Dusty Deco: When Swedish Treasure Hunters Found Mediterranean Magic

May 14, 2025

Where vintage meets contemporary, where Barcelona wine nights inspired a global design brand, and where the magical friction between two creative minds shapes spaces with soul.

The Flea Market Love Story

It began, as many great design stories do, with a shared obsession.

For Edin and Lina Kjellvertz, their weekend ritual of combing Stockholm's flea markets started innocently enough. Working fashion industry day jobs, they'd spend weekends hunting distinctive pieces that spoke to them. Their apartment gradually transformed into what friends called a perfectly imperfect cabinet of curiosities.

"The home and storage were filled," they recall of those early days, "and soon we realized there was a market to sell vintage items."

But before Dusty Deco was born, there was that fateful trip to Barcelona.

Picture it: a borrowed friend's house, garden evenings stretching long into the night, perhaps one too many glasses of wine (by their own admission), and Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man" providing the soundtrack. It was there, under the Catalan stars, that the brand found its name and spirit.

"Since then it has been our baby—Dusty Deco," they say with the kind of pride reserved for something that's been nurtured from humble beginnings.

A Perfect Clash of Sensibilities

What makes Dusty Deco fascinating isn't just their exquisite taste, but the creative friction that drives their aesthetic.

Edin gravitates toward metal furniture and glass tabletops. He's drawn to the grand airy apartments that once belonged to painters and aristocrats. There's a touch of the unexpected in his selections, sometimes even a hint of beautiful madness. Art obsession might be putting it lightly.

Lina pulls in the opposite direction—toward textiles, rattan, ceramics, and bohemian patterns. The cinematic worlds of Almodóvar inform her sensibility. She finds beauty in cottages, in townhouses with history written into their walls.

"We rarely agree," they admit, with refreshing candor. "But it is in that friction that the Dusty Deco aesthetic is born."

This diplomatic eclecticism—their term for the push-pull dynamic that defines their work—creates spaces that feel authentically collected rather than clinically curated. The tension between their sensibilities produces rooms with soul, depth, and the kind of character that can't be achieved through formulas.

From Stockholm Flea Markets to Global Design Brand

The evolution from weekend treasure hunters to design brand happened gradually yet purposefully.

Their first buying trip—to the United States—focused on industrial items: rusty cans and vintage signs sold at their first Stockholm store at Gärdet. From there, the Dusty Deco style evolved through iterations: two stores at Söder, a smaller space at Östermalm, and a 600-square-meter garage on Brahegatan.

Today, their flagship stands at Linnegatan 13 in Stockholm, alongside showrooms in Los Angeles and most significantly, Palma de Mallorca, where the family now calls home.

"We have made purchases from all over the world," they reflect, "met incredibly exciting people in different markets and squares, and the journey and meetings have always motivated us and made us grow."

Their guiding principle remained remarkably consistent through this expansion: "We have never given up on our basic idea of just buying things we love and would like to have in our home."

The Mediterranean Reinvention

The move to Mallorca marked a pivotal evolution. The Spanish island's vibrant colors and historic architecture reshaped their aesthetic in ways both subtle and profound.

Their showroom—housed in "a huge old Mallorquin apartment"—became the laboratory where their signature blend of vintage and contemporary, Swedish discipline and Mediterranean warmth, took its most mature form.

They purchased an old carpentry shop—"at that time there was neither electricity nor water"—drawn to its beautiful windows and sparkling garden. This became another canvas for their evolving vision.

The island changed not just their surroundings but their creative approach. Lina found endless inspiration in "the way people think, act, and effortlessly combine things" in Mallorca. The city's organic layering—"a '70s house standing boldly beside an ancient church, pink tiles taking over a bathroom in the most Wes Anderson way"—echoed their own design philosophy.

Edin continued his perpetual exploring, not just physically but through books, films, and connections with artists across the globe. Their world expanded with the island as their base.

The Dusty Way: A Design Philosophy

What distinguishes a Dusty Deco space isn't just its beautiful pieces but the guiding principles behind their arrangement.

"Not everything should fight for attention," they advise, "but every room needs a hero." Their spaces begin with statement anchors—whether a bold sofa, striking light fixture, or unique artwork—that set the tone.

The magic happens in the contrasts: raw meets refined, vintage meets contemporary. A heavy steel coffee table paired with warm wooden side tables. A bold patterned sofa with a multi-colored rug. These tensions create visual interest without chaos.

Their spaces are never flat. They use layers—soft velvet against polished marble, aged brass complementing natural wool—to create depth. They stack books, add sculptural candle holders, let fabrics drape naturally.

Most importantly, they believe spaces should feel lived in, not staged. "A room should feel like an evolving story," they suggest, "never fully complete."

The Collaborative Network

While Edin and Lina remain the heartbeat of Dusty Deco, they've cultivated a remarkable constellation of design talent around them.

Stockholm-based BROSS architectural firm crafts spaces with classical elegance and playful touches. Sigfrid Billgren, the Gothenburg-born creative, seamlessly weaves between exhibitions, design, and curation—his Devon coffee table for Dusty Deco showcases his ability to blend artistic sensibility with functional form.

Self-taught craftsman Niklas Runesson brings three generations of woodworking heritage to his intuitive, nature-inspired creations. MER Arkitekter's Lucas Hinneud focuses on problem-solving through innovative design.

The collection even includes pieces that honor design history, like works by Elias Svedberg (1913-1987), the renowned Swedish interior architect whose Paris Sofa and Safari Chair remain timeless icons.

The 2025 Collection: Diplomatic Eclecticism

Their latest collection—titled "Diplomatic Eclecticism"—represents the culmination of their journey.

"This season," they explain, "is all about that tension. Two strong wills, two distinct tastes, constantly negotiating, not just in work and design but also in life."

The pieces chase the Mediterranean light, letting it "spill across the room in ways that feel effortless." There's a quality they describe as "a quiet change, the sparkling feeling that something new is just beginning. A Mediterranean town just before the high season."

To accompany the collection, Edin created a playlist of tracks that feel "timeless, soft, yet nostalgic, like the first evening you leave the windows open." This attention to atmospheric detail—understanding that design exists not just in space but in sound, light, and feeling—exemplifies the holistic Dusty approach.

The Dusty Invitation

At its heart, the Dusty Deco ethos is an invitation—to embrace the diplomatic eclecticism in our own lives, to find beauty in the tension between opposing influences.

Their spaces remind us that the most compelling interiors aren't perfectly matched but thoughtfully balanced. That character emerges from contrast. That a home should tell your story, not showcase your ability to follow trends.

When the Kjellvertzes moved from Stockholm to Mallorca, they found that "things felt more rigid" in their former home. "Here, we take risks, we stay open," they reflect.

Perhaps that's the most valuable lesson from the Dusty Deco journey: that beautiful spaces come from taking risks, staying open, and finding harmony in creative friction. A dash of boho, a splash of eclectic mid-century, brought together with a tiled rug, a sculptural piece, and warm Mediterranean light.

That is Dusty Deco for you. And now, perhaps, for your home too.

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