Nesting in progress

A dream, a lot of drive, and a deadline: three essentials for any DIY renovation, as the two new parents living here can tell you! With help from their friends, they turned their new one-bedroom rental into a cosy family home just in time for baby’s due date. Let’s see how it turned out:

Corner of a living room with a dark, wide HAVSTA cabinet filled and covered with artful objects in natural materials.

Man and woman looking playfully at each other over a coffee break simply served and seated on wooden crates.

Step 1: Plan

They wanted their home to feel warm and welcoming, but what that looked like? They had no idea! So, they started by collecting examples of colours and textures they loved, which helped narrow it down to rich, earthy tones and natural materials.

Mood board-like collection of items – table lamp, armchair, cushions – made from or sharing colours with natural materials.

Step 2: Furnish

A lot of the furniture is from their previous flat. The add-ons were mostly ornaments and accessories, plus a few other items to make the space more flexible. Take the coffee tables, for instance. If baby needs space to play, they can be easily picked up and pushed aside.

Sunlit, empty room with wooden floor and white walls, a two-door French window opening onto a garden.

Section of living room painted and furnished in rich, natural shades: storage, seating, side table and a GAMLEHULT footstool.

Step 3: Improvise

New kitchen? Not quite. Basic functions already in place, all this couple had to do was make a few swaps and add on extra storage. You wouldn’t even guess that it’s the same space – which just goes to show what’s possible when you work with what you have.

A small, white, straight-line kitchenette in an otherwise empty room with wooden floor and white walls.

Richly equipped kitchenette with small, open wall cabinets, kitchen fan, and dark LERHYTTAN drawer fronts.

Kitchen sink and GAMLESJÖN mixer tap in a traditional yet modern style, washing-up accessories on the side.

A dark BERGSHULT/RAMSHULT wall shelf laden with a stack of magazines and books, boxes and display storage.

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Materials like bamboo, rattan, seagrass and linen are woven throughout the home. They’re natural, renewable, and give this apartment its authentic, down-to-earth style.

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Step 4: Prioritise

Living small has taught this young family one valuable lesson – that if it really matters, you can make space for it. Case in point, their dining room table. An eight-seater felt like a splurge at first, but with friends and family over so often, its size has served them well.

A corner of a sunlit, empty room with white, bare walls and a wooden floor made up of wide, untreated floorboards.

A SKOGSTA dining table being festively set under a pendant. Dark glass-door cabinets with table accessories by the far wall.

A dark HEMNES glass-door cabinet filled with stacks of tableware, standing by a wall next to a dining table.

A stack of GLADELIG bowls and plates surrounded by jars, glasses and snacks placed on the wooden surface of a table.

Section of a brown wall with a black MOSSLANDA picture ledge holding various artful objects and framed artwork.

Step 5: Maximise

The apartment’s single bedroom brought the challenge of finding comfortable sleep spaces for both parents and newborn baby. Dividing the room with a curtain, they’ve created the feeling of a separate nursery, while keeping their little one close by.

Bedroom with a black SAGSTUA bed and, in a corner behind a room-dividing curtain, stands a wooden baby cot.

Bedroom with a GRÖNLID armchair standing in a corner behind the main bed. Above hangs a shelf-mounted work lamp.

Section of a bedroom, half hidden behind a room-dividing curtain, with a baby’s cot and a SUNDVIK changing table.