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A Swedish Home Blends Into Its Coastal Landscape
This summer house balances openness and privacy with its staggered layout and huge windows
Swedish architects Sofia Kanje and Anna Lundahl became friends when working together a few years ago and wanted to collaborate on a smaller project ever since. They got the perfect opportunity to create a dream home from scratch when Kanje’s uncle Sven Westman, owner of a construction company, and his partner, Åsa Jacobsson, department head of management at an architecture, construction and urban-planning firm, decided to build a summer home by the sea about 70 miles northeast of Stockholm.
The house is near Grisslehamn’s town center, away from the bustle of ferries and fishing boats. “You get here through country filled with pine trees, blueberry patches and heather,” Kanje says. “It is a little tricky to build in more remote places.… But, in the end, transporting the building materials over the gravel roads wasn’t a problem.”
Westman and Jacobsson had a basic idea of what features they wanted in order to accommodate their lifestyle, and therefore what the house should look like. “We sketched a few ideas to get it together. In the beginning, it was supposed to be an L-shaped house,” Kanje says.
The architects usually start from the client’s ideas and then sketch out a detailed plan over and over until it’s ready. This time, though, something just didn’t feel right. It bothered them both, so they kept rethinking it until they came up with the idea of a house made up of three separate “bodies.”
Westman and Jacobsson had a basic idea of what features they wanted in order to accommodate their lifestyle, and therefore what the house should look like. “We sketched a few ideas to get it together. In the beginning, it was supposed to be an L-shaped house,” Kanje says.
The architects usually start from the client’s ideas and then sketch out a detailed plan over and over until it’s ready. This time, though, something just didn’t feel right. It bothered them both, so they kept rethinking it until they came up with the idea of a house made up of three separate “bodies.”
They then replaced the L-shaped floor plan with a house made up of three offset parts: one for the bedroom, one for the living room and one for the kitchen and dining room.
“We wanted it to have an open public section and a private section, divided in the middle, with a clear diagonal through the house,” Kanje says.
Jetson chair (foreground): Bruno Mathsson
“We wanted it to have an open public section and a private section, divided in the middle, with a clear diagonal through the house,” Kanje says.
Jetson chair (foreground): Bruno Mathsson
Designing the house as separate parts meant that the architects could vary the ceiling heights in the three sections. These range from just over 7 feet (2.2 meters) in the bedroom to almost 10 feet (3 meters) in the dining room. The offset layout also makes it easier to find private areas within the house.
Heating in the floor circulates warm air. This is needed only in the front of the house since the back, with its narrow horizontal windows, is much warmer.
Westman and Jacobsson mostly use the house in the summer, but it is winter-ready thanks to its insulation and a lovely stove, which is sometimes used on cool summer evenings as well. Kanje says the couple are often here on weekends and even celebrated Christmas in the house in the past.
Westman and Jacobsson mostly use the house in the summer, but it is winter-ready thanks to its insulation and a lovely stove, which is sometimes used on cool summer evenings as well. Kanje says the couple are often here on weekends and even celebrated Christmas in the house in the past.
The rooms are flooded with light. The architects and their clients deliberately chose simple materials and invested in a wood floor. The dining table is from Naver Collection, and the floor is adorned with a 1950s kilim rug from what was then Yugoslavia.
Although the windows in the front look as though they’re all the same size, their heights vary along with the ceiling heights. They are framed in aluminum on the exterior and wood on the interior.
The house is built of rough-sawn Swedish lumber. “We wanted to keep it rough-sawn so it would just melt into the surroundings,” Kanje says. “Overall it gives a bit of a rough feel, even though it has a clear shape.”
The offsets also divide the outdoor space into what are almost outdoor “rooms.”
The roof is made of steel. Its natural patina had a red tinge, but it was painted gray to blend in better with the natural surroundings. “The roof juts out so that it protects the windows from the weather — the rain can’t reach them,” Lundahl says.
The offsets also divide the outdoor space into what are almost outdoor “rooms.”
The roof is made of steel. Its natural patina had a red tinge, but it was painted gray to blend in better with the natural surroundings. “The roof juts out so that it protects the windows from the weather — the rain can’t reach them,” Lundahl says.
“The house should appear as though it just snuck into the surrounding environment,” Lundahl says. “The front reflects the ocean, and with pines all around and the wooden facade, it seems to simply melt into the surroundings. What happens in the house can’t really be seen.”
Pillars support the roof on the sides. “Semiopen spaces, like corridors, are created by the wooden pillars,” Kanje says. The surface could’ve been used for storage, but the owners wanted to keep it as it is. “Aesthetics have a psychological function that is often forgotten,” she says. The corridor has a certain bearing — it leads you out to the sea.
Kanje and Lundahl thought it was very cool to work with clients who are so knowledgeable about construction. “My uncle began working with water and road-building projects, and Åsa is department head of management at Projektengagemang and has a degree in civil engineering. It was really rewarding to have customers with that level of knowledge and ambition,” Kanje says.
Kanje and Lundahl thought it was very cool to work with clients who are so knowledgeable about construction. “My uncle began working with water and road-building projects, and Åsa is department head of management at Projektengagemang and has a degree in civil engineering. It was really rewarding to have customers with that level of knowledge and ambition,” Kanje says.
It also meant that Westman was able to build the house himself, making it much more affordable.
“For this type of project, you often have a very tight budget you have to stick to. The ideas always have to meet the customer’s budget. This would be a sensible house for a reasonable amount of money, but it is also a challenge that is demanding and makes it fun to work this way,” Kanje says.
Outdoor furniture: Gloster
“For this type of project, you often have a very tight budget you have to stick to. The ideas always have to meet the customer’s budget. This would be a sensible house for a reasonable amount of money, but it is also a challenge that is demanding and makes it fun to work this way,” Kanje says.
Outdoor furniture: Gloster
“The breakthrough moment, when we figured out what it would look like, was just the best.… The house ended up being so wonderful,” says Kanje, pictured.
The architects would like to take on more projects like this in the future. To make this happen, Kanje has reduced her hours at her current firm by 10 percent.
The summer house was important for the careers of both women. “Both of us have worked our way up and are now certified architects, I at Nyréns, where I’m also project manager, and Anna at Aros Bostad. So now we have a lot of customer contact and responsibility, but that was not necessarily the case when we designed this building,” Kanje says.
The architects would like to take on more projects like this in the future. To make this happen, Kanje has reduced her hours at her current firm by 10 percent.
The summer house was important for the careers of both women. “Both of us have worked our way up and are now certified architects, I at Nyréns, where I’m also project manager, and Anna at Aros Bostad. So now we have a lot of customer contact and responsibility, but that was not necessarily the case when we designed this building,” Kanje says.
The owners aren’t the only ones who are happy with the result — Lundahl, pictured, and Kanje are remarkably proud of this beautiful project. “I think the house will become even more striking over the years, as it settles into nature,” Kanje says.
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More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Sven Westman and Åsa Jacobsson, who use it mostly as a summer house
Location: Grisslehamn, Sweden
Size: 1,076 square feet (100 square meters)
Architects: Sofia Kanje and Anna Lundahl
Kanje and Lundahl started drafting a plan for the house in 2012. “Åsa has spent the last 40 years at Rådmansö, Roslagen [a peninsula within Stockholm’s archipelago], and comes from the east coast city of Gävle, so areas that have the same typical Roslag landscape: rocks, tall pines and forest, like in Grisslehamn,” Kanje says.
“It was Åsa who found the plot of land, and she felt at home right away. My uncle grew up on the west coast and wanted to live by the sea, and Grisslehamn is as close as he could get to his wish. I think he has wanted to live in a location like this for a very long time. He sails an awful lot.”
Kanje and Westman have collaborated on projects as well, with Kanje drawing up the plans and her uncle’s company carrying out the construction.