Bailey Meredith, co-founder and creative director of BAINA, recently visited Copenhagen's annual 3 Days of Design festival, where she discovered that contemporary design is moving beyond mere aesthetics to explore the emotional depth of the home. Her observations reveal a significant shift in how we approach interior spaces, focusing on the layered, tactile, and deeply human aspects of domestic life.
At this year's festival, a common theme emerged across many exhibitions and collections: a renewed focus on the emotional dimension of space. What stood out most was a collective return to viewing the home not merely as a setting of function or style, but as a place of rhythm, ritual, and quiet reflection. This perspective on domestic life felt both familiar and grounding, serving as a reminder that the spaces we inhabit are not static but evolve with us over time.
There was a noticeable softness to this year's presentations – a soulfulness that gently challenged the rigidity often associated with modern design. Together, these exhibitions offered a vision of design not as something merely ornamental, but as something intimately connected with the way we live, the way we gather, and the way our surroundings shape and reflect our inner lives.
**Home From Home: Charlotte Taylor and Maéva Massoutier**
Presented at Noura Residency, this collaborative installation by Charlotte Taylor, founder of Maison de Sable, and scenographer Maéva Massoutier explored the layered dualities of domestic life – intimacy and openness, function and feeling, permanence and change. The installation physically resembled a lived-in interior, featuring layered textiles, sculptural furnishings, warm lighting, and everyday objects arranged in ways that felt both artful and natural.
Walls and partitions were used sparingly throughout the space, suggesting different zones of domestic life without fully enclosing them. Overhead, shifting daylight filtered through the installation, altering the mood hour by hour. It served as a compelling study in how time, light, and impulse leave their imprint on a home. Marked by signs of presence and use, the installation felt deeply personal yet universally familiar.
The key design takeaway from this exhibition was significant: rather than presenting an idealized version of home, it invited viewers to reflect on the spaces they already inhabit. This approach challenged visitors to consider their own domestic environments with fresh eyes.
**Structures of Living: FRAMA**
FRAMA transformed their Copenhagen showroom, housed in the city's former St. Paul's Pharmacy, into a conceptual framework for living. Known for their holistic, cross-disciplinary approach to design, this installation called "Structures of Living" served as an opportunity to deconstruct the idea of the home into its essential elements and reimagine it from the ground up.
The installation was built on a modular grid system, with open shelving, solid wooden forms, and discrete architectural elements arranged in a way that blurred the lines between furniture and structure. These components became the framework for the home itself, offering storage, surface area, and separation without complete enclosure. There were no traditional rooms in the conventional sense. Instead, zones for cooking, eating, resting, and gathering coexisted in a flowing space, inviting visitors to consider how a home might function without rigid boundaries.
Throughout the space, moments of daily life were gently evoked – a table casually set for a meal, a low-slung bed layered with linens and books, objects placed not for display but for actual use. The overall effect was immersive yet understated, providing a subtle demonstration of how thoughtful design can shape both atmosphere and behavior.
At its core, the installation proposed a different way of living: one where interiors are fluid, responsive, and grounded in intention rather than excess. This approach challenges traditional notions of how domestic spaces should be organized and utilized.
**Debut Table Linen Collection: Cappelen Dimyr**
Cappelen Dimyr, best known for their hand-knotted rugs and tactile textiles, unveiled their first table linen collection in collaboration with French creative studio La Bagatelle. Rather than presenting the range in a traditional showroom or gallery format, the brands opted for something more intimate: a domestic scene set within a Copenhagen apartment.
Visitors entered what felt like an ongoing dinner party – tablecloths softly creased from use, candle wax naturally melted into holders, glassware left slightly askew. The table was set, but imperfectly so, suggesting real life rather than artificial styling. Natural sunlight poured through gauzy curtains, illuminating the washed linen textures in earthy neutrals and muted tones that felt warm and inviting.
Every detail, from the natural folds in the fabric to the careful choice of ceramics, spoke to a philosophy of lived-in beauty. The installation deliberately challenged the conventional polish of product presentation and instead celebrated warmth, humility, and the quiet luxury of things made to be used and enjoyed.
The key design takeaway from this presentation was profound: elegance doesn't require perfection. The most enduring design is often the kind that bears signs of life and use, creating spaces that feel authentic and welcoming.
**What Meredith Learned at 3 Days of Design Copenhagen**
These presentations signaled a deeper shift in our collective approach to design – not as a tool for decoration or status, but as something that actively supports a meaningful way of living. What tied these diverse projects together was not just visual language, but an emotional tone that resonated throughout the festival.
Each space invited viewers to slow down, to contemplate how they felt within it, and to consider what it might truly mean to live well, not just look well. This distinction between appearance and authentic living became a central theme that ran through multiple exhibitions.
In summary, this year's 3 Days of Design felt like a collective exhale from the design world. It served as a reminder that home is not a place to be perfect, but a place to truly inhabit and experience. For those living in New Zealand, where considered living is already second nature to many, this philosophy felt like a quiet affirmation of values already held dear.
The festival reminded attendees to let life leave its mark on their spaces, to blur the boundaries between different zones and functions, and to remember that meaningful transformation doesn't require newness – just clarity, restraint, and purposeful intention. This approach to design emphasizes the importance of creating spaces that support and enhance daily life rather than simply impressing visitors.
Meredith's observations from Copenhagen suggest that the future of interior design lies not in following rigid rules or pursuing perfection, but in creating environments that authentically reflect and support the people who live in them. This represents a significant shift toward more human-centered design that prioritizes emotional well-being and genuine comfort over aesthetic perfection alone.
