The night of Day 2 in Copenhagen introduced me to Hansen Living, a minimalist, natural approach to kitchens. Knud Kapper, danish architect and founder of Hansen Living, has designed an eco-friendly collection of functional furniture for the kitchen. Tonight's party was to celebrate Hansen's arrival in NYC, thanks to US rep, Susan Serra.
Knud explained that when he embarked on designing Hansen's product line, he asked some of the best chefs in Copenhagen what made them 'laugh at the typical consumer kitchen.' Then he did the opposite. The result is a collection of free-standing units with no overhead cabinets, but rather drawers below counters. Each drawer is lined with a metal perforated bottom to allow air circulation. The base pieces are raised on legs to allow access for cleaning the entire kitchen floor.
Clearly, Knud is an architect first, and a businessperson second.
Hansen kitchen furniture is made of solid sustainable woods--created and assembled in Denmark by skilled woodworkers--using only water-based glues and natural soaps and oils as finishes. Knud described the pieces as built with the integrity of a long-lasting table into which drawers and appliances such as ovens or refrigerators are inserted. Knud's goal is to completely eschew the image of the forced and disposable kitchen--the particle board cabinets anchored to walls, the built in sink and bulky oven, etc. etc.
Knud's dream is for Hansen Living to continue to produce wonderful quality work and to eventually export it to China, thus fighting the tide in the other direction.
To get the full impact of Jill's Copenhagen trip thus far, check out these posts:
• News Flash: Jill is Off to Copenhagen!
• News: Even the Airports are Beautiful!
• News: Jill's Day Trip to Humlebaek
• Normann Copenhagen: You've Died and Gone to Modern Design Heaven
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omg. just reading Remodelista this minute and reading about this line. and now here --- my (online) worlds are colliding.
couldn't find pricing on this stuff with US rep. any idea?
view Julianna's profile
oh this is gorgeous!
view mschatelaine's profile
This is the second time I have seen this kitchen furniture.
I haven't seen kitchen design this beautiful in a long time.
I would go so far as to say it is perfect.
view art's profile
They have some set pieces ("instant kitchen"). Wish I had some idea if it was closer to 15k or 150k. Someone email/call! I'm phone phobic.
view Julianna's profile
It's true (about the excessive compulsion to over-fill existing cabinets). Our way of looking at it is... if one day we had to immediately move to another house, what would we REALLY take? And this is all anyone would need. Burner top, space for cutlery, sink and enough counter space to make a Texas-sized meal. Fridge and a small wardrobe for dishes, pots and other low-use necessities. I find funny the way that apartments are laid out... instead of allowing a way to customize a space best suitable for the people who live in it, they just make things easy to cheaply repaint. Someone who doesn't cook could just stash this in a storage room and have an extra room... now I'm just rambling.
view Djluckyonline's profile
Hansen Living--like Fritz Hansen and Hans Wegner?
My uneducated guess would be closer to the $100k or more mark for an average kitchen.
That first island piece is so stunning though I would consider a second job if I had to.
view art's profile
Where are all the folks who screamed about the irresponsibility of shipping a kitchen from overseas? Or was that just because the kitchens in question then were high tech and Italian?
view patrick (the other one)'s profile
I love Apartment Therapy but I've never been moved to comment before. This kitchen blows me away. I will not be able to get this out of my head. Wow!!
view allief's profile
Modern and warm? Swoon!
view Jon_B's profile
The kitchen is gorgeous but I'd have to order a few more cabinets to put my uh... FOOD in. Where's the rest of the kitchen? I'm a minimalist too but part of being a minimalist is having plenty storage to put the necessities and unmetionables away.
view orangejuce's profile
I could see myself getting into an argument with Mr. Knud and screaming through the phone for him to "Just give me more d@%# cabinets already and stop trying to tell me what to do!!" LOL. I'm assuming these kitchens are for larger homes that have a pantry because Where would you put the cereal boxes and such?
view orangejuce's profile
that item in the first photo is absolutely DROOL-WORTHY!
view *heather leaf*'s profile
ok, i just opened the slideshow and had to stop at photo #18, the pics were breaking my wee widdew hawt!
*sniff sniff*
one day i'll be able to afford such lovelies.
view *heather leaf*'s profile
I walked into Hansen's Copenhagen showroom in August, and I was so moved by Knud's beautiful, yet simple, design that I immediately resolved to bring these pieces to the U.S. one way or another. So I am thrilled the response is so positive!
I've worked with kitchens, professionally, for over 20 years, and I have not seen anything like it in the kitchen and bath marketplace. It's made of solid wood, completely eco-friendly, including adhesives and finishes--which is quite impressive!
About the pricing, I'm currently working on that, and while it will be considered high-end, it won't be over the top. Hansen is a small factory, with smaller costs than larger factories.
view susan's profile
Excellent susan,
If you need a Chicago representative I would be glad to help you out!
view art's profile
I, for one, hate the idea of shipping these ginormous things overseas. BUT if they ship unassembled -- which the other kitchens would not (oddly) -- then I'd think about it. The wood itself is sustainably harvested, or so they say. Wood is always shipped these days anyway, so ...
view Julianna's profile
art, please email me for future reference.
Julianna, that's a valid point. I can tell you that the entire product is green, including wood from managed forests, adhesives, and all of the finishes. In addition, it is meant to be collected as, and considered as, furniture...to last, really, decades, and/or to take with one if moving, which is part of the Hansen philosophy, making it even more eco friendly, and diminishing the small shipping waste factor over time. For some, that's all good. For others, the space it takes up on a ship is still one factor that might be a dealbreaker. Different shades of green...
view susan's profile
oh my, just beautiful! you had me with the photo of the dovetail joinery.
view universal mod's profile
i've come back to say that this damn kitchen is now haunting me... every time I close my eyes, these cabinets appear, taunting me... oh, I want this kitchen...
view mschatelaine's profile
To get details on pricing and ordering in the United States, please contact Susan Serra by email: susan AT hansenlivingusa DOT com or by phone: 631.754.0464
view jill's profile
lol, monika1! me too. i had to come back to have another look. i thought maybe i was just having a moment when i first laid eyes on these last night and that with today's fresher look i'd be over them. not a chance!
thanks, susan - your comments are wholly informative. your words, "...the entire product is green, including wood from managed forests, adhesives, and all of the finishes. In addition, it is meant to be collected as, and considered as, furniture...to last, really, decades, and/or to take with one if moving, which is part of the Hansen philosophy, making it even more eco friendly..." made me an even bigger fan!
unfortunately, i'd have to get a bigger apartment just to house the first one. :-D
view *heather leaf*'s profile
I'm really glad you guys like it...I haven't been able to get it out of my mind either since August. The walnut is gorgeous, the teak, with a soap finish I saw last week was very, sort of beachy and very consistent, you'd never recognize it as teak. I sure didn't. It's just this natural finish that's so beautiful, on any wood.
Come see us at ICFF in May! Say hello to Knud and his whole team, they're all coming to New York. We'll be in the Danish section. They'd all love to chat, answer questions, explain the concepts behind the design, etc. A very friendly bunch of people.
view susan's profile