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!

What a lovely transformation. It's so fun too see it take shape too, don't you think? 

You can follow Emelie and Magnus' renovation journey over at @foreningsgatan14.

Would you like to see other Scandinavian renovations? I love: 

A rundown cabin becomes a vibrant Danish summer cottage

A dilapidated property becomes a beautiful Swedish farmhouse 

Before and after: a traditional Norwegian cottage gets a beautiful colour update

Is there anything that stood out to you about Emelie's home - or any of the other before and after features? I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

Niki

Photography: picture 1 Jenny Baumgartner / BMB, the rest - Emelie Tjäder / @foreningsgatan14

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Studio Update: Now We Have Shelving and a Coat Rack!

Sponsored by Maze Interior 

Last month I showed the picture above of my studio in Malmö. Since then, I've been doing a little reshuffling (never a dull moment around here, I tell you!). I'm not sure if I mentioned that I share the room with Helena who works for Maze Interior - a Swedish brand specialising in 'smart, playful and simplistic design that has the lowest possible impact on the environment'.  After the recent studio make-over we felt we were still missing storage, so we got to work (along with Helen Sturesson) with some items from the collection (easy when they have so many great things to choose from!). I thought I'd share the whole process with you, in case you're also looking to create wall-to-wall shelving in your home or office. Even if you're not - I hope you enjoy reading about the update all the same! 

Planning phase

For the shelves, we opted for the Pythagoras Collection - a shelving system which allows you to arrange brackets and shelves in numerous ways as well as choose between different colour and material combinations. 

For the design, we used the online Pythagoras Lab to plan the layout. 

We were keen to have both open and closed shelving and incorporated this into the plan using a series of shelves and drawers - all in white ( you know me!). 

Putting up the shelves

Once the shelving had arrived (it's made in Sweden so it was all pretty swift!), we marked out the wall using old school post-its and a ruler (yes, so old school, I know!). 

It's worth noting that the studio building is well over 100 years old so the concrete walls are pretty wonky, crumbly and all-round tricky! So, for the sake of creating a sleek look (and saving the walls from being at the mercy of my very basic DIY skills) - we roped in the help of a local carpenter. 

Contrary to the original design, we decided to place the triangular brackets in different ways, creating a subtle playful look. I'm so pleased with how that's turned out. 

Sidenote: I went out to buy a spot of lunch last week and came back with the print and frame from a second hand shop, such a find I think! 

The final look

I love it when a plan comes together! 

To finalise the look, the sofa was pulled out from the wall - ask a Dane about their favourite styling trick and many will tell you that you should never have your sofa flush against a wall (unless you live in a teeny space). Even moving it out 15 centimetres can make all the difference to a room! 

We decided to start the shelves quite high as we wanted to be able to store bigger items underneath - but if you don't have this as a requirement, you could also add one more shelf lower down. 

I particularly love the drawers - they're so handy.  

Another sidenote: The tile and wood floor samples are for my tiny cabin - I went for the stone on the left for the bathroom floor, I can't wait to see how it looks! Just above them you can see four figurines - all made by local artist Simon Vendin (the same guy who painted my new picture seen in the first and second to last pic of this post). Needless to say, I love this work! 

Magazine storage

We also felt it would be nice with some extra storage beside the desks (I don't know about you, but I always collect piles of paper, it seems to be my nemesis both at work and home!).  The wall-mounted Now S magazine rack is my new best friend! 

It's made from recycled wire and produced in Sweden and comes black, white or matt brass. If you have a ton of magazine and newspapers (or other paperwork) you might like the larger format, known simply as Now.  

Helena made the cup - she's so talented at pottery! 

Coat & Hat Hanger

We also added a much-needed place to hang our coats (rather than throwing them over the back of the sofa!). This is the Kite clothes hanger (which comes in white, black or grey). I love the barely there look, plus it offers just enough storage.  If you need something that holds more items, it's worth checking out the entire collection of hangers and hooks. 

The room is feeling so much more practical, neat and complete now. We hope you like the update as much as we do! 

If you have any questions about anything you see in the pictures, please do give me a shout and I'll do my best to supply info, links etc! 

Right, I'd better crack on with some work - I've got piles of paper to get through! 

Wishing you all a great start to the week!  

Niki

Photography: Niki Brantmark  Styling: Helen Sturesson

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Before & After: A Rundown Cabin Becomes a Vibrant Danish Summer Cottage

It's safe to say that when Ida Lundsteen and Edward first bought their summer house in Ejby Ådal - an hour west of the danish capital - it needed a lot of work! But the handy Danish pair could see its potential - both inside and out - and set to work themselves to transform it. Today, their hard work has paid off and they have an idyllic retreat in which to unwind in their spare time. Read on to see the before and after pictures and feel truly inspired!

Dining area before

Dining area after

The wood panelling was painted white, and the floor sanded down and treated with a white soap finish. A window was added to allow light to flow through from the side extension. Today, the dining area is bathed in natural light - a perfect spot to enjoy meals on chillier days! 

Kitchen before

Ida and Edward reconfigured the house, moving the kitchen to an area in the sitting room - formerly occupied by an old electric heater. 

Sitting room before

Looking at the pictures above, you can understand the sheer level of work that they have put into the renovation - completely gutting parts of the house. 

In the sitting room they added a lovely nook (with storage) in which to unwind with a book.   

Sitting room nook after

Bathroom before

Bathroom after

The small bathroom was completely updated. The sink was moved to the opposite side of the room, tiles ripped out and a new floor laid. Today it looks fresh and modern in black, white and brass. 

Side extension before

Side extension after

Ida and Edward built an extension onto the side of the house - adding a work space and practical mudroom. 

Garden and terrace before

Life at a Scandinavian summer house is all about enjoying the great outdoors. Doors are thrown open in the morning - and life spills outside to take in the long summer days. 

But for Ida and Edward - there was work to be done. The garden was completely overgrown and although there had been some form of patio, it needed to be worked over from scratch.

The pair built a large wood deck completely by hand - almost doubling their living space in summertime. They also capitalised on sloping land by adding built-in seating to the side of the decking. 

But my eye is on the sunk-in bath. So simple, yet such a clever idea. 

Patio before

Patio after

After a lot of hard graft, clearing foliage, pulling up the old patio and creating new decking - the family now have a wonderful outdoor dining area where they can gather and enjoy summer days long after the sunsets! 

How incredible! It's even more impressive knowing that they did it themselves, don't you think? 

Is there anything that stood out to you in particular?

The decking before and after couldn't have come at a better time for Per and I as we were discussing laying our own decking up at the cabin this summer. We were already feeling inspired by Per's brother who laid decking himself last summer - and now, after seeing this, we're feeling really empowered! 

I hope this lovely danish cottage as given you plenty of inspiration too. You can see more pics over at @bare_byg.

Other Danish summer cottages to love: 

A danish summer cottage oasis on North Zealand

Two idyllic Danish cottages available to rent

A beautifully simple, white Danish cabin

You also might like to check out the before and after archive for other renovations. 

And finally, I can't sign out without a final comment on the bath. I've seen many outdoor baths before (see 15 outdoor bath and shower ideas) - and the incredible wood burning bath at Settle hideaway, but this is the first time I've seen a simple, ordinary bathtub sunk into decking. What a great idea! I could just see myself having a soak there, glass of wine in hand. How about you? Would you like to see how it looks in winter? Here goes: 

Perfect! 

Niki

PS I mentioned yesterday that I would be sharing my latest studio update today, but the post isn't quite ready - sorry! I look forward to sharing it on Monday instead! 

Photography: Ida Lundsteen, shared with kind permission. 

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