Swedish Grace a forgotten modernism

How to get the time, advice and power to restore your home.

Join architectural historian Erika Åberg on her own house journey. Here she shares her experiences and best advice – from planning and strategies to practical projects. An old house or apartment with historical soul and atmosphere is a dream for many. A comfortable family life in a charming home with modern features, sound materials and beautiful details. But everyday life in an older building also means that there is always something to repair, replace or beautify.

Erika Åberg and her husband have been restoring their farm from scratch, inside and out, for just over a decade, and living family life with two young children in the meantime. How do you find the time, advice and energy?

In this book, she describes in ten chapters ten basic ways of thinking about building conservation and restoration. It covers everything from approaches to practical step-by-step moments.

The book shows you how to restore in a way that is sustainable; for the home, for the environment and for you and your family.

Building Care for Apartments takes its starting point in the emergence of the modern city at the end of the 19th century and allows us to follow the development of the Swedish apartment decade by decade, until the end of the 1980s. By highlighting how political forces have interacted with aesthetic ideals and construction technology, the book provides a unique insight into why our homes look the way they do. From the design of residential areas and the appearance of facades, to the division of rooms, the colors of walls and the specific profiles of skirting boards. In an accessible way, you will learn about the rich history hidden behind the perhaps worn floors or flaking wallpaper.

The second part of the book consists of an extensive chapter devoted entirely to the practical aspects of renovation and apartment care. It presents concrete strategies for approaching and dealing with issues related to care and renovation, as well as practical tips on how best to proceed when faced with the need to restore or replace something.

Building Conservation for Apartments is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in preserving their apartment and its history.

Stora boken om byggnadsvård is the bible for anyone who longs for an old house. Göran Gudmundsson, founder of the Gysinge Center for Building Conservation, writes knowledgeably and passionately about renovation inside and out, in the city and in the country. Here you get answers to everything you need to know about old houses, from foundation to chimney. And help you think. Both in terms of maintenance and choice of renovation materials, as well as how to solve requirements for functioning kitchens, bathrooms and heating, without losing the genuine feeling. Knowledge of building historical style ideals, and why our old houses look the way they do, is mixed with recipes for mud paint and linseed oil paint, tips on how to paint stencils, print wallpaper borders, repair tiles, soap scrub floors and renovate windows – a lot of concrete advice for those who want to try it themselves.

A practical book about tradition, comfort, quality and reuse for those who want to create a home with soul! The book can be seen as a continuation of Göran Gudmundsson’s popular book series “Byggnadsvård i praktiken”.

Building conservation and reuse

How did a dilapidated barn, an abandoned croft, a crumbling manor house, an uninhabitable military barracks and a smelly city apartment get a new lease of life and a new soul? Where did they start? How did they know where to look? And what did they skip?

About the author: Göran Gudmundsson’s new major book is a goldmine for anyone who loves old houses with tradition and flair. Here he tells the story of five comprehensive renovation projects with widely differing conditions. With great expertise, he describes the whole process – before, during and after – and shows in detail how to find the traces of the old, look for renovation materials, color and wallpaper. And not least, how to deal with the various options available. How should you think about original colors and old building materials – if you are also going to live in the house? Is it right or wrong?

“Many people think that building conservation is not for them. I want to change that. I want to show that EVERYONE – not just owners of old houses but also those who have an older apartment, who want to convert an abandoned farmhouse into a holiday home or are just generally interested in the environment and recycling – can find inspiration in the old way of building and decorating. Because if you choose to build new with old methods and used materials, you also get the soul in the bargain.”