A Colorful 1940s Apartment with Original Elements
This colorful two-bedroom apartment lies on the top floor of a 1940s building in Stockholm with views of Lake Mälaren. The 50 square meter has an efficient floor plan with semi-open-plan living spaces and a large bedroom space that has been transformed into two cozy bedrooms.
Many period elements from the 1940s have been preserved. This time period is known for its efficient layouts and large windows, which can also be seen in this apartment. Other period features like a Dutch parquet floor, green marble window sills, an original kitchen with slanted cabinets, and limestone hall tiles have also been preserved.
You can see that there is an open layout between the living room and the entry hall. The smaller niche in the living room has been turned into a cozy seating area with a wooden DIY television cabinet with shelves.
On the other side of the room, double glass doors can be fully opened to extend the living area into the balcony. The space by the balcony doors is the perfect spot for a large dining table.
The room features the original Dutch parquet floor, and the walls are painted in Alcro’s blue “Blåstong” shade.
From the living room, you walk into the kitchen, which can be closed off with an original pine pocket door.
The kitchen is an extremely charming space and well-preserved with the checkerboard linoleum floor, slanted upper cabinets, and a pantry shelf.
The open space by the large window is the perfect spot for a cozy breakfast nook. The walls, painted in a subtle butter yellow shade, pair beautifully with the green cabinets.
A tiny wooden countertop with storage underneath, hidden with a green curtain, has been turned into a smart coffee corner.
The kitchen is designed in a typical 1940s style. A double row of upper cabinets makes the most of the high ceilings, and the slanted cabinets are often seen in kitchens from this time period. The green cupboards are paired with a stainless steel countertop.
The pantry shelf is a smart and charming addition to the kitchen, storing everything from pasta to sugar.
Originally, the apartment had one large bedroom but this room has been transformed into two rooms with a ribbed glass room divider.
One half is now a charming children’s room with a desk under the window and purple walls.
On the other side of the ribbed glass room divider, you find the master bedroom with shelves fitted into a niche and wardrobes along one wall, which are hidden from view by a patterned curtain (Josef Frank’s “Teheran” pattern).
The love for color continues in the bathroom, where simple white and gray tiles are paired with colorful textiles.
The hall features the original limestone floor from the 1940s,, and the walls are decorated with hand-printed wallpaper from the wallpaper factory on Långholmen, in a true-to-the-time design from the 1940s.
styling by Yngfalk and photography by Samsonov for Historiska Hem.