Kanika Bakshi Khurana visits Copenhagen furniture makers to reveal what makes pieces feel luxurious. Luxury is tactile: hand-stitched leather, natural hair-rubber blends, welded steel frames built to last decades. Furniture should fit how you actually live, and strong architecture should stay the focal point.
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You can paint the walls and pick the perfect colors, but if a room still feels unfinished, it's usually the furniture. I went to the workshop behind some of the world's finest chairs and a beautiful gallery inside a restored bank to figure out what actually makes furniture feel luxurious. So here are 3 things I noticed that'll help you choose the right furniture for your own home. A.Pettersen is a workshop in Copenhagen where they build furniture entirely by hand. This is where you see what luxury is actually made of.
At some point, he's ready for the first presentation.
Got it.
So that was back then, and we asked him to do a modern, elegant sofa, and this was what he came up with.
Okay.
So this is actually part of the presentation and the way that he usually shows us his ideas.
Got it.
So he's an educated cabinetmaker from back in the days when he was around 20 years old.
Oh, wow.
And now he's— he has had his 80th birthday.
Oh, wow.
So he has a lot of years of experience. But anyway, this was his presentation.
Everything here is, you know, it's one piece of leather.
Okay.
And you can see, so you have this piece, wear around. Normally, you would have stitches.
Yes, yes.
But we don't like that, so we took this one piece and put it in hot water so we can stretch it out so we can get these.
So it kind of expands.
Yeah, we put it over a big mold. So actually, yeah, it's quite unique because it's also a very huge Piece of leather. And so yeah, in the end also a big cow.
Yeah, and then you can see the hand stitching all the way around.
Yes, yes, up close, up close.
Yeah, and you should feel it as well.
Oh yeah, it's so seamless.
So it's not made by a machine, it's made by hand.
Yeah, it's really nice to the touch.
On the other side of these, yeah, yeah, we have this material.
What is this?
Yeah, it's kind of, you know, um, it's, it's horsehair and pig's hair and natural rubber. Normally when you do repulsive upholstered furniture, it's foam inside.
Yes, exactly.
But, but, you know, when we have this piece, we're not interested in using plastic foam.
Yeah.
So we wanted to source the best material.
Yes.
Also for the environment and, you know, for everything.
Yeah.
So this, this material here, yeah, it can last forever.
Yes.
It's so crazy.
No, I know, because it's used in mattresses too. Yeah, exactly.
It's carbon fiber.
Really?
Yeah, it's 100% carbon. Okay. And you know, you cannot stretch it.
Yeah.
So everything here, when you put your weight in it, yeah, you can see it goes like this. So everything is in the building of the frame. The, yeah, yeah, stainless steel frame. So all the joints, everything have to be 100%.
Yeah, that's how, if you know, you're comfortable sitting in it because it's balancing your weight on it.
Yeah, so you can see, maybe you can, if you see inside here, this is the solid one going in the pipe here, and you maybe you can follow it in so you can see it's plugged in. And then yeah, sanded down and polished up.
And then so it can connect together.
Yeah, yeah. So it's really, it's really strong. Yeah, joints that have interesting.
Yeah, yeah. It looks like one piece almost.
I love that finish.
Yeah, that is beautiful.
Normally when you see a metal stool, you say, oh, it's a metal Yeah. But, but, you know, if you, if you are a proper craftsman, it's also like, yeah, it's really craftsmanship.
Yeah, it is nice. So 5 years in making?
Well, just about.
Yeah, just about going back and forth, back and forth.
If you should do it really good, you should write down the day you started. Yeah, talking about, but you never do, right?
I know, I know. So it's longer.
A lot of time.
Yeah, yeah, that— it's longer. No, but what you guys created, it's a masterpiece.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's one of a kind.
Yeah.
My first tip is about quality you can't see in a photo. Pieces like these are built to last decades, and that's all in the materials and the craft. So don't judge furniture by the label, judge it with your hands.
Whoa, yeah, like again, like it's very welcoming, you know, it's perfect. Yeah, I like this a lot. I love the color and I like the feel of this leather too.
Exactly.
Yeah, and I like the way, like, you know how it looks like it won't be uncomfortable, like my back and stuff, but it's absolutely comforting my back. Yeah, like there's no wrong angles or anything, it's perfect.
And you can imagine as the this being a 2-seater, we wanted to— we also, as Gustav said, made prototypes, as he's doing of the chair. We did that with the sofa. And in the beginning, actually, the thing that we had to test also was the sort of relation between 2 people sitting in the sofa, right?
Ah, okay.
Because if you know each other, it's nice to sit together, but if you don't know each other, You have to have enough space.
Space.
Yeah.
Yeah, so you're not awkward.
Exactly.
Because you could be awkward when you're too close.
Yeah, exactly.
But then it does that because while you're sitting, it's like, yeah, I, I know what you're saying because I'm in my place and there's some room in between. And someone over there, if I don't know them, they have their space.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Right?
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it feels very comfortable. Comfortable to me already, but yeah. It's like it kind of hugs you as you sit on it.
Yeah.
It hugs you.
Exactly.
Yeah.
It welcomes.
Yeah, it welcomes you.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And you saw in the workshop, and Gustav told you that he was making the armrests.
Yeah.
This is the one you see.
Yeah.
My second tip is to always choose furniture for how you actually live. Just like we saw with this sofa, a beautiful piece doesn't mean much if it feels awkward to sit on. So when you're picking things for your home, think about how you genuinely relax and gather with people. Pick for real life, not just for a photograph. There was one more place I wanted to show you, and it's the opposite of a workshop. This is Posten, a Danish furniture gallery inside a beautifully restored 19th-century bank. And here's where I picked up the last tip for choosing luxury furniture.
It's an old mailbox. Old mailbox. Old mailbox. Old mailbox. Sorry, my mistake.
These are bank lockers.
I thought it was a mailbox because the top looks like that, but if I go on the bottom, like, they have the bigger, um, you know, box, and then they have the smaller box. The old bank lockers. How cool is that? Sitting in design and comfort. It's absolutely stunning the way this piece is made, and it's very comfortable. I can just lay in here and take a nap.
This whole room gets its drama from the building itself. The arches, the tall columns. So here's the last takeaway: if your room already has strong details like these, let the architecture be the star. You don't need loud furniture. When a room feels too busy, it's usually because too many things are competing at once. So those are my top 3 takeaways from Copenhagen. Let the architecture be the star. If your room already has character, judge quality with your hands, and pick furniture for real life. You don't have to fly all the way to Denmark to find an incredible design for your home. You just need to know what to look for. Let me know in the comments which of these tips you'll use first.
