A slow weekend in the VIPP shelter
In collaboration with VIPP
When mentioning to friends that we were going to a shelter in Sweden for the weekend, they must have imagined something basic - something built for the sole purpose of giving shelter. From rain, from the crowds, from the cold. But this shelter, designed by Danish design company VIPP, is not anywhere close to the average four wooden walls and a roof kind of shelter. With its black exterior and even blacker interior, this place offers unique framed views, a simple layout, featuring a selection of VIPP products. This weekend was both a design-infused getaway of the most luxurious kind and a weekend in the countryside, combined.
True to the idea of a shelter at least, The VIPP shelter nestles in the Swedish woodlands on the verge of Lake Immeln, a little over 2 hours from Copenhagen. The 55m2 is equipped with VIPP products from top to toe, including a fully fitted VIPP kitchen, that has all the essential tableware and kitchen equipment one needs to cook for a weekend away from home. The huge panoramic windows on either side of the house slide right open, to undermine the vapour-fine line between indoors and outdoors. From here, giant rocks act as steps, bringing you from the raised house, down to the ground, and down to the private platform in the lake.
The dark gry felt-covered walls and the giant concrete floor hugged us hello as we arrived to the house. The walls seemed to devour sound, and softened up the feel of the place, and the heated floors made us feel immediately at home, without even having lit the fireplace. We opened the cooled bottle of champagne that had been left for us in the fridge and enjoyed the views from the soft felt benches.
We made a stop in Kristianstad to do the food and wine shopping for the weekend. Really, you don’t want to go anywhere once you’re there, and besides, there are not a lot of options around for you to a liter of milk if you run out. So stock up - you don’t want to feel like you are missing anything. The first evening, we hung out in the shelter and enjoyed the view until the sun set over the lake. We lit the fireplace, placed in the center of the house, and cooked up a simple dinner. As the night grew darker, the large panoramic windows turned just as black as the interior, and although 2 out of the 4 walls that surrounded us where glass, they reflected the light and blended in.
Next morning, after a good nights sleep under the stars in the Aiayu bed sheets (!) we were woken up by beautiful clear skies spotted through the glass ceiling. We climbed down the stairs, grabbed some towels and made our way down to the platform by the lake. Although it was late February, and thereby still winter, we let ourselves be fooled by the sunshine and left our sensible selves on land, as we got naked and jumped in! Slightly crazy, but gosh does it feel incredible afterwards!
We fried up some eggs and had a typical Swedish countryside breakfast, whilst looking out upon the glistening water. The weather really was incredible, and after a slow morning with plenty of coffee, we set out on a little hike around the surrounding woodlands.
Hand on my heart, in honesty, let me just say.. Everything in this dream cabin was just top notch. Like the organic bedding from Aiayu, the fleece dressing gowns from Karmameju, the bathroom toiletries including toothpaste (!) from Aesop and liquorice chocolate from Johan Bülow. Cool bubbles, smoked almonds and a lovely little leaflet about the house. Although the interior is masculine and black, it feels like a kind place. I think the kindness comes from all the light and the views out on the lake on one side, and the woodland on the other. I don’t know if many houses could get away with this kind of decor, but it really works in this shelter. Even the bathroom was black, with a mirror ceiling. We really loved it, and felt so inspired by being there, wanting to build our own little luxurious shelter somewhere in the woods.
If you rent this shelter, you will get a voucher for canoe rental, that you can use all year round, as long as the lake is not frozen of course. We had scheduled our trip in for Sunday, after having looked at very the promising weather forecasts. The canoe center was located only a few minutes away by car. Life vests on, SPF50 and then out we went. Lake Immeln is vast, and you could spend a whole week canoeing up and down it. We enjoyed seeing the VIPP shelter from the lake too and made a quick stop at the platform to have a little snack before returning.
Thank you VIPP for making this getaway a reality and for having given us a lovely experience! If you’re interested in knowing more about this shelter, or book it, you can visit the VIPP shelter website here.
— The stay was kindly sponsored by VIPP and this post was written in collaboration with VIPP.
