Filed under: Design, etc, Architecture
Sweden's flag's colors -- blue and yellow -- are (coincidentally? you decide!) smartly used to decorate a suite inside Hotel Skeppsholmen, an example of minimalism at its best. Photo: Louise Billgert
A building in Stockholm, Sweden, that dates back to 1699 -- and was once used as barracks for the Royal Marines of Karl XII -- reopened its doors as a hip, urban hotel last October. The same architect who worked on Stockholm's Royal Palace (Nicodemus Tessin the Younger) designed the hotel's two original buildings. To honor its history, each hotel room is dedicated to either a past resident of these buildings or a historically significant person in Sweden's history.
The design team tasked with the overhaul -- Claesson Koivisto Rune and architects Peter Erseus & Gunhild Skoog Jägbeck -- wanted to cultivate a quiet, serene place in the middle of Sweden's bustling capital city. Located on an islet, which the hotel is named after (Skeppsholmen), the property's two original, historic shells remain. But what's inside is funky, modern and quite surprising.
In each of the hotel's 81 rooms or suites, original wooden flooring and windows were kept intact, but there are plenty of contemporary accents to keep things feeling modern. A neutral palette of white, charcoal and black for the bedding -- paired with white walls -- was chosen so it wouldn't distract from the playful mix of old and new. The smaller rooms are actually the authentic historical size of the rooms as they were back in 1699. Yet with updated fixtures, such as Boffi basins from Italy in the bathroom and integrated illumination in the shower, you get treated to a little bit of pampering.
Hotel Skeppsholmen shares a 'hood with three other design meccas, so it's right at home and within walking distance of: The Museum of Modern Art (works by Picasso, Dali and Matisse), The Swedish Museum of Architecture and Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. If you want to explore on two wheels, no problem. The hotel offers bicycles for guests' use.
Take a look around!
Hotel Skeppsholmen is inside a building dating back to 1699 and located on an islet near downtown Stockholm. Photo: Max Plunger
Light and airy, with lots of clean lines, this room is not only done in minimalist style. It's also the perfect, calming space after a day of sightseeing. Photo: Louise Billgert
Whether it's a cold winter night or the postscript to an exhausting day, this deep soaking tub -- inside the suite-size room -- is heavenly. Photo: Louise Billgert
The hotel's restaurant serves breakfast, afternoon tea, lunch and dinner. Photo: Louise Billgert