Celebrating slow living …
Elin Alemdar misses home. Her summerhouse, that is. When we speak, the designer hasn’t been there since Christmas; she’s wistful. “I long for the quiet when I’m not there,” she says on a Zoom call from her office in Stockholm, which is all white walls and glass. It’s a fitting backdrop as Elin’s fashion label Stylein celebrates a softer take on Scandinavian minimalism. It’s not the searing brights favoured by the Copenhagen style crowd, but it’s not austere either. Her summerhouse, nestled in the Swedish countryside, follows the same design ethos.
Four years ago, Elin and her husband Kamran found a plot in Björkö, a remote northern spot on Stockholm’s archipelago that looks across a vast expanse of sea towards Finland. It had everything they wanted: mountain views, its own dock and a location less than two hours’ drive from the city – ideal for leaving the world behind. And here they built a modular home that’s a lesson in restraint. The couple designed it with an architect but “I had my way on some things”, Elin notes, explaining how a window in the bedroom was adapted to have an ocean view.
“The house is going to be there for our kids, and their kids, so I wanted it to be minimalistic and clean, but still timeless.”
In the living area, a marble and wood coffee table from Rowico Home is complemented by floor-to-ceiling linen curtains, blankets from Shepherd of Sweden and a rug from Scandinavian atelier Cappelen Dimyr.
The open-plan layout is ideal for socialising when the couple has guests visiting. The space is designed to catch the light at every stage of the day. “I give credit to the architect because the windows really make the room come alive,” Elin says.
The house is dominated by glass. “Nature is our art,” Elin explains. In the open-plan living area, the doors pull back in the summer, bringing the outdoors in. There’s next to no embellishment – just considered investments. Kamran, who is half-Kurdish, pushed for more colour. “He was keen on making sure that I wasn’t creating a show house,” she says. Did he win out? “No,” she laughs. And yet, textiles like linen curtains, rugs from Scandinavian atelier Cappelen Dimyr and wool blankets add warmth, soft ening the architectural lines. “I have a need for things to be very clean – it makes a house restful,” she says. A hero piece is the Etcetera lounge chair from Artilleriet – based on the iconic design by Jan Ekselius – in chocolate brown, while the rest of the scheme is muted.
In the kitchen, the island is the heart of the home. The silestone worktops and island, Elin notes, are the colour of clay, referencing the surrounding landscape. She designed a pedestal in the same material, upon which sits a handmade vase by the Swedish artist Isabelle Gut. In the master bedroom, a sleek black floor lamp nods to Elin’s sense of personal style. “I almost only wear black but I’m not a fan of it at home. Ulrika [Fohgelberg Nordén, Elin’s partner and sales director at Stylein] told me I need to have one black detail in the house so I added this,” she says.
The summerhouse boasts its own dock for swims, a sauna and guest house. On a typical day, a pre-dinner tradition is a sauna followed by an aperitif on the terrace, strategically positioned to catch the evening light.
Days at the summerhouse are about nourishment, in every sense. A cashmere lounge set by Stylein is Elin’s at-home uniform. “Nothing fancy and nothing tight: I wear silk pyjamas and I leave a hair mask in,” she says. She starts the day meditating at 6am with a view of the surrounding forest. The bread goes in the oven before the family – including children, Alina, twelve, and Adrian, ten – enjoys a leisurely breakfast. “We read magazines, I put on bossa nova,” she says. Surprisingly, they didn’t want a garden. “We garden in our everyday life. The summerhouse is built on a large rock so we don’t even have to cut the grass.” It’s a smart move: resisting the pull – and inevitable entrapment – of weekend projects leaves space for rest.
Life is busy with constant travel as Stylein expands globally (the brand is available in Ireland at Seagreen boutiques in Monkstown and Ranelagh). There’s also the matter of a renovation project in Puglia, purchased last summer. When we speak, Elin is about to jet to Italy to meet an architect. The summerhouse in Sweden is on Airbnb and this will be too. She is loosening up when it comes to the decor. “I’ve already bought brightly coloured ceramics and we haven’t yet started renovating,” she admits. “Sometimes you need the first piece that’s going to set the tone.” Then it’s back to the Swedish countryside for the next long weekend, with summer brewing and the promise of long days ahead. Idyllic. “It’s very tranquil,” she says, with a smile. Just link us to the Airbnb listing.
