“Painted Floors” is the fifth book in the “Building Care in Practice” series.

It covers all kinds of wooden floors, both indoor and outdoor. From barn floors to checkered 18th century floors and solid colored floors from the 19th and 20th centuries.

The last floor among the book’s examples was painted just a few years ago. A living tradition, then! The book is practically organized and above all intended to serve as a solid instruction for those who want to paint themselves.

Richly illustrated with scale models, color recipes and other tips. The visual material consists of photos, drawings and watercolors.

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.

Houses made of slag – many have never seen them, others stand in awe of the slag bricks that shimmer in blue, green, gray and even change color with the light. Intriguing structures, tiny lumps of iron, charcoal striations – what can’t you find when you take a closer look at the building material? What is it, many people ask today. When were the houses built? Why was cinder block made?

Slagstone is our first artificial building stone, used in ore fields as an alternative to building timber. The forest was needed for the production of charcoal, the fuel for smelting ore and the extraction of copper and iron. The metals were exported, bringing income to Sweden and raising people’s standard of living. Slag was a by-product of metal production. The metals have been sold around the world, the workplaces are closed down and gone – but the slag remains and tells us – about ores and technological development, about heavy manual labor and skilled craftsmanship. No two cinder blocks are the same. Never again can one be made.

DESCRIPTION The book aims to raise awareness of the buildings. The oldest ones date from the 18th century, the youngest from the early 20th century. They are churches or cellars and everything in between. The pictures aim to show how amazing the buildings are and the text provides information about their background, construction and care. The hope is that people will be inspired to take pride in the slag houses and care for these unique buildings, made from a material that is irreplaceable today.

TIP Don’t forget to take a look at our beautiful Bagarstuga in Gysinge, which is built of cinder block.

Agricultural architect Charles Emil Löfvenskiöld (1810-1888) dreamed of reforming the Swedish countryside. A new architecture characterized by both beauty and rationality would combat poverty and misery. Bright, spacious and well-planned houses for both humans and animals were the basis for a humane and prosperous society. Only when the practical was also beautiful was it truly functional.

The purpose of the publication Landtmannabyggnader, hufvudsakligen för mindre jordbruk from 1868 was to disseminate the new findings in affordable and educational booklets with clear drawings and explanatory texts. Today, the work is an architectural classic that has had a major impact on Swedish building culture.

This reproduction is supplemented by an appendix with drawings by Löfvenskiöld’s pupil and longtime collaborator Pehr August Pettersson (1841-1906). They were originally published in his Landtmannabyggnader: ritningar för alla områden inom landthushållningen from 1891, a sequel and tribute to Löfvenskiöld’s classic work.