During July (and part of August) Swedes take off from the city and head to their summer houses, normally located in the countryside or in the archipelago (skärgård in Swedish). The exodus leaves the cities empty and vulnerable to burglary; yet still, you just don’t hear about a lot of break-ins. It seems that most Swedish people have a (red colored) summer house, although quite often it’s a family house, which means that the house/cottage is divided amongst various family members–this can often cause feuds as to who gets the house when, especially since everyone takes vacation at the same time of year, or you have many people at one house; like a family reunion. In the summer of 2013, I visited several summer houses. They varied from next-to-camping cottages to luxurious houses. In other words, sometimes you had candles and outhouses and other times you had hot showers and internet. This is all dependent on how much time (and money) people want to spend investing in their summer house vs enjoying their vacation (although apparently a great many mix the two, seeing fixing a house as a vacation). 
This house is on Lake Mälaren, Sweden’s largest lake. The house was built in the 1600s and the island served as a private farm for the King and Queen of Sweden. Today the island is owned by one family who have since divided the island into halves. On the half that I stayed at there were four livable houses, two of which all the amenities of a modern house (running water, toilets, shower, internet), while the cottage I stayed in has been preserved and looks much like it did 400 years ago! 
In Leksand, I stayed at another cottage that was built about 150 years ago. Both houses here have modern plumbing (toilets and shower). Sadly I saw and stayed at more summer houses but didn’t take pictures. Better luck next time.
Swedish Traveling, Culture & More Adventures 