Stay and travels covered by Dinesen
A couple of weeks ago I visited Dinesen in Denmark and had the pleasure of staying at the Dinesen Country Home. I’ve always thought of Dinesen as a renown manufacturer of floors and after having my own Douglas floors at home I know for sure the quality is the best. Well known for their extraordinary dimensions of planks and for the beautiful Douglas fir. It all started in 1898 and every day after life at Dinesen has revolved around good craftsmanship and wood of the highest quality. The respect for nature and passion for wood form a legacy that has been passed down through five generations, today Thomas and Heidi Dinesen is running the family company.
Dinesen Country Home is Thomas and Heidi Dinesen´s former home. The house built in 1880 was throughly restored by architect Jørgen Overby with careful attention to every detail. The design is based on simple and exclusive materials resulting in a expression of historical minimalism. The floors and ceilings are Dinesen Douglas and entering the house I immediately felt the warm and inviting atmosphere it creates. Up until recently the house was the home of the Dinesen family and they decorated it with classic Danish art and design. In addition to the furniture classics, Dinesen Country Home is decorated with tables, shelves and other bespoke and unique solutions in Dinesen Douglas and Oak. Its the kind of place I can wander for hours with the camera in my hand, forgetting about time – there are so much beauty to capture. Today the house is being used as a showroom, for meetings and for housing guests of Dinesen.
Custom made bench in Dinesen Douglas
The country style kitchen designed by architect Jørgen Overby fits the house perfectly. Warm, cozy and with all the Danish design classics belonging in a kitchen. The stools is custom made by OeO Studio in Dinesen Oak.
Sofa Børge Mogensen, Fredericia. Custom made table in Dinesen Oak, art from Anne Fabricius Møller, Vibeke Jerichau, Design Studies and Henry Heerup.
Sofa by Børge Mogensen for Fredericia
Wooden ball made of Douglas from the forest in Schwarzwald processed by German woodcarver Michael Moosmann-Phaff
The nooks and small windows in the upper floor creates such a beautiful light. The Bench is by Design Studies, made of Dinesen Oak
One of the bedrooms with custom built bench in Dinesen Douglas
Visiting the Dinesen factory was truly an impressing experience. Enormous stacks of douglas and oak ready to become amazing floors all over the world. The production has been situated in the small town of Jels since the founding of the sawmill in 1898. Over the years the production facilities have been updated and optimized with the best available technology but Dinesen still stay true to their old values of craftsmanship. To ensure the high level of quality and careful processing each plank passes to ten pairs of hands on its way through the production process.
One by one the best trees in European forests are selected for the Dinesen floors. Trees from forests that has been tended respectfully for years by experienced foresters. The raw wood is sourced from sustainable forestry, mainly from the Black Forest and only a small number of the 80-120-year-old trees have what it takes to get through the eye of the needle. Towering up to 60 metres tall, Douglas is a tree that stands out. The grand expression is preserved in the planks, where the unique grain bears testimony to nature’s power and beauty.
I even got to make my own cutting board in HeartOak at the factory. With HeartOak planks Dinesen utilise as much as possible from the middle of the large oak trees they use to make oak floorboards of extraordinary dimensions. Natural cracks are preserved and locked with butterfly joints of oak. Combined with the knots it complements an exceptional look. Of course it took me some time to do the work with the butterfly joint, no experience, but so much fun. And even more respect for the craftsmanship. It ended up pretty nice though!
Photography © Elisabeth Heier, except second last © Karerina Dima
Elisabeth
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