MIX ’N MATCH
A comfortable blend of old wooden features and contemporary design touches give this house its warm, welcoming ambience.
New mixed with old; designer pieces paired with flea market treasures; bargain finds sitting alongside expensive purchases. These are the key interior details – a marriage of opposites – that characterise Malin Manfredsson’s home, situated in Sweden. She loves every inch of it. Five years ago, her family moved into the house in central Vadstena. It was built in the 1800s and resembles a little villa. Malin knew she could apply her love of colour and collecting to its interior.
Vadstena is one of the most charming towns in Östergötland County, Sweden. With fewer than 6 000 inhabitants, it enjoys city status but maintains a small-town feeling.
Malin runs a store named Mrs Manfred on the city’s colourful shopping street. She lives in the house with her husband, Lars, and their children, Ossian, aged nine and Sixten, aged four. It is located in the old part of the town centre. Although the house is centuries old, it still feels modern and luxurious. A cobblestone road, that could have come straight out of a fairytale, leads to the front door. At the back is a beautiful secluded garden.
“I love everything about our house,” says Malin, whose passion for design is evident as soon as one enters. Her favourite colours are also immediately apparent. The living room combines soft grey tones with eye-popping magenta and red wallpaper on one feature wall.
There’s a warm ambience as colourful fabrics, carefully selected pieces and new, stylish furniture set the tone. The old wooden floors and exposed ceiling beams are a reminder of the home’s history, while the whitewashed walls give the home an airy and fresh feeling.
“When decorating I just go with my feelings,” says Malin. “I’ve always liked using white as a base colour, but I love having lots of colours around me. My favourite shades are pink, red, orange and purple.”
The entrance hall leads to the kitchen, dining room and living room. The kitchen, which was renovated when the
family moved in, exudes country charm with its antique cupboard and chairs arranged around the dining table. The white bench makes the room a favourite gathering place for the family. Pieces of china and colourful porcelain decorate the shelf above the bench and one wall contains shelves holding Malin’s collection of cookery books. Despite the mix of bright blue and pink and the many objects on display, the kitchen doesn’t feel cluttered. It is warm and cosy and radiates a homely atmosphere.
The living room takes its cue from the stark white walls and beamed ceiling. Its windows face the courtyard and guarantee privacy. There’s plenty of space to curl up and relax on the large white sofas. “With young children at home, it is important to have sofas with removable covers that can be washed,” says Malin.
The big grey carpet and sheepskin rugs give this space a cosy feel. On the walls are lithographs by one of Malin’s favourite artists, Sweden’s Peter Dahl. “Books can also be an interior detail when they are set up correctly,” she advises, pointing to the stack of novels she’s arranged flat on the shelf.
In the 1970s, an extension to the house was added. It leads from the living room to the master bedroom, which comes with a dressing room and en-suite bathroom. Malin designed the red headboard herself. She enjoys dressing the bed in luxurious linens and topping it with piles of brightly coloured pillows – made out of velvet, silk and cotton – which match the red tones of one of the bedroom’s walls.
The night stands are white, marbletopped antiques. These stands and the wardrobe are a family heirloom. The cheerful and deep red-striped wallpaper provides a welcome contrast with the adjacent white walls.
The main attraction in the slate and natural stone bathroom is the antiquestyle ball-and-claw bathtub. There’s an eclectic mix of tile, ceramic fixtures, slate and natural stone, which creates a modern, textured look.
Most old houses have unused spaces and odd nooks, but that is not the case with the Manfredsson home. “Here every little space is used. We even added a small bathroom under the stairs leading up to the children’s room and TV lounge to maximise the space,” explains Malin.