Advertisement

In pictures: How this old Swedish flour mill was revived

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
In pictures: How this old Swedish flour mill was revived
This old flour mill in Blikstorp has been revived by its owners. Photo: Adddesign.se

Take a tour of this incredible renovated Swedish flour mill with Houzz.se’s Amanda Strömberg.

Advertisement

This mill has been in Joakim's family for four generations, but no one ever lived in it. Joakim and his partner Tove saw the potential, and decided to take over.

The couple had been together for five years when they first opened the door to the then rather worn mill. Inside, they were met by a lot of debris under a layer of flour, which had been there since the 1970s, when the mill was last used.

The plan was just to have a quick look at some furniture that had been left in the building, but when the pair arrived on the second floor, that all changed.

"I saw all the beautiful windows overlooking the pond and asked Joakim 'don’t you see what this could be?'" says Tove.

Who lives here: Tove Sventoft, husband Joakim and their two twin daughters.

Location: The small village of Blikstorp, Hjo municipality.

Size: Approximately 300 square metres, divided over three floors plus basement.

 
"The building was basically just a shell – it had no electricity, heat and drain. But even though there was not much to start off with, I had a very clear picture, from the early beginning, of how I wanted the house to look when it was finished," says Tove.

She made all the decisions on the interior, and Joakim took responsibility for everything regarding the reconstruction, but they collaborated throughout the project.

"It was really good to have divided responsibilities as it made us work more as a team and avoided a lot of unnecessary bickering."

Kvarnen
 

The renovation took two and a half years, including planning. Construction work alone took one year and four months.

The couple (who were both only 23 when they started) did most themselves, but also got help from their craft-skilled family: 2500 hours of work were put in by only Tove and Joakim, while Joakim's brother offered around 700 hours.

"It was important to me that the house itself decided what style we would create internally," says Tove.

"And with that as a starting point, we chose to use a lot of natural fabrics and muted colours in the interior. That in turn helped to preserve the feel of the old mill, while providing a modern and functional home."

Kvarnen

Having space to socialize was another important point for the couple, who love to invite friends and family over for dinner.

"Our favourite piece of furniture is this sofa from Ire. It's a very social piece of furniture with space for everyone. At the same time it is so beautiful that it becomes like a piece of jewellery in the room."

Kvarnen

Tove and Joakim put a lot of effort into creating a sustainable home, and chose material locally, including from the Ires factory, which is located 30 kilometres from them. They also designed and manufactured some of the furniture themselves.

"We created the kitchen – by that I mean the cabinets and countertop – ourselves on a frame from Marbodal. Additionally, we built the dining table ourselves, out of birch wood and trestles that we bought."

Kvarnen
 
Kvarnen
 
Kvarnen

On the third floor is a large open bedroom, where both the parents and children sleep.

"The girls' bed was also designed and built by us. Because we have so few rooms, and mainly open spaces, we tried to make the bed their own little oasis."

Kvarnen

Now that the renovation is more or less complete, it's just the basement that needs a little more love.

Kvarnen

"We very rarely renovate our home, or buy new furniture and furnishings. That’s to do with us investing in good materials and furniture that will last, right from the beginning.”

Kvarnen
 
Kvarnen
Photo: Adddesign.se

The mill had been in Joakim's family for four generations when the couple took over and began the great transformation. Now, the family has lived in the enchanting building for four years. During that time they successfully created a home that fits them like a glove, without losing the history that also lives between the walls.

 
Come see more Nordic lifestyle, design and architecture over at houzz.dk and houzz.se.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also