"It's obviously a fabulous corner," she says of the location. "If I stand here at any moment, I'll wave to someone I know going past."

Three years ago she didn't just lease the shop, she bought the entire building, which came with an upstairs apartment. Because of seashells in the mortar, the building is believed to have been built in the 1870s. At one stage it was a grocery store which Helinski says had a "beautiful lace verandah".

"[Prior to Pappa Sven] it was Ms. Heidi's Ballet Studio (what is now Heidi's School of Dance). She's still operating in Hall Street. A lady who lived in Newcastle in the 1950s said [this corner] was a fish and chips shop. Someone else said it was a leather maker. A lot of people remember Ms. Heidi's Ballet Studio," Helinski says.

Helinski bought the building from the dance studio, and she rented the upstairs apartment out to a couple. Now Helinski and her husband have substantially renovated the apartment, and they recently began letting it out as an Airbnb. It also conveniently serves as a display home for all the decor and furniture she sells and loves.

Helinski grew up in Sydney, and through Matthew's work their family had an opportunity to move to Sweden for one year, where they lived in a Skellefte. Prior to that she'd always worked in human resources, and had started to feel disillusioned with her career choice. They returned to Newcastle and she had a "crazy idea".

"I thought 'How can I make this wonderful experience extend longer?' We opened our Nordic design store in August, 2014," she says.

Despite her earlier HR career, as a child she always loved aesthetics. She remembers enjoying setting the table and displaying things nicely.

"That year in Sweden I really loved that Nordic way of living; candles and celebration. It's quite cold and dark or it's very sunny," she says. "Nordic design is very functional. The things you have around your home are not too pretty, but they have a purpose, which means less clutter."

The newly renovated apartment features birch timbers, natural fibres and authentically designed products made of clean, uncomplicated natural materials. It's sophisticated but not pretentious.

"Nothing you can buy at Kmart," she says. "We wanted it to be open and functional and create a greater sense of space up there. And I think we really achieved that."

Before the renovations, the kitchen was in the middle of the space. Now it's tucked against the back wall behind the entrance, a decision made by Matthew. The bathroom was completely gutted and redone, and the plumbing moved around. In total the renovation took 18 months, which Helinski says was her fault because she was so nervous. She doesn't think she's a perfectionist, but she adds they had a very patient builder.

"Because I loved the space so much and I didn't want to make any mistakes, I just kept being unable to make decisions," she says. "We pulled up the carpet. They were beautiful floors, but at the last minute we decided to paint them black. There was a lot of back and forth."

She had the glass from all the striking big windows replaced and their sashes fixed. She loves looking out them. She also loves the new bedroom. Before, it was yellow with built-in bunks but they stripped it back and had new curtains made by Belinda from Valley Vogue using Pappa Sven's Marimekko fabric.

The apartment is versatile. Helinski enjoys the creativity she can explore here.

"I say to everyone, I'm not a designer, I just know the things that I like. I love helping people with cushion choices and we also use upstairs to try the different cushions on the couch. It can be a display room to see our products in situ. It's great on all accounts. I also like the idea of holding events or little sewing workshops or a little book club."

With Airbnb guests now lining up above and an established business below, the building has a lot to offer. Helinski's hard work is paying off, and Nordic design is on trend in Newcastle.