Tidlös summer in harmony with nature

Lena has found peace in the cottage by the lake surrounded by a nature reserve and tranquility but at the same time very centrally located. Here it is the light, the water and the silence that set the tone. A holiday home where the pace can be slowed down year-round.

In Huddinge outside Stockholm we find Lena's holiday home which sits nicely in one of Stockholm's many nature reserves. Here Lena found her perfect plot where she today has the opportunity to enjoy the silence, nature and all that goes with it.

When Lena first bought the plot there was a house without doors and windows. An empty shell that could neither be saved nor developed. The original plan was to build an architect-designed house, and the drawing work began. But the process got stuck in protracted permit issues, and above all in a drawn-out electrical wiring that took more than three and a half years to get in place.

"It was a completely absurd situation. I eventually felt powerless and didn't know whether there would even be a house," Lena says.

After years of waiting, contacts with the municipality, the county administrative board and even the municipality's political leadership, her energy began to run out. It was then, during a trip to Gotland and a visit to a friend's summer house that the turning point came.

– I experienced how liberating it was with something smaller. A house that didn't demand so much, but just worked. Then I realized that I didn't need a big house. I needed the right house, Lena continues.

When the decision was finally made everything went much faster. Lena contacted Sommarnöjen and immediately fell for the architecture, the sense of materials and the holistic approach. The choice fell on the model Tidlös Sommar 40, a turnkey holiday home that combines a compact format with generous social areas.

Tidlös Sommar - small on the outside, big on the inside

Tidlös summer 40 is a holiday home created for those who want to prioritize socializing and cooking and can manage with one bedroom. Here there is a complete bathroom and the possibility of a sleeping loft, which provides extra space for children or guests. The floor plan is thought-out down to the smallest detail. You step into a hall with tiled flooring and smart storage. Very practical when you come straight from a swim or a walk in the woods. After that you are met by an open kitchen and living area with generous ceiling height and lots of natural light. You immediately get the feeling that you are still out in the beautiful nature.

– There's an incredible amount of kitchen for such a small house, says Lena, who thinks the house's layout is exactly as it should be.

The sky as company

Although it is a relatively small holiday home with its 40 square meters, the house feels airy and unexpectedly spacious. Largely thanks to the influx of light and the ceiling height. Windows in three directions; north, east and west provide views towards the nature and the lake, while roof windows also let the sun in directly from above.

– I love light, it's absolutely crucial for me. Even though she likes light, a conscious choice has been to avoid large south-facing windows.

– It often becomes too warm, and you are forced to cover up with curtains. Then both light and view disappear. Here the light instead comes from several directions and from above – it works perfectly, Lena says.

The ceiling height, which reaches about three and a half meters in the middle, gives a sense of space and reinforces the feeling that the house is larger than its actual square meters. The architecture is timeless: a clean gable roof without eaves and an uninterrupted sliding glass wall that gives the house a distinct character and creates a close connection between inside and outside. In summer the sliding doors are often open to blur the boundary between inside and outside even more.

– I love open doors. The house becomes part of the place, not something that shuts out nature, Lena says.

Bedroom with space

The bedroom is bright and pared-down, with wood panelling on the walls and wooden floors that tie the whole together. There is both a skylight and large windows that run from floor to ceiling, which makes daylight fill the room for most of the day. The light wood surfaces catch the light and enhance the sense of space, despite the room being compact. When you lie in bed you see the sky through the skylight and at the same time have a view through the tall panes of glass. This makes the bedroom feel close to nature – without it needing to be more complicated than that.

– I wanted to wake to daylight, not to lamps. The light makes a big difference to how the room feels, especially in the morning.

Life by the lake

Having a holiday home right by a lake naturally provides room for activities year-round. For example, invigorating swims, ice skating, paddling and fishing. In summer the days are filled with morning dips, sun on the jetty and quiet moments with a view over the water. The surrounding forest offers mushrooms and berries, and a deck is slowly being built around the house, in stages, without stress.

– There are no dead times here. You can do a lot, but you don’t have to do anything at all, other than enjoy life, says Lena.

A house that was ready from the start

After all the years of uncertainty, security and clarity were important guiding words. With Sommarnöjens turnkey concept the house was complete from the start. No options were required to create a functional and beautiful holiday home. The model "Tidlös sommar" was developed in collaboration with Arrhov Frick Architects and is continuously further developed. Floor joists, sliding glass sections, kitchen, bathroom and details are already coordinated to create a well-thought-out whole.

– The drawings were extremely clear. Everything was exact, from measurements to installations. There were no question marks, says Lena.