I can't believe the heat wave we're having here in Sweden. Not very common for this country. Wille and I went to the local pool and also played a round of mini golf earlier today but are now happier inside than out.
I promised you a trip down memory lane earlier and we're starting the tour in our first own apartment in the center of Stockholm. We bought it in 1989 and lived there for five years. It was 44 square meters which is about 500 square feet or so. One room and kitchen. At this time our style was even junkier than it is now. We still have the locker which was found in a dumpster if I remember correctly but it's now in the garage housing gardening stuff. The sofa was a junkshop find which I "upholstered" with some blue stretchy fabric. The shelves are probably our first ever self build. There was a place closeby called Verkstan which means The Workshop. Anyone could go there and for a small fee use the carpentry shop, craft area, photo studio and much more. We dragged the sides and shelves on a luggage trolley which broke down on the way. Back home we assembled the shelving unit.
Our color scheme back then was basically navy and red. The walls in were a buttery yellow and we used to love tartans and other checks. Our love for wooden toys is already obvious. I gave Martin the fire truck for his birthday one year.
The great thing about this small apartment was that the kitchen was huge. A country kitchen in the city. You can't see it in this photo but the sink in the back to the right was marble and you had to do the dishes in a separate basin which we kept in the cabinet under the sink.
Martin and I loved this apartment but Wille was born in 1994 and we realised it wasn't very practical. The stove in the back looked great but when the oven was turned on the whole thing became super hot and neither the tiny bathroom or the kitchen sink were very practical. Wille's crib was actually in the kitchen as there was more space for it there than in the room so with him crawling and soon walking it was kind of dangerous. We moved to a bigger apartment when he was nine months old. That will be part II of Memory Lane.
Gorgeous apartment! Thanks for sharing...
Posted by: Ksenia | July 31, 2008 at 07:21 PM
Love seeing the evolution of your style. The color scheme of navy and red with the buttery yellow walls sounds yummy. I'm curious as to happened to your enthusiasm for tartans, as I can see the appeal of this color scheme with the tartans/checks during the winter months.
Posted by: Jean | July 31, 2008 at 08:14 PM
This is a wonderful space. Cozy and warm. Sweet memory. It often surprises me how many wonderful things you find in the dumpsters, thrift store or yard sales.
Posted by: Sheau | August 01, 2008 at 02:47 AM
Hmmm my apartment is a wee bit bigger than your old apartment, I am going to shoot some shots after I rease some clutter
Posted by: Mona | August 01, 2008 at 02:55 AM
Jean, I still like the look of tartans, but I guess after having had them around the house for so many years earlier just moved on in new directions since.
Posted by: Benita | August 01, 2008 at 10:37 AM
It looks like you have always had a timeless style.Those photos could have been taken yesterday and still look good.I really like how warm they feel.
Posted by: Kristy | August 01, 2008 at 10:43 AM