Life at home in Sweden

A place for everyone and everything

A mix of creativity and keepsakes is the formula for a cosy family home.

Cecilia and Cédric struck gold when they stumbled upon this cosy, 122 m² city apartment. With its split-level layout, four bedrooms and convenient location just minutes away from school and work, it’s the perfect home base for the couple and their three children. The apartment has evolved gradually over time – its spaces changing with the family's needs, and years of precious memories layered in.

A bit about...

The family: Art director Cecilia and her scientist husband Cédric live together with their three children: Maxime, Anais and Victor. The house: A two-storey, 1960s apartment in the city of Lund: a modern, vibrant university town in southern Sweden. The story: The family moved here back in 2015, shortly after Victor, baby number three, was born.

Portrait of Cecilia and Cédric's family, standing outside their apartment block.

Souvenirs fill the corner of the dining room.

Shelves with African souvenirs and masks on the wall.
African souvenirs fill a basket on a shelf.
A black panther head sits on a shelf.

Confessions of a collector

They say that opposites attract, and no doubt, Cecilia and Cédric would agree. While Cédric describes his style as quite minimal, Cecilia is a self confessed collector. “I like to surround myself with objects, change things around and decorate - I like lots of everything!” she admits. As Cédric explains, “It looks a little chaotic at first sight, but there’s a meaning behind everything.” From walls lined with artwork by family and friends to shelves brimming with souvenirs of Africa, each space has a tale to tell.

  • The large dining table can grow even bigger when friends and family come over.

    A dining room with a painting of a jaguar above the dining table.

  • “The dining room table is where we’re most together as a family." Cecilia

    Victor is laying the table in the dining room

  • The family enjoy lunch at the dining room table. Cecilia is smiling.
  • The family sit at the dining table enjoying lunch. Victor is looking at the camera and smiling.
    Cedric and Anais sit at the dining table. Cedric is standing to serve salad.
  • Cedric and Maxime preparing food in the kitchen.
    Maxime and Cedric's hands preparing cucumber, tomatoes and peppers for salad.
  • A kitchen cupboard filled with bottles, tins and objects.
    The kitchen windowsill features ornaments, a Chinese lantern and a bowl of apples.

Neutral territory

The first floor of the apartment is mostly taken up by the open-plan living area – the soul of the home for this tight-knit family. It's big enough for them all to be together when needed, but its different zones mean they can also simply do their own thing in each other’s company. "It’s flexible," says Cecilia. "One of the kids can watch TV while the other is doing homework." The table is where they spend the most time together, whether it’s eating, studying or enjoying dinner with guests, but the family-size sofa is the unofficial heart of the home. Here, everyone has their own spot. For Victor it’s the centre for a perfect view of his favourite shows and a cuddle, while Cecilia prefers the corner, from where she likes to watch over the family. Like the objects around their home, here on the sofa everyone has their own special place. And while colour makes a far stronger appearance in the family's personal spaces upstairs, this part of the home sticks to a more restricted palette of white, black and neutral tones. Warmth and vibrance comes through in other ways, like the wall filled end to end with bold artwork; rugs and cushions in eye-catching prints, and the array of objects and ornaments that adorn almost every surface.

The comfy corner sofa fits the whole family.

Cecilia and Cédric's living room. A white corner sofa dominates the living room.

All the living room's art and ornaments stick to a strict black and white dress code.

A wall covered with graphic black and white art and a unit with ornaments.
Black and white ornaments sit on a windowsill.
Ornaments stand on a white storage unit.
Cecilia sits on the sofa, drawing and smiling.
A spiral staircase with a rattan basket at the foot of the stairs.

Even the small space under the staircase is put to use.

Victor is lying down underneath the spiral staircase. He is playing Nintendo.

A home for each of us, for all of us

Room for individuality

The home is brimming with creativity. As an art director and graphic designer, Cecilia treats each room like a mood board, varying from the monochrome living room to the green graphic jungle of Maxime’s bedroom upstairs. "For me, when creating a family home, it’s important that everyone feels welcome and included," explains Cecilia. "But also that we each have our own private space.” The children all have their own rooms upstairs, each furnished to reflect their personalities, passions, favourite colours and objects, and treasured memories. For Victor, he still remembers the time that he helped dad build the wooden IVAR shelving unit in his room and how the pattern on his New York themed curtains was drawn by mum’s former teacher, the artist Christopher Corr. And Anais recalls painting the beautiful pastel mural on her bedroom wall with a friend. “Our home is full of patterns, graphic art and lots of photos,” says Cecilia. “I think that the most important thing is that it’s personal and that it tells a story that’s interesting to the people that live in the home, as well as for the guests who visit.”

Anais' room: a peaceful retreat in pastel.

Anais in her bedroom. She is painting at her desk.
Anais' room. A lilac chest of drawers with a flamingo to the right and a chair to the left.
A plant in a painted plant pot on a pedestal in Anais' bedroom.

A RÅSKOG trolley serves as Anais' mobile makeup station.

Blue trolley next to Anais' bed. There are soft toys on her bed and a bedside lamp.

Maxime's room: big on green and gaming.

Maxime's bedroom has a sofa in the foreground, a workdesk with computer and a bed in the background.
Pictures of manga characters and Keith Haring art hang on the wall, with a black and white sofa in the foreground.
Maxime in his bedroom reading a book in front of his bookshelf.

Victor's small room packs in plenty of toys and imagination.

A blue theme in Victor's room. Furniture is painted blue.

The IVAR shelving unit: built by Victor and Cédric.

A wooden IVAR storage unit filled with books in Victor's room
Victor plays with a toy in his blue bedroom

  • Cèdric and Cecilia's room: a festival of pattern, colour and sentimental collections.

    A white bedroom, decorated with photos and ornaments. The bed has cushions.
  • Cecilia stands in front of the bookshelf in her bedroom. She is reading
    The bedside table in Cecilia and Cédric's room features a bird lamp and a plant. There are pictures on the wall behind.
  • An ornamental lion peeps out from behind the black and white curtain.
    The bookshelf in Cecilia and Cédric's bedroom is full of books and family souvenirs.

  • Containers collected over the years are perfect for storing trinkets.

    A Mexican style mask face hangs on the wall next to pictures and ornamental cannisters.
    Ornamental animals sit on the bookshelf

A five-minute fika with the family

Small figures sit on a windowsill

Our dream home would have: 
Anais: Lots of plants and white walls. 
Maxime: Space for gym equipment. 
Cecilia: Many homes in one house. It's not possible, but it's a nice dream.

A few of our favourite things: 
Maxime: My sofa. 
Anais: My bed. It's really comfortable. 
Cédric: The dining table, where we eat, draw, craft and build lego together.

Maxime laying on a black and white graphic sofa, reading a book.
Cecilia, Cédric and family stand on the balcony outside their apartment.

The best thing about our home is: 
Victor: My family 
Anais: The living room and dining room being next to each other. 
Maxime: The living room, where we can be together.

What we like to do at home: 
Cédric: I like to cook. 
Anais: Painting and drawing. 
Victor: Play games with my brother and sister.

Cédric is taking food to the dining table, ready for lunch!