Knock, Knock: Spic-and-Span in Sweden
Sweden-based Benita Larsson has never been the messy type. "When I was young, I'd ask my mom if she had any drawers I could straighten up," she laughs. "Sometimes I still do that when I visit her." Nowadays, Benita lives with her husband and son in a lovely 800-square-foot house near Stockholm. We take a peek inside and get the scoop on how she keeps everything in order.
Where do you live? Norra Angby, a suburb of government-enabled houses from the 1930's outside Stockholm. It's a clean, quiet neighborhood with a mix of older generation and young families, but nowadays it's incredibly expensive to buy a house as it has become one of the most sought after areas in the Stockholm area.
Why did you move there? We were living in the city, but when Wille was four he wanted 'grass of his own' after visiting friends who lived in a house, so we started to look for a house, too. We only viewed one, and here we are!
I hear Sweden is really dark in the winter and really light in the summer. I actually really like the seasons. I enjoy gardening in the spring and summer, but I also like when fall comes and I can spend time indoors again, lighting candles and decorating. In the summer, falling asleep can be hard, though, since it only gets dark for a couple hours. I wear an eye mask.
How did you want your home office to look? I wanted it to be neat and fit a small space in the hallway. I also wanted to work standing up. My husband Martin is not a fan of IKEA, so we built it ourselves. The satisfaction of building something from scratch is huge.
These are such sweet silhouettes of your family. How did you decide on those props? My son Wille played the trombone, so his sihouette was an easy choice. Martin enjoys a glass of wine or two, but I wasn't sure what mine should be. Wille came up with the idea that I should vacuum. I do clean a lot so why not?!
Does your family eat lots of Swedish foods? Martin's the cook in our family. He makes amazing tapas, pasta dishes and other food. We don't eat Swedish dishes except for at holidays, and we have crayfish parties in August.
You're an organizing genius. How did this shoe rack come about? We enter directly into the living room, so there isn't much space for coats and shoes. Shoes in piles all over the place drove me nuts, so I built this myself. It's pretty great if I may say so myself. There's room for shoes, boots and bags and a couple boxes for umbrellas and cat collars.
Where did you get this poster? I've never seen it in yellow. It's from sfgirlbybay on etsy. It seems to be the poster du jour! Everyone has one these days; it's on all the blogs and flickr pages.
Who made this lovely bird banner? Martin, who is really talented. We recently opened a tiny etsy shop to sell some of his designs.
Where did you find the orange stools? Martin bought them in a Goodwill shop and thought they were pretty unique. The week after, he went to a take-out place that had the exact same stools. Then he sat on one at his doctor's office. Unique, indeed.
Can you tell us about your art wall? The cartoon is by Magnus Carlsson, a Swedish artist. I found the green print last summer at a fleamarket. The cat and heart are by Wille. All three of us are huge Friends fans and Wille named the cat drawing "Smelly Cat" after Phoebe's signature song.
Do you use your fake fireplace? All the time in the winter! Our friend and neighbors think we're mad and it's the tackiest thing ever but we don't care. We love our little heater.
Did it take forever to order your books by color? Yes, especially because I also divided them by subject matter. Books on history are in the living room, books on sailing in the guest room, fiction in the downstairs bookcase and interior design books in the dining area.
What's the story behind these gorgeous magazines? Martin's grandfather was a sports journalist at one of the major Swedish morning papers, Dagens Nyheter. He covered the Olympics among many other things.
I love your map collection. Some are vintage, like the Swedish road maps. I wouldn't go driving around the country based on those today!
How did you organize your laundry room? The laundry room was really dingy when we moved in. Mustardy yellow, dirty walls and ceiling and peeling cement floors. Yikes. Just the thought of doing laundry there just made me cringe. So I painted everything white, and Martin evened out the floors and I tiled them. White tiles and white paint are the best for a clean fresh look.
What ambiance did you want for your bedroom? Wille has the master bedroom, and we use the inner tiny bedroom. I knew it had to be as airy as possible so it wouldn't feel claustrophobic. I painted the wall near the window--which was so small, all I needed was a tester pot diluted with a bit of white! The pillow designs are by Martin and will be available in their etsy shop.
Who's in this romantic photo? My husband's parents, who were married for 40+ years until my father-in-law passed away.
How did you create this wardrobe? On the spur of the moment I choose orange paint. When I finished painting, I came up with the trellis pattern idea but wished I had thought of it before I'd gone mad with the orange. Then I ended up making millions of stickers around which I painted white. Note to self: Think before acting next time...
Your guest room has a sailing theme. What's your connection to boats? Martin competes sailing classic 6mR yachts internationally. He's mad about everything to do with sailing, boats and the sea. He also likes to have all his knicknacks on display while I prefer to keep things less cluttered. In the boat room he can keep all his stuff out in the open and I don't mind.
How did you make these great doors? It's an old door frame with new frosted perspex with circle dots and Wille's name cut out of Avery etched glass film. They were a finalist in Design*Sponge's DYI contest.
What does your son like most about his bedroom? His computer and his Harry Potter books.
Did Wille collect these bottle caps? Yes, he has collected them for years. I always make an effort to display his collections so we can appreciate them.
How do Wille feel about your home's decor? I just asked him, and his answer was, 'Awesome.' In English!
Special Note: April 6th was Wille's 14th birthday. Happy Birthday, Wille!
Want to read more? For all past Cookie house tours, go to our archives. For more of Benita's house photos, go to her flickr page. For Benita's etsy shop, go here, and for an adorable children's shop in Sweden, go here.
i am in LOVE with that boat room, and her home office is really beautiful and peaceful and of course organized! benita is a genius.
this is a fantastic home tour.
they did an amazing job making their small home feel roomy and fresh. i love all of the white.
her organizational skills are truly impressive. as someone who is a bit obsessive about organizing, i am quite impressed.
great work, joanna.
This makes me want to downsize someday and decorate a small apartment from scratch - paint, furniture, everything. It also inspires me to make something. It would be fun to take time and let's one personality shine through. Lovely doors, great shoe rack. Thanks!
I need to borrow Benita for just one weekend...I want her to help me organize and do a quick home makeover. :)