Colour Class #14 — Colour as the Heart of a Classic Home

Photo credit Céline Hallas

In the 14th edition of Colour Class, we journey to the tranquil landscapes of North Zealand, where a stylish, renovated mid-century terraced house awaits. This is the home of Trine, Marketing & Brand Director at Montana Furniture, and her young daughter.

The mission for this project was straightforward – to fill the house with as much colour as possible, ensuring her daughter grows up surrounded by vibrant, joyful hues.

Join us for this Colour Class as we explore how bold colour choices can transform a classic home, and discover the powerful role ceilings can play in unifying a space.

Location: For this Colour Class, we head to North Zealand – to a peaceful residential area surrounded by nature as far as the eye can see. This time, we’ll be exploring a stylish, renovated mid-century terraced house where Trine, Montana Furniture's Marketing & Brand Director, lives with her young daughter.

Mission: Trine’s brief was clear – fill the house with as much colour as possible, as she wants her daughter to grow up surrounded by vibrant hues.

Colours: Trine was in the process of opening up and modernising the beautiful mid-century terraced house when the plans to incorporate colour began. Rooms that once consisted of a small kitchen, hallway, and enclosed living room were opened up, creating a whole new sense of space. Into the home came a stunning kitchen featuring the timeless combination of warm oak and a steel worktop. The kitchen and hallway became one, with only a half-wall remaining between the kitchen and living room. This allowed for playful new ways to explore the space and its division through the use of colour.

The colour palette drew inspiration from classic mid-century references. All the walls and woodwork in the kitchen and hallway were painted a creamy warm white to create calm in the large asymmetrical room. The dramatic touch happens when you look up and see a beautiful green spreading across the entire ceiling, transforming what were once two separate rooms into one cohesive space. Using colour on the ceiling was a favourite technique of renowned Danish designers such as Finn Juhl and Poul Henningsen.

The aforementioned half-wall between the living room and kitchen houses all the home’s technical systems, accessible via a large sliding door. Many would choose to hide this feature, but here it’s been embraced by painting it a bold green with blue undertones. When combined with the warm green, creamy white, and oak, the result is both playful and sophisticated. The playfulness continues with the freestanding brown Free shelving unit, which offers space for both play and display, while the beautifully coloured Hokkaido bar stools may be small, but their impact on the room is big.

The lesson from this Colour Class is to believe that you can indeed have many colours in a classic home – and to remember that the ceiling can be a powerful tool in bringing the rooms together.