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This cottage in the woods has a seamless transition between house and nature

Article by Your Home and Garden

Danish architecture with a Japanese twist creates a fluid transition between house and nature

Meet & greet

Andreas Jorgensen (landscape architect), Mikkel Hybel Fonsskov (journalist and editor at a publishing house), and Martha the Labradoodle.

The property

Newly constructed architect-designed cottage. The house is 72sqm with an annex of 10sqm located on a densely wooded natural plot.

Landscape architect Andreas Jorgensen and journalist Mikkel Hybel Fonsskov had always wanted to create their own house, and on a plot bordering Asserbo Plantage in Denmark, they built their dream house with one over-riding imperative. “We wanted to build a simple year-round house that fit into the area, in the Nordic style with a Japanese touch with only a few good quality items and materials – preferably natural, such as wood, clay and stone. But most importantly, it was not allowed to take all the focus away from the most important thing – nature,” says Andreas. “We haven’t felt a need to add too much to the house to create atmosphere. Pictures on the walls seem superfluous when the large glass sections next to the forest act as an ever-changing work of art.”

In collaboration with an architect, the couple involved themselves with all the drawings and oversaw every detail. They even designed their own built-in bed, bathroom furniture and kitchen cabinet fronts. The house was built by a construction company from Svendborg, where Mikkel grew up. It took about six months to build the house, but they had to wait patiently about a year and a half after buying the land to get final approval for the building.

“The area is called ‘The Sand”, but we call it ‘The Quicksand’,” says Andreas. “When we cleared the plot to make room for the house, we found that under the forest floor lay only sand, sand and more sand, so the house is built with 10m poles into the ground so it doesn’t sink over time. The first year I made a large compost bin because I knew we would need to feed the sandy and lean soil. We collect many cubic metres of compost every year and use it to boost the soil.”

It is hard to imagine that when the house was finished, the grounds around it were completely bare. Everything in the garden they have planted themselves – and although it looks wild and untamed, it’s not a random design. “The garden is landscaped as a ‘naturalistic garden’ and the plants are carefully selected, so they attract a lot of insects. For two years we have been shuttling back and forth to the plant shops and probably have more than a few hundred species of different plants now. The sandy soil causes some problems in relation to growth, but the biggest problem is actually the many deer that eat almost everything,” says Andreas.

As a landscape architect, Andreas is used to planning and never embarks on a project without a drawing. Mikkel, on the other hand, is more spontaneous and likes to start something without fully knowing where it will end up. Common to both of them is a love of having projects, and they use it as a way to relax.

“We live centrally in Copenhagen, with lots of city life and activity. The cottage is a place with total peace and silence – it’s a natural vitamin boost,” says Andreas. “We use the cottage all year round – it is more of a spare time house than a holiday home. We enjoy the seasons up here, and because it’s a new house it takes no time to warm it up, so we don’t have to shut it down for the winter.”

In fact, the outdoor bathing area is also used year-round. That’s because they have plumbed in hot water so they can enjoy a shower in the open air, even if it is freezing weather outside. “We go for many walks in the forest and down to the lake, or we cycle to the beach. In the summer we cycle to Tisvilde and get a little ‘city atmosphere’, and then we cycle back to the tranquillity of the forest,” says Andreas. “We know a lot of people in the area, so there’s always someone we can stop and say hello to. But most of the time is spent working on the garden.”