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In pictures: How do I create a design theme for my home?

Having a common design theme throughout your home creates a peaceful and unified sense. Decorator Felicia Björklund shares her best advice on behalf of Houzz.se.

In pictures: How do I create a design theme for my home?
Repeat the same colour patterns to create a cohesive feel. Photo: Kronfoto/Houzz

Decorating with consistency requires planning

Start by going through each room and its details – flooring, colours, wallpaper, et cetera. Having a theme does not mean that you should paint all the rooms in the same colour or shade; it is rather about having a common denominator, that recurs in the rooms and that makes you recognize yourself in the space. If you succeed in creating a common theme, your home will feel a lot more quiet and harmonious.

Arsenalsgatan 4B, Kungshöjd
Photo: Alvhem Mäkleri & Interiör

Repeat the type of wood

With the beautiful wooden floors as the starting point, the room below comes together nicely through the armchair, mirror, as well as the sideboard being made of the same type of wood.

Snoilskyvägen 3
Photo: Fredric Boukari Photography

Use the same colour in several places

In this space, grey is the main colour, with a grey floor as the starting point. We can see how the shade has been picked up in textiles such as the carpet and curtains in the room below. This ties the open plan layout together. Using the same colour in different ways is a clever tip to create a common theme, and is well suited for homes with an open floor plan.

Breitenfeldsgatan 5
Photo: Nooks

Creating a common thread in your home using colour does not necessarily mean that it should be the same colour. Decorate instead with colours in similar hues – like the pastel hues in the picture below – and create a cohesive feel.

Villa J

To use colours in similar hues, you start with the same colour but in different brightness of shades.

Vardagsrum
Photo: Alexander White

Decorate with an accent colour

With a calm and simple base, you can afford to add an accent colour. By choosing one colour to use throughout the home, it looks tidy and cohesive when wandering from room to room. Simple and good for those who like to update the small details in their home every now and then.

Scandinavian Living
Photo: ROWICO

Choose materials carefully

In the same way as with colour and type of wood, it is nice to use one (or more) materials to tie together your design. Here, they have upholstered part of the sofa in the same leather as the armchair.

Skeppargatan
Photo: Kronfoto

Marble is an example of a material that is easy to repeat in every or most of the rooms. It can be used as a table top, tiles in the bathroom, a countertop in the kitchen, and on and on.

Rå stil med personlighed
Photo: Kubik Indretning Aps

Here they have chosen to use the same material as recurring elements in the interior. We see the brass details on the tap and on the lamp. It is easy to use the material again in the next room, for example brass candleholders or table tops.

Ballingslöv - Bistro i färgen brunbets hos Petra Tungården.
Photo: Ballingslöv AB

Natural influences create a cohesive feel in this stylish kitchen.

Hvitfeldtsgatan 14 B, Kungshöjd
Photo: Alvhem Mäkleri & Interiör

Choose your style! 

Bohemian, Scandinavian or industrial? Whichever style you choose, make sure you stick with the typical aesthetic details of that particular one. The kitchen in the picture below shows a typical industrial interior – a lamp in some sort of fabric would have felt very misplaced above the dining table.

waterfront house archipelago
Photo: Amsterdam Living

Use the same floor

Having the same flooring throughout the home creates a consistent feel. As soon as you deviate from this, you have to work extra hard with other details to get it all together and create that common style theme.

Linnéstaden, Nordhemsgatan 20
Photo: Entrance Fastighetsmäkleri

Alexander White
 
Sommarhus Akenine

Get more inspiration in The Local's Homes section

Come see more Nordic lifestyle, design and architecture over at houzz.dk and houzz.se.

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MONEY

How you can lower the monthly cost of your Swedish mortgage

It’s no secret that mortgages in Sweden have become more expensive over the last year or so, as interest rates have risen following high inflation. But did you know there’s a way you can lower your monthly mortgage cost?

How you can lower the monthly cost of your Swedish mortgage

Essentially, when you take out a loan in Sweden, the government gives you a discount on the interest you pay, in the form of a tax rebate.

This doesn’t include interest paid on all types of loans – for example, student loans are not included – but it does include your mortgage.

In order to qualify for the discount, referred to as ränteavdrag (interest deduction) or skatteavdrag (tax deduction), you need to fulfil some requirements: 

  • You’ve paid income tax and at least 1,000 kronor in interest in the last taxation year
  • You have a capital deficit (meaning that your interest costs must be greater than any capital income you’ve earned through interest or dividends)
  • You are either partly or wholly responsible for the loan or mortgage in question

If there are two of you who are both named on the mortgage who fulfil these requirements, you’ll each receive 50 percent of the total tax rebate.

The interest deduction is automatically subtracted from your yearly tax and listed in your yearly declaration, if you fulfil the requirements, meaning you’re likely to get it back as a lump sum when tax season rolls around in April.

How much do I get?

The actual sum you get back varies depending on how much tax and interest you’ve paid during the year, but there are some general calculations which can give you a guideline of what you might get.

You’ll get 30 percent of your interest costs back on the first 100,000 kronor you pay in interest over a year, and 21 percent on anything over 100,000 kronor. 

If there are two of you, you each have your own individual tax deduction, even if you’re paying the same loan, so as a pair you’ll get back 30 percent on the first 200,000 kronor, as well as 21 percent on anything over this figure.

To figure out how much you’ll get, you need to first find out how much interest you’ve paid during the year your declaration covers and subtract this figure from your capital income earned through interest or dividends.

If your figure is negative, that means you can subtract this figure from your tax paid during the year. Bear in mind that if you owe tax, then your interest deduction amount will be used to pay it back first, lowering the total amount you receive.

You can also change the proportion of the deduction applied to each partner if you share a mortgage, dividing it 60/40 or 70/30, for example, if you don’t share the mortgage 50/50. You can do this through your bank or by manually changing the figures in your tax declaration.

I don’t understand. How does this make my monthly mortgage payments cheaper?

Here’s where something called skattejämkning comes in. This literally translates as “tax equalisation”, and it’s a way you can spread your tax rebate for interest costs out over a year, lowering your mortgage costs each month rather than of getting a lump sum in the form of a tax rebate during tax declaration season.

In order to equalise your tax, you’ll need to contact the Tax Agency directly, filling out a form with the catchy title of SKV 4302 – Jämkning (ändring av preliminär A-skatt) or using their Jämkning online service.

To do this, you’ll need to have in-depth figures on things like your salary, pension payments, sick pay and any other income like unemployment benefit or maternity or paternity payments, as well as capital income and any business income for the tax year you’re applying for, as well as your expected income for the rest of the year.

If your application is accepted, the Tax Agency will tell your employer to subtract less tax from your payslip each month, effectively meaning that you get your tax rebate for interest costs back in your monthly pay instead of getting it paid out all at once.

Bear in mind that if you do go down this route it’s important that your calculations are correct. If you accidentally overestimate your interest payments or underestimate your tax owed, you could end up being hit with a hefty tax bill once your declaration comes through.

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