A simple Scandi Christmas
Sille van Loon, Martin Darré and their two children live in a 1930s villa in the town of Valby, a district of Copenhagen.
At Christmas Sille really likes to bring the outdoors in; “I’m definitely a ‘nature’ person,” she confesses, “even more so during the winter months, when my garden is looking a little sad and we are very much inside.” To console herself, Sille and her family head to their summer cottage in Sejerø Bugten, Zealand, on an annual winter weekend trip to gather pine cones, larch and birch branches, moss, leaves and berries. “It’s so nice to come home laden with pieces ready to make wreaths and garlands,” she says.
‘Home’ is a villa built in the 1930s in the Valby district of Copenhagen, which Sille bought with Martin in 2014. The couple first saw the house on a sunny September day,when its garden looked so pretty. “Inside, there were lots of cosy nooks and beautiful bedrooms – I was sold,” laughs Sille. With a new kitchen, floorboards sanded and built-in solutions like the bench in the living area, the couple soon made the villa home for their growing family. “I love that the ground floor is large enough for the four of us to all be in the same area without feeling cramped,” she shares .
Sille’s kept the entrance hall simple with rustic tiles underfoot. “Since the hallway can easily become chaotic with school books, bags and snowsuits, I keep decorations minimal too,” she says, although there’s always mistletoe hung above the living-room door.
“When I am at the Christmas markets, I’ll always buy a few decorations to work with my existing white ones,” says Sille. But decorating for Christmas for Pernille is about more than just the tree, with fresh foliage adorning windowsills, hung above pictures and arranged in vases around her home.
Above her Hay sofa, Sille has hung a branch of larch, framing the wintry view of her garden. The floorboards have been sanded and restored, while a bespoke built-in bench under the window provides storage for seasoned logs for the woodburner.
The oak flooring is original, along with the French doors – which are rarely closed – separating the kitchen/dining room from the living area, and the simple staircase. “Less is more” is a style philosophy that Sille applies to her Christmas decorating too. “Much of Christmas is sumptuous and very colourful,” she explains, “yet I prefer a slightly cooler and simpler festive table.”
Blue pops up throughout Sille’s home – it’s her favourite colour, and you’ll see it on her kitchen shelves, which are home to flea-market treasures, alongside Danish glassware from Holmegaard and Casalinga. It’s this effortless mix of pre-loved nestled next to design classics that makes Sille’s take on modern Nordic so appealing. Yes, you’ll find design icons but they are given space to breathe.
The kitchen-dining room is a lesson in Nordic simplicity with its white kitchen, and large dining table, designed by Børge Mogensen. The chairs are Series 7 by Arne Jacobsen, with the large copper pendant by Tom Dixon.
The colourful world map in the kitchen-dining room gives play and life to Sille’s cool, white decor. It was a gift many years ago. The sheepskin adds a touch of natural texture, enhancing the wooden tones.
Sille’s added a few seasonal potted bulbs to the original staircase, with its striped treads and simple white banisters and walls.
The chair in Sille and Martin’s bedroom came from her grandfather’s furniture factory; “Everyone in my family seems to have one,” she laughs. The quilt is from Hay.
See more of Sille’s home in our Christmas special digital edition.
Words & styling: Mette Helena Rasmussen/House of Pictures
Photography: Tia Borgsmidt/House of Pictures
Find more Christmas inspiration in our latest Simply Scandi Christmas Special 2023, available to buy in Waitrose or online.
