Photography: Helen Bankers
Home profile
Meet and greet: Jena (digital marketing manager, currently on maternity leave) and Tyler Koefoed (sales and account manager), and their son Hudson.
The property: A 1920s renovated three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow in Three Kings, Auckland.
The Danske Mobler legacy
For as long as Auckland’s Jena Koefoed can recall, furniture was synonymous with family. Growing up in Auckland, she would often visit her grandparents in their Danske Mobler factory and shop, relishing the chance to help and be part of the action.
The first Danske Mobler (which translates to “Danish furniture”) store opened on Symonds Street in 1962, founded by Jena’s grandparents, Ken and Bente Winter. In the 1950s, after they immigrated from Denmark. Ken brought his background in upholstery and furniture making and saw the brand take an influential role in introducing New Zealand families to Scandinavian-inspired furniture.
Jena is on maternity leave from being the brand’s digital marketing manager for the past nine years, in a team that also includes her husband, Tyler Koefoed, sister Tate Winter and parents, Kerry and Allan Winter.
“Danske Mobler has always been part of us,” Jena says.
“My twin sister, Tate and I worked in the Auckland showroom and factory in the school holidays. We would often help assemble furniture, would help our parents keep the shop in order, fluffing and tidying the cushions.” She admits that keeping the cushions tidy on her couch in her Three Kings home is a strong habit of hers to this day.
“I had always wanted to learn from my parents, so I was excited to become part of the family business. Tate and I are both very creative and love art and design, which you can tell from how our homes look and feel. Working at Danske Mobler now, we both feel like we’re somewhere we’ve always wanted to be.”
Home sweet home
Home isn’t far from the office, in fact, the bungalow she shares with Tyler and son Hudson is on the same street as her sister and close to where her grandparents, Ken and Bente, once lived.
“Bente just loves the fact that we live so close to their old address and close to work, she thinks it’s neat.”
The location was appealing and the home itself had good bones.
“We felt we could do a lot to it to make it our own,” she says.
With three bedrooms, two lounges, an open-plan kitchen and dining, leading to a front deck, they spend a lot of time outdoors in summer, Jena says, enjoying happy hour while watching the sunset.
“It works so well. It’s just the right size and location, which is perfect for our little family.”
DIY
When Jena and Tyler bought the 1920s bungalow in 2020, it hadn’t been renovated in 30 years, and it housed all the classic features, notably the wood tones. Keen to embrace a pale aesthetic, Jena and Tyler painted the skirting boards and doors and framing white.
The couple demolished the kitchen and bathroom themselves, which Jena jokes offered some “anger management relief and was actually very fun”.
Unfortunately, they were without a kitchen during one of the lockdowns.
“The kitchen was packed on the truck, but lockdown prevented it from being delivered and installed; it was so horrible being without a kitchen.”
The bathroom featured a dome shower with cork floors in a “funny shade of beige as the white had faded” and was modernised. A spray of white paint on the kitchen doors and handles gave it a temporary polish for nine months before they were ready to demolish it. New engineered timber flooring was laid in stages, first the bathroom and hall, and then the kitchen.
“Previously, there was carpet in the hallway and main living room, cork in the bathroom and lino in the kitchen, so it was time for an update,” Jena says.
Jena’s dad, Allan and Tyler’s father, Bruce Koefoed, helped build the new deck. “We had no outdoor living space, and the indoor-outdoor flow is just so nice – so Kiwi. It’s strange these days not to have an exterior space that flows from the kitchen.”
Scandinavian style
This paved the way for Jena to bring in her minimalist style.
“Our home isn’t very large, so we’ve gone for a minimal look to avoid it looking too small – less is more. In the dining area, the couch is elevated off the floor with skinny legs and arms to make the space feel larger. And the two armchairs have thin legs on them to make the space feel big.”
Jena says the couple’s style is very monochrome and natural, evoking a calm and relaxing feel. With her job at times having required her to work on visual merchandising, it’s no surprise to think some of this may have rubbed off.
“We always leave the house tidy when we go out. It doesn’t take too long to tidy it. When I was a child, Mum made sure we tidied the cushions on the couch if we were the last to go to bed.”
It’s fitting that she has brought her Scandinavian history through her taste, with warm white walls, wooden elements and plenty of textured fabrics.
“I wanted furniture pieces that would last a long time, they’re monochrome in their look and feel – very me,” says Jena.
“I started collecting my favourite Danske Mobler so that one day, when I did buy a house, I’d have these things. To me, if we love a piece enough, it won’t go off-trend.”
Creative eye
While the furniture fills the floor with personality, a layer of creativity runs along the walls of the home, notably by way of the Minties artwork by Simon Lewis Wards on the lounge wall.
“The vintage aesthetic reminds me of being a child joining in on lolly scrambles on the school field. It’s fun and playful.”
A black-framed work by Napier artist Tom Mackie also hangs in the lounge: “I just love how the frame is the art,” Jena says.
“Tate and I collect art and like to outdo each other in our collections. She is very good at finding cool artists and found Tom Mackie online. We have followed him for a while. Tate got a piece from him years ago, but mine is bigger than hers,” she jokes, a light-hearted example of how this unique family has embraced their creativity and family legacy.
Home truths
Any saves or Splurges? Our house needed a good reno, full repaint, new bathroom and kitchen.
Lessons learned? Renos always take a bit longer than expected.
What would you never do again? We would do all the renovating at the same time, not in stages. We did the bathroom before the kitchen, and it would have been easier to do it all at once instead of living in a mess three times around. It was hard moving furniture from room to room while painting the ceilings.
What would you change? We wish we could have another bathroom. We have a toilet separate from our shower, which is great, but an ensuite would be perfection.
Read this next:
- Art and comfort go hand-in-hand in this extended Three Kings bungalow
- A ‘Scandinavian minimalist’ home designed to maximise space and connection
- This Auckland bungalow perfectly captures the sunlight
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
