Mid-century tropical: At home with designer Frida Ahlvarsson

"Looking at my brand, I think you would expect me to live in a Stockholm-white apartment – somewhere super clean and minimalist," laughs Ahlvar Gallery's founder and creative director, Frida Ahlvarsson. Her brand boasts a core collection of draped silk tops, skirts and dresses, with added basics such as a wide-cut heavy cotton t-shirt and knit sweaters – all adhering to the signature Scandi aesthetic.

In contrast to the paired back minimalism ofher brand, Ahlvarsson's approach to decorating her home is more of an organic affair. Her apartment is a true nature-inspired oasis of mixed materials – playin with different wood species and structured linen, stone, and greenery – in the middle of Vasastan in Stockholm, only a few minutes from the Ahlvar HQ. "Really, you could argue that both my clothes and interiors are about timelessness, in a way," she points out. "While I'd say my home is more unique and personal than my brand, there's still that red thread"

The apartment, built in the modernist 'functionalist' style of the 1930s, has an airy open plan (you can see straight through the apartment from one side to the other) bathed in lots of natural light and made even more expansive by the choice to not have kitchen cabinets. "I don't cook, so for me it wasn't that important to have lots and lots of space", Ahlvarsson says of the lack of storage in the kitchen area.

"I'm a very analytical designer," Ahlvarsson explains. "I don't design in museums, but rather, I look at the market to see what women want. And I had the same approach to decorating my home, " she explains. Creating moodboards and pin-pointing what aspect of each image she enjoyed, Ahlvarsson were able to identify what she liked. "It helped me make braver choices, I could've chosen to have white doors and white skirting boards, but instead I chose to use walnut wood to frame the rooms."

Ahlvarsson believes that the best way to decorate is to merge your own taste with the architecture style already present in your home, saying "There's no point in trying to make a functionalist apartment look grand." Even as the designer remodelled both walls, floors, and ceiling, she wanted to stick to the original style while incorporating a cozy "hotel-feel" in to the space by lowering the ceiling and installing light features along the top of the walls. "Honestly, before it just lacked any kind of character. It looked and felt like a dental clinic."

When it comes to interior design, the designer prefers vintage and constantly searches for a new favourites at sites like Bukowskis and Auctionet. “It’s as important that every piece I invest in for my apartment is something that I will keep for the rest of my life," says Ahlvarsson. "I would rather wait several months – even years – until I find the perfect decor rather than buy something that I’m not 100 per cent satisfied with.”

"I think one of my favourite pieces in the flat is my bamboo armchair," says Ahlvarsson. "It isn't comfy, but it doesn't have to be. Instead it just embodies the feeling I wanted to create." Beyond the bamboo chair, Ahlvarsson also relies on plants to bring some life into her home "I love plants, the bigger the better really."

Looking ahead, Ahlvarsson has her eyes on a wall in the kitchen which "could do with a nice old dresser" and is actively on the hunt for a vintage bookcase. But, as she has pointed out, to find the perfect piece may take some patience.