Cottage house in Skåne, Sweden

The Stockholm native Kristoffer, his fiancé Kajsa, and their two daughters Betty and Lilly have strong roots in south of Sweden, in Skåne, a region that has shaped both their personal and professional lives. Kristoffer, partner and product designer at Swedish design studio Note (design studio), and Kajsa, an architect with her own studio, have long dreamed of building a home that honors the land of Skåne and reflects the Swedish couples strong design values.

Kristoffer and Kajsa’s goal was to create a cottage house—Villa Varan—that blends with the natural landscape, using traditional and authentic materials, a place where architecture and nature coexist in quite harmony. They drew inspiration from architects like Bruno Mathsson and Per Friberg, whose work shows a deep respect for the environment. For both Kristoffer and Kajsa, architecture is an additive process. They are adding something meaningful to a place, and each new building changes its surroundings in some way. The couple approached Villa Varan with the goal of making as little impact as possible—both in terms of materials and design—creating a structure that is elegant but understated, letting it speak softly yet clearly.

Being close to Kattegatt, the sea between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, Kristoffer and Kajsa carefully positioned the house to work with the natural elements. Villa Varan is designed to let the morning light into the kitchen and the evening light into the living room, while the bedroom faces northwest, offering views of the sunrise over Hallands Väderö and the wide fields beyond.

Kristoffer and Kajsa chose to paint the entire house in John Pawson’s JO PA 03 Chalk. A white enlivened by the subtle presence of yellow, that adds a little warm and glow, but remains a neutral colour: “The colour is great, and the quality is by far the best paint I have ever used, and it was very simple to make it look professional,” Kristoffer tells.