96 / Inside OutINSIDE overseas inspiration
MARBLE TRAY (ON COFFEE TABLE), R.O.O.M, ROOM.SE. ‘DAGG’ VASE, SVENSKT TENN, SVENSKTTENN.SE/EN. DINING TABLE (OPPOSITE), IKEA, IKEA.COM.AUO
ne house stands out in Spånga, a town
of around 40,000 some 10 kilometres
north of Stockholm, Sweden. It’s pink,
has a tower and is the home of designer
Lisa Bengtsson and her family.
Measuring 152 square metres and
oozing with la dolce vita elegance, this
three-bedroom attention-grabber, built
at the turn of the 20th century, became theirs in late 2012.
“I knew right away the house had to be ours, even though
we really were looking for an apartment in the city,” says Lisa,
who lives here with her partner, Niklas Hammar and their three
children – twin sons Elliot and Jack, 8, and daughter Betty, 3.
The couple got to work as soon as they purchased it, bringing
back the character of the old home while putting their personal
stamp on things. The original floorboards were treated with white
soap, period-looking double-glazed windows have been installed
and windowsills specially manufactured.
The walls have been painted and, of course, wallpapered in
Lisa’s own designs, as well as those of other creatives she admires.
“In our earlier homes, we covered the walls with just my wallpaper
because we couldn’t afford anything else,” she says. “We have not
done that here. I like to mix my designs with other favourites.”
Adamant their home should feel cosy and lived-in, and not like
a showroom, Lisa has gone to pains to ensure that no wall has been
left bare. “It should feel as though someone lives here,” she says.
“Mixing old and new is a well-worn phrase, but I still believe in
it. And we are a bit like, ‘Dare to refuse the white walls!’ Wallpaper
is very nice, of course, but I also have a weakness for walls covered
with framed pictures from different stages in life.”LIVING AREA Old and new become one,
with Morris & Co ‘Golden Lily’ wallpaper,
a “ramshackle” rocking chair found at a design
fair, an ottoman sourced on a trip to Morocco
and a vintage table bought locally offset by
an IKEA sofa. DINING AREA (opposite)
“The chandelier is from my mother and father
and is very old,” says Lisa. A selection of cute
animal figurines includes, on the second
shelf, Kay Bojesen’s iconic wooden ‘Dog’,
which was designed in 1934.