Before & After: A Dated Danish Home Gets a Fresh and Vibrant Makeover

Often when you look at pictures of interiors the design looks so effortless, almost as if someone has waved a magic wand and everything has just fallen into place. Anyone who has carried out a makeover by hand will know this is far from the truth (the sheer labour of love that went into our cottage bedroom this winter remains etched in my mind!). Halfway through you might wonder why on earth you've taken the project on, and the result might not always be perfect (speaking for myself here!) but the connection you feel with your home afterwards makes the work feel completely worthwhile!

Artist Katrine Brandt and her husband bought an early 20th century brick house (known simply as No.14) in Skanderborg, near Aarhus Denmark six years ago and have taken on the task of updating it by hand. Starting many of the rooms again from scratch, the pair have been busy installing a kitchen, transforming a laundry room into a light-filled workspace and giving the bathrooms a fresh update. The rooms have been mainly furnished with second-hand finds and many of Katrine's own artwork can be seen on the wall. Here are some before and after pictures so you can witness the renovation first hand! 

Kitchen - before

The IKEA kitchen was in need of a fresh update. Katrine installed new units in blue (a theme you'll see throughout the house) and sanded down the wood floor in order to remove the varnish which had turned yellow with time. The ceiling has also been plastered and painted - with spotlights added. 

Kitchen - after

Sitting room - shelving before

In my experience, Danes love to create wall-to-wall bookshelves around a doorway - which is a great way to create space for plenty of books! Katrine and her husband built these shelves and cupboards by hand. You can find more details - including step-by-step pictures and measurements in this instagram post. 

Sitting room shelving - after

The result is simply beautiful! It's also provided plenty of coveted open and closed storage. Note the ceiling lamp from one of my favourite Danish brands - Le Klint! 

The walls have been painted in Jotun 'Gullhår' and the curtains are simple ones from IKEA. The chair was found in a friend's loft and given a new lease of life with a set of new cushions. 

A 'kakelugn' (tiled masonry oven) is in full working order and perfect for colder days! 

The art on the wall is by Katrine and can be purchased via her online shop Made By Brandt. Note how the shelves have been painted the same colour as the wall for a smart, seamless affect. 

Utility room - before 

I know a thing about making over laundry rooms - except this one is different. Recognising the beauty of the room and how much natural light it has, Katrine and her husband decided to transform the space into a light-filled workspace.

Utility room - after

A simple, DIY make-over, the pipes are still in place under the desk and a built-in desk has been added over the top. Dark red drawers and a blue chair add a touch of colour to the space. 

Downstairs toilet - before

Bathroom make-overs can be eye-wateringly expensive and tiling etc requires a lot of skill. But sometimes a simple refresh is all that's needed (just as we did with our downstairs loo) - a lick of bathroom-friendly paint, a new cabinet and sink and a shelf was just what this 'powder room' needed, and no doubt saved gazillions of Danish Crowns in the process! 

Downstairs toilet - after

I love the mood lamp in the corner. If you look closely, you'll spot various forms of ambient lighting throughout the entire home - all of which help to create the cosy 'hyggelig' feel the Danes are so good at. 

Bathroom - before 

The bathroom featured a separate bath and shower before being reconfigured. Opting for just a shower has made it so much more spacious and touches of blue (code S 1515-R90B) ensure the room remains in keeping with the look and feel of the rest of the house. 

Bathroom - after

Such a lovely transformation - I love the subtle pastel shades throughout, adding a hint of colour and interest without feeling overbearing. There are also some lovely details throughout - including lamps, ceramics and art. 

The house is still very much a work in progress. If you'd like to follow their decorating journey, check out @nr.14a. 

Is there anything that stood out to you about Katrine's home? 

If you love a before and after as much as I do, check out:

Makeover: a dark house becomes and fresh and bright home

A Copenhagen home is transformed into a fresh family home

A dated house becomes a vibrant summer cottage

Stor kram! 

Niki

Photography by Katrine Brandt, shared with kind permission. 

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A Dated Swedish Caravan (Camper) becomes a Stylish and Cosy Home

Homes come in all shapes and sizes. And today, I'm excited to share Monica Karlstein's caravan. 

Monica is well known in Sweden for her DIY expertise - and recently transformed a dated caravan into a beautiful home from home in which to travel the country and beyond in comfort and style! 

Let's dive in to the before and after renovation: 

It's quite incredible what you can do with a few rolls of Sandberg wallpaper (I love the print we put up in the summer cottage bedroom!), a link of paint and layers of textile, don't you think? 

Tiered hanging baskets offer extra storage where needed, and since they move with the caravan, you can be sure nothing will fall in transit. We use baskets like this on our boat and they are so handy! 

Note how Monica has used strategically placed linen curtains to separate the cabin and sleeping quarters when needed. 

The kitchen fittings have remained unchanged, but a lick of paint has transformed the area into a light and airy space to prepare meals. A row of hooks provide space for tea towels and other small items. 

The dining area now has uber comfy seats for evenings indoors (when the weather isn't behaving), while seatbelts can be used for passengers when in transit. 

Small touches like braided decor and baskets with plants help to make the space feel homely. 

Such a beautiful renovation. And best of all, they'll have a lovely place to stay wherever they go! 

Could you imagine touring Scandinavia in this caravan too? 

You can find more details about this makeover here (in Swedish but nothing that a few pictures and google translate can't solve!). 

I love to see what people can do with tiny spaces and have featured a few other 'homes on wheels' before  including a Swedish couple who turned a Mercedes Sprinter into a campervan and a tiny house built on wheels. Or for tiny home inspiration you might like to discover: dream life on a budget: a tiny home and pottery studio in the woods and a tiny Danish cabin that's big on style. 

I hope this post has inspired you today!

Kram! 

Niki

Photography by Monica Karlstein, shared with kind permission. 

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Before and After: Our Swedish Summer Cottage Bedroom Make-over

This blog post is not sponsored. However, it does include some press items that I've received in the past and present (marked with *)! Thank you for supporting the brands that make My Scandinavian Home possible. 

Two summers ago we built a tiny cabin in the garden of Per's family's summer cottage on the Bjärehalvön coast, West Sweden. We love heading up there as often as we can, but this winter we had the perfect excuse: it was time to renovate the master bedroom in the main house! There was nothing wrong with the room per se, it just hasn't been touched for several decades and needed a major freshening up. But you know me, I can't really do things by halves, and this was definitely a case of 'in for a penny, in for a pound!'

I find winter is the perfect time for decorating - do you agree? Plus, Per and I love a project. So, back in October we cracked on in the hope that the room would be ready in time for spring. And it is! I hope you like reading about the transformation today!

The walls were covered in wood chip and since I had my eye on a wallpaper I loved, the existing layers needed to be removed - no easy feat! It was a gruelling, messy job getting rid of it all - but satisfying too! Underneath, we discovered that the century-old walls were also very uneven which meant we needed to plaster over them and then cover with a base wallpaper. 

The original wood floor is lovely but the varnish had slowly yellowed over the years, so we rented a sander to file the wood down, before adding several layers of white soap wash. Neither of us had done this before and the sander was a mighty machine! We had our heart in our mouths as we worked around the room - concerned that we might accidentally burrow down and wreck a plank! 

It all worked well in the end though and this is how it looks now: 

We'd also noticed that the ceiling was coming apart at the seams, and there was no outlet for an overhead ceiling light. 

Per added panels to cover the seams - which match the panels on the ceiling in the main room of the cottage. And we also gave the ceiling, skirting boards, architraves and door a fresh lick of white paint. 

We're willing to do most jobs ourselves (sometimes with the help of YouTube) but since we value our lives (and respect Swedish law!), we called in an electrician in to re-wire the room and add an outlet in the ceiling as well as power sockets to the wall! The lamp is called REGNSKUR from IKEA. 

We were keen to give the room a traditional cottage feel with a modern touch and a hint of green to match the rest of the cottage, so we looked at samples from Swedish Sandberg wallpaper, eventually settling on Karolina green*. 

We were a bit apprehensive about putting the wallpaper up but it was surprisingly quick and easy once we got going. You definitely need to be two pair of hands for the job - and pay attention to aligning the pattern down to the millimetre with each new section so nothing goes awry! Probably good to double check if it's the right way up to (my wonderful dad once learnt this the hard way!). 

And then the fun part began: decorating the room! 

We were keen to use as much as possible from what was already there. 

The bed is the same  but I added a simple headboard (115 cm high x 180 cm wide) and then added a white linen cover. The bed linen is from HM Home and the blanket and throw are old ones from home. The rug was already there. 

The windows are quite wide (measuring 197 cm) so I picked out the Mozart extendable curtain rod from Åhlens. I had some old-ish white linen curtains hanging around in the loft which turned out to be perfect for the room. You can find similar white linen curtains here. 

I don't go anywhere around the cottage without my well-worn Shephard slippers! 

The chest-of-drawers was already in place and the chair has always been at the cottage! 

Nothing says spring to me like a bouquet of Mimosa! it brings a little sunshine to the greyest of days, don't you think?

We re-hung the vintage mirror on the wall (it had been resting on the chest-of-drawers for years so it was nice to finally put it back up!). 

We also wall mounted two sets of simple wooden hooks from Swedish store Granit (I find hooks so useful in a summer cottage - they're perfect for hanging the few outfits you have with you, plus other essentials like a dressing gown for 'morgondopps' (morning dips) and a sun hat! 

The hooks also provide a great place for other items - including one of my favourite bouquet lamp* by Le Klint and a robe from Humdakin* (bringing a touch of Danish design to Sweden!). 

In this picture you can also catch a glimpse of the new dimmer switch* and power socket* (both from Corston). The electrician also added power sockets either side of the bed. 

The pine wall shelves had yellowed with age so I repainted them in Jotun Tidlös to match the wallpaper. I might write a separate post about this. It's amazing what you can do to give old pieces a new lease of life. Would you find that of interest?

The bedside table is the original one that was already in place. 

I hope you like the results as much as we do! 

Naturally, if you look very closely our DIY renovation it isn't perfect, but that comes with the territory of carrying out a project yourself, and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

If you have any questions, please do give me a shout in the comment section below and I'd be happy to help. 

Would you like to see a few other of my room makeover from the past? Check out: 

Renovating our summer cottage kitchen

Our DIY powder room makeover

Before and after: our attic makeover

All a labour of love! 

Do you dabble in DIY too? 

Niki

PS I am starting a 30 days of Njuta challenge on instagram stories today, come and join me! #30daysofnjuta! 

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