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2020-12-08
The interior profile Emelie 34 square. Ekman have had long dreamed of a bright turn-of-the-century apartment with creaking herringbone parquet, and beautiful stucco. Also, with a newly purchased renovation object dating back to 1883; it was time to make the dream come true.
Name: Emelie Ekman
Family: Fiancé (and baby on the way)
Lives in: Stockholm, Sweden, turn-of-the-century apartment with three rooms and kitchen
Age: 30 years
Working with: Housing development
Known as: inredningsprofilen@34kvadrat
Not much of the original specifics or stucco design remained in the apartment built 1883 that Emelie and her partner had bought. Most of it had been renovated away, probably sometime in the 60s or 70s when function and practicality were more important than the attention to details and cultural heritage. Emelie, who had long dreamed of a bright turn-of-the-century apartment with creaking herringbone parquet and beautiful stucco, unfortunately, she stepped into an apartment with plastic mats, fiberglass woven wallpaper, and not a single assimilation of ceiling molding preserved. But the apartment had potential, and adding stucco was an obvious choice. However, the choice would initially prove difficult as Emelie had dreamed away of extravagant stucco.
There and then I felt that the more and bigger would be the better. “I wanted extra everything," Emelie says. Squiggly stucco was all I had ever dreamed of in the interior design process. But then reality and everything I learned from my years on the school bench about architecture and history of style caught up with me. I realized that I wanted to recreate and preserve rather than add extravagance. For me, it was important that whatever we would add should feel contemporary and rhyme with the architecture of the house in general. Since the lack of original details, to say the least, was evident in our apartment, so I knocked on the door of our neighbors for house inspection, and I observed the stairwell and the façade of the house – all to find clues as to how we would think to renovate with respect.
Around the turn of the century, it was common for the apartments' salons to have sturdy and curvy stuccoes, while other rooms such as kitchens or bedrooms were given simpler decorations. Based on that, and based on the research that Emelie succeeded to do from the past, she finally settled on the roof molding Cornice Z145 for the living room and Cornice Z144 for the other rooms in the apartment.
The same background led us in our choice of ceiling rosettes. In the bedrooms, we chose the ceiling rosette Ceiling Rosette R230, and in the living room and kitchen a more ornate ceiling rosette Ceiling Rosette R250. All ceiling rosettes were placed in the centers of the rooms, as according to what has been reported, this was how rosettes were placed around the turn of the century.
Emelie's top tips for choosing stucco
On social media, it's easy to find inspiration to adorn a home with great stucco. It's also easy to get carried away, but it's important to remember that stunning ceiling moldings, high chest panels and cassette ceilings aren't suitable for all types of homes. Therefore, a good tip is to keep it up to time, look at old drawings and adapt the stucco to the year of construction.
Every era has its charm and its history, and I think it should be preserved as much as possible. On Instagram, it is often impossible to see how the choice of stucco is associated with the rest of the house as a façade and stairwell, but in real life this becomes incredibly clear and painful when things go wrong. I would say that we have chosen stucco and embellishment with enormous care, and I urge everyone to do their homework so as not to risk, or at least reduce the risk of becoming wrong and unsustainable in the long run. ”If it feels difficult to find the right stucco for your particular apartment, one tip is to get help: either by an interior designer or the company supplying the stucco.D-COR was a great support during our journey. In retrospect, when we are finished, we are also incredibly satisfied with the end result, our apartment, and its history; it feels just right for us. We have preserved, developed, and added a large dose of turn-of-the-century charm," concludes Emelie.
Watch the photos before and after the renovation on Emelie's blog: 34kvadrat.metromode.se Also follow @34kvadrat on Instagram.