Designer’s treasured home

CULTURE Design

Hidden treasure

Between Westfjordian mountains is a designer home with a soul.

TEXT: Angel Trinidad PHOTOS: Mikael Lundblad

In Flateyri, a remote fishing town in the Westfjords of about 180 people, nestled in between gigantic snowcapped fjords and a tranquil, sparkling sea, lies a secret treasure – the stunning home of Icelandic designer Halfdan Pedersen. Beyond its black exteriors lies a warm and wondrous home built of 100 percent reclaimed materials, each corner telling a story. Everything in the house – the walls, floors, insulation, radiators, even the toilets and sinks – was personally sourced and reclaimed from all over Iceland by Dani – as the designer likes to be called – himself. It took him 10 years to complete the house with the generous help of many friends. “It became a total obsession. I’ve never been as dedicated and passionate about anything in my life before.” Dani, who designed the interiors of Kex Hostel and Dill Restaurant in Reykjavik, among many others, came across the house in 2004. “That was the first time I ever came to Flateyri and it got to me right away. It was a still and sunny, winter afternoon. Not a cloud in the sky. Every camera frame was breathtaking, with gigantic mountains quietly looming in every background”, Dani recounts. “This total tranquillity was a huge contrast to my life in LA for the past 10 years, and it had a big impact on me. Big enough that I decided to move back to Iceland and revive this strange house.”

The then-abandoned house is one of the oldest in Flateyri. Originally built by a shark vessel captain in 1896, the building went into several transformations and served different purposes throughout time. “I’ve heard it was once a makeshift hospital and once an office of the town’s governor. People have been born here and people have died here. I have records that show that, at one point in time, it was the legal residence of 38 people”, Dani shares.

Film posters from the designer’s old life in Hollywood – where he worked as a set designer – line the walls, alongside family photos and curious objects: tiny music boxes hidden behind wooden beams, old newspaper clippings, vintage maps… The house feels like a miniature world in itself; every day there is something new to be found, a new treasure to discover.