The gravel crunches underfoot and a mystical mist has settled over the sea, the cliffs, and the forest on Tjörn – this picturesque island northwest of Gothenburg, whose magical landscape and light have inspired artists for generations.

It is here that Emily Bratt and Joel Karlsson have found their place in the world. At the end of the gravel road stands their house, its weathered façade blending almost seamlessly into the surrounding nature. Settling here, however, was never part of their plan.
“It was pure coincidence that brought us here. When we found the plot there was only a small summer cottage, and not even a proper road,” Joel says.

Yet they both fell in love with the location, the landscape, and – above all – the possibilities for growing their own plants.
“I immediately felt that there was something magical about this place. Here you have everything: the forest, the coastal meadows, and the sea. But what really made the decision for me was the chance to create my own garden,” Emily explains.

The plan to build a road soon took shape, and it quickly became clear that the little cottage would have to be demolished to make way for something new.
“We tried to sleep there one night, but woke up to noises in the walls. I found a little hole with a pair of antennae sticking out – the walls were full of carpenter ants!” Emily laughs.

After looking at several options, they decided on a prefabricated Swedish house that Joel could redesign to suit their wishes. Even the foundation was adapted to make space for Joel’s vintage car.
“Our idea was to build as big as possible from the start so we wouldn’t need to extend later. Of course, this came with challenges, and some rooms stayed unfinished for quite a while. But for us, that’s not a problem,” Joel says.
“Some might find that stressful, but for us it’s been a strength that we don’t mind living like this. I think we’re both pretty used to a bit of chaos,” Emily adds.

A POPPY LIBRARY OF THEIR OWN

Joel describes himself as a collector, and although their home doesn’t fit into a single design category, there are threads that tie it all together.
“We might not have a defined interior style, but every piece of furniture and every object in the house has a provenance and a story. Whether it’s an antique, a piece of craftwork, or an Italian sofa – everything is here for a reason,” Joel says.

One example is the handmade diving helmet on the bookshelf, once used by Joel’s mother. Each room has been carefully thought out – from the green-painted office to the blue hallway leading up to the wallpapered poppy library.
“We’ve always called the room the library, and once the poppies went up on the walls, it truly became our poppy library,” Joel says.

Choosing poppies for the library walls felt natural.
“One of our first dogs was called Vallmo, and if we had had a daughter, we would have named her Poppy. So it felt wonderful to bring the poppy into our home,” Joel says.

But that wasn’t the only reason they fell for the large-scale wallpaper. The modernist feel was important, as was its connection to the garden.
“When I saw this Swedish wallpaper, I just thought: Yes! This is the one. The oversized poppies really fill the room with life,” Emily says.

Emily explains that poppies have followed her throughout her life.
“In ninth grade, I wrote a school project about the corn poppy, and I remember the first time I read about the coveted Himalayan blue poppy in my favorite book Din trädgård by Karin Berglund. It was the most beautiful flower I had ever seen! Different varieties of annual poppies were also among the very first flowers I sowed in our garden here,” Emily says.

For Emily, beauty is something deeply meaningful:
“As a gardener, it’s all about putting the right plant in the right place. That’s why I find it so beautiful to gather flowers grown in different corners of the garden and combine them in a centerpiece. Flowers that would never meet in nature come together for their very first love story – and that is truly magical!”