Lida Hulgaard and her husband, Johs, planned to build themselves a luxury retirement retreat in an upscale suburb near the Danish city of Aarhus. But with the death of Mr. Hulgaard last year—less than a year after the couple moved in—the home has become a launchpad for a new sort of life for Ms. Hulgaard.  The Hulgaards started planning the villa four years ago. They wanted to make the most of a lot they owned that overlooked the bucolic Bay of Aarhus, so they decided on a two-story home that would feature picturesque views from the top floor. The home would include an elevator.  Though both healthy at the time, the couple anticipated frail years ahead. “Our idea was that the house must be handicap-friendly,” says Ms. Hulgaard, a tax attorney, now 77 years old. “We wanted the assurance that we wouldn’t need to move again.”  The couple spent $1.79 million to build the 2,150-square-foot, glass-and-brick villa. Upstairs is a master bedroom and bath, plus a large sitting room. The first floor has an open-plan kitchen, dining and living room, and two rooms for use as offices or for guests.  The lot—nearly a quarter acre—had been part of the couple’s longtime family property, a 1950s high-modernist villa next door. They kept the home in the family by selling it to their son, who now lives there with his wife.  The new home was designed by Julian Weyer, a partner at Aarhus-based C.F. Møller, one of Scandinavia’s largest and most prestigious architecture firms. In Mr. Weyer’s design, a gray-tinted oak stairwell plays off natural oak used in the kitchen. A stacked parallelogram construction creates overhangs and an array of triangular terraces.  Mr. Weyer also included subtle accommodations for a potentially impaired resident, such as extra-wide halls and doorways to allow for a wheelchair, and no-slip tiles in the master bathroom.  During the design phase, the elevator that the Hulgaards wanted was a sticking point. Their architect objected, says Ms. Hulgaard, because of the look of the models on the market.  But shortly before ground was broken on the project in the fall of 2013, Mr. Hulgaard, a retired physician, suffered a stroke, and it was clear the elevator would be a necessity. By the time the couple moved into the completed home in late 2014, Mr. Hulgaard was handicapped. He died in his home in the summer of 2015 at age 83.  “We couldn’t have lived here without the elevator,” says Ms. Hulgaard.  Ms. Hulgaard, only now contemplating full retirement, is finding a way to make the home her own.  Mr. Hulgaard had been the cook in the family, but now Ms. Hulgaard is relearning the pleasures of cooking—in a state-of-the-art kitchen. She has a bespoke kitchen from Copenhagen’s Garde Hvalsøe, a high-end interior-design company.  The Hulgaards chose the company because of its approach to woodworking. The oak cabinetry, made and installed by artisans, takes up a full wall. It dominates the house, concedes Ms. Hulgaard. Her go-to spot is a lounge chair in the living area that gives her a view of the warm wood.  One of the two lower-floor rooms originally planned as his-and-hers studies is being converted into a guest bedroom. Ms. Hulgaard isn’t counting on too much peace and solitude. She has 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, and her new home already has become a destination for her extended family.  Her four adult children all live in Denmark. Her neighbor is her son Øjvind Hulgaard—a fellow lawyer at the family firm, Hulgaard Advokater. Their lots blur, but their houses remain distinct. A window-free, zinc-clad wall on the new Hulgaard home affords privacy for both households.  The zinc on the new facade accents the brick and glass. Mr. Weyer says zinc lasts longer than less-expensive cladding, “and it looks great.” It cost about $70,000.  Meanwhile, the elevator has taken on a new role as an oversized toy for 5-year-old great-granddaughter, Mie. “The first thing she does when she comes in is run and push the buttons,” says Ms. Hulgaard.
In the home she built with her late husband, a Danish attorney finds ways to make the space her own