Photographer Thomas Ibsen’s house, a classic of the post-war ‘funkis’ style characterised by simple lines and clever use of light, is filled with design treasures and new pieces that he’s created.
“After years working as a photographer [of furniture and interiors] I realised that, actually, I could use that experience for something else,” Thomas Ibsen says as Monocle tours his home in the prosperous Copenhagen suburb of Gentofte. As a result, he has recently started his own furniture brand, with a showroom in central Copenhagen. Several of the company’s pieces can be found in Ibsen’s 1952 home alongside an eclectic but carefully selected collection of mostly post-war, mostly Danish, art and furniture.
*Print:* by contemporary Danish artist Michael Kvium. “I really like the universe Kvium creates around the personalities who appear in his pictures.”*Red perspex piece:* by Copenhagen artist, Ebbe Stub Wittrup. *Painting:* by Kai Führer. “My ex-wife gave this to me on our wedding day. He was a modernist, active in the 1950s and ’60s.”*Table and chairs:* by Ibsen’s brand, Please Wait To Be Seated. “The table frame and chairs are a 1950s design by [German Functionalist architect] Egon Eiermann. I made the Oregon pine top myself.”*Upstairs music room:* “I play drums, my son plays guitar; the mixing desk is his.”*Artwork:* by Ebbe Stub Wittrup. “It’s made from a photograph of a fjord he found in a junk shop, blown up and manipulated.” *Mobile:* by Ib Geertsen. “I lost lots of money in literally one day in the crash.*Concertina art work:* “That’s by my ex-wife, Mette Kjær.” *Chair:* by Egon Eiermann. *Oxidised mirror:* by Dutch artists Lex Pott and David Derksen. “I met them years ago. We now sell these Transience mirrors via our company.”*Wall system:* by Hans J Wegner. “I bought it through [Danish online auctioneers] *Lauritz.com*. I still use the Polaroid camera occasionally.” *Vintage B&O sound system:* “I passed the shop where this Beocom 5500 in white was in the window*Drawers:* “I painted the drawers black; the plan is to change the work surfaces to black too.” *Bas relief:* by Edith Willumsen. “That came with the house.” Hanging from the relief is a poseable *wooden monkey*, a Danish design icon made by Kaj Bojesen.*‘Hunting Chair’:* by Børge Mogensen. “I shot Mogensen’s house 10 years ago; this chair ended up as the focus of the shoot and the furniture company, Fredericia, put it back into production. I like to think I had a small part in reviving a classic.”
Ibsen lives here with his children, 11-year-old Hannah and August, 14, plus chickens in the back garden. “We’re right next to the kids’ school, so there are children running through constantly,” he says. “The house is very lived in. Perhaps a bit messy but that’s OK.” He has adapted the interior space to suit the family’s needs, adding walls to make a galley office and two extra downstairs bedrooms.
Though he rejects the “collector” label, Ibsen has a canny eye. “I try not to buy stuff that will lose money but I’m not buying to invest. I’m interested in why some designs stick around and some don’t, even though they are well designed. I like trying to spot which items will have long-life potential.” www.pleasewaittobeseated.dk
