Hello Home, Emelie Ekman
When Emelie Ekman opens the door to the apartment in Vasastan, we are met by anything but 34square, the name she first chose when she started her interior design blog over 6 years ago. Since then, she has taken on several apartments, but the turn-of-the-century apartment we have now been invited to is her first major renovation.
When Emelie and her partner bought the apartment in the beginning of 2019, she tells us that it took plenty of imagination to be able to visualize what we see in front of us today. The house is from the end of the 19th century, but when the prospectus landed in Emelie's hand, the apartment had been intended for tenancy for a long period, and the time-typical details and turn-of-the-century charm were long lost. But despite the fact that the surface was unpolished and the details were missing, Emelie saw an enormous potential in the apartment, and decided to take on the task of recreating the beauty that she knew the apartment once had.
‘I could write a book about renovations, since it is no secret that our own renovation was incredibly long and that we have learned plenty along the way. The best and biggest advice I can give is to spend time on the preparation and planning. It's easy get enthusiastic and aim to start as soon as possible, but I really want to enhance the importance of making a proper schedule for all parties involved and a straightforward description to specify materials, colors, moldings, dimensions and product choices as clearly as possible, before you start. Clarity and communication is a must, especially if you are going to hire craftsmen. Often changes are the cause of the budget being busted. Did you, for example, leave clear instructions on exactly what color you want the seams in the bathroom to be? Where should the lamp, electrical sockets and switches be located? Or do you want gloss in the wall paint? With a perfectly designed descriptions, where you room by room explain and specify all choices, you make it easier for both yourself and the craftsmen. You are forced to think through every detail well in advance and you also avoid having craftsmen calling you in the middle of your work meeting, demanding answers to questions such as how high the floor plinth in the living room should be, and then stand still and tick time and money while you make decisions ad hoc. '
Emelie's vision when she bought the apartment and then was about to start the renovation, was to create a bright and harmonious bedroom, but at the same time get that cozy hotel feeling. A classic trick inspired by hotels is to choose curtains in two layers, one more sheer closer to the window and one heavier closer to the room. This way you always get the textile feeling, and can also choose how much light you want to let in. To fit as much storage as possible, the wardrobes were built along the entire wall in the bedroom, with a niche where the bed could fit. The wardrobe doors are painted in the same color as the walls, which gives a solid and elegant feeling, that makes you think that they always have been there. Instead of bedside tables, Emelie chose to invest in a smaller ledges that are built into the wardrobe on both sides of the bed, a perfect space for the bedside essentials.
Christmas 2019 it was finally time to move into the apartment, almost exactly one year after they ftook their first step over the threshold. This Christmas Emelie has a new, and perhaps even more valuable project to focus on - a little baby that is expected to arrive in the spring!
