2019-06-01 25 Beautiful Homes

swedish villa | 25bh

home truths

inspiring

KITCHEN
Anislandandsome
Scandibarstoolsmake
thisa sociablespot.
CabinetrypaintedinPearl
Asheseggshell,£57.60for
2.5L,FiredEarth.Nebbar
stools,£365each,Per
Söderberg at No Early Birds

DININGAREA

Apaletteofsoftgreys

prevailsinthekitchen,

witha copperpendant

a standoutfeature.

LouisGhostchairs,£520

fora pair;CopperRound

pendantlightbyTom

Dixon,from£295,all

available at Heal’s

A

ssoonasTanjaand

AlexanderCronqvistlaid

eyesona handsomebut

rundownperiodvillajusta

fewkilometresnorthofStockholm,they

knewit wasripeforrenovation.Andyet

thisenterprisingcoupleresistedtheidea

ofknockingdownwallsassoonasthey

movedin.Insteadtheydecidedtoquietly

observetheflowofthehouse,making

smalladjustmentshereandthereto

beginrestoringitsoriginalelegance.

Adoptingtheir‘littlebylittle’approach

haspaidoffhandsomelybecausetheir

homehasnowbeennurturedroombyroomandthe

majorrefurbishmenttheyplannedis nolongerpressing.

‘Fromthestart,wecouldseethebuildinghadgreat

bones,’saysTanja,a managementconsultantandinterior

designer.‘Muchofitselegancewashiddenbehind

Seventies-styleadditions,suchasplasticrugsandbeaded

archways,whichconjuredupimagesofourlocalpizzeria.

Butremovingthoseelementswassurprisinglyrewarding

• we unearthed original floorboards and fireplaces, which

confirmedtousboththattherewas

potentialtoextendinthefuture.’

Thecoupleconsultedwitha local

architecttosecurepermissiontorework

theproperty’slayoutandsetabout

renovatingit roombyroominthe

meantime.‘It’sa typicalSwedishvilla,

comprisingthreestoreys,’explains

Tanja.‘Themiddlefloor,withitshigh

windows,is a naturalfocalpointand

accommodatesourlivingspace,which

is wherewespendmostofourtime.

Thetopfloorhousesthemastersuite

alongwithbedroomsforourdaughters,

Elsa,four,andHermine,three,whilea guestroom,laundry

andusefulstoragetakesupmostofthegroundfloor.’

Predictably,thecouplechosetodevotetheirenergies

tothevilla’smiddleandtopstoreys,reworkingthe

bedroomfloorbyknockinga cloakroomandcupboard

intoonespacetoaccommodateanadditionalbathroom,

andcreatingbedroomsintheeavesfortheirdaughters.

Softpinks,bluesandwhitesrulehere,evidencedby

a romantic blue floral wallpaper in the couple’s bedroom,

t h ep r o p e r t y

Detachedvilla,builtin 1912

L o C at i o nSweden

rooMsHall,sittingroom,

kitchen-diner,snug,cloakroom,

laundryroom,fourbedrooms,

twobathrooms

purChaseD 2015

preViousproperty

‘Wemovedfroma newbuildon

a nearby island,’ says Tanja.

25bhJuNE 2019| 97