In the U.S., “country style” generally means close and cozy, with lots of dark colors and fabrics. I envision little wooden farm animal figurines and rusty metal signals for milk or eggs.
But this home, in rural Sweden outside Malmo, exemplifies a very different type of state appeal: spare, lived in, relaxed and open. It has quite definite Scandinavian bones, but it’s not a design showroom; it’s a actual family for a family of five with flourishes of design know-how.
It is country cute translated into Swedish —lantligt gulligt.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Helene and Peter; their 10-year-old twins, August and Siri; and their youngest daughter, Vera. There are 5 cats, a dog and two cute hedgehogs who call the yard home.
Location: Near Malmo, Sweden
Size: 4 bedrooms, 2 baths
That’s intriguing: The home is a converted state schoolhouse built in the early 1900s. It is surrounded by wheat and rye fields and horses, but a mile off is the biggest Ikea on earth.
White, white everywhere. As in many Nordic homes, all the walls in this large home are glowing white. There is a white grand piano (using all the ever-present sheepskin throw) from the formal living room. Orchids bloom everywhere.
This is the opposite end of the living room. All the artwork in the room is clustered around the French doors, which open into the backyard. A mix of modern pieces, mass-market bits, design icons and antiques can be seen throughout the home.
Another anchor of the Swedish home: the woodstove. This sits opposite a simple white Ikea sofa and brings coziness to an otherwise very spare room.
All the flooring in the home are wood or slate using throw rugs (you never see darkened carpets in Scandinavia). These stairs lead to the second-story converted attic, home to a large, bright media room and the master bed and bath.
The mudroom, in the entry to the home, is coordinated but homey. Swedes never wear shoes inside the home, and this really is the catchall location for those, together with jackets, sports equipment and shopping bags.
The dining room is your colorful heart of the home, once again combining the old and the new. An Adventures of Tintin poster and a chartreuse Ikea tablecloth work perfectly well with modern Eames chairs, a crystal chandelier and the home’s original stained glass windows.
A detail of the screen onto the dining room’s sideboard: a mishmash which works.
Children’s artwork and an Eames rocker (using the ubiquitous sheepskin throw) occupy a corner of the dining room.
The family room is nearly empty but for a small Ikea sofa, a couple of movable chairs and a round pedestal dining table. It is somewhat stark, but it will result in a clutter-free kids’ hangout zone.
A corner in the living area. All the windows in the home are uncovered, using the incredible Scandinavian light. (But sleeping past 4 a.m. can be hard during the long days of summer.)
An ivy-covered archway leads to a massive backyard.
The backyard. The windows on the roof maintain the converted attic space bright and light.