In praise øf Danish design

So I'm three days into my first trip to Denmark.

After our brief stay in Copenhagen we headed by train to Aalborg, four hours north, situated on an attractive harbor. It has been cold and yesterday it snowed - you know I'm not thrilled about snow, I'm SO not a winter person - but I wanted to keep an open mind about the place, even if it has provided a few challenges thus far...

Besides navigating the Danish Krone, which makes everything seem expensive until you divide it by seven, I have learned that pickled herring is a breakfast food, that when served a cheese sandwich you are supposed to pour rum over it (skipped that one), the letter D is really the letter L and virtually impossible to pronounce correctly, and that due to strict labor laws you can't get dinner past 9:00 pm. These aspects of Danish life have ranged from quirky to slightly frustrating, but today, I found a major silver lining. Danish Home. Decor. Suddenly a drunken sandwich or early dinner doesn't seem so bad!

Despite fighting the beginnings of what wants to be a yucky cold on top of jet lag, I got out for about an hour today to poke around at a shopping complex across from our hotel. I focused my time in just three shops total, spending the majority of my trip in my favorite shop, Bahne.

Here are some decorative trays from Hay. I first saw these at Design Within Reach in Houston, fell in love with them. Am now looking frantically for room in my suitcase...

This collection of mirrors is designed by Inge Sempé, who also happens to be the designer of my dream couch from Ligne Roset....

And here is a gorgeous a bath towel I would be tempted to use as a scarf IT'S THAT PRETTY.

I could see myself using this decorative shelf to house two beautiful decorative boxes.

A coffee table that can also be used as storage? Yes please!

Is there anything more whimsical than this colored pencil holder peacock? I don't think so!! (We use these pencils to mark up our opera scores, so it's almost like I *have* to buy this now, right?!) I love how they took the traditional wooden bird design and made it so much fun.

So in case you couldn't tell by now, when it comes to home decor, the Danes have got my vote.

Definitely gonna need a bigger suitcase. Now if only we had an apartment....