my scandinavian home: make-over

A Dated Property is Restored to a Dream Swedish Country House

From a summer cottage on an island in southern Jutland, Denmark yesterday - to the fields of Skåne, South Sweden today: welcome to Marie and Eric's beautiful country home. The pair have been painstakingly restoring their dream home for over four years - transforming both the interior and exterior. To say they had vision would be an understatement. In fact, the facade alone will inspire any house hunter out there to see beyond less attractive exteriors! Step inside, and you're transported into a cosy world of exposed wood beams, arched windows, DIY cabinets and antique furniture. Ready to feel inspired? Let's take the tour.

Exterior before

A red brick house has been given a complete make-over with the help of a new facade, windows and doors.

Exterior after

Entrance before

Entrance after

Main kitchen after the renovation

The beautiful black glass cabinet was made using a built-in structure fitted with antique pains. It reminds me of the DIY cabinet in the Montana home of Jana Roach.

Main living area before

Previously a warren of small, modern rooms, Eric and Marie completely gutted the space, knocking down walls, ripping out the floor and stripping back the ceiling to reveal the original wood beams and original architecture.

Main living area after

The cosy open-plan living room and dining area is bathed in light from arched windows, while wood beam ceilings add warmth and an intimate feel to the spacious room.

Mezzanine floor after

Bathroom before

The bathroom is pretty much unrecognisable, with the ceiling completely knocked through and smaller windows exchanged for arched glass doors in keeping with traditional Skåne architecture.

Bathroom after

Quite the transformation!

I love it when a house is restored to its former glory like this, it requires so much dedication, but the results are so worth it!

Is there anything that stood out to you?

You can see more of Marie and Eric's wonderful home and their ongoing renovation over at @oliverogård.

There are a ton more 'before and after' tours in this archive if you feel like hanging around for a while (if this pops up first, just scroll past!).

I'm very excited about sharing my new dream wardrobe with you tomorrow including the before pictures, the design and results. I hope you're going to like it as much as I do - hopefully it might inspire anyone out there looking to create some more storage!

Vi ses imorgon!

Niki

Photography courtesy of @oliverogård, shared with kind permission.

Before & after: A Copenhagen Town House Is Transformed Into a Fresh Family Home

I love seeing the before and after shots of a space, do you? It really demonstrates the vision and level of work that has gone into an interior. Today, I thought I'd take you on a tour of Maria Elisabeth's house in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen. I once had the pleasure of visiting a house on the same street for my book The Scandinavian Home - and fell in love with the leafy neighbourhood.

When Maria Elisabeth and her boyfriend Niels bought the house in 2019 it needed work. "It was in a state and was in really bad shape," Marie Elisabeth recalls. "There was a hole in the roof, water damage etc." The pair set about renovating every room single in the house, putting in a new kitchen and bathroom as well replacing the floors in the process. The couple moved in in 2020 and now enjoy a beautiful home with their three children Carl Oscar (7). Esther Emilie (5) and Wilmar Emil (1). Here are some snapshots of how it looked before they started, and how it looks today:

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

The kitchen was completely gutted. Today cabinets from Stilleben Architects - who pride themselves on kitchens and interiors made to last for generations - add a beautiful, timeless touch, while the bare upper walls help to bring the look up to date.

The walls have been painted in Clunch Farrow & Ball.

Living room before

Living room after

The sitting room areas were also given a total overhaul - with the exception of the beautiful parquet floor which was carefully maintained.

The custom-built cabinetry and shelves around the doorway are a classic Danish trick for displaying books, art and other items.

The walls have been painted in colour code NCS 1000-N.

Sofa - Hay, Rug - Menu, Large O Table - Ox Denmarq

Lamp - Valerie Objects, armchair - &Tradition

Hallway / stairs before

Hallway after

A fitted carpet was stripped away to reveal the wood, which has then been given a fresh lick of white paint. The walls have been painted in Raw Canvas by Jotun.

Guest bedroom before

Guest bedroom after

The A-frame ceiling has been partly filled in to seal the hole in the roof and add insulation, while part of the beam structure (which has been stained white) adds character to the space.

The walls have been painted in Touch of Grey by File Under Pop.

Bathroom before

Bathroom after

The dated tiles were swapped out in favour of a cleaner finish - including a terrazzo floor from Råform- and the shower was reduced in size to make space for a loo.

The love taps, shower head and loo flush are all by Vola. The walls have been painted in Cream by File Under Pop and the lamp is from Flos.

Garden before

Garden after

The garden was reconfigured to include a storage unit with a turf roof - as well as two separate social areas, one for dining and one for relaxing!

All in all, a beautiful, fresh transformation - which I understand, was a lengthy labour of love - but so worth it!

Is there anything that stood out to you about Maria Elisabeth's renovation? You can see more pics over at @husetpaafrederiksberg and also find out more details about every room in her instagram highlights.

Would you like to see a few other Danish before and after tours today? I love these:

A century-old Danish thatched cottage is given a revamp

Before and after, a rundown cabin becomes a vibrant danish summer cottage

A dated 1950s danish house gets a fabulous makeover

I hope you have felt as inspired by all these renovations as much as I have been! Got to love the Danish flair for design!

Niki

Photography @husetpaafrederiksberg - shared with kind permission.

A Swedish Country House is Restored to Its Former Glory

Long term readers will no doubt remember this atmospheric Malmö home. Owners Emelie and Magnus have since moved to North West Skåne, South Sweden and have been working their magic on a dilapidated country house dating back to 1910. I've been eagerly following their progress over at @foreningsgatan14 and am excited to share a sneak peek of their new home - from the mood boards and DIY, to the final result!

Before

"The house was built in 1910 and is a red-brick villa laid out over two floors and sits on a 1600 metre square plot of land."

"We fell for the exterior and the potential to restore it back to its former glory. We moved in 2.5 years ago - following in the footsteps of some friends who had also bought houses in the area. Now we live 150 metres from each other!"

"We have renovated most of the interior but still have a little to go!"

Ready to take a look? Let's start with the kitchen!

Emelie wanted the kitchen to have lots of traditional charm to match the era of the house, while still creating a highly functional space.

The couple installed bead panelling and French black and white floor tiles which they combined with kitchen fronts from Järfälla Kök who make units designed specifically to fit IKEA kitchen cabinets.

The house is full of vintage and antique finds - some of which they brought with them from their previous home in Malmö. The wonderful Beni lamp is from Dis Inredning.

The sitting room wasn't perhaps the cosiest space to begin with.

But after some hard graft and a lot of patience, they eventually transformed it into this 'mysigt' space to curl up and chill!

The cosy library, which leads of the sitting room, is one of Emelie's favourite rooms - understandably!

The bathroom has been another huge project.

"After an enormous amount of going back and forth, hesitation and sleepless nights, we finally created a moodpboard for the bathroom. We were looking to create something a little romantic and unpolished but at the same time classic and timeless."

The look was created using bead panelling painted in a wheat hue, as well as tiles from byggfabriken and pronto kakel.

I love how they have still managed to install two sinks in a small space. How I'd love my own sink - is it me or do children always leave dried toothpaste all over the bowl?

The vintage storage totally completes the look - and it's practical too!