Klara Bothén’s home in Dals Långed, a small town in southwest Sweden, is a 100-year-old workman’s cottage that was built strategically close to the local factory, which once manufactured horseshoe nails. The space and surrounding landscape of forests and lakes provide ample inspiration for her work, which is deeply connected to home, identity, objects and memory. For example, a recent project, her Granliden Mittens, were knit from wool that Klara’s mother and grandmother dyed with forest plants and vegetables in the summer of 1982 at their family summer cottage. This home was her first real place, so out of necessity, everything was inherited, found or thrifted. It’s a constant work in progress. Klara is still hoping to find that perfect vintage ’60s credenza. — Amy Azzarito

Image above: The thrifted ’60s sofa is really stylish but uncomfortable. Although I love the textured velvet pattern, it’s not the kind of sofa you fall asleep on, which has its advantages. I never nod off while watching a film. I’m planning to put it in my future studio. I have also loved the combination of red and pink (as on the striped cushion) ever since one of the cool girls in high school made clear that the colors clashed and clashing colors were ugly. It’s become one of my favorite color combinations.

Image above: Instead of the proper canopy that I always wanted as a kid, I hung a favourite piece of fabric behind the bed — “Clouds” by Swedish textile designer Gunila Axén. On the bed is a thrifted blanket with a lovely wood-anemone print. The crochet bedspread and little blue suitcase I bought from a friend. The little clip lamp was originally clipped to my granny’s loom.

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In the winter of 2003, when Merrick and Alice Angle moved into this home, it hadn’t been lived in for 40 years, there wasn’t a bathroom or hot water and there was only one wall socket for the entire house. But it had been built in 1799 in the village of La Croisille-sur-Briance, in the Limousin region of France, a rural area known for its porcelain, enamel and picturesque wooded landscape, and the vines covering the house made it feel like a secret garden. So Merrick and Alice decided they were up for the challenge. They tackled the project slowly, piece by piece. Merrick did most of the work himself, and Alice found the furniture either from brocantes (French junk shops) or through her work as a realtor (she runs an agence immobilier in the nearby town of Treignac). Now the 213-year-old house is home to the couple, their two young daughters and a thriving business, Double Merrick, where they create prints and homewares that are shipped all over the world. Thanks, Merrick & Alice! — Amy Azzarito

Image above: This is in the guest bedroom. The wallpaper was here when we bought the house; it was amazing, but we could only save one whole wall. The velvet chaise longue was given to Alice by a client. The other walls are painted a light gray colour we mixed ourselves.

Image above: This is another angle of the guest room. Odd little collections seem to be everywhere in our house. The accordion is broken, but I have dragged it around with me since my student days in Brighton. The picture of the horse was a gift from an Irish racehorse trainer, Bertie Kerr, to Alice’s great Aunt May. He wanted to marry her, but she wasn’t having any of it!

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As fun as living in Paris is, running away to the French countryside is also quite tempting. Artists Charlotte and Ludovic Donker-Toscan du Plantier and their three boys call Turenne in southwest France home. Charlotte is a photographer, and her husband is the general handyman for their 17th-century home. This amazing shell with beautiful stone stairs, big windows and chimneys in every room is decorated with a mix of family furniture and finds from vide greniers (the French equivalent to garage sales). As they restore the house, Charlotte and Ludovic like to keep in mind the men and women who worked on it in the past. Thanks so much to Charlotte for the beautiful images (and to Lily for the great tip!) — Anne

Image above: My bedroom with a bouquet of roses.

Image above: My husband reading Lacan under a Kenzo duvet.

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