My Swedish Summer Cottage Kitchen Renovation (Before)

In paid collaboration with Bosch*
I am so excited to introduce a new series today. If you've been following My Scandinavian Home for a while, you'll likely know my family and I have a very small summer cottage on the West coast of Sweden. I've never actually showed pictures of it before because it's in major need of renovation. I mean MAJOR! But all that is going to change! Over the next twelve weeks I'm going to be renovating the kitchen. I know in these pictures it looks surprisingly OK - but trust me, at a closer glance it's not! Firstly, it hasn't been touched since the 1970s - the wallpaper is peeling away in great swathes, the units are all frayed and sometimes the handles have a habit of falling off. Secondly, the current kitchen doesn't use maximum use of space (kind of important in an L-shaped room that measures 8 square metre / 86 square foot) - it could be waaaay more efficient. And finally, none of the appliances work properly (I can't tell you how annoying it is to leave a casserole on the stove for an hour, only to find the hob hasn't been working!) Oh and did I mention there is a family of mice lurking somewhere behind one of those cupboards? I think you get the idea!

The plan
My goal is to transform the space into a fresh, practical, well functioning, beautiful kitchen (big plans, huh?!) in time for the family to descend on the cottage at midsummer. It's also important to ensure the look fits with the rest of the cottage (the house was built in the1930s by my husband's Grandfather and holds lots of fond memories!).



The Partner
One of the reasons our summer cottage has been somewhat neglected over the years is that we're only there a few weeks a year and share it with other members of the family, so money is always invested elsewhere. Back in our kitchen in Malmö we've had Bosch appliances for over 12 years (oven, hob, fan, microwave, fridge, dishwasher.... you name it) and we've always been so happy with them, it therefore felt like a natural step to partner with Bosch for this project and install Bosch appliances in our summer cottage kitchen too. Since we are keen to keep the costs down, it helps that Bosch appliances are a seamless fit with IKEA kitchens too!

Grand plans indeed. I'm feeling very excited and at the same time just a teeny bit daunted!

Over the next twelve weeks I'll be sharing my renovation here on the blog (as well as over on Instagram) including my inspiration, plans, the design, expected surprises (of which I'm sure there'll be plenty!) and of course, with any luck - the final reveal! Please do weigh in - I so welcome your tips, advice and opinion on decisions along the way! And if you're planning a kitchen renovation of your own, I hope you'll find the series helpful.

Time to hit the grindstone!

Niki

*This series is in paid collaboration with Bosch. However, all words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. 

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Bohemian Style in a Lovely 1900 Berlin Beletage

Borta bra men hemma bäst (away is nice, but home is best) so the Swedish saying goes - and it was nice to wake up in my own bed this morning! Even so, I feel like it's been a while since I've shared a bohemian style home (and I do like to try to shake things up a little!), so today we're all heading to Berlin (virtually of course - which is a pity as it's such a great city) for a tour of the relaxed vintage-inspired home of Melanie Kharad. Founder of Roomoon, a company selling sustainable, solvent-free bedrails, Melanie loves to decorate her "1900 family beletage" with one off vintage finds, mid-century pieces and an abundance of plants. The result is a lovely relaxed home with clever ideas around every corner!

Baskets are a great way to add a decorative touch to the wall and work as a great sound dampener too - there are a load of beautiful ones here*.

Mid-century side-tables* are still going strong in the world of interiors - which is great as they provide so much storage as well as a great surface for art, lamps, books etc. I love how Melanie has hung lighting from the shelving above - it's a great way to shine a light on the pretty objects and also means the wiring can be hidden behind books.

I rarely think about placing furniture diagonally but by doing so, Melanie has been able to fit a much bigger sofa into the room so the whole family can kick back. I bet there's a tussle for the chaise-longue section (there always is in my home! Do you find the same?).

The darker wall colour in the bedroom helps to turn a room with high ceilings into a cosier space. FYI if you go for this kind of look you need a lot of extra lighting. We used to have a black wall in my bedroom and I honestly couldn't see anything at night (cue: arms waving about out in front of me feeling my way to bed!). But if you get the lighting right, it can look very dramatic as we've seen in so many homes lately! 

Thank you so much for inviting us into your lovely home Melanie!

I love the personal feel in this space, how about you?!

Other Berlin faves:

The wonderful Berlin apartment and country home of Our Food Stories
A Bohemian touch in a magnificent Berlin apartment
Grey and Greige in a beautiful Berlin home

Have you been to Berlin? it's fine of those cities with the most amazing vibe - and there's just so much to see and do. Hmmm, now I'm dreaming about a return visit. Wonder if I can find an opportunity?

Have a lovely, sunshine-y day!

Niki

Photography: Melanie Kharad shared with kind permission
Affiliate links marked with *

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A Swedish Home In Soothing Neutrals

Men hejsan! I hope you've had a lovely, relaxing time over Easter? It's our last day in London today (we're flying back to Malmö this afternoon) and I'm writing this post surrounded by cousins chasing each other around the house with Badminton rackets (where are my noise cancelling headphones when I need them?!). As great as it is to see them happy,  I'd very much like to crawl into the sofa in this Swedish apartment, put my feet up and have a cup of tea right now! Although staged for sale (and I know we all prefer a real 'lived-in' home) - I do love the effortless nature of this space, and I felt it might offer inspiration in terms of working with a subtle colour palette, how to inject natural materials (I spy wood, marble, jute, wool, clay etc) and how to creating a calming oasis! Välkommen!

Menu table light*, Muuto table*, Karlstad sofa (source a beautiful linen cover for it over at Bemz*), light blue velvet cushion*

 Such a pretty radiator cover! 

Although small, this reading corner has everything you might need: books, flowers, a blanket and no doubt, noise levels under 85 decibels! 

I absolutely love this bedroom with its bench, linen curtains (clever how they've used both nature linen and white linen - source similar made-to-measure here*), dark grey linen bedding and jute rug. Oh, and there's a balcony leading off it too - perfection! Could you imagine waking up here?! I certainly could!

And relax! 

Did you find any ideas to steal? I really love the dual shade curtains in the bedroom. I was trying to see if there was a black-out blind above the window too (does it look like there's one to you?). 

If you'd like to escape for a while longer and take a peek inside more Swedish homes today, you could always take a leisurely scroll through this archive! 

And guess what? The kids have moved outside and are actually playing badminton rather than just chasing each other with the rackets. I might just be able to have that cup of tea in quiet after all! 

Vi ses imorgen! 

Niki

Photographs courtesy of Alvhem (through whom this home is currently for sale). 

Affiliate links marked with *

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Spreading A Little Easter Bunny Love!

As we pack our bags for London, I thought I'd spread a little Easter bunny love with my simple DIY bunny ear napkin creation I made for last year's table. It's super quick to create too (find out how here).

Wishing you a very happy and relaxed Easter / Spring break!

See you Tuesday!

Niki

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