We’re heading straight over to Sweden this week to have a poke about this 1935 detached house which has been rather beautifully done. I probably wouldn’t have quite as much painted furniture as there is here but the floors and proportions are great.
I like all the different shades of white which gives real texture to the spaces and means it looks as if it has evolved very organically, which is the key to a really successful scheme. A well-designed house is one that marries old pieces and new stuff and creates a blend that tells the story of the people who live in it.
One idea that I would love to steal is this brass bathroom though. Even the dilapidated bin looks great doesn’t it? It’s on the market here where you can see more of the rooms if you fancy.
The house has apparently been in four interior design books as well as numerous magazines so the owners, who have completely gutted the place, must know what they’re doing. One key change was to open up the downstairs which was a series of small rooms to create a lighter, brighter space.
Everything from the floors to the doors and windows has been sourced from all over Europe but it all comes together to look like it was meant to be.
Next up… shall we go to New York? Why the hell not. And let’s go first class while we’re at it. If the Swedish house wasn’t quite up your street what about this? A series of luxury apartments in the Beekman Building in Manhattan.
These images are from the Penthouse which is 50 floors up (God help you the day the lift breaks down and you’ve run out of matches for the candles) but then think of the views.
This place is beyond swanky. I mean obviously it has a gym and a concierge (it’s so swanky his duties probably include carrying you up 50 flights of stairs when the lift breaks) as well as its own restaurant and media room -which must be another word for private cinema. Obviously the penthouse is about $10m but you can have a low storey cupboard for around $1.3m.
The original part of the building, which is now home to the nine storey atrium, has an illustrious history; the first New York showing of Shakespeare’s Hamlet took place on this site and Edgar Allen Poe used to write here. Declared a New York landmark in 1998, it was empty for ten years until the current renovation and restoration took place. To see more of it you can click here.
Given how much I’ve been banging on about crittall windows recently, you’ll understand why I wanted to include this house which is on the market with Knight Frank for a mere £3.2m. It’s in Fulham and has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, two reception rooms and a teeny tiny garden. With a fireplace. So that’s all right then.
It’s a fantastic example of a monochrome palette though which isn’t at all stark and to which you could add almost any colour you fancied if you want to ring the changes. I like it how it is with the pictures and books providing the extra zing. It’s incredibly restful.
And obviously I do love an internal glass wall or door. There are almost too many of them in this space. The ground floor (all 600sq ft of it) is completely open plan as you can see below and there is a bedroom and a sitting room on the lower ground with bedrooms, dressing rooms and bathrooms above that.
So there you have it people. Sweden, New York or London, where will you move this week?
Where do people order these internal iron or steel glass walls? I’ve been searching for a manufacturer in Scandinavia, but so far without any luck.
I like how those two Smeg fridges are put together imitating big American fridge.