3 Days in Copenhagen With Lekker’s Design Sales Associate

Estimated 0 min read

December 20, 2022

Danish brands and designers have produced some of the most iconic furniture, lighting, and accessories on the market.

Our Design Sales Associate, Maris, recently took a quick trip to Copenhagen to explore the home of some of her favorite brands.

Even before I started working at Lekker Home, Copenhagen was high on my list of cities to visit. After spending the past year surrounded by Danish design icons, I jumped at the chance to go with some friends earlier this month. We only had time for a quick trip, but we were able to explore the city, experience Danish culture, and thanks to Lekker Home’s connections, I was able to access the showrooms and offices of some of my favorite design brands.

I left Boston on a Friday afternoon, landed in Copenhagen Saturday morning, and wanted to take full advantage of the day ahead of me. We checked out a few vintage shops, and walked through the Christmas Market, buying a few gifts and souvenirs along the way. After the Christmas Market, we headed to Muuto’s showroom. They greeted us with gløgg (a warm, mulled wine beverage), which was the perfect way to warm up while I tried out the Connect Soft Modular Sofa and the Outline Sofa.

After a bit more walking, it was starting to get dark (it gets dark early there at this time of year!), so we headed back to the hotel to get changed for the night. We headed to a cozy wine bar called Alfon’s, which is a local Vesterbro bar with an intimate atmosphere. We sat for a few glasses of wine while getting to know the owner and the two locals who were enjoying the evening there as well.

It had been a long day of travel, walking, shopping, and eating, so after that we were ready to call it a night. I went back to my hotel, The Audo – which is Menu/by Lassen’s hotel and office space. It was, of course, impeccably designed, featuring some of my favorite pieces, such as the Knitting Lounge Chair and Eave Sectional Sofa. It was the perfect relaxing, inspiring place to come back to after our first day.

The next morning, I woke up and started my day with breakfast at the hotel. It was my favorite breakfast of the whole trip – I had a croissant, eggs, fruit, granola, and a latte. The food was fresh and delicious, and the hotel staff were welcoming and friendly – it was the perfect start to the day. After breakfast, I wandered around to explore the hotel and office space, where I got to see some Menu and by Lassen pieces that I hadn’t seen in person before. I loved them all.

After my quick tour, it was time to get back to exploring the city. We did lots of walking around, mixed in with a little shopping and plenty of coffee. While walking near the canal, we found some trampolines built into the ground, which was such a fun surprise. After all the walking (and jumping), we decided to switch to bikes – bike culture is huge in Copenhagen, and we were excited to ride around and see more of the city. We rented electric bikes through Bycyklen, Copenhagen’s City Bike system. It was such a fun way to see the city, and we were happy to learn that profits from the program are reinvested in green mobility.

We rode over to the Statens Museum for Kunst, or SMK, the national gallery of Denmark. In addition to the art you’d typically expect to see in a museum, they also had lots of iconic Danish furniture on exhibit, like the Wishbone Chair. In addition to the furniture that was featured in the exhibits, everywhere you looked there was great design – from Noguchi pendants in the cafeteria to Fermob chairs outside, it was a reminder of how much design is a part of their everyday life.

That night, we went to dinner at a Japanese fusion restaurant called Hanzo, where we got to experience a different take on Japanese food. We tried some small dishes including the wings and cucumber salad with an order of each of their bao buns – everything was amazing. After dinner, we went back to the hotel to rest up for the final day of our trip.

I kicked off Monday on my own with a trip to Louise Roe. I started at their showroom’s café, The Roe Bar, to grab coffee and pastry. I had the best time checking out all of the different colors they offer and taking inspiration from the way they display their architectural and whimsical objects.

Next, I headed to &Tradition – their showroom isn’t open to the general public, but given Lekker Home’s relationship I was able to schedule a tour of the showroom and offices. &Tradition makes some of my personal favorite picks in our showroom, so I was excited to take a look at the new additions to their collection that they had on display; my favorite was the Rely collection. The showroom was even better than I expected, and I especially loved their cafe named after the Little Petra lounge. In addition to all of the design inspiration, I was also inspired to learn about their team. They have a huge focus on office culture. For example, they all eat lunch together at a communal table each day. Everyone was very friendly, and I’m so happy I was able to get to know them.

The team at &Tradition recommended I check out the department store Illums Bolighus next – they carry many of the design brands Lekker Home showcases: Eilersen, Montana, and Fritz Hansen, just to name a few. My friends met back up with me, and together we perused the furniture section, and beyond. It was really interesting to see how they displayed everything, and I walked away with some new ideas for our own displays.

At lunchtime, we tried smørrebrød, the open-faced sandwiches that are a staple in Denmark. They are a fun, easy dish, and I’m looking forward to making my own at home. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city and soaking it all in – the design, the culture, the energy, the people. We were disappointed we couldn’t stay longer, but we’ll definitely go back one day.

I left Copenhagen feeling inspired and energized, not to mention incredibly lucky that I get to work in a place that emulates the same kind of design culture. I’m excited to take my new knowledge and perspective into the Lekker Home showroom and to my everyday lifestyle.