MYSTILO

Our new Swedish home, which I designed and planned while still living in Hong Kong.

We had it built in 2016, before we moved to Sweden, which made it even more important to be meticulous about the details. Having 20 years of experience as well as being very organised made me confident to do such a project at a distance.

 

Placing the house on the lot was tricky and needed careful planning, due to the rocky and steep terrain as well as local government rules with special restrictions for preserving the local nature and look of the area, while getting the most of the (sometimes rare) sun-shine!

 

We chose a one-storey house, a modern style with plenty of glass. My husband wanted huge sliding doors, which open 4 meters wide, for a feeling of an extended living room onto the wooden deck and nature, blending the inside and outside into one living area, when the weather is warm.

 

Since it would be difficult to visit the site during construction, we chose a turn key house supplier which makes pre-fab houses, which was safer and more reliable than if we would have hired contractors ourselves. I provided the plans and detailed 3D models of both the interior and exterior of the house (following their 15cm modular increments for the walls), which made the communication smooth and clear, for them to make their construction drawings accurately. 

 

Working with their appointed kitchen supplier, I also designed and drew the kitchen in detail. 

 

On our summer trip to Sweden in 2015, before the construction started, I chose all the materials and equipment needed ahead of time, which was possible to do thanks to my long experience in the field.

We had to make sure we covered everything required for construction as it wasn’t practical to fly back and forth to Sweden. 

 

We also had some Skype meetings with the contractors. My husband checked on the house twice during it’s construction - armed with all my detailed 3D’s (down to electrical switches and sockets) which helped him, a layman, to check it’s progress confidently and correctly. And I made him do virtual walk-throughs of the house several times on the computer, and when he walked into the real house in Sweden he said it was surreal!

 

We moved in to the house on October 2016, and we are very happy with the outcome, and how the design became a reality.

 

Designing this house made me understand the Swedish construction process and the materials available, as well as the different environmental factors, such as catching the precious sunshine instead of avoiding it like in the tropics, and the energy efficiency requirements. A fun and different experience compared to the tight spaces of Hong Kong.