An orangery with focus on functionality and soul

One of the first things they made plans for was the wine cellar. The cellar is in the innermost part of the orangery where there is no floor heating or windows. Therefore, the temperature remains the same and rarely over 14°C.

When I asked Carsten if he had a passion for wine, he answered that he was for sure not uninterested. We opened the large swinging door – an old door from a deconstructed cold room – and are met with rows of wine bottles on rustic iron wood shelves.

It’s mostly Italian wine found on the shelves, but also a little from France. Pinot Noir is his favourite grape, he says, and he is always after a good pinot noir with notes of nuttiness.

It is not only plants that fill the room, but also art. We quickly see that it is a place to explore because little treasures – with emotional value we learn – are hidden everywhere.

Amoung the art there is works that are made by friends and family and known artists. The first piece he shows us is an acrylic on canvas, painted by Knud Slosser – a local hobby-artist who was a milk consultant at the dairy where Thors Design has its office and showroom today. The painting depicts a hilly landscape, which is Trehøje Bakker (Three Hills), says Carsten. Knud was a friend of Carsten’s mother; therefore, the painting was a gift. Carsten was often at the old dairy with him as a boy, and you can clearly see that the painting holds equal parts aesthetic and emotional value for him.

In the corner by the sofa, there is a beautiful cactus that was made by his second youngest son in sixth grade that fits in perfectly with the style of the orangery. There is also a Holmegaard glass collection from Per Lukter, which Carsten have been hunting for a long time for. He would like more of the yellow pieces, which are the hardest to find. On the shelf, the collection looks like a deep blue and vibrant wave, and when you use them as a table setting, they are just beautiful, he says.

Afterwards we were lucky to witness his skills on the Tibetan singing bowl before showing a model of a sculpture designed by Paul Cederdorff in honour of those who fell at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

As mentioned, the plants are Anika's department. Based on their shared desire for a traditional Mediterranean theme, she has therefore had carte blanche to fill it up, and is also committed to keeping it. We go hunting in the oasis and botanize our way to, among other things, avocado, jasmine, comquad, olive, orange, fig, pomegranate - in addition to basil and other herbs.

There are also some giants growing around, which are houseplants from his late father, which were put out here after his death.

Not all the trees bear fruit – perhaps they lack a partner or something else critical – but neither Carsten nor Anika cares. The main reason they have the plants is for the sake of well-being, and not to be able to harvest from them. In return, they put a lot of effort into their kitchen garden, which can keep them more or less self-sufficient over the summer.

And then they certainly also enjoy being able to harvest a perfectly ripe orange or lemon every now and then.

When he had to choose the roof, he made a mistake says Carsten. When we look up, you can see that one part of the orangery has milky white thermal glass, while the other part has bronze coloured thermal glass. Originally, they had bronze-coloured thermal throughout because Carsten liked the colour from the glass. But it did not let in enough light, for the light-demanding citrus plants. Therefore, the glass in the roof needed to be replaced. So far they have replaced part of the roof while the other half is on his to do list.