This summer, Viva Premium is revisiting the best and biggest stories of 2025. This article was originally published in July.
Bailey Meredith reflects on her trip to Copenhagen, where design moved beyond aesthetics to explore the emotional depth of the home.
At Copenhagen’s annual design festival 3 Days of
Design, a common theme ran through many of the exhibitions and collections: a renewed focus on the emotional dimension of space – the layered, the tactile, the deeply human.
What stood out most was a collective return to 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 — a reminder that the spaces we inhabit are not static, but evolve with us.
There was a softness to this year’s presentations – a soulfulness that gently challenged the rigidity often associated with modern design. Together, they offered a vision of design not as something ornamental, but as something intimately entwined with the way we dwell, the way we gather, and the way our surroundings shape and reflect us.
Charlotte Taylor and Maéva Massoutier explored the layered dualities of domestic life in Home From Home.
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.
Physically, the installation resembled a lived-in interior: layered textiles, sculptural furnishings, warm lighting, and everyday objects arranged in ways that felt both artful and uncontrived. Walls and partitions were used sparingly, suggesting zones of domestic life without fully enclosing them. Overhead, shifting daylight filtered through the space, altering the mood hour by hour.
It was a 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.
Key design takeaway: Rather than presenting an idealised version of home, it invited viewers to reflect on the one they already inhabit.
FRAMA transformed their Copenhagen showroom into conceptual living zones.
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, 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 – with open shelving, solid wooden forms and discrete architectural elements arranged in a way that blurred the lines between furniture and structure. These became the framework for the home itself, offering storage, surface and separation without enclosure.
There were no traditional rooms. 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, a low-slung bed layered with linens and books, objects placed not for display but for use. The effect was immersive, yet understated – a subtle demonstration of how design can shape atmosphere and behaviour.
Key design takeaway: At its core, the installation proposed a different way of living: one where interiors are fluid, responsive and grounded in intention rather than excess.
Cappelen Dimyr unveiled their first table linen collection at 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen.
Debut Table Linen Collection – Cappelen Dimyr
Best known for their hand-knotted rugs and tactile textiles, Cappelen Dimyr unveiled their first table linen collection in collaboration with French creative studio La Bagatelle. Rather than presenting the range in a 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 – tablecloths softly creased, candle wax melted into holders, glassware left slightly askew. The table was set, but imperfectly so, suggesting life rather than styling. Sunlight poured through gauzy curtains, illuminating the washed linen textures in earthy neutrals and muted tones.
Every detail – from the folds in the fabric to the choice of ceramics – spoke to a philosophy of lived-in beauty. The installation challenged the conventional polish of product presentation and instead celebrated with warmth, humility and the quiet luxury of things made to be used.
Key design takeaway: Elegance doesn’t require perfection – the most enduring design is often the kind that bears signs of life.
What I learned at 3 Days of Design Copenhagen
These presentations signalled a deeper shift in our approach to design – not as a tool for decoration or status, but as something that supports a way of living. What tied these projects together was not just visual language, but an emotional tone. Each space invited viewers to slow down, to contemplate how they felt within it, and to consider what it might mean to live well, not just look well.
In summary, this year’s 3 Days of Design felt like a collective exhale. A reminder that home is not a place to be perfect, but a place to inhabit.
For those of us in Aotearoa, where considered living is already second nature, this felt like a quiet affirmation. A reminder to let life leave its mark, blur the boundaries between zones and functions, and remember that transformation doesn’t require newness – just clarity, restraint and purpose.
Bailey Meredith is the co-founder and creative director of BAINA.
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