A family relocate from Auckland to Stockholm, where interior decorating is a national sport.
Relocating from Auckland to Stockholm with three young children? Great move
Ididn’t need any convincing when my husband Guillaume called to say that he’d been offered a transfer from Auckland to Stockholm. As a writer with a focus on interiors, Scandinavia certainly sounded appealing. We flew into our new city in late September 2016 and spent our first evening at Haymarket, a glamorous art deco-inspired hotel in the heart of the downtown area. Gold Atollo lamps sat on tables in the foyer lounge; our room was decorated with a Gräshoppa floor lamp by Greta Grossman and Gubi Beetle chairs. It was a great introduction to Scandinavian interiors.
We settled into a big old apartment with high ceilings in the central island of Södermalm, an area that Vogue named a few years ago as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world.
The city of Stockholm is made up of 14 islands connected by bridges. It’s an incredibly beautiful place that constantly takes my breath away.
We live on the fourth floor with huge windows, a blessing for the light. Nobody covers their windows here and we’ve grown used to seeing people across the street living their lives, knowing that they also see us.
Our dining room is huge, so we decided to make use of the bay window and create a sitting area. I love the wall panelling and the herringbone floor in this room. It has that old-world grand feeling. Redecorating your home is a national sport here, which has been great for us as we’ve found a lot of timeless design pieces to fill this spot at a very good price. Scouring auction sites, along with the endless travel possibilities, are our biggest temptations.
Swedish winters are known to be harsh and long, but I didn’t quite grasp how bitterly cold they could get – reality hit not long after we arrived, in early November. It had snowed lightly a few days before, which people told me was rather early, however one morning we awoke to an enormous dump of snow. >
The children were delighted. They put on their ski clothes and snow boots – something that all children wear here in the winter – and we set off early to school so that they could have a play. Halfway there, we received a message that school was cancelled. Then we learned that transport was out too, and the only way home was by walking over a long bridge through a blizzard. It was quite surreal and I did wonder what we were in for during the rest of the winter. It turns out that while it does mostly sit well below zero, a storm like that is rare.
In Stockholm, at the summer solstice, the sun begins to set around 11pm and rises at 3am, and it never truly gets dark. At this time, the Swedes celebrate the light with midsummer and crayfish parties. This past summer, Guillaume and I hiked along the Kungsleden above the Arctic Circle for four days under 24 hours of daylight. It was an unforgettable experience.
But of course in winter we get the opposite. The sun rises at 8.45am and sets at 2.45pm. Living here I’ve truly begun to understand why the Swedes are obsessed with decorating homes. Quite simply, they spend a great deal of time inside. While the word hygge is claimed by the Danes, it is put into practice throughout Scandinavia.
When I arrive home with the children after school, it’s dark, so, like most people, as well as switching on the table and floor lamps dotted around the apartment, I’ve got into the habit of lighting candles and turning on the fairy lights on our balcony. It’s quite lovely to see the twinkling lights in the neighbourhood; it’s almost like a joint agreement to celebrate the season. I thought that I would find the dark difficult, but it’s these rituals that make it quite special.
Q&A
This Christmas we'll be: Visiting the Christmas markets, tobogganing at our local park and ice-skating outdoors under fairy lights.
My decorating style: The French call it bobo, which is short for bourgeois bohemian.
Best walk: Along the northern shore of Södermalm island overlooking Kungsholmen. You get to see the Town Hall where they hold Nobel Prize dinners plus there’s a high point along the way, famous for Instagram selfies under the midnight sun during the summer.
Best place for coffee: Kaffebar in Södermalm, which was the setting for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Mel Chesneau