Explore this historic villa in Malmö where distressed meets decadent

published 2 March 2021

THE PROPERTY

A renovated and extended modern home (opens in new tab) in a 1908 villa in Malmö, Sweden, comprising a hallway, library, office, living room, dining room (opens in new tab), kitchen (opens in new tab)and cloakroom (opens in new tab) on the ground floor with the master bedroom suite, children’s bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. There’s also a guest bedroom in the loft.

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LIVING ROOM

Located in a picturesque part of the city, the villa – built in 1908 for the chief of the local fire brigade – was dubbed ‘the haunted house’ by the neighbourhood kids and it was easy to see why. Subsidence was a major issue and the exterior was suffering from neglect and decay. But the wreck also offered an abundance of space as well as the chance to expand.

In the living room (picture above, and below), aclassic Swedish fireplace takes centre stage.

There's a deliberately uncluttered feel to the space, allowing the original architectural features to speak for themselves.

The patinated workbench (pictured above) was rescued from the back of an antiques shop in Rome.

The built-in bookcase was installed once the structural work on the house was complete.

KITCHEN

A canny mix of Scandinavian chic and Latin good looks is evident throughout this renovated home. Much of the furniture was shipped over from Rome and fits effortlessly into the reworked rooms, now made structurally sound. But it’s the way that it’s been used that adds a modern edge to what might have been a traditional design. The vast glazed dresser in the kitchen (opens in new tab), for example, was originally a shop fitting in a jewellery store. Broken down into pieces for transit, it was reassembled here and trimmed to fit the space.

The rest of the kitchen (opens in new tab) was designed to match the display unit, with cabinets painted in a similar deep mahogany shade.

An inspired mix of elaborate antiques, industrial-style fittings and distressed-leather seating is perfectly showcased here.

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DINING ROOM

In the adjoining dining room, two benches – reclaimed from the waiting room of an Italian railway station – sit comfortably alongside a rustic-style dining table, adding an element of rough-luxe allure to the monochrome setting.

The studded leather chair is an antique piece brought back from Rome. It adds an elementof textural contrast to the glossy table andpure white walls.

See Also: Laid-back Luxe Dining Room Ideas (opens in new tab)

UPSTAIRS HALLWAY

Removing the plasterboard ceiling to reveal the support beams and apex above creates a bright, attractive space, more akin to an art gallery than a little-used thoroughfare.

MASTER BEDROOM

Soft linen bedding has a casual, lived-in feel that’s well suited to the relaxed atmosphere in this private retreat.

MASTER ENSUITE

Bare-brick walls lead into the bathroom, where a copper-lined bath and basins inject a dash of rough-luxe style alongside the vintage furniture and upcycled vanity unit.

Within the bathing space itself, the lime-covered walls are treated with bee wax, which makes them both eco-friendly and water repellent.

There's a purposeful ‘distressed-meets-decadent’ look throughout in the villa, by way of exposed brick surfaces and unclad pipework, and the copper towel rail in the bathroom.

Check out more of this home on malin.elledecoration.se

Photography ⁄ Petra Bindel/House of Pictures

Styling: Malin Persson/House of Pictures

Shining a spotlight on the now and the next in home design and decor, Livingetc is the UK's best selling high end and contemporary home design magazine. As a brand, Livingetc showcases the world's very best homes, breaks and makes the trends, and has access to leading international designers for insight and ideas. It was first published in 1998, and is currently edited by Pip Rich.