Felix the cat in the hallway.
Walking into Ulrika Hård’s home in Byske feels like walking straight into a stage set for a Pippi Longstocking film. The house is full of charm and playfulness with an imaginative and creative atmosphere that is reminiscent of Pippi's colourful and unique world.
As soon as you walk in you are transported to a cosy and unique home with a clear classic Swedish feeling. The house mixes old with new in a manner that is both stylish and original. The rooms are filled with interesting objects with a rich history. It feels like a fun and playful place to live.
Ornaments.
Wreaths on the door.
Cabinet decorated for Christmas.
”I made the apple wreath on my own for fun. I put apples on a metal ring. The lollipops are from Byske karamellfabrik that makes old-fashioned sweets”, says Ulrika.
“The first House of Angels (Änglagård) movie features a stuffed swan in the living room, that's where I got the idea from. Mine is made of paper. The swan was bought from a charity shop.”
Ulrika’s mother taught her to save things, label and sort them. That has had an effect on the interior design.
– I often say that, instead of shopping or buying expensive things from furniture catalogues or dear things, you should first look in the family's storage spaces, shelves and cupboards. The maternal grandparents and the storages of aunts and cousins. And most people are often happy. “Wow, do you want that? There you go”. And then they often send their belongings on with joy. So, buy less. Buy cheaper. That's what life has taught me, says Ulrika.
The living room.
The spiral staircase can be glimpsed.
”Feng shui offers good advice but the bedroom in particular must be simple and peaceful”, says Ulrika.
Real birds also live in the house.
“I got this gnome from my mother when I was perhaps 12. We only went to Lövånger's ironmonger! My mother has taught me to save, label and sort”, says Ulrika.
“I bought the boat from the second-hand shop Rondellen.”
By sticking to that philosophy Ulrika has created a home that by first impressions look classically Swedish with tasteful grey and white tones and stylish furniture. But it is only on a closer look that you discover objects that have been collected over time or been reused. Each room has its playful and unique details – from a swan that proudly sits on the piano, to lollies and apples hanging in the kitchen.
Particularly impressive is the dizzying spiral staircase in the hallway. You cannot help put to imagine children who perhaps played on the stairs many years ago and thereby adding their own stories to the history of the house.
Piano and sailboat.
The bedroom.
"I think birds make for a cosy room", says Ulrika.
“These things are from my daughter Josefine.”
“I had one of every type of mug. I collect them from online auctions and charity shops”, says Ulrika.
Ulrica and her husband Anders bought the house almost eleven years ago. It was built in 1831 for Ytterstfors glassworks manager Eric Lindemark. Ulrica saw the house for sale on Hemnet late one night and knew straight away that they had to go and look at it.
– I’ve always had a dream of a Madicken house. It’s just always been in my fantasies. And then this house turned up. Its in Byske and I’m from Boviken so that's in the right direction. And it came at a fairly cheap price. We ran it at the viewing and ran around like this: ”woohoo”! I told Anders that if there ever was a time that I got to live in my Madicken house it would have to be now. Otherwise it would never happen. So we bought it straight away you could say. It happened very quickly and it was a decision made fast. But we’ve never regretted it, says Ulrika.
Flowers and birds.
Spiral staircase.
“The livingroom light is from Ikea – sometimes I buy new things! The chandelier in the hallway is an heirloom from my grandmother”, says Ulrika.
"Sandman dolls. The left one I bought for my daughter Josefine. The right one I had when I was little about 50 years ago", says Ulrika.
The hallway.
After moving in there have not been a lot of things to fix, just some smaller repairs and putting up wallpaper and things like that. Most of the things they have in the house is inherited or found. She loves to find gems in charity shops.
Ulrika has a clear philosophy regarding interior decoration.
– I have been to Carl Larsson’s home in Sundborn, Dalarna twice in my life. The first time I found my salvation. The second time I felt that this is my religion. Having a little bit of colour and a living home. It must not be too perfect. It should be practical. You should not decorate for others, you should decorate for your own sake. It can easily become like a competition, you feel like you have to have those expensive things. I try to have another perspective.
Ulrika says that it is like living in Villa Villerkulla.
The manager's house in Byske.
Ulrika and Teddy the dog in front of the house.
Felix the cat in the hallway.
"The santas are from my childhood. My mother has written the year under the foot. They were bought at a summer auction", says Ulrika.
When you leave the house it is difficult to not take a last look at the spiral staircase. You fight against the urge to slide all the way down the railing. Pippi would have been proud.
Perhaps one will get the chance at the next visit.