In this blog series we step into the homes of PORTAL shelf owners.

Today we are visiting a dear Betonggruvan favourite: Swantje Hinrichsen.

Hi Swantje! First of all, tell us about you!

I‘m Swantje, 39, a Germany based Art Director, Graphic Designer and Illustrator with a strong focus on Editorial Design, Book Design and playful visual Identities.

Both, my work- and interiorstyle are very graphic, colorthemed and conceptual and i love the fact that i can combine home- and worklife through these characteristics.

My home, my work and colors are kind of my therapy, they keep me stay true to myself, help me changing perspectives, charging my batteries and transfering my emotions and my thoughts.

They are my visual language and part of my DNA.

One month ago i moved to my very own Studio room, where i’ve aimed to have a bright color concept to. There’s a sofa inside as well to have some rests when i need them. Most of all i wanted it to be space where i feel home too, since i’m sitting an working there most time of the day. It’s called my »Buttercreamstudio« because the bright yellow walls look like a huge buttercream cake. =)

We love your home! Who lives here?

My boyfriend and me. And maybe sometimes some imaginary friends too =)

Tell us about your house, and what you like the most about it:

Our house is an old one, from 1920 i guess. It has three levels and messures about 145 square meters. When you step into the entrance there’s a small hallway (the colorful one with the bikes hanging on the wall), from there you take the stairway up onto the first floor. There you find kitchen, dining- and livingroom and a bathroom. The second floor (under the roof) has a bedroom, a small balcony (and a room attached to it), a workspace/guestroom (we call it the »everythingroom«, cause we also have the clothesrack and the clothing cabinets in it) and another bathroom.

What i like most about the house is, that it has these original old floor in every room (except the bathrooms) and that it’s so calm inside. Sometimes i don’t like the »open living« since i like to be by myself a lot and therefore would like to close a door. But that’s just a teeny tiny small thing.

What’s in your shelf? And why did you choose to have it (your second Betonggruvan shelf!) in your kitchen?

We store some cooking books and breadboxes inside the cupboard with the doors and glasses with meal and stuff, some dishes and fruits in the open part. I chose to have another shelf of yours in the kitchen because i thought it just completes the kitchen interior perfectly with it’s warmth and »lightness«.

In our new blog series we step into the homes of PORTAL shelf owners.

Today we are visiting Flora Wiström in her apartment on Södermalm in Stockholm. She works as a blogger and writer and also arranges writing couses with her friend and colleague Yrsa Keysendal. That Flora works with books is hard to miss by visiting her: there are books everywhere. 

We enter the apartment and are immediately greeted by the livingroom, painted green. We’re here to talk about Flora’s shelf and books – two things that we both love.

Hi Flora!

Who lives here?

Me and my boyfriend Johan.

You have a lot of books in your shelf, tell us about how you sort them!

Maybe it has to do with my need for control, but I sort the books by which ones I have and have not read. And also by paperback and hardcover. I love to own books, as a trophy of how much I read 🙂 

Which book do you want to recommend?

Röd Självbiografi (Red autobiography) by Anne Carson. It is a very thrilling lyrical novel, an interpretation of the myth about Herakles and Geryon. Geryon is a monster that falls in love with Herakles, but Herakles is not that enthusiastic. It’s such a strong story about desire. I just read it in my book club and could not stop reading. It is a very well-written and quite peculiar book.

Hyllsystem PORTAL – FLORA – 15710 kr

What about the little drawing behind the plants?

It was a gift I got on my 24th birthday. My boyfriend Johan and I had then been dating for a few months, and since he is an architect he decided to draw me a little cabin where I could sit and write. It was so cute that I could not stop crying. It was never supposed to be built, but more of a sweet gesture to encourage my writing.

You released the book Hålla andan this year, tell us about it!

It takes place at a public swimming pool. Those places make me feel very uncomfortable, you are exposed and it is so associated with going there with school and being undressed. But there is also something nice about dressing rooms. When I had decided on the location, I involved every part of in the swimming facility in the story, from the roof and the reception to the sauna and the staff room.

The main character is a young elite swimmer that one day disappears. Her siblings are trying to understand why she went away, and it is a story about relationsships and performance. The cover of Hålla Andan is made by Sara Edström who also designed my first book Stanna. She is also the designer of the new issues of Annika Thor’s books.

Tell us about your shelf.

I used to have a smaller version before, when I lived in a 24 sqm apartment. I then had three sections of the shelf, but after I moved in here and got more space I could add one more section.

When I had just moved in, my best friend and I painted the pinewood shelves in our underwear. I love that they are all painted the same color as the wall, and that the shelf takes up an entire wall. The books and things in my shelf really get to be the main characters in the room. It is easy to move things around in the shelf to give the room a new feeling. I just read that it is good for a room when things move around from time to time. Good for the energy.

Hi Katarina!

Who lives here?

Me and my family. We’re Katarina, Jakub, Milo, 4 years and Hilma, 9 months.

What made you move to this cute neighbourhood?

One of my oldest friends moved here, and her son is my godson. We really love the neighbourhood, with the houses built in the late 40’s and the surroundings drawn by Walter Bauer. It’s the world’s lovliest place. The neighbours have so many nice traditions that go way back to the 50’s, like for Lucia when the kids walk the Luciatåg with torches and a horse. Many of our neighbours are in the same stage of life as we are, the kids play together and I have a book club here. We are definately staying.

You spent one month in New York just now, tell us!

Me and Jacob lived in New York from 2010-2013/14, and felt that it would be really nice to connect our life now, with kids and all, to that time. We rented a friend’s apartment and it was lovely! Well, of course we fought here as well, but everyone slept well and it was such a good break from life at home. At home there is always some things that needs to be fixed, but during this trip we had the chance to just disconnect from those things. One thing, though, is it very expensive since the dollar is so high. Milo and I had a 55 dollar lunch just the two of us one day.

Going to New York is really what you dream of doing during your parental leave but can’t get together. What can you recommend?

It is really nice to travel there with kids. Well, there are no elevators in the subway, so you’ll have to have a baby sling and walk a lot. But going to museums with kids are very nice, we went to Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaurs, but Milo was more interested in the space stones that killed them. Also The New Museum was really nice, showing video art that the whole family could enjoy, and with a nice workshop for kids.

We know ALL of New York’s playgrounds by now. The best ones are the one next to Metropolitan Museum of Art in Central Park called Ancient Playground, and one in Williamsburg that I think is called Domino Playground.

We spent some time hanging out in East Village’s Community gardens, watching turtles and playing borkarövare. In general, it’s just so enjoyable to hang out in New York, there are always things happening in the streets – someone playing music or a nice window to look into. My best tip is to just stroll around, there are pizza slices everywhere.

What do you like about the Portal shelf?

We are book horders in a sick way, and always used to have storage problems. I love the fact that the Portal shelf is so nice and neat. It fits really well in our 50’s house.

Also, it can be filled with a lot of books, at some places we have books in double lines but the shelf still looks clean. It is nice to be able to put shelves on different levels, and they are really easy to mount.   We have one low Portal shelf on the ground floor and a higher one on the first floor. Both shelves are off white with pinewood shelves, a nice way to connect the two levels with each other. The same system but constructed differently.  

I easily get very attached to books, and things in general. We have a problem in our family: I love the stones from Denmark (where we went for vacation) and my fleamarket finds and all my stuff. My husband is not that interested in things but has a hard time getting rid of them. That is such a bad combo. Our ambition is to only have things in our home that sparks joy. But there is so much that sparks joy!