At home on the farm

Monica Liljedal’s inherited family farmhouse is a harmonious combination of original pieces and timeless Swedish style

When Monica Liljedal inherited the farm that has been in her family for many generations, it came with a sense of joy and also responsibility. The farm, which was built in 1690, stopped being a working farm in the 1960s, but the family has since used it as a treasured retreat. Located in the Hälsingland province of central Sweden, and set in an idyllic location on the edge of a forest, with its own swimming spot on the river, Monica spent many happy holidays here as a child. It was a privilege she was able to pass on to her own children, who also spent the long summers of childhood roaming the

elds and exploring the many barns and outbuildings that surround the main timber house.

The old farmhouses of Hälsingland are today recognised as part of Sweden’s cultural heritage, and some even have UNESCO World

Heritage status, so as soon as Monica became the custodian of her family’s farm, there were two things she knew she needed to do. One was to preserve everything that makes up the farm’s unique history. The other was to repair and update the farm so that she and her grown-up children (who are likely to bring their friends), as well as future generations, can continue to enjoy it for the years to come. In the process she would put just a li!le stamp of her own personality on it.

‘ The farm has never been divided by sales, only ever passed down through the family, and so much of it is original and intact,’ says Monica. ‘Some rooms haven’t changed in generations and in those rooms it feels like time has stopped. There is also lots of fun stu "that the family has le# behind, like the cray $sh services used for the cray $sh parties at the end of summer, Christmas services, glassware and all kinds of other curiosities.’

These traditional Hälsingland farmsteads were built by the farmers themselves entirely from timber, and demonstrate great skill in joinery and carpentry. When it came to repairing or replacing the windows and doors of the main house, Monica found spares that had been kept precisely for this purpose in a number of the barns. ‘ Everything was saved, nothing was thrown away,’ she explains.

Much of the furniture, too, was made on site, and about two thirds of Monica’s furniture is original to the farm. At one point, there was even a smithy to make the door handles

‘Some rooms haven’t changed in generations and in those rooms it feels like time has stopped’

and other items of ironmongery, which Monica has taken great pains to keep and restore.

While stripping away old wallpaper in the house, Monica made an exciting discovery when she uncovered original stencils and traditional spray painting beneath. Keen to reinstate these ! nishes, she took courses in stencilling and in making egg tempera – an old-fashioned paint – where the pigments are bound together with egg yolk. Traditionally, spray painting was done using a bunch of birch twigs to spla"er di #erent coloured paints onto the wall. Monica followed this technique, while wearing a swimming cap to protect her hair, although she still ended up covered head to toe

in paint! In rooms where she couldn’t ! nd original stencils, she recreated them in a style typical of the area.

Throughout the house, Monica has breathed new life into the rooms, while remaining faithful to the original feel. In the kitchen, newly built panelled cabinets complement an original panelled cupboard under the window, while all of the woodwork has been painted in a pale grey linseed oil mix, chosen by Monica to create uniformity. It ties in with her revamped stencilled walls and the original rustic farmhouse furniture, to which Monica has added so" furnishings and two tonally sympathetic rag rugs that were made by her grandmother.

‘As most of the furniture and things have been saved in the barns over the years and originate from the farm, I have tried to approach the interior decoration in a new way, with a li#le of my own style,’ she says. The result is a welcoming home exuding character.

‘As most of the furniture originates from the farm, I have tried to approach the interior decoration in a new way’

Monica stencil-painted the walls after finding original stencil designs under old wallpaper. The panelled cupboard under the window is original. The trestle table was built in 1740 and the bench on the right is a typical Hälsingland design with a back that can be flipped. The cabinet with painted details was made in Hälsingland and is dated 1827, but is not from the farm. The rag rugs were made by Monica’s grandmother.

RIGHT Antique hobo wire craft hangs on the drying rod (on which crisp bread was dried in the old days, when every household baked their own bread). A cast-iron fireplace screen is used as a splashback to the electric stove.

The main farmhouse and a second residential building to the left overlooking the central courtyard and its round cast-iron flowerbed.

ABOVE Antique sieves and porridge spoons from the 19th century. Back then, everyone in the household had their own spoon.

Monica spray-painted the hall using the traditional technique of flicking paint onto the walls with a bunch of birch twigs. The kitchen door features original ironwork made long ago in a smithy on the farm. The wooden floors are called ‘mopping floors’ and are mopped with linseed soap and cold water several times a year to produce a shimmering silver-grey finish.

A traditional Swedish candle chandelier hanging over the table creates a soft light and warm atmosphere. The dresser is one of the many pieces of furniture that has been on the farm for generations. The stencilling on the wall was painted by Monica in a design typical of the area.

ABOVE A Norwegian cast-iron stove, shaped in steps, works in a similar way to a ceramic stove and is highly efficient at emitting heat. The Empire-style grandfather clock and the chair are from the farm.

TOP LEFT Sitting on the dining room dresser are two black painted steel sugar bowls in an Empire style. Between them stands a large porcelain punch bowl mended in the traditional way with metal staples.

TOP Old textiles and linens in a hope chest.

ABOVE A painted steel tray table with chinoiserie motif from the late 18th century, with various trinkets from the farm’s stores.

Pale grey walls continue into the parlour and carry on the calm colour scheme enlivened by Monica’s stencils. The lady’s desk is 19th-century. The daybed is c1800 with bed linen, including pillows with steel buttons, from the annual antiques fair in Stockholm. The picture is a family portrait and the gilt pendulum clock is a 1940s copy of an 18th-century style.

The bed in this guest room dates from the late 19th century and was a farm find that has been rebuilt. The pendant light and table lamp are both Art Nouveau. Walls are painted in a soothing green matt oil paint from a specialist. The frieze came from the same supplier.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Brass-framed beds from the farm in another guest room; the barns and outbuildings are full of old trinkets and curios, which often make their way into the house; the study with original stencilling and spray paint restored by Monica; Monica pictured in front of one of the old granaries.