The Art Of; City Strolling
”All walking is discovery. On foot we take the time to see things whole”. - Hal Borland
Dear Readers,
There’s a certain kind of walking that belongs to late May and early June—not quite rushed, not fully aimless. The city still hums, but something softens. Shoes get lighter. People pause. I call it city strolling.
It’s the quiet pleasure of moving through familiar streets with a slower gaze. Taking the long way home. Booking that restaurant you’ve passed a hundred times.
This issue is shaped by that in-between feeling—when you’re still in the city, but part of you is already elsewhere.
Inside, I speak with interior designer and seasoned stroller Madeleine Asplund Klingstedt about soft routines and summer habits. I hope it offers a small pause—and a new way of seeing the place you’re in.
Kindly note: This newsletter is rich with inspiration and may be on the longer side. If your email platform shortens it, please open it in your browser to fully appreciate every detail. This newsletter includes affiliate links.
THE PLAYLIST - City strolling
For slow walks and quiet moods. For the in-between hours when the city hums and you’re not rushing anywhere.
Think open collars, linen trousers, iced coffee.
This playlist is for those days—a little washed-out, a little polished.Like a memory from a film you never saw.
Listend here
THE INTERIOR DESIGNER - Madeleine Asplund Klingstedt
Interior designer and thoughtful city wanderer, Madeleine Asplund Klingstedt has an eye for detail that moves effortlessly between the Gustavian and the Brutalist, between lightness and weight. Her approach to interiors is both grounded and intuitive—she sees a room for what it is, practical and clear, and then quietly lets the magic unfold.
Just like on her morning walks shared on Instagram, where she captures beauty in small architectural details or unexpected moments in nature, Madelene reminds us to look closer. I had the chance to speak with one of my longtime inspirations about her way of seeing the city—and what strolling means to her.
Tell us a little about yourself and your relationship with Stockholm. What does the city mean to you?
- I’m the founder of Asplund Klingstedt Interior, where I work as an interior designer with a focus on refined residential projects. My aim is to create spaces that feel deeply personal, soulful, and considered—where timeless elegance meets contemporary clarity.
Stockholm is both my home and the city where I was raised. Its quiet beauty, rich historical layers, and seamless connection to nature continue to inspire me. The city informs not only how I think about interior architecture and spatial flow, but also the balance of structure and softness that I try incorporating in my work. Stockholm both in big and small shape my design sensibility in ways both subtle and profound.
What’s one small ritual or habit you return to every summer in the city—something that makes the season feel like yours?
- I love experiencing places and cities in the early morning, before they are fully wake. Especially in summer, I cherish my morning walks—those quiet hours when the city is extra still and when it feels like you have it entirely for yourself. There’s something almost sacred about that stillness.
-It’s a ritual that gently resets me. These solitary walks remind me of why I love living here and they offer a sense of intimacy with the city.
If you had one free afternoon, where would you go for a great meal or a quiet bite?
- In the afternoon I love taking a break from work in the studio or at a project site and bringing a matcha latte to either on of Stockholms many parks or down by the water on Nybroplan. Stockholm is breathtaking in the summer, and with each passing year, I find myself appreciating it more deeply.
- When I have a bit more time, I love taking a walk out to Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde. The setting, the gardens, the flowers, the view, the sculptures—it all comes together in such a serene and beautiful way. To me it really is Stockholm’s own version of Villa Necchi. It’s a place that blends art, history, and nature so effortlessly, and never fails to inspire with its beauty.
What’s your personal tip for enjoying Stockholm in the summer—something you think more people should discover?
- Stockholm is not the largest of cities which I think should be taken advantage of by enjoying it by walking, which also gives you a chance to notice, appreciate and see it fully. There’s a quiet magic in slowing down and noticing the finer details: from architecture, park statures and the way light dances on old façades. There is so much details, inspiration and beauty to see if you are open to it.
How do you experience the city in summer—as a place of work, inspiration, or escape? Or maybe all at once?
- It’s all of those things at once - and for me that’s the magic of it. In the summer, Stockholm becomes more spacious somehow. Work feels lighter, inspiration comes easier, and even the busiest days have moments that feel like an escape and is inspirational. Stockholm, Stockholms archipelago and Sweden overall really is my favourite place on earth during summer and there’s no place I rather be during the beautiful months of Swedish summer.
Be sure to visit—or at the very least, pause and browse through the windows of—Asplund Klingstedt Interior at Karlavägen 38 on your next Stockholm stroll. It’s a quiet visual treat, and a true sight for sore eyes.
WHISLIST - City Strolling
Black Short summer Jacket from Janerica
Flowing feminin skirt Dagmar
Brown loafers with details Flattered
Classic sunglasses from COS
Basket Little Liftner
Knitted T-shirt from Stenströms
Everyday boatneck dress COS
Classic light blue cardigan Samso Samso
Ecru loose jeans from Jeanerica
Dream mask from Mantle
Perfekt perfume with one of my favourite touches of Iris, from Diptyque
THE ARTIST - Ellen Jakobsson
So im gonna let you in on a little secret i might regret later. I wanted to buy every single piece for our country house — truly, I did. But with a new kitchen, bathroom, and garden currently in the works, the art will have to wait a little longer. Still, if you’re looking for something that feels like it’s been lifted straight from a dream — a gaze at the sky, a memory you almost remember — then this is the artist. Ellen Jakobsson’s oil paintings are hazy, poetic landscapes that feel more remembered than seen. There’s a gentle melancholy in them, a softness that drifts just out of reach, like light fading or thoughts slipping away. I can’t stop thinking about them.
Find her artwork here
CITY STROLLING - Stockholm guide
Totême – Biblioteksgatan 5
Clean lines, calm colors, and that special quiet only a well-designed store has. I often stop by just to reset my eye—true to brand in a way I never saw coming. The staff is thoughtful, and the pieces are made to last. The silhouettes, the palette, the quiet confidence of it all. Toteme has quietly become my north star in Stockholm—no other store feels more like home.
Savannahs - Birgerjarlsgatan 1
At Savannahs, luxury isn’t just a label—it’s a curated experience. You’ll find icons like The Row, Alaïa, Louboutin, and so much more, all under one beautifully edited roof. It’s the kind of place where craftsmanship meets desire, and where every pair of shoes feels like a turning point.
Teatergrillen – Nybrogatan 3
This is old Stockholm in the best sense. I come here for long lunches that become early evenings. Teatergrillen is where old-school elegance meets Stockholm’s cultural crowd. Tucked behind the stage lights, it’s a restaurant that whispers rather than shouts—white tablecloths, perfect martinis, and a menu that honors tradition without feeling stale.
Östermalms Saluhall - Östermalmstorg
A classic. I pass through even when I don’t need anything. It reminds me to enjoy food, even on rushed days. And the architecture — it’s a warm echo of the city’s past.
Hotel Villa Dagmar - Nybrogatan 25
Part hotel, part hiding place. Sometimes I sit in the lobby just to breathe and look around. The mix of materials is done so quietly and with real knowledge of form. We spent our wedding night at Villa Dagmar, and something about it stayed with us. Now we return on ordinary weekdays, whenever we can, drawn back by the quiet luxury, the soft light, and the feeling that something special still lingers in the air.
Oscar and Clothilde - Birgerjarlsgatan 27
Oscar & Clothilde feels like stepping into someone’s well-traveled home. I go there for gifts, scented candles that linger, and coffee table books you actually want to read. Their fabrics are romantic and textured—perfect for adding character to a room. There’s always something unexpected: a tray, a tassel, a sculpture with soul. It’s not about trends, but about feeling. I always leave with more than I planned, and something that quietly stays with me.
Galleri Storm – Runebergsgatan 3
Art, antiques, design — all in one room, but without chaos. Carolina and Mattias have that rare eye for contrast and calm. Every visit feels like a small reset. I might be biased—Carolina Storm is one of my closest friends—but the brilliance of her gallery stands entirely on its own. Thoughtfully curated, quietly daring, and always a step ahead. I admire it not just as a friend, but as a devoted visitor.
Ralph Lauren – Birger Jarlsgatan 5
I don’t shop here often, but I visit. For the atmosphere. For the smell of wood and leather and something slightly borrowed from another time. The Ralph Lauren shop on Biblioteksgatan brings me right back to my childhood summers on a sailboat—sun-bleached shirts, chino shorts, raffia lamps, and that one candle scented like warm pine trees and Amalfi evenings. Somehow, it all ends up at the country house, like memory turned material.
Restaurant Prinsen – Mäster Samuelsgatan 4
This is where I go when I want to feel like myself again. Familiar, bustling, and never overdone. You can sit here for hours and still not want to leave. We had our wedding dinner at Prinsen—simply because it’s our favorite restaurant in town. With its rich cultural references, Swedish classics on the menu, and service that never misses a beat, it’s the kind of place you return to again and again, without ever needing a reason.
I hope this little guide adds a few new stops to your next city stroll—and maybe even helps you see some familiar places with fresh eyes. Enjoy the walk, the windows, the quiet corners. There’s always something waiting to be noticed.
THE MOVIE - Blue Jasmine
I’ve always felt Blue Jasmine was Woody Allen’s attempt at a defense speech — thinly veiled and deeply bitter. The character of Jasmine seems modeled after Mia Farrow, painted as unstable and vengeful, a woman unraveling under the weight of her own supposed hysteria. But what Allen fails to acknowledge — or deliberately omits — is that Hal, her husband in the film, was guilty. Guilty of the very things Jasmine accuses him of. The only thing she really did was call the FBI.
The film twists that moment — a call to justice — into the trigger of her downfall. It’s a rewriting of narrative as retaliation. A smearing of someone who dared to speak up. In the end, the cruelty isn’t just in the script. It’s in the motive.
Allen wraps the film in his usual jazz-and-upper-class-angst veneer. Blanchett’s Jasmine tumbles from Hamptons charity lunches to sleeping on her sister’s couch. Alec Baldwin’s Hal — essentially Bernie Madoff in a polo shirt — cheats on her and robs everyone blind, while she looks the other way until it’s too late.
We’re told this is a story about self-delusion, but what it really punishes is a woman who stops being silent. Jasmine may be flawed, even complicit, but the tragedy isn’t hers alone.
It’s Allen’s — his attempt to rewrite guilt and redirect blame. And in doing so, he reveals more about himself than he likely intended.
And yet… Cate Blanchett. What she does with this role is beyond reason. I used to think TÁR was the most precise, layered performance I’d ever seen, but this is right up there. Is it satire? Is it tragedy? Is it just pure, brutal perfection? She floats between delusion and clarity, comedy and collapse, with a nuance that turns a mean-spirited film into a near-masterpiece.
Every twitch, every too-long pause, every slurred memory — she blows the whole thing wide open. Allen may have written against a woman, but Blanchett plays her so truthfully you end up rooting for her anyway. What’s your thoughts on it, love to hear!
As we approach the one-year anniversary of the newsletter and art club, I just want to say thank you—for reading, for responding, for being here. What started as a quiet experiment has become a gathering place I now can’t imagine being without.
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber .After the summer, we’ll celebrate one full year together—and I hope to continue writing with the same rhythm and care. With love,
Julia