SWEDE SALVATION

Having rescued an old rectory from dilapidation, Christer Holmström has curated an eclectic selection of antiques to create a remarkable interior

Christer Holström’s converted rectory near Stockholm is a study in thoughtful design

Acomfortable 90-minute drive from busy Stockholm, the serene village of Valö is home to a sca!ering of modest barns and houses, all clustered around the 14th- century stone church – a reminder of the central role that faith once played in Swedish life. These days however, with only a tiny percentage of Swedes a!ending church, the need for parish priests has declined, which is how Christer Holmström came to "nd himself owner of Valö’s former rectory.

Although Christer is only the second owner of the rectory, a long succession of priests and their families have called it home and, having looked at church records of the families who lived there, Christer discovered that ancestors on his father’s side came from nearby Hållnäs. ‘Our relatives were married in the church in 1665, which made me feel at home here,’ he says.

With 10 rooms in total, and the entire roof to replace, the renovation has taken the best part of 18 years. Not that Christer minds; he recommends furnishing at a slow pace, believing that it leads to be!er results, and the interiors continue to evolve as new "nds are brought triumphantly home. Colour has always been part of the building’s identity, even before Christer embarked on his extensive renovations. When the rectory was "rst erected in 1786, its timber cladding was stained a deep ‘falu red’, a shade o#en used on country manor houses to suggest the red earth tones of more expensive brick. Originally a rural "nish, its use spread to towns and cities, and perhaps the local priest’s desire to look more ‘urbane’ prompted the yellow repaint in 1825. It has been known locally as the ‘ Yellow Manor’ ever since.

The authentic feel of the interior is a tribute to Christer’s keen eye, and his ability to furnish on a tight budget. ‘I have "lled up the house with auction and $ea-market bargains. And I mean bargains! If the price is too high, I wait.’

Though not aspiring to be strict about the period of the interior, much inspiration is drawn from historic Swedish precedents. Some are local, such as the vibrant blue of the door frames and skirting in the upper hall, which was taken directly from Valö’s church, while other decorative $ourishes came from even closer to home. ‘In one of the barns I found a large pile of original mouldings, that had been torn down in the 1940s. I took full advantage of these and put them back.’ The mouldings were badly needed, as the original character had been totally erased with vinyl $ooring and new carpentry. ‘ You had to have a lot of imagination to see beyond that,’ confesses Christer. Luckily, imagination is something he has in abundance. ‘I have always been interested in style history, and I’ve run auctions and $ea markets,’ Christer explains. He also took a one-year course in furniture restoration and another in decorative paint "nishes, such as grain painting. The result is an exuberant and slightly theatrical interior, in which antiques and curios are set against dramatically coloured walls, and everywhere there are wi!y juxtapositions and unconventional collisions of style and period.

Knowing that the rector’s wife had used one of the rooms for sewing and receiving local ladies, Christer approached it with a feminine touch. The Parrot Room is his charming take on chinoiserie, with hand-painted walls, framed with blue mouldings and yellow lining, inspired by the Octagonal Hall of the Chinese pavilion at Dro!ningholm Palace. The main living room is painted a striking pear green, with tableaus of objets trouvés gathered on tables and sideboards. Stu %ed animals exchange glassy glances with plaster busts and plastic toys, while the walls are hung with old prints and contemporary paintings, all mounted in antique and salvaged frames. ‘I cannot pass up on old paintings,’ admits Christer, ‘ but they should be gathered in groups, with empty wall surfaces le# between.’ Dense and intense though the compositions may be, they are always given room to breathe, as though you are dri #ing through a thematic gallery.

Christer’s dedication to detail is best shown by the chequerboard living room $oor, whose 550 squares were painted freehand, following pencil lines instead of masking tape. ‘It took a whole weekend to paint just three lines, even though there were two of us,’ he grimaces. It is this very personal, homemade approach that makes the rich interiors much more than the sum of their bargain parts.

‘ The point of such a large place is to share it with loved ones,’ says Christer. ‘ It’s perfect for Christmases and parties.’ His record number for a sleepover is 22, though that did involve some guests bedding down in the haylo#. His guests are o#en his collaborators, joining forces to tame the garden, as o#en as to wield a paintbrush. People o#en think the interior is original, he says, ‘ but I’ve done it myself, with the help of friends’, he explains, with well- earned satisfaction.

And if the rectory’s long- departed clergy could return to witness its transformation, they would undoubtedly delight in Christer’s house as proof of the old adage that patience is a virtue.

Colour has always been part of the building’s identity, even before Christer embarked on his extensive renovations

The authentic feel of the interior is a tribute to Christer’s keen eye, and his ability to furnish on a tight budget

Bought at Uppsala auction house, the French mahogany chest of drawers dates to around 1790. Christer composes his gallery walls by laying the paintings out on the floor. He felt the portrait of a woman looked better placed sideways. RIGHT The Parrot Room is a blend of bought and borrowed details. The gilt mirror is one of a pair, from the latter half of the 18th century, while the pink chairs are late 19th-century, and cost only £100 at auction.

Christer hand-painted the floral motifs of the Parrot Room’s walls to simulate antique Rococo wallpaper. Though antique in style, the green sofa is a 1930s piece and Christer picked up the carved wooden tray table at a market. Protected under its glass lining is a reproduction of the painted 18th-century Chinese wallpaper that decorates the antechamber of the historic manor house of Svindersvik; a 19th-century Persian rug obscures some of the 550 hand-painted squares of the living-room floor; the grinning Boschian face is by Mia Mäkilä. The chest of drawers came from a local summer auction, and is by Diedric Diedricson Fick (1698–1764). It is one of only two surviving chests that can be attributed to him. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

A simple IKEA sofa bed sits at the centre of the living room, surrounded by lucky finds and mementos. The carved high-backed chair is a 20th-century copy of a Baroque design, which came to Christer caked in 1970s blue paint. He stripped and rebuilt the seat himself, and painted it a deep grey. The neoclassical frieze above the door was cut from a Gustavian-style wallpaper, still available from Lim & Handtryck. Many of the cushions were gifts from friends, gathered on visits to museums and galleries, and feature artists down the ages, including Alexander Roslin, Roy Lichtenstein and Christian Lacroix. October 2021

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT ‘The napkin has my grandfather’s monogram, NH, for Napoleon Holmström, and I also have my grandmother’s, with JH for Josefina Holmström.’ The Swedish forks date to the 1830s, and follow a pattern called ‘Svensk rund’ (Swedish round); The Incredible Hulk and an ornamental sheep are surreal additions to the more traditional elements in the drawing room; the built-in serving cabinet appears to be antique, but it’s a cunning reinvention: the panelling is constructed from IKEA picture frames, with reproduction prints of Swedish royalty pasted on; the monkeys in their banana canoe may be modern, but the bench and shelves behind are laden with 19th-century originals, such as the traditional coffee mill.

The bright and homely kitchen blends elements from the 1920s to the 1990s. Christer simply painted the built-in 1940s cabinetry green and added new porcelain knobs. The blue-painted, pine drop-leaf table was a gift from a neighbour, along with the mix of country-style 1950s chairs.

Flanked by reproduction Baroque chairs, the 19th-century sideboard is unrestored. The parrots are Staffordshire.