Inside Out - Nov/Dec 2008

(Left) A wood stove, gas burner and second-hand iron stove make up the rudimentary kitchen. Simple wooden stairs connect the two floors – wood is the predominant material in the house, from the carvings and mobiles on display to the furniture in the dining area (opposite page). Above this space, Carouschka relaxes on one of the many hammocks she likes to move around and hang both inside and out.

For one half of the year, Carouschka Streijffert’s world is about
discipline, energy and focus, as she’s swept up in the busy cycle of TV
shows, artistic projects and travel. For the other half, her world is one of
silence, seclusion and unlimited time to think, read, create – and just be.

An interior decorator, artist and production designer, Carouschka has many strings to her bow, including designing glassware for a local company, exhibiting art and appearing on TV decorating shows. But it is, on one of the islands of the Stockholm archipelago that she has found her sanctuary. In summer, Carouschka leaves her Swedish inner-city apartment and studio. From there, it doesn’t take long for her to step into her open military boat and steer out onto the coastal waters toward her second home. “To arrive, turn off the boat’s engine and meet the stillness and the silence gives me an enormous rush of happiness,” she says.

Carouschka found the place 20 years ago, when she and her son regularly explored the archipelago in a small rubber boat with just two sleeping bags and some food, camping out under the open skies. This particular island was far away from the main routes and completely deserted, apart from a decayed and abandoned little cabin.

“The cabin was made out of masonite and old freight boxes and didn’t look very impressive,” recalls Carouschka. “It was the island I fell for, but when I later learnt that the cabin had been built the same year that I was born, it felt as if it had always been there waiting for me.” She managed to buy the island and get permission to build on it, and today it features a main building, a studio and three smaller houses for storage and guest space. Carouschka planned, designed and built all the houses, with help from carpenters from a neighbouring island.