#Inspiration
Aritco HomeLift installed in four story villa outside Stockholm, Sweden
When building a dream house, it pays to think long term
We always say that our home lifts are about more than creating the best accessibility in a home. A beautiful home lift is a design feature that enhances the value of the home – and can even help make life more worthwhile.
In a four-story villa in Sollentuna, a town just outside Stockholm one of Sweden’s best-known home architects, Pål Ross, integrated an Aritco HomeLift into the design of a dream house that the client calls “Villa Ultimate.” Pål is known for homes with curved shapes, high-end materials, and lots of glass. He believes in the value of lifts so much that he suggests including a place for a lift in all his villa projects.
MAKING LIFE MORE WORTHWHILE
“In our design process, my overall intention is to create a living environment that makes like more worthwhile,” Pål says. “It’s also that the customer should be happy for the rest of his life in that environment,” he says. “So, I take into consideration the day when they may not be able to run up and down those beautiful stairs anymore. And long before that, they may have parents who would like to visit and enjoy the view from the roof terrace.”
High-quality materials are also crucial in building houses that last. Pål is a big believer in using concrete, noting that concrete gets stronger for the first 100 years in place, offers superior sound insulation and only costs about 15% more than wood construction. “It’s also the windows the doors, the kitchens, the tiling, the lighting,” he says. “We don’t pick the most expensive things, because there’s always something more expensive, but we always pick really, really good quality.”
Pål, who has worked with Aritco for 15 years, says that quality is one factor in his choice of lift, “We like the product, service and pricing solution.”
DESIGN THAT FITS AN ARCHITECT’S VISION
Aritco’s focus on design that fits in with the architect’s vision, as well as a shared a view of what an elevator should do in a house, are also pluses. For example, a lift must have a beautiful enough design not to interfere with the building’s flow.
Pål says his designs are also about reflecting the customers personality and how they wish to live their lives. In this case, the owner is a film buff, so one of the rooms on the basement/garage level is a cinema, which is accessed by an Aritco elevator that goes from the roof level through two floors and then down to the garage level.
ENHANCING EVERYDAY LIFE
The bedrooms are one floor up, with the kitchen and living areas above. Besides the garage and cinema, the laundry room is also on the cellar level, so having a lift to take clean clothes upstairs is an improvement in daily quality of life. Same with the kitchen, which is two floors up, but it is easy to take the groceries out of the car and upstairs in the lift.
WHEN BUILDING A DREAM HOUSE, IT PAYS TO THINK LONG-TERM
With all those floors, the house owner Tommy Forsell knew from the start that he wanted it to include a lift. “I wanted the house to be fully functional for a long time. I intend to grow old here,” he says. Tommy says that the convenient lift has become a big part of his day-to-day life. Anything heavy goes in the lift. “We have a four-storey house. It’s nice to be able to transport things that are going up to the roof terrace from the garage, or heavy grocery bags directly to the kitchen.”
Overall, he says, his Aritco HomeLift ticks all the boxes: Function, form and future-proofing. “The lift makes my life easier,” he says. “I am also pleased that it looks so nice. The lift gets a lot of attention when I have guests over. And I’m happy that I will be able to live in the house for a long time.”
