Cozy Swedish Living Room We Love

Swedish architect Per Bornstein’s house, from our Small Spaces issue, sits on a hill between a large forested park and Gothenburg’s former industrial area, a welcome addition to a previously abandoned lot. From the outside, it looks like a 1,400-square-foot timber-paneled box cutting into a slope. And, despite the Corbusier-like efficiency of the interior plan, the spaces Bornstein has carved out for himself and his daughter are as cozy as they are cutting-edge. Split between two levels, the majority of walls are clad in two-by-eight-foot boards of untreated glued-laminated pinewood. “I hadn’t really dug into wood before,” says the architect. “Then you realize there’s so much wood in Sweden. It’s a cheap material. Everybody can use it. It ages beautifully and it’s instantly cozy.” Slideshow

The first thing visitors see as they enter the main living space is Bornstein’s impressive collection of architecture and design books. The sofa and chair were designed by Bornstein for Swedese.