House Hunting in ... Denmark (Published 2012) (2024)

FOUR-BEDROOM VILLA NEAR A FOREST OUTSIDE COPENHAGEN

$2.5 MILLION (14,750,000 DANISH KRONER)

This dark-brown wood house with a roof of terra-cotta tiles was built in 1917 and is on the edge of the Trorod Forest north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The house sits on a lot of two thirds of an acre planted with flowers. Wooden houses are common in Norway and Sweden, but not so in Denmark, according to Kristian Lutzau, the director of Lutzau, the agency that has the listing for this property. The house has elaborate wood details, such as latticework doors that reflect Denmark’s tradition of fine wood craftsmanship. The house, which contains 4,672 square feet of space, was completely renovated in 1994, and interiors have been modified by one of the current owners, an interior designer. There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the house is so large that additional bedrooms could be created, Mr. Lutzau said.

The front door, which is original, opens onto a small entrance hall. A staircase leads to two second-floor bedrooms. To the right is a bathroom with brass fixtures and a tub by Agape. To the left is an airy living room with skylights and a double-height wood-plank ceiling painted white. The living room has a yellow brick wood-burning fireplace and a built-in couch that resembles a sleigh and is original to the house. Toward the rear of the house are a den, an office and a sunroom with three sets of French doors.

In the front of the house, a hallway leads from the living room to the kitchen, which has a floor of Oland limestone and a wood island painted fire-engine red with gray granite countertops. A former owner of the home was a chef who installed a professional-grade stove and oven. Most of the other appliances and fixtures in the kitchen are by Gaggenau. The kitchen also has a wood-burning fireplace that is lined in glazed lava stone tiles and a glass door that can be closed to heat the room. The house is heated primarily by natural gas.

The kitchen is connected to a small wing that has a bedroom, a walk-in closet and a bathroom with turquoise tile. A hallway in the rear of the house opens onto a patio. Off the hallway are the dining room and a staircase leading to a guest annex with two built-in single canopy beds. The basem*nt is 1,050 square feet and has a laundry room. There is a separate two-car garage and a storage building.

Shopping for essentials can be done in the nearby towns of Trorod and Vedbaek. The center of Copenhagen is a half-hour drive. The area is home to many recreational activities, including sailing at Vedbaek Harbor and tennis. The Kystbanen train passes through a station 5 minutes from the house and connects with Copenhagen’s international airport, about 40 minutes away.

MARKET OVERVIEW

Unlike the other Scandinavian countries, Denmark was hit hard by the global financial crisis of 2008. From their heights in 2006 and 2007, home prices fell by about 30 percent and still haven’t recovered.