Jonas jansson & julie von hofsten

To the manor born

JULIE VON HOFSTEN and Jonas Jansson surprised themselves as well as those close to them when they left their flat in Stockholm and settled down in the south of Sweden, just outside the town of Mariestad. They moved in to an early 19th-century building that originally served as the kitchen wing of the historical Borrud Manor, which belongs to von Hofsten’s parents. It is not hard to understand the couple’s decision when you see the beauty of their new home, overlooking a large estate with magnificent views over Lake Vänern. The house has been in von Hofsten’s family since the beginning of the 20th century, but dates back to the Middle Ages. The buildings have been rebuilt over the years, most recently in the early 1900s when the esteemed architect Ivar Tengbom designed some additions to the main building.

Before making the decision to move, Jansson – who runs architecture practice Amundsen + Jansson with Helene Amundsen – had already mapped out the restoration of the wing, which needed modernisation. It was when Jansson and von Hofsten started to clear out the place and spend some time there that they realised they wanted to live in the wing themselves. “If it was going to happen it had to be now when the children are small,” says von Hofsten. And the family is always around the corner. “It’s not like we live in the middle of the woods,” says Jansson. “There is always hustle and bustle and we are close to Julie’s parents.”

The wing wasn’t converted into a residential building until the 1930s. “We wanted to retain as much of the character of the house as possible, so we have chosen to preserve the details of both eras, although it may be an odd combination – early 19th century meets the 1930s,” says Jansson. “There are modernist windows in parts of the house and mullion windows from the 19th century in others.”

As a starting point Jansson always works with what already exists, emphasising simplicity and a back to basics approach in his archit