Playful Touches in Erik's Calm Swedish Home

Good morning friends! I'm kicking off the week with a tour of Erik Josefsson's 60 m2 / 645 f2 apartment in Gothenburg. An interior designer, Erik is always keeping his finger on the pulse and updating his lovely turn-of-the-century home. I love how his style has evolved since I featured his previous abode in 2019. Keep a look out for touches of colour, pattern and playful pieces against a calm yet interesting backdrop. Ready to take a look? 

So many fabulous touches, and some very interesting colour choices too! 

Erik has been great at tagging the furniture and accessories in his instagram feed, so if you're curious to find out where he bought the items take a look there. You're also welcome to ask away in the comment section below, and I'll do my best to help! 

Have a great start to the week friends! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of Erik Josefsson. 

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The Magnificent Home of Swedish Cookbook Author Sofia Wood

Have you returned to live in the town where you grew up? Or perhaps you've never left? In 2020 Swedish foodie, blogger, podcaster and cookbook author Sofia Wood and her family packed up their home in Stockholm and returned to Sofia's childhood roots in Norrköping. 

It takes a lot to move cities (let alone countries), especially with children in tow, but as they say - fortune favours the bold, and the Wood family are reeping the benefits of a slower-pace of life while living in the most magnificent turn-of-the-century apartment. 

Located in the city centre, the property has the most beautiful period features, sky high ceilings, large spacious rooms and classic tiled masonry ovens. True to Sofia's style, it's also packed with personality and fascinating details - as well as the mouth-watering scent of in-season dish bubbling from the stove! Welcome to the Wood family home! 

Cherry red chairs bring vibrance and warmth to the kitchen / dining area, while a large jute rug helps to reduce noise during lively family meals.  

A traditional Swedish bench (no doubt found at an antique or vintage market) adds a cosy touch to the family dining area. 

Art by Ebba Andersson creates a focal point over the dining table, while the soft Skandinaviskt Ljus  (Scandinavian light) colour on the wall from Jotun adds warmth to the large room. 

Sofia's great passion is cooking. Many of her recipes have been shared in her cookbooks: Darling Pasta, Vinter hos Wood (Winter with Wood) and Chez Wood (At Home with Wood). This year, Sofia also released interior book Nyckeln till Hemmet (the key to the home) with Elsa Billgren, whose vintage-inspired Stockholm home I once featured here - and with whom she shares a podcast (in Swedish). 

I was chatting to a plant specialist last week who told me the biggest mistake people make with plants is going for a pot which is too small. Not on Sofia's watch - the incredible, large plant pot perfectly matches the huge fiddle-leaf fig! 

High ceilings and large spacious rooms can lead to sound issues. To counter this, Sofia has added plenty of textiles in the form of rugs, cushions and sheepskins. 

The sitting room area is full of beautiful details such as a cosy Little Petra chair and an iconic Pipistrello table lamp. 

A fluffy rug from Cappelen Dimyr adds softness, texture and a cosy touch while also helping to dampen the sound in the bedroom. 

Update: Thank you for your questions about the lamp. Sofia tells me it's a vintage Pia lamp by Gärsnäs. which is still in production today. 

What a fabulous home! It's so personal and unique - and full of wonderful details. It's not always easy to furnish such large rooms, but Sofia has got the balance just right!

My mouth is also watering from the delicious looking recipes I spotted on Sofia's blog over at Elle. Mmmm! 

Could you imagine living in an apartment like this? 

It's fascinating to see how style develops over the years. Take a peek inside Sofia's Stockholm apartment from 2015 - so different! 

I'm curious to know if you would consider moving back to your home town? I'm from the suburbs of London and I love visiting, there's so much going on. But I'm not sure I could live so far from the sea again, I love my daily dips too much! 

Happy Wednesday friends!

Niki

Photography courtesy of Sofia Wood, shared with kind permission. 

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Perfect Harmony in a Serene Swedish Home

While the Danish home I featured on Monday was full of playful touches and bold choices (those pink stairs!), today's home is the epitome of calm. In fact, the very reason I chose to share this early 20th century Gothenburg apartment is because I'm tired of the white walls in my home and looking for a new colour scheme - something soothing and light yet with a subtle warmth. For me, it's the combination of light nuances of grey / beige (AKA greige) in combination with the natural wood which creates such a beautiful, timeless style and sense of harmony - something the Swedes do so well! I'll be pinning many of these shots to my Pinterest today. I hope you find this lovely apartment inspiring too! 

If only I had space to store all my shoes like this at home - loving the floor to ceiling shelves by Elfa (I'm still thrilled with my wardrobe and children's storage which I installed this spring!). 

If you'd like to see more pictures of this serene Swedish home, hop on over to Alvhem. 

And for other lovely tours today, why not delve into the Swedish home archive - where you can find everything from country houses and cabins to city apartments and tiny handmade mobile homes (if this apartment pops up first, simply scroll on past). 

Stor kram! 

Niki

Photography: Anders Bergstedt for Alvhem. 

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A White Swedish Home with an Angled Kitchen

Such is my work as a writer, that I'm sitting at my desk on a warm, summer's day - without a cloud in the sky - in Malmö writing an article about Christmas for a UK magazine. Needless to say, I don't think I've quite got into the festive spirit yet! Lost for yuletide words, I thought I'd take a break and share this bright and airy apartment in Södermalm, Stockholm with you instead. It's just the breather I needed! The 51 m2 / 548 f2 space is perfect inspiration for anyone dealing with awkward angles, an IKEA kitchen that needs a design facelift or a cramped bathroom. Read on to discover why! 

In the kitchen, an Ikea kitchen carcass hugs the angled wall, while Superfront cabinet doors add a design touch. 

Some of the lost upper cabinet space is replaced by metal shelving beneath the window (also from Ikea). 

Right now, it's all about combining different style and eras. I love how contemporary kitchen cabinets stand beside an early 20th century cabinet - part of the original kitchen. 

A second room doubles up as an open-plan dining room and sitting room, with an eclectic blend of furniture. 

Glass doors ensure a flow of light between the rooms - a vital factor come winter! 

A slim vintage filing cabinet doubles up as a cute bedside table in the bedroom. 

Some old Stockholm apartments were built without private bathrooms - with residents sharing communal ones instead. These days, residents have carved out whatever space they can to create a bathroom, often using a wardrobe. I am not sure if that is the case with this small, L-shaped room. Even so, a narrow basin and loo in the shower area have solved the issue here. The white tiles and patterned tiles ensure it feels light and airy and also stylish! 

I thought it might also be useful to share the floorplan: 

Sovrum - bedroom, Vardagsrum - sitting room, Kök - kitchen

Such a lovely apartment with some great solutions (it's available to buy here).  

I particularly like the kitchen and dining area! And of course, the floor! Is there anything that caught your eye?

I am expecting a flurry of thoughts about the loo / shower combination! For example - won't the loo roll get wet? It reminds me very much of our boat loo / shower (we need to remove pretty much everything in the bathroom before we use the shower!). I think I'd try to fit a circular shower curtain or fold in semi-circular shower wall here (if there's room for it!). Do you have any ideas on how to solve this? 

Discover more beautiful Stockholm home tours here. 

Trevlig helg!  Have a great weekend! See you Monday! 

Niki

Photography Elin Sylwan, Styling: Petra Yngfalk for Historiska Hem. 

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