A home full of contrasts

In Huskvarna, a lakeside town in southern Sweden, the Söderberg family has created their dream home – primarily in concrete. Troldtekt ensures superior acoustics throughout the entire house, while black-painted acoustic panels have been installed in the kitchen/living room.

The Söderberg family previously lived in a canal house at Sluseholmen, a new canal community in Copenhagen, but after four years they chose to move back to Sweden. Here, they have built their dream home, where concrete features prominently inside the house as well as outside.

“As a family, we’re attracted to contrasts in our daily lives and in our ideas about residential architecture,” say Mattias and Helena Söderberg. The couple have two children, Will, aged nine, and Amy, aged three.

The house was designed by structural engineer Nina Andersson based on the family’s own drawings.

“We’ve always been impressed by what you can do with concrete, and therefore we were keen to build a concrete house. All the walls and floors are made of concrete. We also enjoy devising our own solutions, and the basic idea from the outset has been that only maintenance-free materials should be used.

Personal touch

Mattias and Helena have a shared interest in interior design and architecture, and while Helena is good at coming up with new ideas, Mattias will throw himself into exploring the technical possibilities.

The couple love Danish design, and have also travelled extensively and drawn inspiration from many parts of the world.

“When we decided to return to Sweden after our spell in Copenhagen, we wanted to build a house that was similar to our canal house. Our children have been allowed to design their own rooms, so Amy decided that the walls of her bedroom should be painted pink with glitter. Will on the other hand is a fan of Manchester City Football Club, and chose the club colours for his room,” say Mattias and Helena.

Black ceiling ensures superior acoustics

The couple have encountered Troldtekt acoustic solutions in different contexts, and having first-hand experience of the difference between a room with Troldtekt and one without an acoustic ceiling, they were never in any doubt about what they wanted. Not least given the fact that concrete can potentially result in very bad acoustics.

“We love Troldtekt’s design, and the result is far better than we ever dared hope – also acoustically.”

In the kitchen/living room, the Söderberg family has chosen a black-painted Troldtekt acoustic ceiling, which creates an exciting contrast to the concrete walls and the graffiti wall which the couple had painted.

“We think the black acoustic ceiling goes well with the other colours we’ve chosen, the pale walls and the graffiti wall. We’re extremely happy with the result.”

Throughout the rest of the house, Troldtekt acoustic panels in different shades of grey have been installed.