A Small Swedish Home With a Smart Room Divider

In small quarters, creating a calm, practical and comfortable living space that's also beautiful isn't always easy, but it's something the Swedes are especially good at! 

While this apartment might be blessed with a spacious kitchen, the living room needs to serve as a place to sit, relax and socialise as well as a bedroom. And if there's one thing us humans love, it's to sleep in a cosy space that provides privacy. But, with only one window in the room, the owners were faced with a conundrum. Do they close off the 'sleep zone' and cut off the natural light? Or do they keep it open-plan? 

Read on to discover the smart solution they arrived at and feel inspired by a soothing colour scheme and light-filled home in a compact, 37 sqm / 409 ft.sq space. 

Mirrored furniture is great for reflecting light into all corners of the home - and it's also a huge trend this season! 

Look closely at the window and you'll spot a black-out blind - ready to turn the room into a dark haven for a good night's sleep! 

And here friends, is the answer the owner found to creating a little privacy at nightfall. A pony wall that's high enough to separate the living room from the bedroom but low enough to ensure light flows through. 

There's no shortage of storage here! 

The layout: 

Glossary; rum: room, kök - kitchen, badrum - bathroom

What a lovely space, and a clever idea for a room divider to boot, do you agree?

Is there anything that stood out to you about this Swedish apartment? 

See more small spaces that offer beautiful solutions for angled ceilings, one room studios, storage and more in the small spaces archive. 

Glad Lillördag! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of Alvhem with thanks

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7

Make-over: Miami Penthouse Before & After

Don't you love a great before and after? I always find them so inspiring, but I rarely show the 'before' on My Scandinavian Home. So I thought I'd turn over a new leaf. So friends, welcome to a new mini series exploring home make-overs at the hands of some of my favourite interior designers and the likes of you and me! Firstly, a HUGE thanks to Builders Bay for sponsoring the series (check-out their site if you're in the middle of a renovation - it's every builder's little black book!).

I felt we needed something kind of fabulous to kick off the series - and this beaaaautiful home in Miami which has been given an overhaul at the hands of Avenue Design Studio  fits the bill perfectly. The design process was a year and a half in the making (imagine?!) - and involved a  tear-out, renovation and redesign of a two bed, three bath penthouse apartment! Wow! I caught up with my friend Holly Marder (one half of the talented design duo) to find out more.

What was the brief?
"The style direction for this Miami abode was fresh, contemporary and clean with a classic twist. We wanted to breathe new life into the space as a whole, open it up but at the same time ensure our client was left with a liveable, functional interior."


Open-plan dining and living area





What did you have planned for the dining / living area?

"As you can see we had mostly cosmetic changes to make, but I also felt that we needed to open up the spaces even further to allow for more light and a general flow. The living and dining area was large and spacious but the kitchen was small and the ceiling was low. We pulled out a wall or two, raised the ceilings in various places and then got started selecting all the finishes that would lay the groundwork for the renovated space, and overall the results are much fresher and lighter."

AFTER





Can you tell us more about THAT fab storage unit?!

"To tackle our clients’ request for plenty of storage, we designed a wall to wall built-in cabinet flanking the dining table to house her dinnerware and glassware, linens as well as provide an interesting backdrop to her dining space. The goal with this design was to integrate it with the wall, as opposed to being a separate entity of its own and be ‘busy’ in the space. We wanted it to be streamlined and as flush as possible, and therefore opted to paint the whole unit the same colour as the walls (Origami White by Sherwin Williams) which turned out whiter than expected due to the finish applied to it. That said, it is fresh and clean and allows the accessories, and beautiful oak pulls from our friends at Design Studio NU, to pop off it while the large wooden table and sculptural Lambert et Fils pendant can stand out against a calm yet interesting backdrop."









Such a perfect dining area, don't you think? I especially like how the open shelves allow for displaying items you love and then you can shove less pretty / more practical things in the cupboards and drawers (also keeping them free from dust). Perfect!

Living room

What was your thought process behind the living room area? 
 
"We wanted the living area to be a central part of the room, without being ‘heavy’ . The goal here aesthetically was calm, inviting, organic. We brought in many different materials including walnut and other woods, marble, wool and leather to provide interest and contrast. While we used many beautiful pieces that are noteworthy in the living room, the splurge piece of furniture was the walnut sideboard by German furniture label Zeitraum."


 





Loving this! I've so got my eye on that coffee table - and the side cabinet (can totally understand the splurge, can you?! 

Kitchen



What did you have in mind for the kitchen? 

"For our function savvy client we designed an all-American kitchen, featuring custom cabinetry, tons of storage, a breakfast bar and lots of light and flow. I worked with Aukje Schukken on the designs and sketches here in the studio, and after selecting the materials in person in Miami and ironing out the details, Dan’s Carpentry expertly carried out the designs locally."

The design





What were your goals for the kitchen?

"For the countertops our client wanted practical but didn’t want to skip out on looks. And why should she? We hand selected a beautiful piece of Macuava Calacutta quartzite that has the most gorgeous soft green-blue vein through it, much the way calcutta marble would. We looked at whiter marbles but couldn’t get past how pretty this one was in person so after our arduous and thorough search inside the stone supplier in 38 degree Miami heat, it was a done deal. The colour we used on the cabinetry is City Loft by Sherwin-Williams. We removed the wall adjacent to the front door and created a breakfast bar there.  We also raised the ceilings throughout the entry, kitchen, halls and bathrooms."

Oh yassss! I think they nailed it, do you? Plus I could totally see myself with a morning coffee and a magazine at that breakfast bar, how about you?!

Tell us about the master bathroom re-design? 

 "The master bathroom was one of 3 bathrooms we designed, though due to time constraints we only shot the one. It was all cosmetic changes for the master suite as the existing layout worked well. As you can see from the below before shots it was a bit of a circus in there, or a zoo to be more specific. The previous owners had some fun with the walls and while we think a lot of creativity went into the monkey forest scene, we couldn’t wait to clean the space up and give it a fresh injection using quality materials, custom cabinetry and warm wood tones."



What were your plans?

"We continued the wood tile that we used throughout since it was so practical but still added such warmth to the space (which has no natural light). Seeing it in the bathroom I am still so pleased with the choice of wood tile we made. It was a tough task because most of them look manufactured but the movement, grain and colour of this one is so natural and in the bathroom is looks fabulous. We used a large polished stone tile on the walls around the bath tub, shower walls and baseboard, plus a beautiful striped matte tile on the wall between the bath tub and shower (that doesn’t show up as nicely in the image as it does in person – the texture is so beautiful in the space), polished quartz cararra  counter top, custom walnut door and drawer pulls, and custom cabinetry painted in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove in the same ‘contemporary shaker’ style as the kitchen cabinetry featuring a walnut divider with integrated back and front storage."


And the result...







Oj oj oj (as they say in Sweden!), what a transformation! It just goes to show that it's amazing what you can do with a little vision (and the help of Avenue Design Studio!).

That's one lucky client, wouldn't you say?! Plus they have Miami on their doorstep too.... want to swap?!

Have a lovely day!

PS  Do you have a make-over you'd like to share in this mini-series? If so drop me a mail!

Photography & Design: Avenue Design Studio

Thank you so much to Builders Bay for sponsoring this make-over series (if you're in the process of renovating or carrying out any DIY work, I can wholeheartedly recommend this site!). 



* All words are my own, and I only ever work with brands and services I feel are of interest to my readers. Thank you for supporting the businesses that make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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11

A Swedish Apartment for One (or Two) on a Serene Island

Tjena! Sweden is slowly waking up after a long weekend of Midsummer celebrations. The sun shone for us all too (usually Midsummer's Eve can be particularly dicey as the Nordic weather gods know we all want to eat alfresco!). All in all, it was a beautiful weekend of wildflowers, dancing around a may pole, singing and catching up with friends and family! Take a look at this post to learn more about the Swedish Midsummer celebrations in case you'd like to join in with the revelry! 

Anyhow, I'm sure you're here for the Scandi interiors inspiration today not to hear about my weekend, so let's crack on! This lovely little apartment measuring 34 sqm / 365 ft2, has everything a single person or couple might need to enjoy life near the Swedish capital, yet still feel close to nature. Situated on Stora Essingen, an island on Lake Mälaren, the peaceful surroundings are there to be enjoyed year-round. 

The main living space is open-plan and has been organised so that you can enjoy meals looking out over the water.

A classic Gubi semi-pendant lamp has been hung over the table. But the real eye-catcher is the striped tablecloth (it was only a few weeks back that we were discussing how much a tablecloth can transform a room and here is yet more proof!). The closest I found was this nautical striped fabric on Etsy*. 

A gallery wall (source similar prints at The Poster Club*) and collection of cushions add a cosy touch to the living room area. 

I love this corner with a wall hanging, Flowerpot table lamp in 'beige red' and a cabinet. The latter looks like it could be an IKEA hack using Bestå units and adding a cane front. I noticed last time I was there they now have an IVAR cabinet with cane front in the range too! 

Notice how subtle pink tones can be seen in the living room area. This is part of what the Swedes call a 'red thread' - using the same colour in every room to create a cohesive feel throughout a home. 

Swedish string pocket shelves and a row of wooden hooks create space to display an array of pottery. 

It's in the bedroom where the pink has been allowed to really shine through - seen on both the wall cabinets, curtains and bed linen! Love this, how about you? 

If you're curious about the layout, here are more details (courtesy of Historiska Hem). 

Glossary: vardagsrum - living room, kök - kitchen, sovrum - bedroom, bad - bathroom. 

I could totally see myself enjoying a slow breakfast looking out over the water, how about you? And I'm very tempted to add that lovely pink tone to a small bedroom in our house, I wonder if Albin would let me? I doubt it! 

Is there anything that struck you about this serene space? 

I also love these homes in the Stockholm archipelago: 

The beautiful home of a Swedish stylist

An estate in the Stockholm archipelago

A traditional Swedish villa over looking the water

An idyllic island hideaway

If you're looking to combine a trip to the Swedish capital with a stay in the Stockholm archipelago, we loved our press stay at this hotel last summer! 

See more lovely Swedish homes in this archive. And don't miss some of these tours that I've shared lately: 

Have a great start to the week! 

Niki

Photography: @jockeono Styling: Lindholm Design for Historiska Hem. 

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