Amazing Retreats 2011

A M A ZING R ETR E ATS - Under Nord ic Sk ies

J e a n n e d ’A r c L i v i n g

V iv i a n C h r i sten sen

L on n ie Wü r t z Jen sen I n C ooper at ion w it h I nter ior D ec or ator Hel le L et h

A M A ZING R ETR E ATS - Under Nord ic Sk ies

J e a n n e d ’A r c L i v i n g V iv i a n C h r i sten sen L on n ie Wü r t z Jen sen I n C ooper at ion w it h I nter ior D ec or ator Hel le L et h

Je a n ne d’A rc L iv i n g V i v i a n C h r i st e n se n L on n ie Wü r t z Je n se n w w w.j e a n ne d a r c l i v i n g.d k © Je a n ne d’A r c L i v i n g G r aph ic d e s i g n : He l le R out he , Bja r ke R ø sc h m a n n & L on n ie Wü r t z Je n se n P h otog r aph y : L on n ie Wü r t z Je n se n

P h otog r aph y i n c h apt e r 6 : Bja r ke R ø sc h m a n n & A ne t t e C h r i st e n se n Tr a n s l at ion : Nor we g i a n : Ja n ne L o g a S a n db e r g ja n ne lo g a sa n db e r g @ l i ve . no Swed ish , E n gl ish , G er ma n a nd Dutch: w w w.wor dt owor d . d k R e pr o a nd pr i nt i n g : A RCO I S BN 9 78 - 87-9 2 8 43 - 01-2

CONTENTS 1.

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2.

C U L I NA RY E X PE R I E NC E S ....................... 39

3.

S W E E T DR E A M S........................................ 81

4.

T H E C L E A R E S T WAT E R . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

5.

T H E G R E AT T R A N S F O R M AT IO N . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

6.

G E T T I N G R E A DY F O R C H R I S T M A S . . . . . . . 169

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I NTRODUCTION Lonnie and I love spending holidays or weekends in our primitive summerhouses here in Denmark. They are located far away from entertainment and pulsating city life. Actually, both are located in the middle of a forest. Here there are mosquitoes and large wood ants, the dishes need to be done by hand and there is neither a television nor a radio. Still, for us they are a pair of amazing retreats, which we could not do without.

We believe that it is very important that days off simply do not become an extension of the weekdays with activities planned for every single day. Having the possibility to retreat somewhere calm and perhaps be a bit bored helps us be able to manage our hectic everyday life without stress.

Therefore, in our opinion a “real” retreat must be a bit primitive. Here you can live out the dream of an authentic life. Here there is TIME for games, relaxation and being together. There are many intimate and good conversations over the dishes, while sitting and looking out over the water or roasting twistbread over a bonfire.

Here values such as closeness and fellowship have pride of place.

However, we also believe that our surroundings affect our mind and mood. That is why it is important that we make an effort to arrange ourselves in a personal, comfortable and moving manner – also here in the summerhouse. We hope with this book that we can inspire you to decorate your personal retreat and see the beauty in the fanciful and primitive.

Happy reading!

Lonnie and Vivian

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M AKE

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CONSIDERATIONS When you are about to decorate your retreat, try taking a moment, some hours, days or weeks to make some considerations before you get started. The feeling in the spaces both outside as well as in – how should it be? Imagine the final result. The look? What look should it be? The look you have in your home is not necessarily the look you should have here. Here you have the opportunity to play with new thoughts, colours and ideas. Find possible colours and clippings from magazines. Make a collage or a folder with your dreams and ideas. Make sure that there is good coherence in your decorating. You can now begin experimenting with all your new ideas. If it does not end up being exactly like you had dreamed, you can easily make changes during the process, especially if you do it a little bit at a time.

We do not know if one could say that there is a “trend” for decorating summerhouses and other retreats, but most know what is being referred to when the words “summerhouse look” are said. It has something to do with panels painted white and floral textiles; very romantic. We believe that this is about to change. We see a style, which is about to become more colourful, rustic and natural. Life being lived here close to nature ought to be able to be seen. The connection between outside and in is more distinct than ever. The colours, which are added, are often in the form of old furniture with lots of patina after many years of use. They are faded, worn and the colours have a completely different kind of glow. A retreat must also be able to be used, so decorating with old furniture with patina is a brilliant idea. They only become more beautiful the more they are used. Avoid being tempted to use the house as a dump for discarded things from your home. Of course a few things can be fine. Perhaps they can be reupholstered, repainted or altered in another way so that they once again become up-to-date. But if they cannot be brought up-to-date, then get rid of them and find other things, which fit better. Have only what you need for the house and not more. A good exercise can be to remove everything, select the things, which you know you need and pack the rest away in some boxes. Let them sit for a few months.

If you have not used the things during that time, then you can get rid of them.

Keeping a summerhouse journal is a fun thing to do. Keeping a journal is fun to write and it is also fun to read in the coming years. What thoughts and wishes did you have about decorating and eventual renovations? How was the weather the past year or five years ago? Who came to visit and what did we do…a guestbook is at least just as fun to look back in. Let the book sit out so your guests can write whatever comes to mind.

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CHAPTER 1

PURE

RELAXATION

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PURE

RELAXATION That, which for most of us, is the essence of a retreat, is the possibility of relaxing. There must be a number of cosy terraces and corners with lots of sitting areas. There must be various places, where meals can be enjoyed. The reason there ought to be a number of different terraces is due to the weather and wind conditions among other things. A terrace with evening sun is wonderful for dinner time. Here it is also practical if there is space for many people so that it is possible to dine outside when entertaining guests. A space for morning sun and a space where there is sun for lunchtime are also just as important. It is also wonderful on warm days to have sitting areas in more shady surroundings. There is also a need for places to relax. This is where you can retreat and be completely alone for a while. You can take a little nap or enjoy the company of a good book for a couple of hours.

We have all probably experienced feeling tired after a long summer day spent by the sea. The salt, the sun and the activities of the day tire you out in a good way. Coming home and being able to throw yourself down in a cool and shady spot and shut your eyes is the best “snooze” you can imagine.

So make lots of these places. The more, the better! Be sure to fill them up with cushions and pillows so that they are inviting at any given time and ready to use. The more people you have gathered together, the more important it is that there are many places, where one can relax.

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SEE THE POSSIBILITIES The rooms are often small and peculiar in older summerhouses. You must try to see the possibilities in what you have, and based on that, create your own personal charm. Avoid making your retreat into a hotch-potch of your daily home. Way too many people drag the things and furniture, which they do not have room for or which they have lost interest in at home, to their summerhouse.

Try seeing what a difference it makes if you decorate so that you truly feel at home and comfortable. Select your things with care and notice how nice it is to find yourself in beautiful surroundings. It simply does something to your mood. Give yourself permission to have a fling with colours and fun ideas. Release your inner creative designer. Everything is allowed. Wooden coloured lamps, fun straw hats, your own or your children’s painted stones or home-made candles make your retreat personal and cosy.

There must be lots of pillows and blankets in the places, where people gather to enjoy themselves. Add colour to the room with various textiles. A mixture of patterned, floral and single-coloured fabrics, both new and old, helps keep the feeling casual. Candles and flowers are obvious. Place bouquets with branches from trees and bushes or a lovely bouquet of wild flowers from a field on the table.

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B OTH I N DOOR S A N D O UTDOORS The outdoor spaces are at least just as important as the ones inside. Covered terraces, cosy nooks under parasols or large trees are a must. Also make sure that there are places, where there is room for many people. It can be a primitive table and a set of benches or mattresses and large floor pillows. Let the decorations consists of nature’s own materials. For example it can be lots of stones and shells collected on the beach or a large bouquet of flowers found on the way home.

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DELICIOUS ST R AW BE R RY DESSERT If you are in need of a little inspiration for the strawberry season, then this delicious strawberry dessert is a wonderful alternative to strawberries with milk and cream.

For 4 persons you will need: 1-2 trays strawberries 1-2 dl sugar 1/2 dl xidi (red wine vinegar) freshly-ground pepper For the cream you need: ¼ litre Greek yoghurt Vanilla A splash of lemon juice Bjergblomst Honey or acacia honey

What you do: Remove the stems of the strawberries and rinse them. Then cut them into pieces. Sprinkle sugar over the berries and let them sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Pour xidi (red wine vinegar) over them and add a pinch of freshly-ground pepper. Just before serving mix the Greek yoghurt with vanilla and lemon juice into a delicious cream. Arrange the strawberries in 4 glass dishes. Distribute the cream and pour thin streams of honey on top. This is best done using a spoon. This mixture may sound strange at first, but this combination of sweet and sour is completely unique…

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B LUEBER RY DESSERT This wonderful dessert is homemade, but at the same time a few corners have been cut. It is often lovely being able to make it when in the summerhouse, especially if unexpected guests drop by! You can make the delicious blueberry syrup ahead of time and keep it in jars so that making the dessert takes no time at all.

For 4-6 persons you will need: 1 litre good vanilla ice cream Macaroons Blueberries for decorations For the blueberry syrup you will need: 400 g blueberries 400 g sugar Juice from 1 lemon 2 star anise ½ dl water ½ vanilla pod Boil all the ingredients together over low heat for 20-25 minutes. All of the berries should be ruptured. Sieve the mass through a finely woven cloth. Pour the syrup into scalded jars rinsed with a preserving agent.

How you make the dessert: Take the ice cream out of the freezer and let it thaw out a bit. It must be thawed out so much that you can stir it. Stir a suitable amount of syrup into the ice cream.

Taste it so that it is as you wish. Stir the ice cream and syrup so that it makes “stripes”. Place it back in the freezer. Take the ice cream out of the freezer when it is frozen and now you are ready to arrange it in dessert glasses. Pour a bit of the blueberry syrup into the bottom of each glass.

Add scoops of ice cream, coarsely crushed macaroons and blueberries in layers.

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TO N E

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Use different kinds of furniture when decorating. Combine new and old, singlecoloured and patterned. Also use outdoor furniture inside and vice-versa. Think outside of the box and avoid limiting yourself to what is normal. Just make sure that there is coherence in your decorating so that all possibilities are open. A way of creating this coherence is by painting some of the furniture in the same colour or tone on tone.

Here a wash bench is used as a coffee table. It makes for a light piece, which does not take up too much space, but works well for this purpose. The old peeling doors have set the colour tone in the room.

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Want to see more?

Contakt:

Tel. +45 36 93 20 10 Email: info@jeannedarcliving.dk for more informations.

A M A ZING R ETR EATS - Under Nord ic Sk ies

What does the word amazing cover? The answer will always be different depending on who you ask. What one person thinks is amazing may not be amazing for someone else. Because of this, we have discussed the title of this book a great deal.

This book focuses on the authentic, primitive life in summerhouse, garden colonies and other lovely and tranquil spots in Denmark.

In our opinion they are the most AMAZING RETREATS to be found.

They are neither new nor ostentatious. They are more personal, fanciful and different than most other places. That is precisely why they are worth showing and hopefully they will inspire others.

The book contains more than 500 beautiful pictures photographed by Lonnie W端rtz Jensen. They are all photographed in the natural Nordic light here in Denmark. Helle Leth has worked as stylist on the book and the texts have been written by Vivian Christensen.

ISBN 978-87-92843-01-2