Houzz Tour: Colorful Style on the Sunny Side of Stockholm
André Schievink fills the concrete shell of a luxurious new house with glamour, humor and soul
When a real estate agency contacted André Schievink of design firm Amsterdam Living about styling a big, unusual house in exclusive Solsidan, Sweden, he didn’t hesitate for a second — even though two other decorators had already refused the job. “They asked me if I would accept a challenge, and I realized that all it would take is adapting my way of thinking to the style of the house. I told them I would and started to make big plans.”
The interior, with its bare concrete walls and open floor plan, wasn’t the easiest to decorate, but Schievink has never let that kind of challenge get in the way.
He took on his first decorating project at age 12. “My parents went away for the weekend, and I decided to lighten up the bathroom floor,” he says. “I thought it would match the terra-cotta tiles much better, so I painted it white. Unfortunately I used the wrong type of paint, so my dad got a lot of smudged white paint on his feet when he took a shower.”
Schievink’s career spans several continents and a variety of contexts. “I have styled and decorated private homes and restaurants and designed photo sessions, hotels, offices and even the Globe Arena in Stockholm.” Yet his first job was as an art director for a magazine in the Netherlands, which then led him to South Africa. “I started by decorating vacation homes for expats in Cape Town. That period helped me develop professionally, since I embraced the African love of colors and dark woods.”
When it comes to large surfaces, as in this house, Schievink thinks intense colors are important. He decided to use a bright orange, then found a huge rug that complemented the room’s dimensions and topped it off with a comfortable couch.
Carpet and tables: Posh Living; sofa and pillows: Amsterdam Living; antique armchairs: Bukowskis
He took on his first decorating project at age 12. “My parents went away for the weekend, and I decided to lighten up the bathroom floor,” he says. “I thought it would match the terra-cotta tiles much better, so I painted it white. Unfortunately I used the wrong type of paint, so my dad got a lot of smudged white paint on his feet when he took a shower.”
Schievink’s career spans several continents and a variety of contexts. “I have styled and decorated private homes and restaurants and designed photo sessions, hotels, offices and even the Globe Arena in Stockholm.” Yet his first job was as an art director for a magazine in the Netherlands, which then led him to South Africa. “I started by decorating vacation homes for expats in Cape Town. That period helped me develop professionally, since I embraced the African love of colors and dark woods.”
When it comes to large surfaces, as in this house, Schievink thinks intense colors are important. He decided to use a bright orange, then found a huge rug that complemented the room’s dimensions and topped it off with a comfortable couch.
Carpet and tables: Posh Living; sofa and pillows: Amsterdam Living; antique armchairs: Bukowskis
To warm up such a big space with its rough, concrete texture, Schievink used soft textiles in reds and oranges. “It is good to match concrete flooring with luxurious materials such as velvet or silk, which distinctly contrast with the cold floor,” he says. “Then add a lot of cushions, as well as hides from reindeer and other animals.”
Schievink used proven techniques to divide the large, open room. “The easiest one is what we see here: using carpets. They create different islands in the room and one immediately feels that this section is the living room. I adore using room dividers and folding screens. They are trendy at the moment, and you can find them at any auction. For the kitchen area, I used the long table as a marker and placed it in the same direction as the work areas.”
Round steel art piece: Dis Inredning Stockholm
Schievink used proven techniques to divide the large, open room. “The easiest one is what we see here: using carpets. They create different islands in the room and one immediately feels that this section is the living room. I adore using room dividers and folding screens. They are trendy at the moment, and you can find them at any auction. For the kitchen area, I used the long table as a marker and placed it in the same direction as the work areas.”
Round steel art piece: Dis Inredning Stockholm
Schievink took the project on when the building was empty and set to be sold. “I started by deciding on the main color and then I followed with the furniture and the decorations,” he says. “Orange was the obvious choice of color, because the house itself was built in gray concrete, wood and rusty iron. The brown nuances of the iron encouraged [me] to go for an orange carpet, yellow bedding and rough iron chairs in the kitchen.”
Schievink always looks for furniture in Sweden first, and Posh Living is a favorite because of its wide range of products. However, if he needs something more eccentric or exclusive, he turns to Amsterdam. “Edward van Vliet, Moooi, Pols Potten and Eichholtz are the go-to stores and designers,” he says. “Most of the time, I find something that no one has in Sweden. This makes me an interior designer with a personal, unique style that my customers recognize.”
Tolix chairs around the dining table: Posh Living
Schievink always looks for furniture in Sweden first, and Posh Living is a favorite because of its wide range of products. However, if he needs something more eccentric or exclusive, he turns to Amsterdam. “Edward van Vliet, Moooi, Pols Potten and Eichholtz are the go-to stores and designers,” he says. “Most of the time, I find something that no one has in Sweden. This makes me an interior designer with a personal, unique style that my customers recognize.”
Tolix chairs around the dining table: Posh Living
Was the choice of orange in any way affected by his nationality? “Well, as you know, orange is the Dutch national color, named after the royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau,” Schievink says. “But the use of striking colors has been common among Dutch designers for more than 10 years. Just check out a designer like Edward van Vliet and you can spot the Dutch heritage in my design.”
Dining tables: Ikea
Dining tables: Ikea
When Schievink established his design business in Stockholm, one of the biggest challenges was getting the Swedes to adopt his color choices. “My first customer at Amsterdam Living was really brave. I convinced her to go for a totally black dining room with orange curtains, as well as colorful carpets and sofas. It was not entirely easy, since the Swedes have a lot of difficulty accepting intense or dark colors on the walls and the floor.”
The struggle for a more colorful Sweden continues, Schievink says. “Swedish homes are perfect for painting. Since it is dark in winter and very bright in summer, you should use colors. White homes in the winter seem so cold and gray, and the colors become so much more beautiful in the summer thanks to the sun.” The person who ended up buying the house in Solsidan, however, wasn’t put off by the intense interiors — quite the contrary.
Bedding: Posh Living
The struggle for a more colorful Sweden continues, Schievink says. “Swedish homes are perfect for painting. Since it is dark in winter and very bright in summer, you should use colors. White homes in the winter seem so cold and gray, and the colors become so much more beautiful in the summer thanks to the sun.” The person who ended up buying the house in Solsidan, however, wasn’t put off by the intense interiors — quite the contrary.
Bedding: Posh Living
Terrace, accessible from the bedroom
In the bathrooms, where materials such as concrete and tadelakt (a waterproof plaster that’s permeable to air) were used, it was important to install lighting that would both flatter the user and expose the beautiful shades of the materials. Here, Schievink’s favorite color brightens the gray concrete and gives the bathroom a cheerful feel — yet another benefit of bright colors.
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Location: Solsidan (“Sunny Side”), 7.5 miles south of Stockholm
Size: 3,230 square feet (300 square meters); three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: André Schievink of Amsterdam Living
Solsidan is one of Greater Stockholm’s most coveted residential areas — a popular Swedish TV series of the same name is even set in the neighborhood — and there are quite a few old wooden houses. This nontraditional waterfront house sits in a marvelous position on the cliffs. It was designed by the former owner, who also built a log-heated sauna on the water.