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Posh playtime: Inspiration from Swedish kids’ rooms

Swedes are crazy about interior design – even the kids have incredible rooms! Are you expecting a baby and in need of some interior inspiration for the nursery? Amanda Strömberg presents the most-liked Swedish children's rooms from houzz.se.

Published: 18 April 2016 11:58 CEST
Posh playtime: Inspiration from Swedish kids’ rooms

There’s a lot to consider when expecting a baby – decorating the nursery is just another box to tick on a very, very long list.

So it can be helpful to get some inspiration along the way! From a soft Moroccan haven to a more playful abode, all eight children's rooms below have one thing in common: they’re favourites among Houzz readers in Sweden.

Scroll down for a little inspiration for these amazing children’s rooms.

1. Mild Moroccan

Find inspiration from this beautiful room, that Lori Gentile from Lori Gentile Interior Design has decorated. She chose a soft, muted Moroccan theme, balancing the bold paisley-patterned wallpaper with delicate pale pink and ivory hues. The sheer bed canopy is the icing on the cake.

2. Adventure awaits

At first, the couple who live here wanted to have a minimalist children's room, but changed their mind after a few weeks. They then asked the painter Carolyn from the company Roll Her Sleeves to paint the playful details on the wall, which set the mood of the room. If you are looking for a unique and playful kids’ room this is absolutely the way to go.

3. Dulce decadence

The interior designers from Merigo Design created this magnificent home in the United States. The baby room, where sorbet pink is matched with deep, dark grey, stands out from all the other rooms in the house. Usually we think nurseries should be just like any other room, or at least with the same colour scheme and style, but the fact is that it will be just as pretty if the baby room stands out. So be bold and play with colours and patterns – there are no rules here. Bring on the stripes and butterflies!

4. Classic and clean

White is always a good foundation, and a children’s room decorated in purist white is a dream for many minimalist Swedish parents. And no matter what style you want – modern, industrial or perhaps rural – white is always a solid choice. The decorators from KYD – Killingyourdarlings – are behind this particular project.

5. Dainty dreams

Amy Sklar, interior designer at Amy Sklar Design Inc, had dreams in mind when she was decorating this baby room in Los Angeles. On the perfect sky-blue colour (Parma Gray from Farrow & Ball), which is visible on both the walls and the ceiling, she chose to paint white, whispy clouds – dreamy and cool all at once!

6. Wild things

If your child likes animals, take a close look at this place. Taking inspiration from the animal kingdom doesn’t mean it has to over-the-top. This room is discreetly but playfully decorated with animal-inspired prints from The Animal Print Shop. Look closely and you will see all the small, fun details that are hiding here.

7. Discrete patterns

Thinking about putting up some wallpaper in the nursery but don’t want anything too crazy? Then you should go for a wallpaper in a muted colour scheme, like the one pictured here. Then if you would like to add some colour afterwards, you can easily do so with the help of textiles and furniture.

8. Make it personal

When Lindsay Espinoza heard that her customers planned to call their newborn boy Noah, she decided to display the name with the help of some light on the wall. When she did so, the room got a more personal feeling, which is much appreciated for such special little people.

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PROPERTY

INTERVIEW: ‘Most foreigners in Sweden don’t know they can get back excess rent’

In Sweden, people subletting apartments are not allowed to charge more in rent than they themselves pay. But foreign subtenants don't always know this. We asked Roland Sjölin, lawyer at the Swedish Tenants' Association, about how to get back excess rent.

Published: 18 April 2024 15:19 CEST
Updated: 21 April 2024 08:12 CEST
INTERVIEW: 'Most foreigners in Sweden don't know they can get back excess rent'

More and more of the people asking the Swedish Tenants’ Association, Hyresgästföreningen in Swedish, for help with excess rent are foreigners, Sjölin told The Local in an interview.

“The problem is that if you’re coming from another country, and you’re subletting an apartment, you’re probably not familiar with the rules in Sweden, because in other countries, it might be okay to overcharge your tenants.” 

He said that clients from India in particular seeking help from the association were now “very common”. 

“Many people come here to work as engineers in the IT sector and then have to rent somewhere,” he said, adding that as a group Indians appeared to be “very aware of their rights.”

Sweden’s rental sector is heavily regulated, with first hand contracts negotiated between landlords and the Tenants’ Association, and the rent that can be charged for second-hand contracts limited to only a small fraction above what the first-hand renter pays. 

“You’re not allowed to make any profit subletting an apartment in Sweden,” Sjölin explains. “You can only charge the subletting tenant the same rent as you [the first-hand tenant] are paying to your landlord, and then you can add the costs for internet and electricity, and perhaps a parking lot, if that is included.” 

Tenants’ Association lawyer Roland Sjölin. Photo: supplied.

You can also add a påslag or “markup”, if you are renting out the apartment fully furnished, but this cannot exceed more than 15 percent of the rent. 

That doesn’t mean that most landlords follow the law. The competition for rental apartments, especially in Stockholm, is so intense, that unscrupulous sublet landlords often try to get away with charging well over the legal amount, charging what is known in Sweden as ockerhyra, or “excess rent” and hoping that their tenants are too desperate to complain.  

What many foreigners do not realise is that even after the rental period is over, they can still get back any excess rent they have paid by applying to the Rental Board or Hyresnämnden, which functions like a court judging rental disputes. 

“If you have the evidence then it’s fairly easy,” Sjölin said. “I get a new case every second week on repayment of unfair rent, and I think that I win most of them.” 

“Nowadays, you can get paid back excess rent up to 24 months back in time, so people tend to get more money,” he added. “In some cases, they can get 200,000 kronor. In other cases, perhaps it’s only 30,000 kronor or 60,000 kronor. It depends on how long you have rented the apartment, and how excessive the rent you’ve been paying has been.”

The first step is to establish what would have been a fair rent, either by asking your landlord what they themselves pay directly or by checking with the Tenants’ Association.

“Because we negotiate most rents in Sweden, we normally know what the firsthand rent is,” Sjölin explained.

Then you need to collect together your evidence.

“It’s a good thing to have a written contract and also papers from your bank showing that you paid rent every month, and perhaps photographs of the apartment, so the rental board can get an idea of the apartment you were renting and what would be a fair rent, and also the termination for the contract so you can show the court how long you’ve been living in the apartment.” 

But Sjölin underlined that since Sweden has free burden of evidence, none of this is essential. 

“Even if you’ve been paying in cash, if you have witnesses who can testify what you were paying each month, you still have a chance of getting your money back. It’s a bit more tricky, but I’ve won two cases like that this year.” 

People in Sweden, he explained, tend to wait until the rental period is over before seeking to get paid back excess rent rather than challenging their landlord while they are still living in the apartment. 

“You don’t have any legal protection for your home for the first two years, so if you bring the matter up with the person you’re renting the apartment from you risk losing your contract and having to move out, so most people wait until they’re supposed to move anyway,” he said.

If you apply to the rental board for a refund close to the day you move out, you can then make your landlord pay back all excess rent paid in the 24 months leading up to the date you contacted the rental board.

If you are a member of the Tenants’ Association, you can contact them and ask for help with your application, but there are also specialist companies, like Orimlig Hyra AB who will buy your case off you and give you a refund within 48 hours, saving you a long wait in exchange for a cut of the money reclaimed. 

Sjölin said that the rental board normally took about 8 months to come to a judgement, but that if the person with the first hand contract appeals, that could extend the waiting time by between six months and a year.

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