Granholmen

01/13

On Kallaxön in the very north of Sweden outside Luleå lies house Granholmen a small light green wooden summer cottage.

The area surrounding the house is characterized by an intense greenery with conifers covering the island’s inner parts and deciduous trees at the water’s edge. There is no distinctive tradition of the classic Swedish red houses in this part of the archipelago.

Instead the building, which is located just by the water, is painted with green calcimine to tie it to the immediate surroundings. It is a pale light green tone that is chosen to shine with the erected copper-green ceiling. Together they form a solid whole that becomes one with all the green shades on the tree-covered headland.

The house is built for a family who lives there in the summer, as much inside as on the outside during the long days of the Swedish summer. The construction is made of wood with a simple open plan solution. A series of glass doors border the long side to the west and a large floor-high window partition to the mainland in the north. Kitchen, living room, dining area and place-built furniture coexist in the main space of the house. A toilet and shower can be accessed from the outside. A loft ladder leads to the attic with an open loft and a more closed bedroom. The entire interior is dressed with massive untreated pine.

The choice of calcimine was a conscious choice. The family wanted a color that could easily be improved without major preliminary work. In the north of Sweden inner archipelago there is a climate that goes hard with all sorts of facades and summer is often spent on scraper work. The sludge turns out to be excellent in such an environment as the facade is allowed to breathe and live with the climate.

The big challenge of finding the right color was instead of getting the right shade of green that could match ceiling, details and the island’s greenery.