STAFFAN TOLLGÅRD
The designer tells our editor Pip Rich about designing a home by its heatmap, the bathroom material of the moment and why cork is making a comeback
LIVEABLE NOW
MEANS LESS FORMAL THAN EVER BEFORE AND ALSO
BEING NICE DAY-TO-DAY AS WELL AS FOR ENTERTAINING
British-based interior and product designer Staffan Tollgård’s aesthetic draws on his Swedish heritage so it is as functional as it is beautiful. Staffan regularly collaborates with some of our favourite design houses – Porada will be launching a new bedside table by him at Salone del Mobile in Milan this month.
PIP RICH While your schemes are always very smart, they come across to me as supremely liveable, too. I know you’ve always got ideas about what people want from their homes and so I’m wondering what the term ‘liveable’ means to you in 2023? STAFFAN TOLLGÅRD Liveable is such a good word – and it’s never been more relevant to design. I have a Scandinavian approach where I need things to be functional. That said, right now, even for a functional space like a home office or kitchen, people want their surroundings to evoke emotions through their beauty, or the way art and objets are displayed, or wonderful materials used. Liveable now means less formal than ever before and also being nice day-to-day (now that more of us are working at least part-time from home) as well as for entertaining. PR I’m seeing the same thing. We all seem to want every room to have the sensibility of a living room now – I’ve just put a couch in my home office, some comfy seating in my kitchen… what materials do you think help achieve this vision of ‘liveability’? ST I’ve always been very drawn to natural materials and the natural elements of those materials. But in recent years there have been huge leaps forward in man-made materials and now even with my biggest budget projects I advise clients not to use natural stone in any bathroom. It’s expensive, it’s heavy and, of course, there’s only a finite amount that exists on the planet. You can get porcelain and ceramic materials with the texture of the real thing, plus they are thinner and lighter so floors don’t have to be reinforced and fully waterproof.
PR Yes, I fell in love with Marazzi when I first saw its take on porcelain tiles that look and feel like the real deal.
ST And there’s a wonderful resin floor maker called Senso that uses recycled materials to create soft, natural coloured palettes that are very contemporary but don’t feel cold. Whenever someone says ‘modern’ or ‘minimal’ the assumption is that it’ll be cold, but this is both of those things yet soft and warm.
PR Soft and warm could be the keywords we’re using for everything at Livingetc right now. They can be interpreted in many ways but the sentiment is our main goal for design.
ST Then think about cork, too. It’s great if used sensibly, as in not overpoweringly. I like to see it as a component, such as on the seat of a bar stool or chair, as it contrasts so well with other things. The Su bar stool by Emeco is a cork seat with aluminium frame – just a hint of cork like a jewel in the crown.
PR You mentioned art and how it is now an important part of how a house feels. Is the way you’re displaying it changing?
ST Art collections are more personal and people want it in their kitchens more now, to help make that room the heart of the home. We always talk about a home’s heatmap and it’s a useful tool for helping you to elevate an existing design. Think about where you like to spend time and how you currently use that space – blue spots are ones you hardly use, like guest bedrooms and formal dining rooms, then you have very warm areas like the kitchen and living room. What is it about those rooms you love and how can you bring the sense of them into the bluer zones? How do you spread that heat around the house? Art can be a good way, bringing more vitality to unloved areas, or think about the function. Can a second bedroom be an office, too? Can a formal dining room become a place to play games or read? More of our lives are spent on laptops now, so how can you put spaces to use them into areas that don’t really get used?
PR That’s such a clever way of looking at things. I’ve been feeling stumped by an area in my home and instead of thinking about what I should put in it I need to focus on what I’d like to do in it. ST What it comes back to, ultimately, is that a perfect home should be really super-functional – and beautiful, too.
WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT A HOME’S HEATMAP AND IT’S A USEFUL TOOL FOR HELPING YOU TO ELEVATE
AN EXISTING DESIGN
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