Studioilse, the practice led by British designer Ilse Crawford, is taking up residence at Copenhagen’s design venue The Apartment this month. The project, called The Residency, brings Studioilse’s human-centered approach to design into a lived-in setting, inviting visitors to experience furniture and objects as part of a domestic environment rather than as isolated exhibits.
Studioilse has long championed the idea that good design should support and enhance everyday life. For this reason, The Residency has been conceived to feel like a private home: a place where scale, texture, light and materials combine to create comfort and familiarity. The Apartment’s location within a residential building offers a meaningful context for this work, allowing pieces to be shown in situations where their function and character are clear and immediately relatable.
As Ilse Crawford herself has noted, much contemporary design is presented as spectacle rather than as something to be used. The Residency deliberately counters that tendency by foregrounding the lived experience of objects. In this setting, furniture is intended to invite sitting, leaning and daily interaction; lighting is selected to shape atmosphere throughout the day; and accessories are arranged in ways that suggest domestic rituals and social life. The outcome is an environment in which design is judged by how it supports behaviour and wellbeing, not by how it photographs.
The programme at The Residency will include a series of small, convivial kitchen suppers. These gatherings are designed to encourage conversation and social exchange in an informal, homely atmosphere. By placing shared meals and dialogue at the heart of the project, the residency emphasises the social role of interiors and demonstrates how design can foster connection. The suppers also offer an opportunity for visitors and participants to experience the furniture and objects in use, reinforcing the project’s experiential aims.
Two new pieces from Studioilse will be unveiled during the residency: the Ilse sofa, produced by George Smith, and The Brass Cabinet, crafted by Jack Trench. Both pieces reflect Studioilse’s commitment to material quality, proportion and practical comfort. Alongside these new introductions, the residency will display Studioilse’s wider furniture collection for De La Espada as well as the Ilse collection created for Georg Jensen. Together, these works provide a clear view of the studio’s ongoing exploration of how objects can be both beautiful and supportive of daily life.
Visitors can expect an environment that privileges warmth, tactility and thoughtful detailing. Colour palettes, textiles and finishes are chosen not only for their aesthetic appeal but also for how they age, how they feel to touch, and how they contribute to a sense of domestic calm. The arrangement of rooms and the selection of objects aim to be intuitive, so that the experience of moving through the apartment feels natural and unforced.
The Residency is an invitation to slow down and to consider the role of design in shaping the rhythms of everyday living. It is equally a demonstration of how exhibitions can move beyond display to become places of habitation, dialogue and shared experience. For anyone interested in contemporary interiors that prioritise human needs and behaviours, the project offers a tangible example of design practised with empathy and restraint.
The Residency is at The Apartment from 22 August until 2 November.