Selma Lamai My husband, our two sons and I live in one of two apartments in a house on Frederiksberg. It is constantly in flux as we live with young children who have loads of energy, play ball and build tipis in the living room
Lamai has always been a collector. It is in her blood, as her parents and grandparents amassed treasured objects too — upholstered buttons, bookbinding tools, pieces of Carrara marble and Moroccan clay tiles.
Building a distinctive oasis for work and leisure in the backyard of their home, she wanted it to house her many collections.
A shelf hidden behind a curtain allows her to organize and stow away things, to ‘allow only the objects in focus or use to be present, for work or play.’
Selma Lamai As we worked from home for several years during the pandemic, I realized we needed a ‘get away’ for focused work or a change of scenery with the kids. The studio is originally a garage we rebuilt and renovated, and putting a personal mark on it was important to me.
"It is a delightful home office, yes, but also a place we have ended up spending a lot of time as a family. Here, I can lay a huge piece of paper on the floor and work on a massive drawing with my eldest son. Bring out my old letter press to experiment with. These can remain for weeks, without having to be cleaned up or packed away. Projects can be sprawling, on-going works in progress. This space makes room for all the activities and things the apartment does not," Lamai notes.
Basically a wooden box, its materiality and the copious daylight flooding from the two skylights bestow an inherent warmth on the space. There is plenty of good work light too, as Lamai’s graphic design often takes on physical form with test prints, embossments, material tests and color-mapping.
A small, custom-built reading nook clad in Raf Simons for Kvadrat upholstery invites quiet contemplation. Below it, a Muuto Stacked shelving system, reconfigured many times over the years, now with a new home.
Lamai’s work at Muuto is marked by her examination of the meeting between color, materiality and medium. Even if the output is digital, she thrives in working with the physical, bringing her characteristic sense of tactility and texture to every detail, from campaigns and catalogs to displays and packaging.
This, alongside her particular penchant for color is playfully expressed throughout her own rooms. She says that while her exploration of color at Muuto is more conscious and systematic, her studio has become an absolute free space — somewhere to unbridledly experiment and try out new ideas.
Selma Lamai The wooden wall by the kitchenette is stained with dark green linseed oil for a more tactile feel. Textiles add to that sense of texture. I like the contrasts between light and dark, combined with some colors that are a bit “off”, but somehow feel just right in here.
"I took an intuitive and pleasurable approach to adding colors to the studio. That was an easy task, with this superb light and material to work with. I chose a few calm tones for the backdrop such as the pin board and curtains, contrasting these with more vibrant colors on objects and details. I don’t like it when things become too matchy-matchy."
Right outside is their patio and garden. When the door to the studio is open, it is as if at one with nature outside. The family has planted an almond tree outside that first came to fruition this year, and Lamai and her son have made it their longstanding project to find the best way to break the almonds open.
The flexibility of the space has been important and it can easily be transformed into a home cinema or a dining room. A vermouth bar built by Lamai and a friend sit in a corner of the space, gifted to her husband for his birthday, and often out on merry occasions throughout the year.
"While it was intended as a work space, we have ended up spending so many days here together. This space has made me reconsider how many square meters we really need to enjoy life," ends Lamai.
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