June 30, 2024Considering the magazine covers she’s graced, the major brands she’s partnered with and the 1.4 million followers she’s amassed on Instagram, it’s almost impossible to believe that Danish fashion and interiors stylist Pernille Teisbaek’s initial career goal was to become a dentist. “I went to elementary school and high school in Charlottenlund, a suburb of Copenhagen,” she says. “After that, I began to study dentistry. I come from a family with many dentists, and I’ve always been passionate about helping people and working with my hands.”
A year into her training, however, Teisbaek realized that cavities and crowns weren’t going to scratch her creative itch. So, she pivoted to fashion, landing a job as a fashion director for a European women’s magazine. At the same time, she went back to school to study design technology, primarily as applied to fashion. “It was a pretty intense period, working full-time while studying,” she recalls. “But I was very determined and knew that I was on the right path.”
Before long, Teisbaek had started a blog and an Instagram account. She also dived deep into side hustles. “While working on several magazines at that time, I did styling jobs on the side,” she says. “I loved the process of creating looks and fashion stories in close collaboration with photographers and brands. After a year, things took off with my blog, and I started to travel the world, working on campaigns, collaborations, fashion weeks, et cetera.”
Today, Teisbaek’s well-cultivated aesthetic is a master class in Scandinavian simplicity meets worldly sophistication. Whether styling outfits or interiors, she can warm up minimalism and express individuality even in a lean look. The key to achieving this, she says, is dichotomy, especially when it comes to home design. “I have always loved to mix different materials and expressions. For instance, pairing romantic moldings with a steel kitchen island. When contrasts meet, something really special happens.”
She also takes a less-is-more approach when deciding what to put in the 1860 Copenhagen home she shares with her husband, Philip Lotko, cofounder of outerwear brand Rains, and their four children. “I believe in longevity when it comes to both fashion and the pieces we’ve bought for our home,” she says. “I believe in buying less and instead having fewer well-designed items that you’ll treasure for years ahead.”
Teisbaek’s home is something of a dream come true. She and her family had often walked by the once-neglected property on their way to a nearby playground and imagined what it might be like to own it. “None of us thought that it would actually happen,” she says.
But happen it did. At the time, the house was divided into two apartments. When they heard that the ground-floor apartment had become available, they quickly made an offer. In an unexpected turn of events, the upstairs tenants also decided to move, and Teisbaek’s family was able to acquire the entire home.
They eagerly set out to renovate. “We knew it would be a place we would live for quite a while. So, we invested a lot of time in all the building processes to get it exactly as we wanted,” she remembers. “We handpicked all the moldings everywhere in the house, all the stones. We designed the kitchen and picked the wood for all the panels ourselves. We’ve learned so much from this project, which makes us feel extremely connected to our home.”
The furnishings and objects in the airy, light-filled house have been kept to a minimum, but what’s there is top-tier. Among the pieces she’s fondest of are an Eames lounge chair and ottoman, a marble dining table and a Tyrrell Winston art installation. One recent 1stDibs purchase is a black leather Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy for Ligne Roset.
Given her talent for choosing the best of the best, 1stDibs invited Teisbaek to curate a collection of pieces on 1stDibs Auctions. “I love shopping vintage,” she says. “And shopping vintage on 1stDibs, I find things that I can’t find anywhere else — something that I’ve had in mind for a while, something that I find very special and unique.”
The selection centers on European design and craft. Among her picks is a 1980s Matta and Varaschin for Maletti Presence wood, aluminum and glass vanity table. It conjures up treasured memories, she says. “It reminds me of my early youth, when I would go out with my girlfriends and we would stand in the bathroom stalls and touch up our lip gloss and makeup. It’s quite cute, I think, and different from a more classic bathroom mirror.”
Also on the list is a 1960s modular wall unit by Poul Cadovius for CADO. “I have always admired furniture that is both practical and decorative like this,” she says of the Scandinavian modern piece. A second mid-century design, a 1950s low stool made from imbuia wood by Sergio Rodrigues for Oca Brazil, would contrast nicely with and complement the sinuous lines and white walls of the Teisbaek home. “A little stool is an easy way to add a decorative object to any space,” the stylist notes. “I would personally place this in my living room or use it as a bedside table.”
Other decorative pieces include a stunning Chinese glazed celadon bowl from the Song dynasty and an Ian Sanderson photograph of a woman swimming. “I love swimming,” Teisbaek explains. “This reminds me of the feeling of peace I have every time I’m in the water.”
As a fashion devotee, Teisbaek chose a small Louis Vuitton trunk from the 1940s. “It’s such an iconic piece that you will treasure forever,” she says. “It’s great to keep old love letters in or use as a jewelry box.” A snazzy lighter from the house of Gucci also caught her eye. “If you have to have a lighter, why not a classic one, right?”
Teisbaek attributes her taste to her heritage and the artisanship she’s been exposed to in her home city. “I think Copenhagen and the Nordic aesthetics in general have given me a good sense of quality, simplicity and longevity,” she says. “We have so many gifted people in Copenhagen who are really talented at what they do.” Looking at the life she’s created and the following she’s attracted, one could certainly say Teisbaek numbers among them.
