Hello Hotel, Hoby Kulle

After a fifteen-minute drive from Ronneby Airport, past blooming fields of rapeseed, a small sign appears, pointing to the right: Hoby Kulle Manor. We turn off the road, and soon the characteristically pink façade rises between tree-lined avenues. The gravel crunches beneath our feet as we approach the entrance.

Benjamin greets us at the door with a warm smile. Moments later, Tove arrives too, coffee in hand and a stroller by her side, and together they make us feel instantly at home. That it was here, at Hoby Kulle Manor, that our long-awaited Cottage Collection would come to life, has never felt more right.

When we arrive, Benjamin is already mid-task, stepladder and drill in hand, mounting curtain tracks. Together we take on one room at a time, building canopy beds, hanging Roman blinds, and steaming curtains in the summer heat. If there’s one thing the manor had been missing, it was curtains.

Tove and Benjamin bought the manor in 2019 and have since worked with care and curiosity to bring the place back to life, with a deep respect for both history and the future. Even after just one day together, we’ve already learned so much. Like how the pink façade came about after a former owner was inspired by a trip to Madeira. To have painted a classic Swedish manor pink over a hundred years ago - now that’s courage.

Each bedroom at the manor has its own distinctive character, and the curtains were carefully chosen to reflect that personality. That the green room would have green curtains felt self-evident, while the beige room offered more room to play. A built-in yellow bookshelf just outside the room set the tone, and the choice landed on Cottage Stripe in the Mustard shade - an unexpected element that adds contrast to the room’s otherwise muted interior.

The shade of the limewashed walls in the blue room could just as well have been based on the dove blue tone from the Cottage Collection, one of the collection’s four foundational colors, but it’s actually nothing more than a happy coincidence. At the center of the room stands a generous bed, and the soft, textile feel was created by adapting an existing bed frame. Along three of its lower sides, double curtain tracks have been mounted, one inner track for a curtain, and an outer one for a valance, hence the velcro on the outer track. At the head of the bed, the track is mounted inside the frame, forming a fabric-covered base that gives a gentle finish behind the headboard.

Suddenly, Tove’s mother appears, after having spent the night at the sewing machine. She’s sewn custom pieces in the new fabrics to upholster the headboard and a pouf in matching textiles, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And we adore her for it.

Waking up under the fluffiest duvets we’ve ever experienced, then stepping into the Yellow Room where a thoughtfully prepared breakfast awaits - it’s hard to imagine a better start to the day. The day before, we had hung sheer mustard linen curtains here, paired with arched valances in Cottage Stripe, in the matching mustard shade. And when we’re greeted by the beautifully laid breakfast table, it’s clear: being the only guests, before the manor has even opened for the season, definitely has its perks.

One of the manor’s most striking features is the stunning greenhouse that sits down by the water. We walk around as Tove tells us how, when they first took over the property during the winter months, they thought the grapevine growing along the ceiling was dead and were ready to take it down. But after a few weeks, some warmth, and a bit of patience, the greenery came back to life - and now it covers the entire ceiling in a lush canopy of leaves. Without knowing better, you’d easily think you were somewhere in the south of France or northern Italy. Here, under the shade of the vines, Benjamin, who oversees food and drink at the manor, serves a meal made from local ingredients. It’s all set on a tablecloth made from the Cottage Sweet Pea fabric, in the muted mustard tone. And it feels as if the pattern was created for this very moment.

The main floor hallway quickly earned the name “the Gallery” - thanks to its open feel and the collection of art and sculpture gathered there. In this airy space, Tove and Benjamin chose to combine Roman shades with full-length curtains, mixing stripes with florals, both in our new olive green shade. Sunlight poured in well past eight in the evening, and it was here that we managed to capture the day’s final rays on photo — on our last day at the manor.

Visiting Hoby Kulle has been an experience beyond the ordinary - through the architecture, the food, and now the textiles - but perhaps most of all through meeting Tove and Benjamin. They feel like the perfect stewards for Hoby Kulle’s next chapter. We leave with both inspiration and warmth packed in our bags, and we know we’ll be back.