Lately, I have found myself drawn to Pinterest more than Instagram. Somewhat, I’m coming back to the basics. I used to love Pinterest, and I will always find great inspiration there. Then Instagram took over, and it was an incredible platform to discover people, creatives, and interiors – I’m a visual person, and my brain mainly works with images. I still love Instagram and still discover extraordinary people and their work, but I find it harder and harder to navigate with so much information, videos, tutorials and all the random things one sees on the platform these days; anyway, the reason I’m telling you all of this is that this image below that I found on Pinterest prompted me to write this blog post. The funny bit is that, after tracking down the source, I found out the picture in question was originally posted on Instagram (so it’s still a good place after all!); a big thanks to @Hannahperssons for discovering this heavenly place.

The picture that started it all.

More pictures of Stola Manor by @Hannahperssons

Continuing my ‘investigation’, I went to Google this place I was instantly fascinated by. From their website, I gather that Stola Manor has existed since the Middle Ages and was owned from the 1530s to 1808 by the Ekeblad family. The current main building was built at the beginning of the 18th century and has an exquisite rococo interior in several of the rooms. During the 20th century, the building underwent a renovation and its owner, through extensive research, managed to return many of the furnishings from the Ekeblad home.  The last private owner Holger Ander (1947 – 1989)  formed a foundation of the main building and the park. The main building is inhabited all year round. Parts of the ground floor are private residences, but the main part of the building can be visited during the summer (anyone who wants to join me on a 2024 summer Swedish adventure?!)

Images via https://www.stola.se/

I google further, trying to find more information about the painted walls as I’m slightly obsessed with them. I see a video of the dining room saying that the murals are 300 years old. I kept searching, but not much information came up; then I clicked on a picture on Instagram, and to my surprise, it was posted by my dear friend Carolina a few years ago! On that post, Carolina recommends a Swedish interior photographer & art historian, @mariaisabelhansson, and I jump to her profile. Instantly following! – Sweedish stoves, handpainted walls, timeless and understated elegance- I’m heaven, and my faith in Instagram is restored.

Below are some images of Stola Manor beautifully captured by Maria-Isabel.

And other interiors she has shared on her instagram

Thureholm mansion

Swedish mansion Stora Nyckelviken