HOME

We’re shopping for pretty pastels, discovering Swedish design gems and coveting old-fashioned fabrics.

Pretty pastels

NEST EGG

Can a giant golden egg keep a community together? Swedish artist duo Bigert & Bergström think so. Decades of iron ore mining caused so much damage to Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town, that the entire population was forced to relocate several kilometres to the east. To bolster community spirit, the town received a golden, egg-shaped sauna. ‘When we were asked to interpret Kiruna, we felt it natural to explore a space that unites and encourages conversation,’ says Bigert. ‘Saunas are sacrosanct… you can discuss all manner of things.’ Made of 69 gold-plated stainless-steel sheets, the Solar Egg has drawbridge stairs that can be lowered into the snow, and the tiered seating inside has room for up to eight people. The temperature in the egg varies between 75 and 85 degrees Celsius – a welcome reprieve from the frosty Lapland landscape, 145km north of the Arctic Circle.