The Swedish Forest and Sea Became the Soundtrack for This Minimalist Boathouse

"For the transformation of a former boathouse in Sweden's east archipelago into a serene retreat, it all started with-what else?-the sea. "I was really struck by the first time that I visited the site," says designer Kajsa Melchior. "You come from the forest and from the outside the house looks so simple and tiny, but when you enter, the only thing you see is the sea.""

""In my design process, I always go to music; it's like you're making a composition and you have certain tones that you need to arrange and put in place," she says. "When you come into nature, you start to kind of hear and everything gets very calm. The landscape and soundscape became a soundtrack." Melchior started as she often does with collecting elements from the environment: Here it began with sea grass and leaves from the forest in various shades of green."

The former boathouse in Sweden's east archipelago was transformed into a serene retreat centered on the sea. Kajsa Melchior was struck by the first visit when the sea became the dominant interior view despite the house's modest exterior. A longtime client inherited the pre-1920s home from his late grandmother; the structure grew from about 860 to 1,600 square feet and sits on a jetty. The realization that the client would use the house frequently shaped the design approach. Surrounding landscape and soundscape informed a crisp, calm interior palette. Melchior collected sea grass and forest leaves in varied greens to strengthen the connection between inside and outside.

Read at Architectural Digest