Say hello to hygge with a twist as the acclaimed interior designer Martin Brudnizki brings 243 uniquely decorated rooms to a historic building in the Danish capital
After adding distinctive flair to two signature suites at Grand Hôtel Stockholm and infusing contemporary Swedish Grace into the capital’s eclectic brasserie Pas d’Art, Martin Brudnizki's latest project seems him set his sights further south - but with results that are no less spectacular. The acclaimed interior designer has teamed up with German hotel chain 25hours for their first property in Scandinavia and Brudnizki's inaugural project in Denmark, with their striking Copenhagen hotel set to welcome its first guests this spring.
Swedish-born Brudnizki founded his eponymous design studio in 2000 and over the past two decades has made his name with bold interiors that make playful use of colour. He was responsible for the eye-catching reinvention of exclusive Mayfair private club Annabel’s in 2018 and the carefully curated New York hotel The Beekman a year earlier. In 2021, he launched And Objects, a furniture and interior accessories brand that blended influences from the designer’s own background with Swedish Grace, the design movement born in the 1920s, for a range that he describes as “very contemporary and at the same time very classical.”
Photo: Oli Kearon
For his Copenhagen bow, Brudnizki has taken on a 19th century structure that has previously served as a porcelain factory and a university. "Coming of age" became a central theme for the project from the beginning, both due to the property's history and the client's focus on youthful, intrepid guests. “25hours is a very bold brand, for young people who love to travel. They love to stay somewhere engaging, with a story to it,” says Brudnizki. “We tried to infuse age of innocence, knowledge and studying in a fun sort of way.”
Photo: Oli Kearon
Photo: Oli Kearon
Passion and knowledge are key watchwords for the hotel's interior design, according to Brudnizki. “When you go to university you go there to accumulate knowledge and secondly, you’re very young, so you have a lot of passion for things,” he explains. This is manifested through a visual feast in some rooms, with spaces adorned with art and design, while others integrate reproductions of famous works by the likes of Tycho Brahe and Charles Darwin.
In keeping with the brand's penchant for quirky elements, the 25hours Indre By features a vinyl room equipped with turntables and a selection of records, and an ambient "Love Library" area for those looking to really get away from it all. Both spaces are "hidden", encouraging visitors to explore.
Photo: Oli Kearon
Given the prominence given to playfulness, Brudnizki seems like the perfect partner for the hotel brand, with his signature style - characterised by its bold accents and maximalist ways - writ large throughout the space. The designer points to his childhood as a key factor in his rebellion against archetypal Scandinavian minimalism. “My mother was a fashion merchandiser who then went into designing retail stores. We grew up in a very elegant home, very beautiful house, and my mother kept things simple," he says. "She worked textured white walls but within them there were a lot of things, like patterned sofas from Josef Frank and layered objects. I grew up with having things.”
Photo: Oli Kearon
This sense of home is another aspect the designer hopes to bring to the 25hours property. The hotel's name (with "Indre By" meaning "inner city" or "city centre" in Danish) hints at an ambition to create a communal hot spot, both for locals and those from further afield. “Hopefully the Copenhageners are excited about this project and will be using it as an extended living room,” says Brudnizki.