Summer cottage with views of the sky and sea

This summer cottage plot in Røsnæs, Denmark forms part of the spectacularly scenic Western Zealand coastal landscape and is filled with protected salt marshes, rare plants and animals and a sunset you never tire of watching. At least, Patrick and Stine Blok don't – because this spectacular location is the main reason why they love their sanctuary so much. 

"When we sit here in the evening and look out through the windows, it's almost like meditation," says Patrick, who designed the summer cottage himself and was the developer for the project. "At home in our apartment in Copenhagen, we would just watch television, but out here we look at nature." His overall idea was clear from the outset: 

"Our vision was to design a house that fits the area and blends in with the landscape as much as possible. We want to create as little visual noise as possible." 

Carefully positioned VELUX flat roof windows act as light shafts in the north-facing and inner parts of the house and are absolutely crucial to the way the family experiences daylight. 

"Obviously, the parts of the house that face north and the darker areas of the rooms also need daylight and that comes from the ceiling," says Patrick. "It was a huge thing when the VELUX flatroof windows were installed. You could see the impact it would have as soon as they cut the hole for the flat roof window in the living room. I was so excited that I went and filmed it, because it was so cool to see this cone of daylight coming down."  

The VELUX flatroof window here means that the family has no lamp above the dining table. Instead, light streams down from the VELUX flat roof window, which captures daylight from sunrise to sunset.