#Närhetsliv with lake views

Boden profiles Emmy Nordmark and Mattias Bergqvist took the chance and bought a renovation project at a great location. Together they have turned a worn 60’s villa into a modern dream home with a lake view.

It was the location that made Emmy Nordmark and Mattias Bergqvist choose this particular brick villa on Torpgärdan. They lived in an apartment in central Boden and had no intention of becoming homeowners. But when Emmy’s grandmother suggested a cheap house near her, they stopped by and looked. And they got hooked right away.

– It was a Thursday. So we called the broker, got a tour on Friday, were at the bank on Monday, placed a bid and bought it on Tuesday. And we had not even talked about buying a house, says Emmy.

At that time, there was in itself no view at all. Next to the house grew a five meter high hedge but just below Svartbyträsket begins and the couple saw the potential.

The house was in worn original condition since 1963 with red medallion wallpaper and corridor kitchen. They started from scratch with both the garden and the house. They cleared, tore and replaced windows, electricity, heating, water and sewage.

– We were very happy that we did because when they started driving in the basement, we discovered that the drain pipes were broken, says Emmy.

The wall between the kitchen and living room was knocked out to open up the floor plan and the bathroom on the entrance level was expanded.

– Emmy’s dad cut off the entire wall in the bathroom, pushed it one meter and fastened it again, much like you are sitting at the computer cutting out and pasting. It was the sickest thing I have seen, it took 20 minutes to move the wall one meter, says Mattias.

The apartment was sold quickly, so the couple first lived with Emmy’s grandmother. After work, they were served dinner, threw it in, went to their workouts and then spent every spare minute in the house. After four months, they were ready to move in.

– We probably had no idea what it would really mean. But if we had not had the help of Emmy’s grandfather, we would have been part of the Angry Carpenter (show on channel 4) a long time ago. When we installed the kitchen, we were 13 people here at the same time, says Mattias.

An ongoing process

Since then, the home projects continue to take turns. In seven years, most of the rooms have been redone twice and Mattias describes the house as an ongoing process. The interior is Scandinavian minimalist with elements of natural materials such as wood and stone. An example is the new coffee table that Emmy built from a culvert, quartz rod and a round stone top.

– Interior design is my big interest so I look a lot on the internet and get tips and ideas. Now I want to bring in more down-to-earth and warm tones. I like DIY and if I get an idea, I do it at once, says Emmy.

After a weekend on the go, Mattias came home to site-built wardrobes and a built-in TV in the bedroom. Behind the bed is a brown-stained headboard of narrow wooden slats that Emmy also built. She got inspiration from Pinterest, went to the nearest DIY store and got help with splitting and cutting everything in the right size.

Mattias, on the other hand, changed windows in the living room when Emmy was away at a handball game. Before the trip, Emmy had dinner with her parents and saw the crane trucks from the other side of Svartbyträsket. She called to hear what it was about and Mattias was forced to come up with a white lie.

– But we managed to surprise and get the windows in before the weekend was over. It became a huge difference and you started to see how it would be, says Mattias.

Now the windows go from floor to ceiling along the entire wall, which gives the glittering view of the lake an absolute main role in the room. Outside there is a large terrace with the same striking backdrop.

– It is very harmonious to live this close to the water, says Emmy.

400 meter crawl

The basement contains, among other things, a walk-in closet, laundry room and a large bathroom with sauna and bathtub. Here, Emmy has carved a wooden wall that contrasts with the concrete gray tile, after inspiration from Arctic Bath.

The whole house has underfloor heating and to avoid compromising on the ceiling height, Mattias milled the heating coils into the basement floor.

– We crawled around and put 400 meters of hose and spent a whole weekend on it. You can imagine getting around Björknäsvallen’s course and you have three days. It was pretty inconsolable there in the middle somewhere I felt. But the ceiling height was two centimeters better, says Mattias.

Pregnant in week 37, Emmy decided it was time to redo the bathroom upstairs for the second time. Walls and floors are now clad in gray granite ceramics with a matte and non-slip surface, similar to the floor in the hall.

– It would take three days, Emmy thought, but it took the craftsmen two and a half weeks so it was still very fast. It was clear a week before Bosse was born, says Mattias.

It is now a little over four months since Emmy and Mattias became parents and the 60’s house became a home for an entire family. Pregnancy, childbirth and the first period have gone very well and now little Bosse has got his own room.

– We spend a lot of time at home and are happy in our home, says Mattias.

– Here we are close to everyone who means something, says Emmy. #

Facts

The family / Emmy Nordmark, 31 years old, self-employed and handball player, Mattias Bergqvist, 36 years old, business developer (Boden Business Park) and operations manager (Wanderword) and then the son Bosse, 4 months.
Home / Completely renovated single-storey villa with basement built in 1963, of 96 + 96 square meters, on Torpgärdan in Boden.