The sea-facing side has a large covered deck. Thin slats of larch on this facade create a slimmer profile that contrasts the large floor-to-ceiling windows.
Sundberg designed the home as a simple box so it would "subordinate itself" to the sandy landscape of birch trees and sea grasses.
Floor plan of Sommarhus H
Site plan of Sommarhus H
The home includes a sauna, a common feature in private residences throughout Scandinavia.
The primary bedroom faces the sea and has direct access to the large deck.
The sleeping quarters and a family room are located down the hallway.
The home measures approximately 1,485 square feet, with an open living space that includes the kitchen and dining room.
The front and sides of the home feature a wide board-and-batten larch cladding to add depth and allow for a variation of shadows throughout the day.
Sundberg says the owners are very proud of the house, not only for its aesthetic, but also because of "how it creates this distillation of the things they love about their place in Sweden, how wonderful it makes them feel. That sort of brings us right to the core of what we try to do always."
Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows and a clean white and wood palette make the landscape a focal point.
Overhangs on the south facade create compartments around each interior room, and offer protection from the elements.
Sundberg used materials, which include concrete and zinc in addition to larch, that were as close to their natural and untreated form as possible. "It is the right thing to do here," he says. "We don't want our design to pretend to be something it is not."
Siberian larch is the primary facade material. It's finished with a silicon-based protective treatment to allow the wood to weather more evenly.
"We work with the human body and mind in the center, and around it we build on the site and the cultural heritage of the environment around it," explains Sundberg of his approach to design. "This is more important than any kind of abstract constructs. Architecture is about emotional belonging, about the functions of the body and the mind, about what kind of social and emotional space we want our clients to be set into. This project is about these themes."
Swedish architect Johan Sundberg designed this three-bedroom home in the southern Skåne region for a family of four. The parents grew up in the area, but they now live in Boston.
The compartments on the sea-facing facade are one of Sundberg's favorite features of the design. They "work on a lot of levels," he says.
The 1830s mansion that is now Life House Nantucket was originally built by whaler Captain Robert Calder and opened as an inn in 1870.
Guest rooms feature bespoke millwork, made with Colombian oak with raffia detailing. Vintage rugs come from Revival Rugs, textiles are Naturtex Espana, and the bedside sconce shades feature a flora print fabric from House of Hackney.
Native flora features heavily in the design, like the modern interpretations of 19th-century botanical drawings found in the guest rooms. The artwork on the far right is made with poetry from a colonial-era journal that the in-house design team found at the local public library.
The showers are clad in ceramic tiles painted to celebrate native plants and flowers.
Life House’s design team oversaw every detail of the project. It's helmed by Jenny Bukovec, previously of Rockwell Group, and includes Lei Xing as senior designer and Tacho Elizondo as product designer.
The aesthetic is meant to evoke a "nonchalant innkeeper." Gallery walls include framed vintage Gucci scarves and custom works by the design team, including graphite sketches, surrealist collages, and watercolor paintings.
Much of the furniture in the public spaces is vintage, sourced from local shops and collectors.
A built-in banquette clad in House of Hackney's Meh Mey print in a velvet blush wraps around the communal kitchen, which is currently closed to guests due to COVID-19.
The smaller garden is adjacent to the Innkeeper's Suite, which is Zeidan's favorite room. "I like to stay there because it feels like I have this private terrace," he says.
A bespoke golden runner with a tiger illustration drawn by a member of the design team welcomes guests in the entry. The pendant is jade Morano glass with gold fringe.
Life House's COVID-19 precautions include allowing guests to opt-out of housekeeping and twice-daily cleanings of the public spaces.
Throughout the hotel, moldings are painted to celebrate the building's original architectural details.
In its previous life, the courtyard was "an afterthought," sparsely outfitted with plastic furniture. "For us, it was an opportunity to do something special," says Rami Zeidan, CEO and founder of Life House.
Clint used the same Asian statuary marble in the main bathroom and the kitchen. Remnant pieces were incorporated into the secondary bathroom.
The wall holding the fireplace separates the kitchen from the living room (featuring pup Major). "It's nice to have some separation," says Weber. "In small-space design, you get more for your money by having different experiences, not just one room."
The original steel windows at the front of the house were completely refurbished and reglazed, a process that was one of the costlier parts of the project. "Most remodelers would have said that it was too much work to repair them, but it would have been foolish to throw them out," says Clint. "This is the most expensive type of window you can get."
They kept the palette for the project simple: wood, white, black. "It reduces uncertainty if you just stick with three colors," says Clint.
Clint worked with architecture firm Anacapa on the renovation, which removed interior walls to create an open living space with direct access to the backyard.
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