Kathrine · Skanderborg · Denmark

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Kathrine gives new life to old furniture

Kathrine runs the company Ville Vintage, where she transforms old furniture into valuable treasures with a love for recycling, quality materials, and pastel colours.

Kathrine · Skanderborg · Denmark

June 2024

Kathrine runs the company Ville Vintage, where she transforms old furniture into valuable treasures with a love for recycling, quality materials, and pastel colours.

Made by hand. Old furniture has soul in a very special way, says Kathrine. "I would never think of spray painting furniture. It gives such a cold, smooth surface that I don't like."

Creative corner for children | Søstrene Grene

A need to create. This blue cabinet is Kathrine's latest project, and as it often happens, she is tempted to keep it to herself. "But I won't," she smiles.

Choosing with your heart

The gate opens. Amidst idyllic surroundings stands the most beautiful estate from which Kathrine welcomes me into what is her home, workshop, and showroom for her business, Ville Vintage. "We're not very driven by reason," Kathrine says about the choice of surroundings when she and her husband, Jakob, had to move from Aarhus with their children. "It was one big plough field," she continues, and describes how they fell in love with the estate, which suddenly became an option to rent. So, without a driving licence or a penny in their pockets, they decided on their future home just outside Skanderborg, which would later prove to be the setting for Kathrine's creative adventure. Both Kathrine and her husband are, as she describes it, "hard workers", which is why the home and garden were gradually put in order by hand. But after Kathrine graduated from university, she hit a wall: an immense pressure to make use of her academic prowess resulted in her suffering from stress. She did not know who she was or what she was supposed to do with her life, but she knew that she had always been interested in, and skilled at, decorating and seeing possibilities. Upcycling became like a meditation for her, and she became almost addicted to the happiness, peace, and joy that the craft gave her. And thus began Kathrine's creative livelihood, Ville Vintage.

A new beginning. Decorating and upcycling bring Kathrine joy. "I simply can't help myself," she says, and it became a natural path to follow after graduating from university.

Care. Kathrine hand-picks furniture pieces at flea markets and recycling centres, and she spends quite some time figuring out how to transform the furniture.

Ville Vintage sees the light of day

"My Instagram account exploded," Kathrine says about the time she started sharing her creative hobby on her own personal profile. Kathrine transformed old furniture into contemporary and usable treasures using paint, new handles, and, of course, a keen sense of colours, materials, and interior décor. "I forget about everything else," she describes about the feeling she gets when immersed in the creative process. Due to the joy of creative expression, the urge to create and extend the life of old furniture, and the huge demand from people who suddenly wanted to buy her products, Kathrine and Jakob took the plunge and became self-employed with the family business, Ville Vintage. "To my husband, it was an added bonus that my creative urge wasn't limited to our private home," adds Kathrine. "I think he got a little tired of moving things around all the time..." Kathrine does everything herself, without employees. It is physically hard work, but she loves it. "I like the cycle of it," she says, adding that it appeals to her that furniture that has already lived for many years, and which may seem worn out, can live on for many more years – and maybe even with a new family.

A feeling. "When I enter a room, I deeply feel the colours, the patterns, and the décor as a whole," Kathrine describes.

Inspiration. Kathrine mixes her own colours of paint, which she also sells in her store. But she likes just as much to inspire people to try it themselves.

Colours make you happy. Kathrine has a talent for combining colours, which is evident in her showroom as well as in her private home.

Kathrine's how to

Kathrine's creative process typically starts at flea markets or recycling centres. Here, she handpicks furniture that speaks to her in some way and that she believes could fit into a modern interior. Next, she spends a considerable amount of time deciding which colour to paint the furniture. She looks at everything from small intricate carvings and details to the overall impression: "It sounds silly, but I try to sense the furniture’s identity," Kathrine explains, somewhat embarrassed, about her thorough approach to transforming the furniture.

Kathrine is drawn to the surfaces of furniture – the feeling when she touches an old quality piece is incomparable to newer furniture from large furniture stores. "It's a completely different kind of feeling," she believes. With paint and new handles, and a goal to create a simple and calm expression, new life is breathed into the furniture. However, Kathrine does not focus solely on aesthetics when it comes to upcycling. "I wouldn't be doing this if it didn't make sense environmentally," she says, adding: "For me, it's just as much about the sustainable element, which is a keyword that is present in both the recycling element and in the materials and paint I carefully select when upcycling."

Quality. Kathrine has a special love for rustic surfaces because she is drawn to quality. "Furniture from larger furniture stores just doesn't have the same feel when you touch it," she believes.

Courage. Kathrine hopes to inspire others to decorate their homes following their own conception of beauty rather than the one shown in home décor magazines.

I have paint on all my clothes because I never get to change beforehand. I just start painting.

Kathrine

Idyllic. The surroundings of Ville Vintage are absolutely wonderful.

Kathrine wants to inspire

"The coolest thing would be to inspire people to realise that there needn't be a long distance from thought to action," Kathrine says enthusiastically, and her passion clearly shines through. Even though she would like to make a living selling furniture, textiles, and interiors, she just as much wants to inspire people to try it themselves. Trusting your intuition and not letting yourself be limited by the opinion of your family or home magazines must be the best advice in this context. She recommends finding a few elements that you really like and letting the rest of the decor reflect the colours and patterns of those elements. "I've heard several stories of how old furniture that was hidden away in the guest room was suddenly painted and then displayed in the living room," she says, proud to have inspired this. She also believes that even though your creative project might not be perfect the first time, you will still love it in a special way because you made it yourself.

Drawn by ideas. "My daughter, Alberte, sometimes cuts up her clothes and uses a needle and thread to transform them into something new. Although I am not always very fond of her ruining new clothes, I love that she is so independent and driven by creativity."

The ideal. "When we moved here, I wanted to achieve perfection in everything I did. Now, I have accepted that it's not possible," Kathrine says.

A special sister mug. At each interview, the participant receives a specially selected sister mug as a little personal greeting from Søstrene Grene. In this way, we let the good conversations, hygge, and warmth live on and spread amongst the many creative and passionate sisters we meet on our way.