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Katrine Binné knows what she likes. The Copenhagen-based designer, founder of the eponymous womenswear brand Binné and the recently launched childrenswear brand Cosmo 1996, leans towards decorative textiles, family heirlooms and Danish design. But across clothing and interior design, everything she chooses needs to work hard for her — whether it’s a timeless garment she can wear again and again, or a piece of furniture that can be passed on or traded for a new one. It’s a long-established approach to sustainability, and one which is modern, pragmatic, and highly effective.

Katrine lives in a former factory with her husband, Jonas, and their two children — three-year-old Hubert and eight-month-old Teddy. They’ve made a few changes to it since they moved in, and now it’s a space for light, comfort and ease — full of her favorite things, and her boys’ books and toys. All of which is inspiring her creative ventures.

Tell me about the building you live in.

We moved here five years ago. It’s an old factory, and we have lots of little details from that time, such as the ceiling beams, which I love. We renovated the house two years ago and added the second floor, to make room for a kid’s room, plus a 20 square-metre terrace.

How do you choose the pieces you live with?

The way I build my home, it's always very personal to me. Everything you see is memories — something I’ve chosen with my heart. The painting, the decorations. It's not necessarily trendy, it's more just who we are as a family. I love the English cottage style, that’s a rich inspiration for me. Everything floral, the more the merrier. Lots of books, pictures, pillows and blankets. Natural materials. Little details. I love when furniture tells a story. I love antiques, and old, inherited pieces. My style is to mix my choices with Danish design.

Katrine Binné Everything you see is memories — something I’ve chosen with my heart. The painting, the decorations, it's all very personal.

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Has your home changed much since your children came along?

Not really. I'm just looking around now and there are more blankets, more pillows. But almost all of our furniture is pieces we bought before the kids.

Where do you go when you want to relax?

I love my kids’ room. My favorite thing in the whole world is an afternoon sleeping with my boys. My big boy still takes naps, and taking a nap with him in his bed, looking around at all of his small little things and toys and prints and pictures — I just love it. It's my favorite thing. I love British fabric designers such as Laura Ashley and Liberty of London, so we have lots of prints in the kids’ room, actually. The wallpaper is a vintage print I sourced online, before the kids, even. And everything that’s in there is also inspiring my new brand, Cosmo 1996.

You also have a big, open kitchen.

When we bought the house they had this white, shiny, all-new kitchen which didn’t feel like us. We were like, we can't throw this out. Instead, we just had it repainted in a greenish, greyish color, and added a travertine tabletop that took us quite some time to source because we wanted a life-lasting quality and timeless color. We have styled the kitchen with our pink table-top, made by a friend who’s a carpenter, and some vintage towels. I used to live in Paris and I love everything French so I have a lot of French ceramics. We drink a lot of coffee, so there are lots of mugs.

Katrine Binné My favorite thing in the whole world is sleeping in the afternoon with my boys. My big boy still takes naps, and taking a nap with him in his bed, looking around at all of his small little things and toys and prints and pictures — I just love it.

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Has your approach to interiors been this way all your life?

Yes. Above all, it has to be pretty practical, pragmatic. My couch needs to be comfortable, and it should be somewhere that can get messy. Things are supposed to be used here. That's how my parents did things, too, you could always walk in with your shoes on. It's not a dirty home, but we live here.

How does this reflect your approach to styling yourself, and starting Binné?

I worked in the fashion industry, and at one point, I just felt nauseous. It was like, can we keep going like this? When do we stop this overconsumption? For both my kids' universe, Cosmo 1996, and my previous womenswear brand, Binné, I only make and produce what I want to dress my children and wear myself. When I started Binné, I really wanted to see if I could do it differently than what I had experienced so far. We made pieces out of leftover fabrics, created here in Denmark by a tailor. It has been a great passion for me, and I will try to continue that with my new brand. It’s the same as my attitude to interiors. I never come home with stuff for the house that I wouldn't like to look at and use every day.

Nick Pourfard I love the English cottage style, that’s a rich inspiration for me. Everything floral, the more the merrier. Lots of books, pictures, pillows and blankets. Natural materials. Little details. I love when furniture tells a story. I love antiques, and old, inherited pieces. My style is to mix my choices with traditional Danish design.