Houzz Tour: A Danish Blogger’s Rose-Colored World
A workplace injury has a happy outcome for award-winning Pernille Riis, who discovers a talent for interior design
Sanne Kragelund
April 17, 2017
Pernille Riis, the Danish blogger behind Krea Pernille, is well-versed in design: In 2016 she was named Stylist of the Year by Bolig Magasinet, one of Denmark’s biggest interior design magazines, and in 2014 won the stylist competition of manufacturer by Lassen. She lives in Holstebro, in western Denmark, in a fabulous home where pink is the backbone of her meticulously put-together decor.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Pernille Riis, 32; her husband, Dan, 35; their two children, Noah, 11, and Alba Viola, 7; and their dog, Conrad
More on the owner: Riis is creator of the blog Krea Pernille and the Instagram account of the same name. She and partner Tanya Louise Wija Nielsen also run the graphic design company Livink, which produces items such as posters, pillows and quirky personalized cups.
Location: Holstebro, West Jutland, Denmark
Size: 1,345 square feet (125 square meters) plus a 970-square-foot (90-square-meter) basement
Year built: 1938
That’s interesting: The house was originally a waffle bakery.
Who lives here: Pernille Riis, 32; her husband, Dan, 35; their two children, Noah, 11, and Alba Viola, 7; and their dog, Conrad
More on the owner: Riis is creator of the blog Krea Pernille and the Instagram account of the same name. She and partner Tanya Louise Wija Nielsen also run the graphic design company Livink, which produces items such as posters, pillows and quirky personalized cups.
Location: Holstebro, West Jutland, Denmark
Size: 1,345 square feet (125 square meters) plus a 970-square-foot (90-square-meter) basement
Year built: 1938
That’s interesting: The house was originally a waffle bakery.
“I have always been creative, and I am a very stubborn person when I’ve made up my mind to do something,” Riis says. She also says she can be clumsy and impatient, though her Instagram feed may not show it. “It’s never a long road from idea to action,” she says, laughing. This becomes obvious when you visit her home.
Table: Hay; chairs: Wishbone by Hans J. Wegner, Carl Hansen & Son; lamps: Nordic Tales; artwork: Livink
Table: Hay; chairs: Wishbone by Hans J. Wegner, Carl Hansen & Son; lamps: Nordic Tales; artwork: Livink
Riis’ blogging career emerged out of tough circumstances. She was forced to take a sabbatical from her work as a social- and health-care assistant after she suffered a serious back injury on the job. After she had spent many months in bed, a friend encouraged her to set up an Instagram account. “I was just lying on the couch, not contributing in any way and wondering how I ever had the money for the sofa,” Riis says.
During this tough time, her passion for interior design started to blossom. She began to acquire more skills and knowledge in home design and photography, and she started to garner a lot of attention on Instagram. After only a year, Riis had 10,000 followers — today she has more than 60,000.
Bouquet: Bloomon; pillows: Livink; artwork: Tenna Kramer/Livink; galaxy mobile: Planteplaneter
During this tough time, her passion for interior design started to blossom. She began to acquire more skills and knowledge in home design and photography, and she started to garner a lot of attention on Instagram. After only a year, Riis had 10,000 followers — today she has more than 60,000.
Bouquet: Bloomon; pillows: Livink; artwork: Tenna Kramer/Livink; galaxy mobile: Planteplaneter
Although Riis loves to redecorate and fix up homes, she says that taking so much time off work was good for her economically, because she had to adjust to spending less. “Before my accident, I spent a lot of money, but now I’m a better planner,” she says.
Riis’ home is an ode to pink. Certain other colors she keeps well away. She doesn’t like bright red or orange, for example. “Those colors hurt the eyes; that’s why I hate Christmas colors,” Riis says. (She has a white plastic Christmas tree that she decorates with pink ornaments and a gold star.) “I love pink because it goes with almost everything,” Riis says. She recently painted her dining room doors and walls a trendy burgundy color.
Rug wall hanging: Weaving by Valentin; handmade shelves: Jem og Fix
Rug wall hanging: Weaving by Valentin; handmade shelves: Jem og Fix
Riis’ workspace is in the dining room, centrally located in the “big white box,” as she calls her home. “Without a neutral foundation, there’s no room for all my indulgences and different color choices,” she says. She also loves to decorate with plants, which create a living contrast to her many decor items.
Clock: Lovewood
Clock: Lovewood
These days Riis wants to redecorate the living room. “I am ruled by my feelings, and I think the decor has become too boring here,” she says. Riis is emotionally invested in decorating her home — her husband is not. “That’s why I do the sketches and the painting and Dan goes shopping for my ideas,” she says. “He takes on so many responsibilities. It can be a challenge to live with me, but he knows exactly how much he means to me.”
Couch: Couz
Couch: Couz
So much has changed since the house’s early days as a waffle bakery. It was built in 1938, and Riis says that when she and her husband bought it in 2008, there was wall-to-wall carpeting everywhere, even on the stairs. They did a massive renovation of the home. Despite the constant makeovers, Riis loves the old house and its charm.
Artwork: Livink; lamps: Pust Glas
Artwork: Livink; lamps: Pust Glas
“I grew up in a house in Holstebro very similar to this one,” Riis says. She recalls a cozy and colorful home decorated with care, with heavy wood furniture and black leather sofas.
“I decorated the living room knowing that I would entertain a lot of guests, and maintaining a focus on comfort and my cheerful style,” Riis says. She believes there can always be more gray in the house: “Gray gives me life because there are so many shades of it.” Brass also has a special place in her heart.
Couch: Couz; carpet: TinyTiny; diamond pendants: Tvåfota Design
Couch: Couz; carpet: TinyTiny; diamond pendants: Tvåfota Design
In the kitchen, blue takes over. Riis is a collector, and she didn’t think twice before adding Royal Copenhagen’s Blue Fluted Plain porcelain dishes to her wish list. “I love to collect things, and there are always several things I have my eye on,” she says. “I think the style is beautiful and I just love Danish design — who doesn’t?”
Riis isn’t yet satisfied with the kitchen. “I’m not a fan of the decor, but since we added the shelves for my Royal Copenhagen dishes, I think it looks OK. The kitchen still feels very old-fashioned.”
Raindrop stickers: Hverdagsgleder.no
Raindrop stickers: Hverdagsgleder.no
The kitchen leads into the hall; the black Dots from Muuto double as graphic wall hangings.
Here, functionality and style meet. “It’s important for a hall to have enough storage space for coats, shoes, hats and mittens, but not be too clunky or chaotic,” Riis says. Therefore, the shoes are concealed in a cabinet, and good lighting, sleek decor and nice artwork help create a pleasant ambience.
Bench: Nomess; coat hooks: Pytt Living
Here, functionality and style meet. “It’s important for a hall to have enough storage space for coats, shoes, hats and mittens, but not be too clunky or chaotic,” Riis says. Therefore, the shoes are concealed in a cabinet, and good lighting, sleek decor and nice artwork help create a pleasant ambience.
Bench: Nomess; coat hooks: Pytt Living
The house is in the city center. It has three floors and a spacious basement, which will eventually be renovated for the children to move into when they’re older. The bedrooms and a bathroom are on the upper floors.
Mirror: TinyTiny; peg board: Roon & Rahn
Mirror: TinyTiny; peg board: Roon & Rahn
Ascending the staircase is like walking into a dream, with cloudlike lamps dominating the decor. “I love these because for me they symbolize the sky, and it just feels right that they would be on the upper stories,” Riis says.
Lamps: Vita Copenhagen
Lamps: Vita Copenhagen
All of the floors in the house are painted white. “The floors were old and hard to clean, so we painted them instead of buying new ones,” Riis says. The white creates an airy harmony with the other light tones. “When all of your surfaces are white, you have more options for decorating.”
Rabbit lamp: Børnenes Kartel
Rabbit lamp: Børnenes Kartel
“I had the idea for the bed when I got tired of the slanted walls in the bedroom,” Riis says. It was a challenge to come up with something that seemed impossible: a canopy bed in a room with slanted walls. Riis began sketching, and her husband got the supplies and built the bed himself. “What I love most is that the bed is homemade, and it’s my design,” Riis says. “That makes it more than just a bed.” They also knocked out the wall to expose the brick. “We wanted it to serve as a contrast to all the white in the home, and we achieved that.”
Illuminated N: Seletti
Illuminated N: Seletti
Artwork: Trine Holbæk Designs; stool: Bent Hansen
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Love It!
I like the Danish china.
what color is the pink wall in the dining room?