Horse girl, boss lady and green-fingered dream house builder. We visited Anna Ödling in her brand new house in the woods on Färingsö, and never wanted to leave this masterpiece of a build.

Meet Anna Ödling: Head of People by day, dressage rider by dawn and the proud owner of the greenest fingers we know. Together with her husband Eric, their daughter Astrid and the dachshund Tuffy, she has just built her dream house in the forest on Färingsö. We stopped by for breakfast and, honestly, never wanted to leave this masterpiece of a build. Instead, we went home dreaming of her crave-worthy breakfast muffins, with a very clear to-do list: cook what she cooks, steal all her flowers, and seriously consider a life in the woods..

Psst… You don’t want to miss the end of this interview if you are thinking of building a house and want some really good advices.

The house:

A house in the woods on Färingsö, built in 2025–2026. Architect, Delin Arkitektkontor

Who live here:

Anna, Eric, their daughter Astrid, 5, and the dachshund Tuffy

What we do:

Anna is Head of People (HR) and Eric is a lawyer.

Tuesday evening ends:

Ideally around 10. Sometimes 11.

Before turning out the lights, you always:

I Kiss the family goodnight and go grab the dachshund from Astrid’s room.

I usually go to bed alone, since Eric’s more of a night owl. Through the night, the rest of the family trickles in at various points.

Normally you sleep in:

Underwear. By morning there are four of us under the duvet, so it gets pretty warm.

The last dream you remember:

When we were building the house, I had a lot of stress dreams. Everything from the house looking nothing like ours to Eric “surprising” me by furnishing the whole place with the ugliest furniture imaginable.

On your night stand we will probably find:

Sadly, there’s no room for a nightstand at all, since Tuffy’s basket has to go exactly there. According to her, anyway.

Your best tip for a good night sleep would be:

Freshly washed sheets are always a hit.

Your evening beauty routine includes:

Every now and then I make skincare “New Year’s resolutions”, the way other people do with the gym. They never quite stick, but I do manage to keep up a simple routine with products from CeraVe, Maggie and Common Clouds.

“I had a lot of stress dreams. Everything from the house looking nothing like ours to Eric ‘surprising’ me with the ugliest furniture imaginable.“
Anna Ödling

This keeps you sleepless at night:

Thoughts about absolutely everything. Or the fact that it’s a hundred degrees in the bed.

Instead of counting sheep you:

I ride a dressage test in my mind. Nothing puts me to sleep faster!

The best thing about your bedroom :

It’s so calm and lovely, both inside and out.

Your best midnight snack:

Cinnamon buns, hands down. Any time of day, really.

Tuesday morning starts at:

Just before 6 AM, in the stable. Coffee in a thermos and a walk there. Pure luxury!

Your alarm sounds like:

No idea, I turn it off too fast to find out.

The first thing you see when you open your eyes are:

A dachshund or a kid. After that, I always sit in the kitchen for a moment, waiting for the coffee maker and looking out at the incredible nature around the house. I can recommend living in the forest to everyone.

Your morning mood could be described as:

Pretty good, most of the time. Though it depends on having a fairly calm start. And coffee. I load the coffee maker the night before and would love it if it were ready the exact second I step into the kitchen.

A normal breakfast would be like:

Something quick and simple, a couple of hours after getting up.

Your birthday breakfast should be like:

I love long breakfasts where everyone likes everything on offer. We went to Talldungen for the first time in 2020, and ever since, that’s the breakfast I always want. But I’m just as happy with a normal weekday breakfast with a bit of extra calm, a drawing from Astrid and maybe a bun.

Your morning beauty routine includes:

Same as the evening one. I only have that one 😉

A dreamy weekend morning could be like:

My dos and don’ts when making the bed:

Beautiful bedding (Midnatt, of course)! Then the actual bed-making part doesn’t feel so important.

Also, we just have to ask… What are your three best pieces of advice for someone thinking about building a house?

Do it, if you can! It’s brutal at times and stressful in so many ways, not least financially, but honestly incredibly, incredibly fun.
Find an architect you like and dare to let go. We knew Buster Delin had designed what we felt was our dream house, and we gave him and his talented colleagues a lot of freedom when developing the proposals. We’ve leaned heavily on the architects throughout and trusted their expertise in both small and big decisions. They have a sense of the whole that you lack yourself, which I think is exactly how it should be.
Hmm, I’m not sure I have more, but I often think about how close we came to passing on this plot because we couldn’t quite see its potential. It wasn’t until Buster came out here and climbed around on rocks and ladders that we understood what it could become.

Of course! They’re the perfect grab-and-go breakfast, and Green Kitchen Stories are the geniuses behind them, just google Apple, Almond and Buckwheat Muffin.