Historiska Hem and Toniton Look to Stockholm’s Past for a New Colour Palette

What if the colours of Stockholm’s historic homes could be gathered into a single palette? This autumn, Historiska Hem and Swedish colour and design studio Toniton present a collection of 18 carefully selected shades, drawn from the architecture, interiors and changing light of the city.

The collaboration brings together two distinct approaches to colour. Historiska Hem has spent years documenting Stockholm’s older homes, revealing the details that give them their character, from original joinery and painted ceilings to natural materials, intricate mouldings and the particular way Nordic light moves through a room. Toniton approaches colour as a system, creating considered palettes and colour coordinated products designed to allow walls, surfaces and interiors to exist as a coherent whole. For Historiska Hem, colour has always been part of the story. Since its founding, the agency has developed a distinctive way of presenting homes. Working closely with writers, photographers and set designers, each property is treated almost like an editorial feature. Architecture, materials, light, colour and original details are carefully observed and brought together to reveal the character of a place.

It is an approach that has helped shift attention towards the qualities of older architecture, celebrating what remains rather than disguising it. Colour plays an important role in that process. A carefully chosen shade can emphasise an architectural detail, bring warmth to a material or give an old room an entirely new atmosphere without erasing its history. The new collection grows directly from this experience. Together, Historiska Hem and Toniton have revisited a vast number of colours and gathered the shades that have appeared repeatedly throughout the homes the agency has worked with over the years. The resulting palette moves between muted and expressive tones, inspired by painted woodwork, ceilings, natural materials and the shifting qualities of Scandinavian daylight. Rather than being tied to a particular period, the colours are intended to feel both rooted and contemporary. They can be used individually or layered together, creating tonal interiors, gentle contrasts or more unexpected combinations. Walls, ceilings and woodwork become part of the same composition.

The paint itself is equally central to the collaboration. Toniton’s ecological, plastic free formula uses natural pigments, giving each colour a depth that responds to the light around it. As the day changes, so does the appearance of the shade, bringing a sense of movement to what might otherwise be a static surface. For Katarina Ljung, founder of Historiska Hem, this return to colour is also a return to a more expressive way of thinking about interiors.

“Historically, our homes were often much more colourful than they are today. Colour was used to create atmosphere, with ceilings, woodwork, mouldings and walls painted in shades that gave rooms character and depth. I find that incredibly inspiring. Taking colours and details from the past and using them in new ways, especially in unexpected combinations, can completely transform a space. I hope this collection will inspire more people to be a little bolder and have more fun with colour.”

There is something distinctly Stockholm about the palette, but its appeal lies in the fact that it does not attempt to recreate the past. Instead, it looks at the city’s architectural history as a source of ideas. The colours feel collected rather than prescribed, shaped by the thousands of homes that have passed through Historiska Hem’s hands.

“What if Stockholm’s walls could talk? Inspired by the thousands of homes that Historiska Hem has represented over the years, we have selected the shades that work best with different types of light, materials and spaces. The result is a palette where the colours are just as beautiful on their own as they are together, while the natural pigments give each shade a living quality that changes with the daylight.”

The collection ultimately offers more than a selection of paint colours. It is a way of looking at the city through its interiors, tracing the relationship between colour, architecture and everyday life. In these 18 shades, Stockholm’s past becomes something to live with again, interpreted through a contemporary eye and allowed to change with the light.