The Stockholm Home

The brief

The layout of this home needed no structural alteration. The couple had spent years gathering artwork, antiques and decorative pieces they loved, and the rooms already held a lot of what they needed. What was missing was the layer that pulls a room together: windows dressed to suit the proportions, finishes with some depth to them, a review of the lighting, decorative and architectural, to see what could be improved within the fittings already in place, and a plan for where each piece should sit so the collection reads as one thing rather than many.

The design

This was a finishing layers project from beginning to end: window treatments, decorative finishes, furniture placement, and the hanging and styling of the collection.

Everything was chosen to serve what was already there. The curtains and the wall coverings were selected to enhance the artwork, the vintage pieces and the antiques, giving them a background with depth and a frame worth being seen against, rather than competing for attention themselves.

Lighting was reviewed rather than redesigned. Working with the socket placement and wiring already in place, we looked at what could be changed or retrofitted, and at where decorative pieces would earn their keep, so that the artwork and the antiques are lit properly once the daylight goes.

Then came placement. With a collection this size, the temptation is to show everything at once. Instead we grouped, spaced and edited: pictures hung in considered arrangements, furniture moved so conversation works and circulation is easy, and each object placed where it can be seen properly.

The result is sophisticated, curated and timeless classic, in line with the client’s well-trained eye. As an interior display stylist and a true interiors enthusiast, the client knew exactly what she was looking at, so this was a genuine collaboration: we worked side by side, testing and adjusting until every wall and corner felt right.

Every detail, considered

In a project like this, the detail is the design. Pinch pleats and rope tiebacks that suit the age of the furniture. Textured wall finishes that give the artwork a background worth hanging against. Lamps placed to wash the collection with light in the evening, plants used to soften hard corners, and flowers where the eye lands first. Nothing structural changed, and yet every room looks different.

The result

A home that looks and feels curated rather than furnished. The pieces the couple have collected over a lifetime now sit in rooms that show them off, and the whole house reads as one considered scheme.

Services: The Finishing Layers.