A Continuous Green Thread: The New Fantastic Frank Headquarters in Stockholm

Back in 2010, the founders of Fantastic Frank sized up standard real estate broker fare and vowed to do things better. Sharing a love of architecture and design, the four friends committed to being selective not only about the properties they sell but how they’re presented: from the start, teams of stylists and fashion photographers have been deployed to capture each listing at its most seductive, making Fantastic Frank’s offerings the opposite of blank and boring—and a great source of interior inspiration.

The approach paid off: the Stockholm-based firm has since gone global: it now has offices in, among other places, Berlin, Lisbon, Mexico City, and NYC. Masters at showing other people’s quarters, the company recently had to figure out a fresh guise for itself when it prepared to move into new headquarters in Stockholm. ASKA, an emerging Swedish firm led by architect Polina Sandström, was hired to transform a hodgepodge of spaces in a historic building into Fantastic Frank’s showcase. Wanting to preserve existing, characterful elements while unifying the office, Sandström made masterful use of the firm’s old office furniture, a tightly orchestrated materials palette, and, most notably, a beguiling shade of pistachio. Join us for a look.

Photography by Mikael Lundblad, courtesy of Fantastic Frank (@fantasticfrank) and ASKA (@aska.arch)

Above: The 1,722 square feet office is on the ground floor of an 1883 building in Vasastan, in central Stockholm. Of the use of pistachio green detailing throughout, Fantastic Frank writes, “the project explores how identity can become space through reuse, materiality, and a continuous green thread.”
Above: The rooms had previously been occupied by different business over the years but retained some original detailing, including, the architects were thrilled to discover, an industrial wood floor, which was uncovered—in some spots under vinyl—restored, and finished with lye and a white pigment. The shelves display Fantastic Frank’s magazine featuring standout listings, city guides, and interviews with tastemakers. That’s the entryway in the next room.
Above: A custom glazed partition divides the gallery-like front rooms. As for the specific shade of green: Sandström explains that they work with the NCS system: “This allows us to define the color precisely while leaving the choice of paint manufacturer to the contractor. In this case, all the greens are based on the hue G40Y, in different variations.” The walls here are painted a very light shade of the green, NCS S 0505-G40Y, accented by a “slightly stronger border,” NCS S 1010-G40Y, that also highlights the building’s original arched windows.

“Although we don’t specify the paint brand,” continues Sandström, “we always specify the sheen, since it contributes significantly to how the color and surface are perceived. Here, we chose a very matte wall finish with a sheen level of 5, and a matte finish for the joinery with a sheen level of 20, giving the space a more contemporary expression.”

Above: Photographs of Fantastic Frank’s latest properties hang like art from movable ceiling tracks. The table and chairs migrated from the firm’s previous quarters.
Above: “For us, translating visual identity into space is a core part of brand design,” Sandström told Dezeen. “The ambition is not to reproduce an identity one to one, but to create a spatial experience that feels unmistakably connected to it.”
Above: The office kitchen is a combination of old and new: ASKA paired existing wooden upper cabinets with Ikea Stainless Steel Cabinets and a custom countertop by DecoSteel.
Above: The upper cabinets were given block-shaped handles, inspired by Fantastic Frank’s squared new logo, and painted what Sandström describes as “a somewhat brighter, more pastel” version of the pistachio green, NCS S 0507-G40Y.
Above: In the adjoining space, another of Fantastic Frank’s tables was cut down and painted a high-gloss green—and paired with Eames-inspired office chairs.
Above: Sandstrom calls this room The Atelier and says details, such as the curtains and hanging lights—Matias Moellenbach Daily Paper Pendants, made from recycled newspaper pulp (and only $69)—reference its former use as a sewing studio.
Above: An outsized version of the block handles appears in the restroom, and the paper towel dispenser is an elegant stainless steel.
Above: The homey back office has elaborate original moldings; Chess, a wool rug  from Swedish design house Layered, and Jordan Leather Dining Chairs from Westwing Collection. The Ceenli Curtain Pendant Lamps “combine direct light with vertical diffusion,”

[/caption]The Fantastic Frank showroom is at Upplandsgatan 23 in Stockholm and open Monday through Friday, appointments not essential.

Here are some of the firm’s listings over the years that caught our eye:

• Kitchen(s) of the Week: Ogling the Offerings from 5 Boutique European Real Estate Sites
• An Artful Hotel on the Swedish Island of Gotland
• Small-Space Living in Berlin: A Grand Two Room Apartment