House Tour

Name: Benita, Martin & Wille
Location: Norra Ängby, Stockholm, Sweden
Square Footage: 882
Years Lived in: 10
Rent or own: Own
Describe your style: Clean ,white and comfortable

What's your favorite free/found item?

The aluminium bases for our dining room table. We found them in a dumpster outside a restaurant.

What's your favorite purchased item?
Our thrift shop armchairs. We bought them about 15 years ago, have made two sets of slipcovers since then, but they are still super comfortable. We also really like our Philippe Starck Toy plastic deck chairs. Bit of a splurge, but you have to once in a while.

What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
Not being able to rearrange the furniture. The house is so small that there's only one spot for the bed, one for the sofa, one for the dining room table etc.

Is your design style organic or planned?
Organic, definitely.

What is your favorite spot in the house?
The armchair closest to the lamp. I love sitting there in the evening with a cup of tea or a glass of wine on weekends, read magazines and watch TV at the same time.

How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
Still very white but I've grown to like colors I didn't before so much. It used to be more aquas and greens but I'm now experimenting more with orange and yellow and have had a little bit of fushia in the mix too.

What is your favorite resource or store?
I love Åhléns which is a Swedish department store. They have great home departments and a few of them have Muji. I love Muji.

What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
I have a problem with curtains touching the floor and paintings hung to high. I'm not keen on blown up wedding photos on walls either come to think of it.

What has been your favorite design trend?
White interiors, definitely. Dark rooms get me down.

What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?

I like reading american magazines like Martha Stewart Living. Real Simple and Blueprint (RIP). They show clutter free interiors in contemporary ways and in fresh colors. I also really like the Pottery Barn catalogs I have to admit... Good storage solutions, great colors...

What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?

Money. I'd love to get some designer dining room chairs (Eames would be nice) but can't really afford them so I use what I have or thrift what I need and revamp.

What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
Keeping a uniform wall color and ceiling color throughout most of the house. It makes the small rooms flow into each other and make the space feel larger.

Benita is a blogger extraordinaire, check out her blog at Chez Larsson and her Etsy shop!