A Dark, Dramatic Swedish Home Aces Atmosphere
Name: Jenny Vennberg and family
Location: Edsbyn, Sweden
Size: 1,572 square feet
Years lived in: 4 years, owned
Welcome to Scandi Week—Apartment Therapy’s seven-day focus on all-things Scandinavia (often defined as the countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). Sometimes it seems like the whole world is obsessed with trying to copy this corner of the globe, from its timeless style aesthetic to its now-famous coziness rituals. For the next week, we’ll take a look at all of it—cleaning, pop culture, and of course tons of eye-popping design inspiration. Pull up a blanket and get hygge with us.
When I think of Scandinavian homes, it’s not just the aesthetics that I focus on… it’s the way they feel. Scandinavian and Nordic-inspired interiors are very good at very white, bright interiors, but they also do dark, moody spaces well, too. They’re the kind of spaces that evoke a particular mood. They show off the power of design over our physical selves. Jenny Vennberg‘s Sweden home is powerful like this. She shared some snapshot slices of the Swedish indoor and outdoor life she shares with her partner and young son, and I’ve embedded some Instagram posts from her popular feed. You can also find more photos of her home (inside and out) on her website.
Jenny writes: “What I love about my home is the location of it. We are near to water and to the woods. These are also the elements I want to bring into our home and I think, after four years, that I’ve finally succeeded in getting that feeling I’ve so long worked for.”
My Style: I really don’t know what my style is or what I can call it. It’s just a good mix of casual, bohemian, and Nordic style.
Inspiration: I get inspired a lot by nature. I like to keep it simple with natural colors. And of course every day I’m inspired by all the people I follow on Instagram.
What is your favorite room and why? My favorite room in the house is my son’s room. I think it has it all and it’s the room in the house I almost never want to get more things for, haha! I’m really happy how it has turned out but above all I love to play with my son in there.
If you could magically change something about your home, what would it be? I would want to have a real nice bathroom and spa in our basement. Our basement is currently full of stocked boxes and our big heating system for the house. So, I wish all that could disappear. But all of that is needed, so I think I will have to keep on dreaming.
Which fictional character would be most at home in your place?
Penny from “The Big Bang Theory” because it’s always messy in here too behind the camera… and we also like a glass of wine now and then!
Is there anything that embarrasses you about your home? Our two toilets! They are functional but they haven’t gotten any love in many years. We just painted over the walls with white bathroom paint, but my dream is to have a really nice bathroom and tub, like those I see on my Instagram!
Biggest Challenge: My biggest challenge was getting all the rooms in the house to feel the same way. I like to have a certain feeling in my home and today I think we’ve done that by painting all our wooden floors in the house white and also getting some of every color in every room.
Resources:
PAINT & COLORS
Gray color in my son’s room — Scotte NCS S 4000-N
Black color in kitchen — Scotte A 12 Black Deco
Green color in our bedroom — Nordsjö Ambiance Xtramatt L8.04.50
Green color on some of my furniture — Nordsjö Snickerifärg L8.04.50
ENTRY
Shoe cabinet from IKEA painted in color from Nordsjö, L8.04.50
LIVING ROOM/ DINING ROOM
Handmade table — Lilla möblemanget
KITCHEN
Shelves — IKEA
Prints — Nordic Fine Design
BEDROOM
Bed canopy — Nordic Fine Design
Bed from IKEA
Cabinet from IKEA painted in Nordsjö’s Snickerifärg L8.04.50
Baskets from Rusta
Wardrobe is done by me and my dad, color from Nordsjö Snickerifärg L8.04.50 and handles from second hand
KID’S ROOM
Decorations — Nordic Fine Design
Bed — Second hand