Kids need boundaries—or so parenting wisdom goes. Shelves, it turns out, benefit from them, too. Copenhagen interiors stylist and September Edit blogger, Caroline Birk Bahrenscheer was on maternity leave with twins and an older daughter when a curious flea market find inspired her.
A handmade, banged-up printer’s tray with dividers for holding blocks of type led Caroline to conceive of the Sætter cup shelf: her collection of all-wood, wall-hung storage with slots for storing mugs.
Who doesn’t have too many big-handled ceramic cups hogging kitchen cabinet space? Caroline’s shelves invite an edited selection worthy of display. Her designs are made by carpenters in Denmark from FSC-certified solid woods, and now come in a range of sizes for use all over the house.
Above: Caroline reports that she launched her company in 2020 with “zero money: I started with 50 shelves that were all sold on pre-order through my Instagram, so I had the funds to pay when the shelves arrived.” Sales have continued to be brisk and Caroline now has stock on hand and says success has led to knockoffs: there are now not-as-well-made imitations of her protected designs.
She’s shown here with her Sætter cup shelves in natural, oiled, and smoked oak in vertical and horizontal orientations. Sætter means “sets.”
Above: Sætter cup shelves are ideally positioned near where coffee and tea is served—but away from moisture. They come assembled with wall brackets. This is the medium-sized Sætter 5 in natural oak, $453.14.
Above: Caroline’s bestseller is the Sætter cup shelf 5, shown here in ash, $443.04. It’s currently sold out but being restocked.
Above: The Sætter Shelf 2, shown here in oiled oak, $396.96, is sized for holding larger objects (scroll to the end to see it used as a bedside table).
Above: The Sætter 5 in oiled oak; $453.14, is perfect for a dining area (and also works well for showcasing a collection or holding perfume bottles and other toiletries).
Above: The largest design is the Saetter 7, here in walnut; $577.90. It also comes in darker smoked oak.
Above: The Sætter Shelf 4, here in oiled oak, $521.72, is sized for holding books and book-sized things.
Above: Caroline’s latest design, the versatile Sætter Shelf 2 in oiled oak; $396.96.
Consult The Organized Home, our companion book and website, for many more storage solutions, including:
