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