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Before and After: A Swedish Attic Apartment Gets a Cosy Makeover


As I roll through the snow Swedish countryside on route to the Stockholm Furniture Fair  today, I thought I'd stop by to share a wonderful renovation project a few hours north of the capital. Josefine Gunhamre, her husband Rikard and their four legged friends Buddy and Frank rent the top floor of her parent's house in Lexe, just outside Gävle. With it's own entrance, stairwell, kitchen and bathroom, the 65 m2 / 700 f2 apartment is completely separate from the rest of the house. Tucked under the roof, the angles can be tricky to navigate, but with a lot of work, Josefine and Rikard have made great use of the space they have, and transformed a dated space into a cosy, warm and inviting living space. 

Kitchen before


After

Dark wood floor: Kährs. Kitchen: Claessons Kök in colour code NCS S4005-G50Y.


Dining area before

After

Pendant lamp from Watt & Veke. Cabinet painted in 'Gul antik' by Jotun.

Sitting room area before 

After

Coffee table Soffa direkt, rug from Classic Collection


Bedroom before

Bedroom after

Sandberg wallpaper, Shell lamp from Byon Design

Cabinet Chilli

Stairwell before

Stairwell after

Colour on stairs: NCS S 6005-G50Y colour on walls 'Kalk' from Jotun. 

Hallway Before

Hallway after

Mirror Zara, walls in Kalk (as before). 

What a fantastic transformation! They have turned a fairly dated, non-descript space into a really cosy home! 

Is there anything that stood out to you? 

See more of Josefine's home updates over at @josefinegunhamre and take a look in the before and after archive for a ton more incredible renovations! 

The internet connection is so poor on this train that I'm going to keep it short and sweet! Wishing you a great Wednesday! If you'd like to follow my visit to the Stockholm Furniture Fair, head on over to my instagram stories for the latest updates! 

Niki

Photos courtesy of Josefine Gunhamre, shared with kind permission.

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Budget Makeover: A Boiler Room Becomes a Lovely Guest Bedroom


At the cottage we have a garage with concrete walls and lots of spiders and I sometimes look at it wistfully, wondering if it could be transformed into a guest room. Have you got a basement, unused, neglected garage or other room that's currently uninhabitable but has potential? if so, like me, you might feel incredibly inspired by Anna Truelsen's latest budget DIY make-over! 

I've featured Anna's home several times before on My Scandinavian Home, and now the Swedish interior stylist has turned her hand to the boiler room. Formerly a dumping ground (just like me attic!), Anna could see the potential in her boiler room as a guest room. Read on to see how it looked before and how they revamped it by hand on a budget. 

Before

The boiler room is in the basement of Anna's home. Despite being relatively large, the concrete shell is a dumping ground for building materials, household items and other bits and bobs. 

The first step was to clear out the room and then Anna set to work removing the crumbling plaster. They then removed a couple of pipes and re-plastered the walls and ceilings. Once dry they painted the walls, ceilings and exposed pipes with a fresh lick of white paint. 

After

What a transformation! 


They washed the original concrete floor before adding a series of fluffy rugs for a cosy touch and to dampen sound. A simple linen curtain was installed to hide the boiler system. 

A small amount of light slips in through a window on the left, simple touches like mirrors, candles and a light (all vintage) help to supplement the natural light, while cushions (which Anna made from an old rug that she bought in Marrakesh many years ago) add a homely feel. 

I also love the natural linen bed spread (source a similar natural linen one here*).  

An old Thonet chair* serves as a bedside table. 

A classic Swedish candle (source similar vintage brass candleholders*) adds a warm touch to the room.

***

Truly inspiring, and evidence that our cottage garage could become a wonderful guest bedroom after all. We just need to find somewhere for all the clobber first! 

I hope you've felt inspired by Anna's boiler room makeover too!

If so, you might also like to checkout: 


Stor kram! 

Niki

Photography: Anna Truelsen, shared with kind permission
*this post includes affiliate links which means that if you click on the link and buy something I will receive a small amount of money. 

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Before and After: A Rundown House Becomes a Dream Swedish Country Home

I first discovered Johanna's house, in the southern Sweden county of Smålland, via her instagram feed  Vårt Lilla Gröna (our little green), through which she shares pictures of her not so little, but definitely green and very beautiful country home. Although I didn't find a huge amount of 'before' pictures, the ones I did find go a long way to show the sheer amount of work Johanna and her family have put into transforming the house into a beautiful home. Not only that, but they also demonstrate what you can do with a little vision, DIY, up-cycling and a lot of wallpaper! 

Let's take a peek. 

Exterior before

In this glimpse of the exterior, you can see how run down the house was when they first acquired it.

Exterior after

Cladding and period details were added to the exterior, along with a practical terrace - all of which completely transformed the look and feel of the property.

Johanna and her husband are a real dab hand at DIY and carry out many of the projects themselves. The flower tubs above are just one of their many creations! 

A perfect spot in the sun! Just add tea and a book. 

Interior before 

The interior needed gutting and new walls and ceilings were put in - in other words, it needed a massive amount of work! 

The kitchen was stripped right back, and the old stove area was completely reconstructed to create a practical cooking area. 

Kitchen after

Today the family benefit from modern appliances with a traditional country style feel. 

A built-in window seat provides a place to gaze out of the window from the kitchen.  

Clever use of earthy paint colours and traditional wallpaper help to add interest in a time-honoured way to the many rooms. 

Above, the 'skafferi' (larder) door has been painted in two tones), giving it added impact. Incidentally, I have noticed that the traditional larder is coming back in a big way these days. I wish we had the space for one, they remind me so much of my grandparents' house - they use to store my grandads home brewing kit and lots of chocolate clubs! 

Do you have a larder? 

Fireplace before


Fireplaces and woodburning stoves are already coming into their own this autumn in a bid to avoid the escalating electric and gas prices! These masonry tiled ovens are incredibly efficient. 

Johanna was careful to protect this one while they undertook the renovations. 

I love this before and after comparison between white walls and wallpaper. There's something so homely with wallpaper, don't you think? 



Johanna is great at finding second-hand treasures which she then upcycles. This traditional Swedish bench was sanded down, slightly reconfigured and then painted - before becoming a lovely children's bed! 

At the far end of Johanna's daughter's bedroom is perhaps the most magical homemade dolls houses I've ever seen. Click here to see the tour on Instagram (and what the cabinet looked like before the transformation). 



And finally, I couldn't resist sharing this pretty Autumn touch - wreaths on the garden gates, such a lovely idea! 

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Johanna's life in the countryside of Smålland.

Feel like you've seen it somewhere before? No, you're not imagining things, I once showed some snapshots of Johanna's lovely home all decked out for Christmas

See more pictures and feel inspired by her latest projects here

Do you have lots of wallpaper in your home too? I grew up with Laura Ashley wallpaper, but we don't have any in our house right now. 

Would you like to see a few other country homes today? Take a look at: 


This afternoon I'm heading up to our little cabin with a friend - it's such a lovely sunny, autumn day, I can't not make time for a long walk by the sea! Maybe it'll even be warm enough to sit outside? If per asks though, I'm working of course! 

Have a lovely day, I hope the sun is shining where you are too! 

Niki

Photography: Johanna / @vartlillagrona

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