Blog - Jane Cumberbatch`s Pure Style

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"Pure style is my way of life... a blueprint for living in the 21st Century"

Domestic bliss

08 May 2014

Spring nettle soup, home made granola, blazing fires, chairs to fall back and doze in and gorgeous beds make Ett Hem in Stockholm a luxurious home from home. I am hooked after spending the weekend in this intimate 12 bedroom hotel designed by Ilse Crawford.

Elegant and understated Ett Hem is a carefully curated mix of modern, vintage and bespoke pieces with a Scandinavian feel. I especially like the rustic pottery tableware , above, by Birgitta Watz whose studio is in the city.

One evening after dinner in the conservatory, we wrap up in blankets to sit by the brazier in Ett Hem`s walled garden decorated with twinkling strings of lights, tulips and daffodils. Perfect!

More design inspiration at Svenskt Tenn where I tip toe through Josef frank`s tulip prints.

Rugs the colour of Swedish summer berries and woods by Mart Maas-Fjetterstrom, see below, in the window of a small shop not far from
Ostermalms food hall.

Twentieth century furniture, glass, see below, ceramics and jewellery at Modernity

We don`t make it out to one of the islands of the archipelago but we do run around the shimmering canal by the royal park , joining mothers jogging with strollers and longlimbed Vikings in lycra

The organic garden at Rosendals is heavenly. The orchard of native apple trees is bursting into leaf, a reminder of how far north we are. I like the pick your-own-tulips, the scented Joseph Frank-like border planting, and delicious biscuits at the cafe.

Stockholm foodie highlights: classic herring plates and crayfish toasts at Lisa Elmquist in Ostermalms food hall and the snug Hip Pocket ( check out the simple patterned blue tiles ). We are also elegantly barside at Mathias Dahlgren another Ilse Crawford project, where we feast on modern arrangements of tartare of fallow deer and salted whitefish roe ; grilled Swedish quid and cucumber, and fried white asparagus and black morels. Delicious.

Try here, below, for daily bread

I recommend Skansen outdoor museum, with Swedish houses from every period, see 18C summerhouse below. Disarming to be greeted at the door of the 1930`s house by a woman with shingled hair boiling very smelly potatoes on the stove and bemoaning the price of servants. Living history.

Can`t believe how many kms we`ve covered- at last 15k according to the distance app. Stockholm is a brilliant city for discovering on foot. I`m not sure whether the experience would be so comfortable in winter. We have a taste of it with flurries of snow at Skogskyrkogarden woodland cemetery. The layout is stunning and contemplative: towering pine trees, grass and simple headstones . See one of the chapels below.