Turn-of-the-century dream of more than 34 square meters
Those of us who follow her on Instagram also know her as 34kvadrat. The name comes from the size of her first apartment, which she moved into eight years ago, at the same time that she started what would become a hugely popular blog and one insta account with 70k followers. The first thing that meets us is Emelie's warm smile, and of course the nice pregnant belly - she is expecting her and her partner's first child, and is about to enter week 29. We are welcomed into the beautiful apartment where Emelie is cutting newly bought flowers. We, like her other 69,998 followers, are captivated by Emelie's sense of style and so curious to know a little more about her person and home.
Hi Emelie! So much fun to pass you by. How is the situation today?
- Yes, but so nice to have you here! The situation is good, I've even had time to put some away before you came and drove my partner away, haha.
The apartment we are standing in - it is so incredibly beautiful and, of course, furnished with the utmost care. Tell us a little about it!
- We bought it before last summer, 2019. Then it was a completely different apartment, you could say. We have done a complete renovation where we restored a lot of turn-of-the-century details such as stucco, lamp rosettes and other things. We have also removed one wall and put up another, so that we have got a third instead of a second, and with a completely different layout. The renovation was hugely extensive, we had to some extent expected that as the apartment had been a tenement with a surface layer from the 80s with everything that goes with it. But there were also unwelcome surprises - for example, we had hoped to restore a beautiful pine floor that was under the plastic carpet, but we discovered that it had been puttyed directly on it. It was too expensive to restore, so it had to be newly laid herringbone parquet instead. The bathroom was another obstacle in the way where we had to replace the well which was an extensive project. But it was also incredibly fun - I've always dreamed of living in a turn-of-the-century apartment in the city, and of course it was wonderful to be able to realize that dream, together with my partner.
Emelie in the beautiful kitchen that we often drool over instagram .
Still life on the kitchen counter with the book Small steps Great stories
Lamp off Flos , appliances from Bertazzoni and brand new cut flowers.
So how long did the renovation take in the end?
- We moved in almost exactly a year ago - and if I'm honest, there are still some things that aren't quite in place yet. We took a little break from everything once we moved in, it was an incredibly busy period with a lot of work and eventually my pregnancy which meant we needed to focus on other things. I had wanted the nursery to be finished and decorated for you to see, but it's not quite ready yet.
No, there are still a few weeks left. How has your pregnancy been so far?
- I'm fine now, but I had severe nausea until week 14. I've sort of dreamed of being pregnant and having a baby since I was quite young, and thought it would be more pleasant, haha. It was very hard to feel so bad. But now the last few weeks it feels really good, and a little more as lovely as you want it to be.
"I've always dreamed of living in a turn-of-the-century apartment in the city"
We have a whole spread about pregnancy in the book, and thought you would get to answer a few questions from it!
- Absolutely! On the first question, how does it feel, I would like to tick all three haha. It has been tough, and of course it is absolutely wonderful. And sometimes it feels just like usual, almost to the point where I forget about it. And yes, the first kick! I remember it, because it was on my sister's birthday. How nice, it's probably something I would have forgotten about otherwise.
How has the prep been then?
- Hm, yes - our renovation project still has small details, but it feels good that the big job is done. And regarding courses - because of the pandemic, there haven't been any. It feels a bit sad not to have been able to attend, for example, a parenting course, but it will probably go well anyway.
Excerpt from the book Small steps Great stories. Buy the book here.
Emelie in week 28+6. Who's hiding in there?
"I'm proud to be a part of this industry and all the amazing women — and yes, we're actually mostly women — working here and accomplishing absolutely incredible things."
Your Instagram account is incredibly nice with so much beautiful interior design inspiration - but it's not that often you see a picture there. Is it deliberate?
- Yes, it absolutely is. It has been a conscious choice not to be so personal, and there are several reasons for that. Firstly, I have never felt the need to be seen as a person, but it was my passion for interior design that made me choose to start my blog and instagram. Secondly, there are, and to some extent unfortunately still are, preconceived notions about blogs and I unfortunately noticed quite quickly when I was at the beginning of my career as a real estate developer that I benefited from separating my professional life and the blog. Lately, however, I have understood that my followers are actually a little curious about me and the girl behind, and today I also feel that I have the self-esteem to dare to show more of who I am. I'm proud to be a part of this industry and all the amazing women - and yes, we're actually mostly women - who work here and accomplish absolutely incredible things.
And with the pregnancy, I notice that I have become even more enthusiastic about myself as a person, haha. There is perhaps a need to talk about the pregnancy, plus it occupies a lot of my thoughts right now of course. But it's both a little scary and a lot of fun!
In any case, we are incredibly happy that we got to meet you and take a look inside your beautiful home! We will be cheering you on until spring, when the little baby is expected to arrive, and hope you have a lovely first time together!
- Thank you please! It will be so much fun to meet our new family member eventually, and so cozy to fill in the book. Thanks for coming - and welcome back when the baby is here!
Emelie's style permeates the entire apartment. Stylish and bright, and at the same time inviting and warm.
The bedroom with built-in storage.
