Posh DIY Christmas Tree

Stockholm is dark this time of year.  We get about seven hours of daylight now and by Christmas that number will fall just below six hours.  If that weren't enough, we also had one of the darkest Novembers in history.  As of three days ago Stockholm had had 3.5 hours of sunlight ALL MONTH!  We were blessed with a few more hours this weekend which I think may have even doubled that number bringing us to approximately 7 hours of sun for November.  Things were getting gloomy.  I decided to get the tree up early so we could add a little cheer and light to our dark Nordic lives.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, everything in Sweden is expensive and Christmas trees (Julgranar) are no exception.  Last year the cheapest one I saw was 450 kr, which is about $70 Canadian.  So, my middle guy and the dog went to the park and collected some sticks.  We tied them in the shape of a tree and hung it in the living room.  The decorations are Brian Gluckstein Home, that we brought with us from Toronto so the only thing we paid for this year was twine.  This DIY tree is bright, makes no mess, takes up no space, cost nothing and no tree has been chopped down.  I think we may have a new family tradition.

Apartment Hunting - Sodermalm Classic Gustavian Dining Room

Let's move over to the dining room of our Södermalm apartment.  I am posting from my ipad today so please forgive any wonky formatting.

I  found a fantastic dining table at NK last month and I thought it would look great in our Sodermalm dining room.  The colours easily fit into the Gustavian look and as I mentioned last time (click here for that) it breaks up the sameness by being rustic and contemporary.  I love the high sheen lacquer of this table and I want to play that up as much as possible.  We are going to make the dining room very glamourous and exciting in just a couple of steps.

Piet Hein Eek Dining Table at NK Stockholm

For paint, I think we should go with Farrow and Ball's Calluna.  It won't compete with the blue in the table, instead it will compliment that very difficult shade of blue.  Remember that paint colour never translates well on-screen so go check out the paint in person at a local dealer.

Farrow and Ball - Calunna

Now, lets put a classic Gustavian crystal chandelier above the table.  We can go with one big chandelier or 2 smaller ones;  that's a completely personal decision.  This one is an original Swedish chandelier from Lundgrensantik.se but you can find a reproduction, perhaps not as stunning as this one but something close.

                                         

                                                                     Lundgrensantik.se


I like either of these dining chairs.  The classic rounded chair will give the least competition to the show-stopper table but the Swedish Demi is a really, really great chair.  As I said, both work, so again this one is up to you.

Vintage Round and Swedish Demi - Restoration Hardware

The next thing that we can do is to fill that room with mirrors.  The mirrors will act as reflectors for the light that sparkles from the chandelier.  I like this Hemnes in gray brown from IKEA.  The natural wood colour will bring out the rustic elements in the table and will look great against the blue-gray Calluna paint.  

                                           

                                                              Hemnes mirror - IKEA

The final step would be a rug.  That table gives you so much freedom as far as what colours will work well.  Swedes would likely go with a light coloured rug, which will give the room an airy feeling.  I think I would go with medium gray.  The darker colour will ground the room and add a nice contrast to the light colours in the table.

Apartment Hunting - Södermalm Classic Gustavian Living Room

My phone died and with it my internet connection so I am playing a bit of catch-up this week.  I thought it would be a good idea to go back to our Södermalm apartment to get that finished (click here to get caught up).  So lets move on to the living room.

I was going to do the walls a light green but I changed my mind.  Better to save the green for the dining room and go with a nice antique white in the living room.  Farrow and Ball has a great shade for this called Dimity.  I think the best choice for a finish is matte.  Practically, not the best because of washability but the look will be soft and classic.

I found some great antiques at a local antique dealer.  A console with straight Neoclassical lines and some matching stools to flank the console and serve as extra seating.  Above the console we are going to use these fun round mirrors / candle holders.  They break up all the straight lines and keep the room moving, so to speak.  I love the fussy fruit ornamentation too.  

Before we move over to the main seating area, let's talk about the show stopper.  That gem that is going to make this room sing.  I introduce to you the Mora clock.  Swedes know all about these beautiful clocks but in other parts of the world they seem only to have a bit of a cult following.  There is something so intrinsically Swedish about the Mora clock;  Quiet and stately, modest yet commands a room.  The green will make the transition from the kitchen stools and the ochre will tie together the golds and yellows in the living room elements. The round flowing lines of the Mora pick up where the mirrors left off and take us to the main seating area.

Antiques are lovely, but if you fill your room with a bunch of antiques, all from the same era, it comes off as not only impersonal and unimaginative, but boring.  You need to pepper it with other types and eras of furnishings.  With that in mind, I chose the Kensington sofa from Artwood (we'll paint the feet white).  It certainly doesn't hurt that this sofa will be comfortable to sit on and it serves the needs of everyday living.  The tufting picks up the round movement of the mirrors and the clock.  The design is classic enough to not take over but gives just enough resistance to the dainty antiques.  Now we are going to put some straight lines back in with these bold stripped Gustavian armchairs.  Again, we are making the room interesting and engaging.

So now the floor - rugs.  I love big, thick wool or silk rugs.  Like art, rugs should be seen as an investment - buy the best you can afford.  I have two options for you.  If you want to really give this room zip we can go with the bright, bold IKEA rug.  The pattern compliments both the curves and the lines in the room.  The colour says attitude.  The only catch with the IKEA rug is that we may need to fit two together to hold that seating area.  There are slightly differing opinions on this but aim for your rug to be big enough to comfortably fit all the seating area furniture without spilling over to the wood areas.  Option two is this stunning Persian, less of a yellow and more a gold, this is a perfect option if you want to play it safe and is big enough for the space.  It is, however, significantly more expensive than the IKEA version but will certainly last a lifetime

Remember that many of these antiques can be found in reproduction, yes even the Mora clock.  Now you know what you need to look for.

Apartment Hunting - Södermalm Classic - Gustavian Kitchen

And back to our little castle in the sky.  In the space planning post (click here to get caught up) we decided that the client would be looking for a traditional Gustavian interior. Today we'll start with the best room in the house, the kitchen.  For a bit of context, let's first break down the Gustavian look.  Gustav III took the French Neoclassical look back to Sweden then simplified the look and muted the colours. A typical Gustavian colour scheme features muted grays, blues and greens.  For this project, we will source the paints entirely from Farrow and Ball.

I would like to make the cabinets a nice soft gray like Dimpse by Farrow and Ball

Dimpse - Farrow and Ball

Although Gustavian is characterized by a scaled-down Neoclassical look, we still need some detailing otherwise we risk having a kitchen that nods toward Modern.  The Ramsjö profile from Ikea is simple yet has the detailing that mirrors the columnal look of the Neoclassical period.

Ramsjö Profile via Ikea

 

I'd love to really highlight the island by painting it a darker gray like Pavilion Gray.
 

Pavilion Gray - Farrow and Ball

A nice light marble countertop on both kitchen and the island will compliment the grays and give that element of luxury.  When shopping for marble, shop around and buy the best you can afford.  This is a major purchase so have fun with it and don't rush.  Make sure your grays jive with each other.  Bring a sample of your paints and fabrics.

Marble Countertop

 

 

And here's an idea of what the furnishings will look like.  We'll put these around the island to give the kitchen that ever important feeling of community.  You will need reproduction chairs for this purpose as they did not make stools to the heights we need these days, like this reproduction from Restoration Hardware.

 

 

French Round Chair via Restoration Hardware

And for the upholstery.  I love this heavy linen in "Spruce".  This will also carry us to the living room ... which we'll cover next time.

Spruce Swatch via Restoration Hardware

 

New Feature Introduction - Apartment Hunting

Our new feature here at Design Stockholm will be called Apartment Hunting.  A little background - something I love to do is go through the real estate websites and check out what's for sale.  I can't speak for all designers but finding a really neglected space with loads of potential is super exciting.  The more work needed, the better.  Apartment hunting is a bit of a cultural phenomenon here in Stockholm.  Whether you're buying or renting, finding the right place has quite a significance here.  Property values are high and the queues to rent are years long.  It affects most of Stockholm's population in some way.  But we'll take a look at the lighter side.

 

We will feature a property which is located in the local real estate listings and play around with it a bit.  We'll have a "client" in mind so as to better decide how to space plan and decorate the space.  Property value will be assessed.  Or maybe sometimes we'll be wreckless and spend, spend, spend!  I think we'll start off with the latter.

 

So as promised, I've brought you back to Södermalm.  This property is a classic Stockholm floor plan with the original plan in place from when the building was built.  Times have changed and so have ideas on what a great home should look and feel like.  Take a look - tomorrow we change the space to reflect contemporary ideas on the ideal home. Hejdå!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apartment Hunting - Södermalm Classic - Space Planning

For our inaugural Apartment Hunting space I decided to go with a classic Swedish floor plan.  This plan is found in the older buildings and comes in all sizes.  This particular plan in Södermalm is a cool 181m2 and 12 000 000 SEK.  Pretty unattainable for most of us.

But as I mentioned in the last post, we are going to spend, spend, spend.  So in the spirit of money's no object, let's have a bit of fun with this one shall we.  Our client will be a professional couple with two kids.  They want a space that will reflect contemporary values on living/kitchen areas while maintaining the traditional Swedish vibe by going with a Gustavian inspired colour scheme and decor.

Södermalm Apartment - Before

1.  The Kitchen

Back when these apartments were built the kitchen was not a priority.  It was kept out of sight and out of mind, and allotted as little space as was possible.  Times have changed and the kitchen is THE place to be.  Having the available time to spend hours in the kitchen is something of a posh thing now. The kitchen for our little castle in the sky will be moved to the main area, just on the other end of the washroom (keeping in mind the location of the existing plumbing)  The area is bigger there, allowing for a nice spacious kitchen with an island, but most importantly it will be directly beside the living room. 


2. The Partition Wall

The wall dividing the new kitchen and the living room is indicated as being a partition wall and not having any structural value.  With that in mind, I would like to open up the space by moving the doorway to the centre of the wall and widening it.  I am not a big fan of complete open concept but rather the freedom to have either.  I think open concept makes sightlines overwhelming and if you have kids, all that junk they haven't picked up stares back at you from every angle!   If we make a large doorway with pocket doors the kitchen can be open or closed off from the living room whenever one chooses.

Södermalm Apartment - After

3.  The Dining Room

The room to the right of the living room will be a formal dining room.  It can double as an office or homework room when the family are not entertaining.  This keeps all the "living" areas together and the bedrooms will be in the back, which are usually the rooms overlooking the courtyard.  I also want to close the doorway into the dining room from the front entry.  This allows for a nice space for a vignette or an impressive piece of art, which would be immediately visible upon entering the front door.


4. The Front Entry

To me, there is something funky about having a pathway that leads from the living room into a bedroom and out to the other bedrooms.  Perhaps at one point it was a library.  We are going to change that and by doing so there will be a passage from the front to the bedrooms and one to the living areas.  I love the French balcony which lights up the entry and gives a view.  Quite a luxury for Stockholm.

5.  Old Kitchen

Becomes the master bedroom as it has a walkout to the balcony.  Again, it makes better sense to have all the bedrooms together on the quieter side of the apartment.  The other two bedrooms will be for the kids.



6.  Bathroom and Powder Room

Stay where they are.  In buildings you don't usually have much freedom here.


Next time we will look at Gustavian colours and perhaps some quintessential Gustavian inspired furnishings.