
“I guess I’m not so afraid to try things out. Sometimes it works and sometimes not, but then, luckily, you can redo it. The only requirement I have is that it must fit with our wooden items. My chairs and bookcases are here to stay, so the other things have to be adjusted accordingly.”
As one might imagine, Johansen has cycled through a variety of styles in recent years. When the couple bought the house almost 12 years ago, Swedish country style predominated in their tiny, traditional brick villa. Since then, she has gone through a colorful phase, followed by a beige period, a shift back to color and finally a transition to a strictly Nordic style. Now she’s starting to focus on colors again.
“My style has definitely changed over the years, and I am constantly changing things, though I don’t blindly follow current trends. No matter what, wood has always been a through-line in our furniture selection.”
She thinks that’s because her grandfather was a cabinetmaker. “I didn’t go to day care — my grandparents looked after me. So ever since I was very young, I moved around in [my grandfather’s] universe and among the furniture that was in their home.”
“My style has definitely changed over the years, and I am constantly changing things, though I don’t blindly follow current trends. No matter what, wood has always been a through-line in our furniture selection.”
She thinks that’s because her grandfather was a cabinetmaker. “I didn’t go to day care — my grandparents looked after me. So ever since I was very young, I moved around in [my grandfather’s] universe and among the furniture that was in their home.”
When she bought her first Wishbone chair five years ago, she felt that something had fallen perfectly into place.
“Unfortunately, it takes some time to collect such furniture classics, but it’s definitely something I’m striving for. After my grandmother died earlier this year, I inherited some of her chairs, and I am particularly pleased with them. It’s like she and my grandfather live on in them.”
“Unfortunately, it takes some time to collect such furniture classics, but it’s definitely something I’m striving for. After my grandmother died earlier this year, I inherited some of her chairs, and I am particularly pleased with them. It’s like she and my grandfather live on in them.”
The kitchen is another of Johansen’s DIY projects. Thanks to an Ikea hack, the once glossy white fronts and birch countertop have become more elegant.
A broken refrigerator paved the way for the redesign of the kitchen. Johansen explained that since the new refrigerator was steel, it didn’t fit at all in the original decor.
A broken refrigerator paved the way for the redesign of the kitchen. Johansen explained that since the new refrigerator was steel, it didn’t fit at all in the original decor.
“Everything looked mismatched and completely wrong. So there was nothing for it but to redecorate the kitchen. At the time, the tiles only went halfway up, so we extended them, and then I started painting again. At first, I thought painting the countertop would be enough, but it didn’t solve the problem at all. That’s why it ended up being completely black, and I am very happy with it.”
It doesn’t take long to notice that there is something different about the home’s walls. They are mostly bare of artwork, and many of them are painted in distinctive colors. The most eye-catching is the raw wall in the living room, which was a bit of an accident.
“It had been painted 14 times and had had four layers of wallpaper,” Johansen says. “At one point, Jesper said that if I wanted to paint it again, we would have to peel all the old layers off or it would bubble. We did that and it was just right, really nice without any paint at all. Many people on my Instagram profile contacted me about the wall and asked if I shouldn’t do something about it. But I really like it. It’s the original wall, which had been hidden behind all that paint. It puts me in touch with history in some ways, and I’m really crazy about it.”
The opposite wall in the living room is painted a deep olive green and is completely bare except for a lamp and some books.
“I don’t want to hang a single picture there. It would have to be a really nice one, but I have not had any pictures up for several years. Our place is very small, so I would like more space. If there are both colors and pictures on the walls, there is no room for you to be there. So we let the colors win this battle.”
“I don’t want to hang a single picture there. It would have to be a really nice one, but I have not had any pictures up for several years. Our place is very small, so I would like more space. If there are both colors and pictures on the walls, there is no room for you to be there. So we let the colors win this battle.”
Four years ago, Johansen painted the floors in the house gray. Now she regrets it, but this is one of the few DIY projects that can’t be easily undone.
“All the floors on the first story have always been gray, and when they needed a loving hand four years ago, we decided to paint the floors throughout the house. I … couldn’t imagine having bare wooden floors. But I regret it today. We painted them with epoxy, which is not easy to redo. It’s a horrible mess and at the same time quite toxic.
On the other hand, this allows us to paint the walls in these bright colors. After all, when the floors are not too loud, there is room for something else.”
On the other hand, this allows us to paint the walls in these bright colors. After all, when the floors are not too loud, there is room for something else.”
A few years ago, the couple put in a French door in the bedroom facing the garden. “It offers a wonderful light and view … and helps give the interior a bright and airy touch despite the fact that we don’t have the biggest amount of space at our disposal,” she says.
Johansen bought the Moroccan rug recently — it is part of her renewed love of color.
Browse Moroccan-style rugs
Johansen bought the Moroccan rug recently — it is part of her renewed love of color.
Browse Moroccan-style rugs
The first-floor hallway was already pink, and Johansen extended it up to the second floor. It brings a harmonious touch and unifies the house.
Read stories about decorating with pink
Read stories about decorating with pink
The couple’s daughters, Merle, 9, and Neel, 6, have their rooms on the second story.
In contrast to the more sparsely decorated living areas, these rooms are full of fun knick-knacks and offer a space for play.
The wallpaper was carefully selected for both girls’ rooms. “It was definitely not cheap, but I thought about it carefully and found something that was a little longer-lasting. The girls really love it, and their friends are totally fascinated by it when they come over.”
Both Merle and Neel are growing up, so they are starting to have opinions about the decor. In the end, it’s for their rooms, so Johansen asks them what they would like.
“I usually have an idea of what I’d want it to be like. I present it to them and give them some options. They usually don’t think it’s completely out of place.”
“I usually have an idea of what I’d want it to be like. I present it to them and give them some options. They usually don’t think it’s completely out of place.”
Neel has the large room with a loft. Johansen says the girls decided who got which room, and it has worked out really well. “That way, there are no conflicts at all about who has the biggest room,” she says.
We can see Johansen’s love for wood in the children’s rooms too.
She believes that the furniture must tell a story. “I don’t know whether my decor can be considered any single style, but I really like old stuff, stuff that you cannot buy in a store. I don’t feel inspired in an ‘Ikea home’ where you can’t tell who lives there. I can’t exist there at all. A home needs to be filled up over time with small things from vacations and flea markets and kids’ stuff. These are the things that, in my opinion, make a home.”
She believes that the furniture must tell a story. “I don’t know whether my decor can be considered any single style, but I really like old stuff, stuff that you cannot buy in a store. I don’t feel inspired in an ‘Ikea home’ where you can’t tell who lives there. I can’t exist there at all. A home needs to be filled up over time with small things from vacations and flea markets and kids’ stuff. These are the things that, in my opinion, make a home.”
When the couple first saw the house, they signed the contract after only a week, even though they had been looking for something in the same style in a more urban area. “My husband is a carpenter, so we wanted to buy something we could add our own touch to. But the real estate market was at its peak, so it was hard to find anything we could afford.
“Therefore, we started searching outside of the city, and when we saw this house, we immediately fell in love with it and the people who lived in the area. We asked ourselves if we were the type who could live in [a rural area like] Hedensted and agreed that we were — because our house was here.”
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
“Therefore, we started searching outside of the city, and when we saw this house, we immediately fell in love with it and the people who lived in the area. We asked ourselves if we were the type who could live in [a rural area like] Hedensted and agreed that we were — because our house was here.”
More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
Who lives here: Louise Johansen of Mor til Mernee, husband Jesper and their two daughters, Merle and Neel
Location: Hedensted, Denmark
Size: 1,830 square feet (170 square meters), with a living area of 1,227 square feet (114 square meters) and a full basement