Time and money will be spend on my home now and then.
My Personal Spare Time Interests and Activities. My hobbies are paid by me and no-one else.
My home and interior design
I lived in a large block of apartments at a city square as a child and I loved it, my parents didn't. My goal was always to get back to an inner-city area with a square and a park with my own money and a loan from the bank.
I'm the owner of my condo apartment and co-owner of the building in the inner-city district of Vasastan in Stockholm, Sweden. It's not huge but it's mine and it's where I want to live with a square and a park near by. I bought it in a bidding war with leaking pipes above market price and I rebuilt it with planning permission from the board and the city planning board. I saw an opportunity in an unlivable apartment. I could do what ever I wanted since everything had to be replaced when it comes to plumbing, I just needed all the permits and I would get a new layout that suited me, old buildings have awful layouts. CPB liked my new apartment layout, they thought it was much better than the existing one. I don't own any other properties anywhere. A long-term investment and the price doesn't matter, but you have to be able to afford it. In a short-term investment, it's important to go for low prices. I have made larger interior design jobs on my apartment several years later and I will continue to do so as long as I live here.
I shop everything myself for my condo apartment home in Stockholm.
- Non-exclusive non-designer brands for a minimalistic home.
- Interior design fabrics.
- Everything I need for my home I buy in Sweden.
I have specific standards and I shop everything for myself, I choose to stay true to my values and standards. I turn down all gifts, there is no reason to say 'Thank you' for gifts you do not appreciate.
I hire professional services needed for construction jobs in my apartment. I do smaller interior designs myself on my apartment.
Real estate, architecture and interior design have never been my professions but have always been my spare time interests.
Anyone can feel free to have any opinion about my apartment and its interiors. It's my apartment and it fulfills my requirements incl. all legal ones and no-one else's.
I will not entertain anyone in my home or host any overnight visitors. If you don't entertain people in your home, you can live in a smaller apartment. To get the right size apartment, you need to know how you want to live your life. Overnight visitors can be squeezed into any space and it's the entertainment issue that determines how you will live. A home is a home and not a restaurant or a hotel for friends and relatives. When I've traveled, I've never stayed or eaten at any of my relatives' homes, I have stayed in hotels and eaten in restaurants and paid for my transportation.
In larger cities, space is limited and costs per square foot are high. How much are you willing to pay for free restaurant and free hotel space for friends and relatives? In many places, a small spare bedroom costs over 1 million SEK, add a dining area and you are easily over 3 million SEK on top of what you actually need. I expect everyone to pay at restaurants and check into a hotel, I don't consider it to be a sound investment to spend over SEK 3 million on friends and relatives, it's only a good investment if you never will need the money for anything. I'm not interested in cleaning any space I have no use for myself, cooking for someone else or taking care of someone else's dishes. If you are interested in living large and benefiting friends and relatives without having a fortune, move to the countryside.
I will not get a second home or settle down in any other country.
Painting
I shop paint, tools and everything else needed for paintings and for my interior design projects in my apartment.
Services hired
I hire delivery services of heavy and large objects to my apartment.
I hire disposal services of heavy and large objects from my apartment.
I hire craftsman professionals who are familiar with Swedish building standards for services needed in my apartment. These jobs are allowed for tax deductions to some extent, if you have taxable income. You don't get a tax deduction if you employ your family or relatives for the job.
I hire professional craftsman services who are familiar with Swedish building standards for all bathroom, plumbing, pipe, demolition and electricity jobs.
When I hire tax-deductible craftsman services, I decide which company and which contractor will receive a share of my taxes. There is a maximum limit for tax deductions. You will benefit someone else's business, not your own or some relatives or someone's ass-kissing family business. You decide who to hire, not your family or relatives or any church. You contribute to the integration or decide not to. Integration is a responsibility for everyone who lives in Sweden and it includes adapting to Swedish regulations, customs and how we do business. No one other than the owners will pay for work in their apartment. You are not obliged to hire services for everything, the tax deductions are not that high. If you are interested in DIY, you can combine tax deductions and DIY as it suits you. You have to set up a short-term contract for the job with a Swedish service company, you determine the terms and what will be done. The board of the building may have some input and requirements that have to be met.
It's possible to maximize the tax deduction for a major rebuild. You split the work tasks over several years, where you maximize the tax deduction each year. Only you can determine what's most important, huge tax deductions or a finished apartment/home. My apartment is too small, but if you have a large apartment, it is possible not to do everything at once.
I appreciate that I can decide how a tiny part of my taxes is used. I'm interested in construction services but not in cleaning services in my apartment. Those who use tax-deductible cleaning services in their homes can receive maximum annual tax deductions. I stepped into cleaning robots in year 2000 and I will stick to my own robot services, which are not tax deductible.
Labor services are tax deductible, interiors and shopping aren't.
Work on apartment is allowed to start at 07.00 am, no matter of sound level.
DIY
I grew up negotiating architectural changes, hiring different construction services, DIY and making decisions in building and interiors.
I myself will be in charge of everything when it comes to esthetics and interior design.
I do all simpler DIY jobs in my apartment and interiors. You don't get a tax deduction for DIY or for shopping interiors.
It's my esthetics, my apartment and how everything should look result in many changes on the go. Details are not always available in the shops and nothing can be bought at the same store, it's better to do all of it myself and determine to leave it as it is and wait or go for something else. It's time consuming with a lot of shopping and it can be nerve wracking for some. I do all the final touches myself and take my time if needed. The end result is often better if you take the time to test things before finalizing them. There may be a lot of changes, but you will end up with a better solution.
- You can hire an interior designer for the job and choose a design that is executed and you will end up with something 'Good Enough', you may end up with things you don't need or use. Your aesthetic is not important, something else is.
- You can take your time and do the interior design yourself with all the small details and your needs in focus, a time-consuming activity that can result in many changes, but you will remain true to your aesthetic. Your aesthetics matter and you are prepared to pay with time and money.
I shop tools and everything else needed for the job.
DIY and interiors are not tax deductible and the politicians decide who benefits from my taxes.
Invest in my home
Retirement or old age will not be an excuse to not invest in my home.
If there is a need for renovation - I will renovate.
If I'm in need a new piece of furniture - I buy one.
Neighbors have no responsibility for other residents or businesses in the building.
Renovation and home interior products for smaller spaces can be more expensive than for larger spaces because standard solutions and standard products often cannot be used. Not all stores sell products for smaller spaces. If you are interested in plenty of more affordable options move into larger homes.
I have lived smaller and larger, small isn't a problem, you just have to have an interest for non-standard solutions.
I never liked my first condo apartment, it had a perfect layout with several rooms, but it was too big - a single person is in one room and the other rooms are empty. I didn't like the apartment or the town, it wasn't in the city center or in Stockholm, I had spent my weekend in Stockholm whenever possible for a couple of years and considered different options all over the planet until a new Uni program popped up and I sold it and moved out. It was a really good apartment, but not for me, it's for someone else, a perfectly good Swedish home isn't my thing - I need Danish and international vibes.
Changing the layout of an apartment is more expensive than redoing existing kitchen and bathroom, but you will get a space that is you and you should redo a layout where you want to stay. I have always liked the old large Nordic farmhouses with huge integrated kitchens and living rooms with high ceilings - the larger the better. Open plan isn't a new invention, it dates back to the Vikings, and it has been a solution in all large farmhouses ever since. I like the feeling of huge space in the big old farmhouses, but I don't want to live in one. The sense of a large space can be achieved even in a small apartment, it's just about proportions and they're easier to take care of. I will never be impressed by large parade/representation apartments.
Knowing what you want from your home requires experience of living in different types and sizes of homes. You also have to be true to yourself and examine what you want and what everyone else around you wants or you will end up in a wrong type of home. You also need to be open to selling your home to find something that suits you better. This goes for everyone even architects.
I'm not surpriced that people split up when building their home. If they have different expectations, needs and experiences it will show and become a problem. Splitting up in a build isn't a problem, you just have to deal with it and the build. Building a home together before you get married can be a good thing. They face the same problem as people on the career ladder, if you want high up on the ladder choose a partner who's comfortable with high ladders and heights. Most people on the ladder are involved in some kind of building projects now and then, no matter if they are men or women. High level management positions are insecure jobs, and you have to accept to leave if required and to sell your home during unemployment if you cannot support yourself, if you have family the terms have to be accepted by all family members and higher up the terms will affect your friends and everyone you know. The higher you get the more people will fall out from your life due to height, a fact you have to accept - in return you can create any home you like. In many companies the management positions have a high turnover - you either step up or out.
People invest differently in their homes:
- Rebuild it as affordable as possible and as neutral as possible in case it has to be sold. I get pissed off when I find this in new builds.
- Rebuild it to suit your aesthetics and functionality requirements and needs, if sold the next owner can do whatever they want to adapt it to their needs. This is what I do and have always done - I want to live in my home and not someone else's.
- Rebuild it to suit a specific type of customer to get the highest possible price when selling.
Which is the best strategy for you and from an investment perspective is up to you. All of them attracts buyers.
Renovations in condo apartments may be limited by shared service equipment that provides services to several apartments. Detached houses are also limited in what they can do in terms of municipal services and service delivery. If you want to be completely free to build anything, your way - go off-grid if allowed.
Older buildings and smaller apartments come with challenges
Nothing is flat or straight in older buildings.
There are things that you can't demolish in older buildings, you have to incorporate them into your interior design no matter how much you hate them.
In older buildings, walls have holes and you can end up in your neighbor's apartment. Walls also hide pipes and electrical wiring.
A 'Park Avenue' ventilation solution in older buildings and you have to work with it and design everything around it.
There are steel structures in the floor and ceiling, you have to go over or under them if you have to, and you or your neighbor will lose ceiling height.
Standard solutions or standard items doesn't work in smaller apartments, they either have to be redesigned or custom made. These are the major problems when it comes to shopping.
You must be a flexible problem solver and have the nerve to wait if necessary. You better request the same from those who you hire.
If you own an apartment, it's you who have to pay for all its renovations with or without tax deductions.
If you are an owner of an apartment in a condo building you are also a co-owner of the building and you have to pay for everything that needs to be fixed or renovated in the building together with all services, loans and insurances. Problems to pay for such as: roofs, basements, communal spaces, entrance halls, elevators, sauna, laundry rooms, garbage room, water, electricity, Internet, CC-tv, entrance systems, windows, exteriors, heating, ventilation and older buildings never lack things to be fixed. Services to pay for such as: waste, cleaning, gardening, maintenance, financial, emergency, legal services etc... The expences are usually covered by annual deposits from the owners. There is an annual plan for major renovations and emergency fixes are common. It's better to keep up on an annual basis than to leave it all until everything collapses, which may be the same as bankruptcy. Everyone pays for the supply of water, electricity, heat, plumbing, internet, windows and updates of them to the apartments, but each apartment decides for itself what to connect to those supplies together with their choice of interior design and they pay for all their own choices. Each apartment can be different with different standards. I'm not interested in joint standard renovation projects to keep down the renovation costs for the apartments, nor should the board of the condominium association be involved in apartment projects their responsibility is the building and its maintenance. I renovate when I need to and when there are products available based on my aesthetics and quality requirements on the market - otherwise I wait. I'm not interested in any standard packages at any price on the market, those interested in it have a different investment perspective.
The building is more expensive to maintain than any of the apartments, and all apartments have to pay for everything in the building and everything they decide to fix in their own apartment. An owner usually have a loan and an insurance on their apartment and they also pay for the loans and insurances on the building. It's very much similar to owning a villa but on a very much larger scale and together with other people.
There are people who would never move into an older building. The thing is even new buildings get old over time, and nothing lasts forever.
There are people who would never live together with other people in an apartment building. The thing is that space is becoming limited in big cities and privacy requirements are best met in areas outside major cities.
Life expectancy:
- 50 years for plumbing and electricity. Neglecting to update these can cause serious damage to the building. Updating these are often financed by new loans on the building.
- 20 years for bathroom. Neglecting to update these can cause serious damage to the building and your neighbors near your apartments.
- 10-20 years for kitchen depending on what and how often you cook and bake. A kitchen should not be a boast object but a functional and functioning unit that can handle and survive your style of cooking and baking.
- 10 years for kitchen appliances as freezer, oven, dishwasher, cooker etc.
- ? years for interiors, it all depends on how much imperfections you accept.
- Roof, exteriors, entrances, elevators, sauna, laundry room, garbage room, windows, ventilation etc. all have to be updated and replaced by time.
If you are the owner of an apartment, you must renovate the bathroom, kitchen, white goods, electricity in your apartment, and be involved financially in updating the plumbing, electricity and and eveything else required to be updated in the building. How you finance your own apartment renovations is up to you.
When I decide to renovate I test ideas before deciding on what to buy or what to do - it will be renovated so I can go all in and test what ever I want before hiring help with the actual renovation. I make the bad choices during test and hopefully the better ones based on failed tests - it gives me an opportunity to make better decisions, identify idiots and make life hard for some. I believe in improving things and not in old standards, standards are good but they need to evolve.
When I bought my current apartment at above market price, unlivable with leaking plumbing, I rebuilt it with a new floor plan, new electricity, new plumbing, new bathroom and new kitchen before I moved in. I didn't get a ready to move into the apartment, but I got one that I could make completely my own. I had someone to design the kitchen and it fell apart after 10 years and it didn't meet my actual needs. I'm now on my second kitchen and bathroom. The kitchen and bathroom are both better than before, the third ones will be kind of a pain in the ass for some and I will be a bitch - I know the pros and cons with my apartment better than anyone.
Inner-city districts in Stockholm
There are four major inner-city districts: East, South, West and North. They are divided into smaller districts.
I live in the North inner-city district in the district of Vasastan and I live where I want to live in my own apartment.
West is located on the other side of the canal. East is down the hill, and South is across the islands. Sunny side inner-city sea view apartments are located in the West, the East and on a few small islands. The not so sunny inner-city sea view apartments are located in the South. There are sunny apartments with sea views in the far South, towards the suburbia. The largest number of sea view apartments are found in suburbia.
I lived in the East inner-city district as a student at Uni in rented students accomondation.
I have lived in a suburban district south of the South inner-city district in my own apartment. It was an area with older buildings with history and I lived right on the square next to the subway station.
I have lived in a villa, in rented apartments and in my own apartments before I moved to Stockholm. I will never again live in a villa or in a rented apartment.
I can't imagine living in a rented apartment. I will be staying in hotels on all my work trips and on all my private trips, nothing else is negotiable.
I can't imagine living in the South inner-city district or on any of the inner-city islands - that's not me in any way.
I can't imagine living in the Old Town it's too old and too quirky, even if my friend thought I would end up there. I was stunned, we had never discussed where I would like to live and I had neever even considered it. I'm not interested in buildings older than those build in the beginning of the 1900's. Maybe she would have wanted to end up there, I don't know – we have always had different preferences. Really old buildings require a fat wallet, and your freedom and independence will be restricted - it's not an option that suits me in any way.
Stockholm suburbs offer a lot of different options. Where to live and what's right for you is based on what's important to you.
Flowers and plants
I shop smaller sized green indoor plants, pots, vases, artistic flower sticks and smaller tools for indoor plants. I also have made my own creative flower sticks.
I have my own set of busy person green plants, florals, cacti and succulents. They do not need daily care and if required they can survive for a few weeks without attention. Replanting happens when I have weeks that I can devote time to my plants. Newly planted plants need more frequent supervision.
Plants and pots have come and gone over the years. They have been replanted and rearranged with new friends.
Florals in pots have never been in my home. Flowers are bought and arranged in vases with greenery.
Being a water person, water demanding green plants that can survive flooding and drought thrive wherever I live.
It took many years before I decided to give the dry ones in pots a chance and I almost threw them out for good before we were on the same page. They have to be watered the right way with a limited amount of water and their water requirements vary with season. They hate indoor heating, and they love light and sun. Today they coexist with the water plants.
China, glassware and pottery
Non-exclusive non-designer brands.
Artistic objects are bought when and where I find them.
Granite, wood, metals and ceramics
Wood objects without any imperfections are completely uninteresting.
Fabrics
I shop fabrics and sewing machines for my interior design projects in my apartment.
I perefer linen, wool, cotton and silk.
I do a lot of interior designs myself for my apartment and occasionally something small for myself.
Restyling
I restyle my apartment three times a year.
Warm and cozy autumn when the light fades and the temperature drops.
Something else in the spring that can catch the incoming light. Fall colors doesn't work in spring.
Summer is summer, and the lights are there to meet the colors. A summer dressed home works in the summer but not in any other season in Sweden.
Sweden has drastic changes in light conditions during the year. In summer, the nights are short and the evenings are long. In winter, the days are short.
Everyone in the arts needs to relate to the changing light conditions during the year in some way.
An artistic home is different from a design home.
My rules
Five rules apply when renovating and restyling.
1 (non-negotiable) everything must be easy to clean
2 (non-negotiable) everything must be easy to maintain
3 (non-negotiable) everything must meet my quality standards
4 (non-negotiable) everything has to be available in Swedish shops, I won't get into importing and all that comes with it. The companies have departments that deal with export/import issues and quality controls. I don't mind paying for products where all legal and quality services are included.
5 (non-negotiable) All hired services are from Swedsih based businesses with Swedish regulations and quality standards.
6 everything has to fit within my aesthetics. My aesthetics can be drawn a little in other directions but still be within my aesthetics preferences.
- aesthetics are considered when the first four terms are met and the aesthetic plan can be changed based on what is available in the market or everything is postponed until later.
- anything that doesn't suit my aesthetic won't cross my threshold (non-negotiable).
This is why my home projects are long and time consuming planning processes and no one else can deliver them, but some jobs can be outsourced. I do the shopping and the minor jobs, others do all the specialist jobs and the larger jobs based on my instructions.
One lesson learned is that you must be actively involved in every project you order: apartment remodeling, computer system, or anything else based on a list of requirements. There will always be changes and it's better to find the problems as soon as possible and to be involved in shaping the new solution. If you don't show up until the project is delivered, don't complain - just plan a 'fix it' project and find the money somewhere.
I built a new house at the age of 17 and I have remodeled all my apartments, more advanced jobs each time. A new build is less complicated than rebuilding something old. I've also been a 'pain in the ass' in many SW projects and I've learned that trying to explain something to people who don't understand the problem due to inexperience is a waste of time. The fastest way to get it resolved is to let the inexperienced hit the wall hard and face the problem in all its detail and then they are experienced enough to get involved in a solution that they also understand. I prefer older apartments and older SW systems to be maintained and rebuilt. My own building projects are my sparetime activities and SW development is my profession. I have never been involved in anyone else's building projects and I'm not interested in building or designing homes or anything in a home for anyone else.
It doesn't matter where you live, but you have to like your home and the city you live in, if not move somewhere else.
Cooperation affects interior design and architecture
How the Swedish state cooperates with small businesses, larger companies, the EU and international companies is always visible in current architecture and interior design trends. How and what affects the collaborations is always visible to anyone with an experienced eye.
What collaborations exist and how good they are, is always visible in any city you visit if you know what to look for.
My roots are international Danish. Traditional Swedish and EU interior design will never appeal to me, and this has been a problem for periods of my life. The shops have lacked things that I could consider having in my home. My preferences for architecture and interior design cannot be derived from my name, where I was born, where I live or my citizenship, they are derived from my roots.
An interest in architecture and interior design is more informative than an interest in politics. It is also very informative when it comes to economics. What's happening in Sweden and EU is always visible in the stores, in architecture and interior design trends, also in other countries when you visit them. Today, the Internet can provide an informative up-to-date view of architecture and interior design worldwide along with additional facts. It's important for every country to have their own voice and their own take on current trends.
I have never been impressed by anyone's home or by any hotel. The best houses and hotels are those where the owner's aesthetic is displayed, and it harmonizes with their personality and who they are together with the country where they live.
I purchase and order projects on my apartment as a spare time activity. I deliver projects and solutions as a professional SW developer, someone else ordered and paid them. An architect, interior designer and a builder are not the same person, each of them requires different skills in complex constructions. I'm my own interior designer as a spare time activity and an employed builder in my professional field as a SW developer. In very simple builds you can take on all roles - I'm not interested in simple builds.
I want to be in charge of my private life and when to leave or accept a new job. I have no need to be responsible for any decisions in my profession as a SW developer. Being responsible for decisions has never been part of any contracts and my salary has never been based on decision making, not even when I have been a manager.
The Stockholm market
Stockholm market is ready for a change market, 20-year-old new builds should be ready for renovation. Those with new living requirements and those not interested in a renovation will probably sell.
Stockholm has had a construction boom which has now declined, and we are entering a smaller renovation boom. An investment that has created a second investment opportunity.
The requirements for a craftsman vary in new construction, renovations and maintenance.
In new buildings, architects and builders determine the aesthetics. In a renovation the aesthetics are determined by individual owners, by the amount they are willing to spend on it and what's available in the market.
Trends and products on the market evolve over time depending on who is developing the market. Different interests evolve the market in a new build boom and in a renovation boom - with different requirements in focus. I have disapproved the interior design choices made in every newly built apartment building I have visited, if I were to buy one of the apartments I would tear everything down and rebuild it based on my aesthetic. I've lived in more than 15 different types of homes, I know what works and what doesn't for me in a home and I also know what I like and don't like.
The type of kitchen you should have depends on what you cook and bake. A standard Swedish kitchen shouldn't be the obvious choice. If you don't know, start cooking and baking before ordering the next kitchen - just to find where on this planet your kitchen resides. You can still order a kitchen from Sweden but the choice of appliances and how everything are put together should depend on your cooking, baking and the number of people to serve, and not be based on a 'standard' Swedish kitchen formula.
Future new builds should offer a choice of different layouts, a choice of different kitchen options where appliances can be added and deleted. An entrance door and 4 bare walls with electricity and water/plumbing build in should be a tempting option for some - an open-minded option and a Swedish tweak on Norwegian new builds.
My home
The style is a non Swedish Scandi home, more Danish than Swedish with hints of USA, Africa, Asia and northern France/Holland/GB/Ireland. Everything in my apartment is bought in Sweden, it's a time consuming activity to find things that fit in a international Danish inpsired Scandi home in Stockholm.
Both my parents had the same aesthetic although drawn in different directions, my mother into GB/French/Dutch design and my father into Danish/American design and there have always been hints of Africa and Asia.
My home, renovations and restyling is a hobby along with everything in my home and it's just for me and my home. I once considered becoming an architect or an interior designer. I dropped those career opportunities, but I maintained my interest in both and I chose a different career path.
Sweden has a huge number of immigrants from all over the globe, a wider range of interior design items wouldn't be so bad. They are all mixtures of other nationalities, and a mix of different interior styles would suit many of them. Once upon a time Sweden lost 50% of the immigrant population to USA.
