Store of the month April – Esteriör
Combining a design studio, interior boutique, and café into a single concept is a bold venture. However, for Esteriör, located at Åsögatan 144 in Stockholm, it has been a natural evolution. With a passion for timeless design, sustainability, and inspiring spaces, they have created a unique meeting place where visitors can experience interior design in an entirely new way. We asked interior designer Henrik Ekberg a few questions to learn more about Esteriör’s journey.
How did the journey with Esteriör begin, and how have you developed up to today?
Initially, Esteriör was a pure interior design studio. But in 2018, we outgrew our small office at Mariatorget and started looking for a new space. We fell in love with the retail space at Åsögatan 144, and that’s where the idea of combining a design studio with an interior store was born. In record time, we renovated the space and managed to open the store before Christmas. It was stressful, but it turned out amazing in the end!
You have an exciting range of furniture, lighting, and interior details. How do you select your products?
We always try to create a mix that reflects how people decorate at home—new, old, expensive, and affordable. At least 50% of our selection is vintage and second-hand, both because it creates an interesting mix and because it’s a more sustainable way to run a store. Finding good vintage pieces takes time and requires a lot of effort, but it’s worth it. In addition to vintage, we work a lot with Danish and Dutch brands, as we find them more fun and colorful. We also incorporate plenty of greenery in the form of plants, as well as local design and art products, which makes the assortment even more unique.
What trends are emerging in interior design right now, and how does that affect your purchases?
Sustainability, vintage, and upcycling continue to grow in importance, and we are thrilled with that development. We spend a lot of time searching for interesting vintage pieces, and we’ve noticed a resurgence of the aesthetics of the 1970s and 1980s, which has opened up new avenues for where we look for furniture. We also see an increased focus on quality. Customers are becoming more conscious and are choosing sustainable alternatives over disposable products. Our hope is that the newly made items we sell today will one day become the vintage finds of the future.
You’ve chosen to combine a store, studio, and café. How do these businesses complement each other?
Our goal is for Esteriör to not just be a store, but a creative meeting place for inspiration. By having a physical store, we serve as a showroom for our interior projects, which our customers appreciate. When we added the café, the experience became complete. Here, our customers can get help with their interior design, find unique gifts, and enjoy a coffee at the same time.
How do you view the future of retail, and how do you plan to develop your concept?
We believe that physical stores need to offer experiences, inspiration, and good service—things that the digital world cannot replace. We’re inspired by cities like New York, Amsterdam, and Paris, where mixed concepts are common, and stores can be anything from restaurants to mini-hotels. One dream we have is to open a small secret bar in the basement, but that conflicts a bit with Swedish regulations. So, we continue to dream and develop our concept further!
