Swedish Houzz: Retired Soldier Makes Her Dream Home
A Swedish family's fantasy for a rural retreat became a reality, after nine long years of renovations
In the small village of Svanvik on the west coast of Sweden, a local family’s dream country home is finally almost finished. The house, once a bit rundown, has been carefully restored by former cavalry officer-turned-homeowner, Anna Stenberg – who had served in the Swedish Defence Forces for 20 years – and her husband Patric. After two decades of service, and with a strong interest in interiors and garden architecture, the idea of taking a new direction in life grew in appeal for Anna. She started to consider transforming her interest in gardening and interiors to something more than a hobby.
“I have always helped friends plan bathroom renovations and new kitchens, and redecorated at home all the time, ever since I was young,” Anna says. “It was only when I dared to really think about the idea of changing profession and working with this on a daily basis that it became real. It was very difficult. I did not know if I could handle such a big leap or change work-wise, although I knew that I wanted to.” And so her journey began.
“I have always helped friends plan bathroom renovations and new kitchens, and redecorated at home all the time, ever since I was young,” Anna says. “It was only when I dared to really think about the idea of changing profession and working with this on a daily basis that it became real. It was very difficult. I did not know if I could handle such a big leap or change work-wise, although I knew that I wanted to.” And so her journey began.
Anna drew, planned, painted and managed the budget while Patric, who knows a few things about carpentry, got to work building several things that they needed for their new home. Now, eight years later, the family has expanded – with the arrival of the couple’s two daughters, Emma and Julia – and the house has expanded with them.
“When we moved in, basically everything in the house was left behind by the previous owners,” Anna says. “We cleaned for weeks, and made several trips to the dump, but also found a lot of bargains. There are many beautiful old furniture pieces, which I have still not found the perfect place for.”
In the dining room there is a picture wall with a mirror and frames that Anna found in some of the house’s various nooks and crannies. The floor lamp is a secondhand bargain, the crystal chandelier is vintage and the light bulb comes from PR Home. The framed picture of the bird is by Emma von Brömssen.
“When we moved in, basically everything in the house was left behind by the previous owners,” Anna says. “We cleaned for weeks, and made several trips to the dump, but also found a lot of bargains. There are many beautiful old furniture pieces, which I have still not found the perfect place for.”
In the dining room there is a picture wall with a mirror and frames that Anna found in some of the house’s various nooks and crannies. The floor lamp is a secondhand bargain, the crystal chandelier is vintage and the light bulb comes from PR Home. The framed picture of the bird is by Emma von Brömssen.
“I do not remember where, but in some cranny, we found two old marble slabs that I’ve been waiting to use. In the end they found their place as a bedside table on the wardrobe doors!”
The ornate timber bedhead is Patric’s own from a previous home, and the paisley bedding comes from Ellos.
Basket: Afroart
The ornate timber bedhead is Patric’s own from a previous home, and the paisley bedding comes from Ellos.
Basket: Afroart
The wood-panelled walls surrounding the entrance to the kitchen were painted a soft grey, complemented by shades of cream in the rest of the house. “We have tried to create a consistent feel throughout the house,” Anna says.
“The guiding principles have been natural materials, rustic, sustainable… But I do not feel locked to a particular style, I mix styles as I go along,” she adds. “I’m just too interested in interior design and gardening to limit myself.”
The light fixture in the kitchen is an old lamp from Fagerhult. The table was bought at a secondhand market, and the floor in the kitchen is tiled in stone.
“The guiding principles have been natural materials, rustic, sustainable… But I do not feel locked to a particular style, I mix styles as I go along,” she adds. “I’m just too interested in interior design and gardening to limit myself.”
The light fixture in the kitchen is an old lamp from Fagerhult. The table was bought at a secondhand market, and the floor in the kitchen is tiled in stone.
On the first floor of the house, a study features a window overlooking the neighbouring meadow. “It is peaceful to take your eyes off the laptop and look out over the meadows when you have been sitting with sketches and counting in millimetres,” Anna says.
The trunk sitting beside the timber desk belonged to Patric’s mother’s uncle. “Uncle Henning was a real adventurer,” he says. “He travelled around Russia and panned for gold in the US. So that trunk is said to have seen quite a bit.”
Wallpaper: Borastapeter; plaid fabric: Modesto.se
The trunk sitting beside the timber desk belonged to Patric’s mother’s uncle. “Uncle Henning was a real adventurer,” he says. “He travelled around Russia and panned for gold in the US. So that trunk is said to have seen quite a bit.”
Wallpaper: Borastapeter; plaid fabric: Modesto.se
Next to the house is an attached barn that housed horses until the 70s. Part of the dining room has got a niche that Patric and Anna built of old doors found in the barn. “I think it’s ok that it takes time to create a home, especially one that will last over time,” Anna says. “Having too much furniture is not for me so I tend to think a while before I decide how I want it.”
Chairs: Tre Sekel
Chairs: Tre Sekel
The kitchen has rectangular subway-style tiles in crisp white, as well as an old wood stove that still works. “I think it’s important to be able to live without electricity and running water,” the designer says. “During two recent changes disastrous storms we had in Sweden, I was working in the worst-affected areas and saw how bad things can be if you are not prepared. We have our own well as well as a wood stove, it feels secure to have that where we live here in the countryside.“
Much of the house Anna and Patric designed and built themselves. Out in the barn, Patric has a workshop space for carpentry and building, while Anna is planning and making sketches. “It always starts with asking myself, ‘What is the purpose, what do we want?’ Then I make a mood board in my head and just start drawing and building.
“The projects have come one after another,” she says of their various renovations. “Last year we began to rebuild the barn into a garage, and it will be finished in the next couple of days. So now it feels like things are finally coming to an end. Next summer will be the first holiday without any work to do on the house, and I almost feels a bit jittery about it. But I’m sure we’ll find something new to do.”
“The projects have come one after another,” she says of their various renovations. “Last year we began to rebuild the barn into a garage, and it will be finished in the next couple of days. So now it feels like things are finally coming to an end. Next summer will be the first holiday without any work to do on the house, and I almost feels a bit jittery about it. But I’m sure we’ll find something new to do.”
The home has been renovated progressively and projects have succeeded each other for almost eight years. “I think the key is to focus on one thing at a time and make it clear what you want – and then getting through that inevitable slump in the middle of the project,” Anna says. “After the dip, you can see the light at the end of the tunnel and get it all together in the end. Me and Patric are very similar there, we’re both disciplined.”
“The shelves are made by me,” Anna says, “by attaching pieces of wood with a leather strap that I ordered from a company in Lapland (a region in northern Sweden).”
“We wanted to bring out the original features and create a feeling that matched somewhat with the age of the house.”
Display cabinet: Vita Ranunkler; light bulb: PR Home.
Display cabinet: Vita Ranunkler; light bulb: PR Home.
The rug in the living room was a gift, and the armchair is a sustainable, eco-friendly piece designed for Ire Mobel, a Swedish furniture company. The old table in the background was inherited from Anna’s grandfather.
“I rode in my childhood,” Anna explains, “now we have an old horse stable on the property. My grandfather had a horse stable, and in his stables stood this table that he had received from his grandmother.“ And so the history of the piece continues.
Hanna armchair: Emma Olbers
“I rode in my childhood,” Anna explains, “now we have an old horse stable on the property. My grandfather had a horse stable, and in his stables stood this table that he had received from his grandmother.“ And so the history of the piece continues.
Hanna armchair: Emma Olbers
The couple’s daughters, Julia and Emma, sit here in front of the combined playground and gardening shed. When Anna decided to leave the military, she completely changed fields and trained as a garden designer.
“When I work with gardens, I always document and draw detailed plans. I’m probably quite influenced by my previous job and like to have everything in order and planned,” Anna admits. “In the interior, however, I keep the target image in my head and then, to style it, I just go with the flow and with my feelings.”
“When I work with gardens, I always document and draw detailed plans. I’m probably quite influenced by my previous job and like to have everything in order and planned,” Anna admits. “In the interior, however, I keep the target image in my head and then, to style it, I just go with the flow and with my feelings.”
“I was given this chair by my grandfather,” says Anna. “He was a minister for many years, and was at one point in the 70s given a lot of chairs as gifts by the President of Mexico!”
Marmoleum Click flooring: Forbo
Marmoleum Click flooring: Forbo
“In retrospect it was absolutely the right decision for me to try out this job with garden and interiors with my company,” Anna says happily. “I have now come to the conclusion that our homes are among the most important things we have in life.
“It means so much to be in an environment that makes us feel good, and where we have a chance to express ourselves. And I have been able to do so, through the change in my profession, but also thanks to that house-buying impulse in the ditch in southern Sweden nine years ago. Now I will finally settle down and try to enjoy it – before my fingers start itching and a new project begins.”
House Doctor brass pots: Modesto.se
“It means so much to be in an environment that makes us feel good, and where we have a chance to express ourselves. And I have been able to do so, through the change in my profession, but also thanks to that house-buying impulse in the ditch in southern Sweden nine years ago. Now I will finally settle down and try to enjoy it – before my fingers start itching and a new project begins.”
House Doctor brass pots: Modesto.se
Who lives here: Anna and Patric Stenberg, and their daughters Emma, 6, and Julia 5
Location: Svanvik, north of Karlsborg by Lake Vättern in Sweden
Size: 180 square meters
The way that Anna and Patric found their perfect home was somewhat unusual. “I was a captain in the cavalry and was away for training in the southern parts of Sweden for a few weeks,” Anna explains. “One day, as I lay there in a ditch, in the middle of our fictitious battle, I got a crazy impulse and just had to flick through properties for sale on my phone. And there it was, the dream house for sale.”
Their dream house is a farm with attached stables, neighbours on one side and wide open meadows on the other. “The house had been built in 1939 and renovated twice, in the 70s and the 90s,” Anna says. Once they closed on the property, a huge renovation project started. “The first two years we sorted out the water and sanitation and dealt with the geothermal heating, as well as the kitchen and bathroom.”
This updated kitchen comes from Ikea but has been modified by Anna and Patric. “We bought all the wood from a small local sawmill and replaced mouldings, sockets, sides and handles.” The benchtop looks like marble, but is actually granite. “We managed to get our dream kitchen without a huge budget. I’m very pleased, the kitchen still feels modern, even though we built it nearly 10 years ago,” says Anna.