A lovely Norwegian home decorated for Christmas

When do you start bringing a touch of Christmas into your home? When I grew up in England we'd wait until a few days before Christmas. Here in Sweden however, the first of advent is a big day and it's not unusual to catch a glimmer of stars and advent candles in the windows and fairy lights in trees by 1st December. The decorations are usually beautifully simple and fuss-free and draw heavily on nature. This home in Bergen, Norway from the 1800's belonging to Per Olav Sølvberg, an interior stylist and blogger for Residence, wife Ragnhild, four children and two dogs is a fine example of this. Mini fir trees and fir tree branches, hyacinths and naked branches from the trees outside adorn the space for a lovely Christmas feel.

 Home owner: Per Olav Sølvberg. Photography: Kristofer Johnsson. Residence. Found via Elvs with thanks.

So pretty! I can almost smell the lovely scent from the fresh pine needles and hyacinths, how about you?

Items I know and love: Dining area / sitting room Z1 pendant light, IKEA PS 2012 chair, Muuto wood table lamp, Flos 265 wall light, R print. Kitchen Le Creuset pot, stools, vintage chopping boards. Workspace: Light box, this lovely rustic milking stool is similar.

I also love this inspiration for a 'simple and delicate' Scandinavian Christmas. And a welcoming understated bouquet of eucalyptus on a guest bed.

How cute are these DIY Cranberry wreath placecards? So pretty!

More Scandinavian Christmas inspiration found here (scroll down passed the first home as it will be this one) and here.

Have a lovely day!

READ MORE...

8

An old Swedish home with fresh white and ethnic touches

It's the weekend! Woohooo! I'm heading up to Höganäs on the West coast of Skåne in a few hours time so I thought it'd be apt to show a lovely home from the same town. The house belongs to Josephine Ekström, owner of fab online store Lily & Oscar. You may recognise the space (I showed it a few years ago here). The home is constantly evolving and has been decorated with a beautiful mix of styles from all over the world - including ethnic, contemporary and a touch of mid-century. Let's take a peek inside...

© Birgitta Drejer / Sisters Agency- shared with kind permission

The architecture is so stunning with the lovely high ceilings, horizontal beams and large windows. I can imagine it's full of light even on the darkest of days.

Is there anything that stands out to you? 

Other home tours from the Höganäs area include Marie Olsson Nylander's stunning house (and her previous home which is an all time favourite of mine!), a beautiful old cottage, the monochrome home of Jenny Hultgren and a lovely summer cottage  (yes they have bags of style in that section of the coastline!).

Some exciting news from my side - I finally managed to buy my domain - www.myscandinavianhome.com! Yay! You'll notice when you stop by, your browser will automatically switch to the new URL (feel free to reset your browser too)!

Other links I love from around the web:

How cosy does this log cabin in the snow look?

Would you choose this pudding or this pudding? If I was on my own I'd go for the first hands down...but the second is very pretty!

This little girls room is so cute!

I love the simplicity of this plant display (a fresh home update for the weekend?).

I once created an advent calendar treasure hunt for my girls, but this year I'm thinking about this mini tree advent calendar - and it comes with a free downloadable kit too!

Black Friday (weekend) tips: Loja Dada are offering great savings on the most gorgeous children's clothes and decor (free shipping with code SCANDIHOME until 30th November too!) and   Blackthumb for some fab items for the home.

Favourite Etsy buys: a Moroccan wedding blanket and a cognac leather butterfly chair.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday! 

READ MORE...

2

A picture of calm in a Swedish home

There is something beautiful about the simplicity of this space. It helps that the entire apartment has the most stunning blonde wood floors and large windows too. But to me, the most striking element is the kitchen - loving the black cabinet doors. They make such a striking contrast with the rest of the open-plan space. Although the home has been home-staged for sell -  there really are people that can and do live in this minimalist way and, being a rather messy person myself, I truly appreciate the aesthetics, it creates an incredibly calm, serene feel, don't you think? Let's take a tour...

Entrance. Photography: Anders Bergstedt

Is there anything that stands out to you?

A few items I know and love: 7 series chairs, Dualit toaster, Artichoke pendant light, white linen bedding with black trim.

More lovely monochrome spaces include the striking minimalist home of a Danish architect, a truly fabulous home in Fontainbleu, France and lovely pics from the home of a Swedish stylist.

Other links from around the web today...

The IKEA refugee shelters are a game changer.

I'm excited to be featured in Elle Decor Italy this week (interview in Italian). 

Three pretty Christmas wreath ideas for your door (love the stars!). 

Love the table setting at this friends giving feast.

Have a lovely day, and Happy Thanksgiving to Americans around the world today!

READ MORE...

10

A day at a snowy log cabin / DIY Christmas ideas

Hello! How are you today? I have to say I'm feeling a little worse for wear after an evening out with the girls last night (totally self-inflicted I admit!). It's slow mornings like this when I dream of spending the day hiding out at a log cabin. In fact, If I could choose,  my day would look a lot like this. Fancy joining me?!

Credit: Benj Haisch

Credit: Warm Vanilla Sugar

Stylists: ila malù + Trendinozze. Photography: giuli & giordi,

Finch & Fawn

Credit: Paulina Kolondra

Credit: http://www.kardelen.se/

Sooooo cosy!  

In case you're wondering...here's the recipe for the hot chocolate with chocolate dipped cinamon marshmallows.  All the bedding in the last picture is available here. See a full tour of that stunning Italian Osteria wedding (how pretty?). There's a great DIY guide to the wreath.

Lots more pretty Christmas / winter inspiration here. 

Oh, and how cute are these mini Nordic Christmas tree mobiles? They come in a cool little 3D DIY kit...

Stylist Camilla Tange Peylecke, Photographer Gyrithe Lemche

So pretty and simple - the perfect DIY to create together with your little ones (alongside these 'pepparkaka' or ginger biscuit ideas - I can smell the cinnamon from here!), don't you think?

How would your ideal day look?

Have a lovely day, I'll be back tomorrow with a full house tour again!

PS Happy Thanksgiving to all of you heading off for a long weekend...

READ MORE...

7

Back to bed on a Monday....dreamy bedroom inspiration!

Hello Monday! I hope you had a great weekend? We headed up to the cottage on Saturday and woke up to a foot of snow! You can just imagine how excited the girls were (the man on the other hand, spent an hour shoveling out the car)! Did you get snow where you are too? It's sooo chilly outside that after packing my girls off to nursery in snow suits what I really wanted to do was go back to bed with a box set and a slice of this! But instead, I'll settle for drooling over this dreamy bedding by Crisp Sheets. Imagine having a bedroom like this? I'm not sure I'd ever get out of bed!

Crisp sheets. Found via TDC.

The items: Cozy plaid / Secret Garden duvet cover / Weekend lover duvet set / Light as a feather duvet set. Love the 'dots' bedding too. Do you have a favourite?

Other bedding I love: cosy organic wool blanket and a mega chunky knit blanket (could have done with these at the cottage this weekend BRRRRR!). This fab black and white Moroccan wool bed throw with pom poms. And handmade fresh white bed linen. Heaven!

More beautiful bedroom inspiration for 'back to bed Monday' include the calm Danish boudoir of Tine K Home owner, a Swedish bedroom in neutrals, and if you have a small bedroom - this monochrome Belgium space offers some great ideas.

Back to bed anyone?

Have a great start to the week!

PS this is not a sponsored post, I just love the bedding!

PPS twenty-four reasons why living in Sweden will ruin your life.

READ MORE...

3

A beautiful Danish farmhouse ready for Christmas

Happy Friday! I have to say, I'm so incredibly excited about today's post. I know it's early, but I couldn't help getting just a teeny bit festive when I spotted this oh so beautiful farmhouse in North Zealand, Denmark all decked out for Christmas. The property dates back to the 1900's and is home to Christina Kattrup Schrøder, a journalist, stylist, and co-owner of online shop Have A look (selling fab Danish design reading glasses), her husband Per Vilhelm Schrøder, a flight operations manager and their sons. The cosy space features wood beams, a fireplace, one huge sofa to snuggle up in and a mix of antique and Scandinavian design items - what a lovely setting for Christmas, don't you think?

Femina magazine, Indret, nr.4, November 2015, ALLER Media. Photography / Styling: Wotkjær & Kattrup (Have A Look) 

 
The Danes really do know how to decorate in style, don't you think? The festive touches in this home are simple and subtle yet so pretty!

Is there anything that stands out to you? 

Judging by the style of Christina's home it's no surprise the reading glasses at Have A look are also fab. The good news is they have both a Danish and Swedish online shop and also ship worldwide! I'm so getting the man a pair for Christmas!

Before I head off for the weekend, here's my round-up of links I love from the web this week:

I can't wait to get my hands on 'Inward - a Scandinavian Winter Guide'.

Beautiful DIY festive wreath inspiration as well as a lovely, simple christmas table and festive table display.

How have I managed without this dodge and burn photo technique?

I'd really like a rug like the one in this fab bedroom.

This colourful sitting room makes me want to add a touch to my own.

That's it from me! But feel free to leave your own tips in the comment section below, I'd love to hear from you.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!

READ MORE...

4

An elegant Swedish space with a crackling fire

I thought I'd check in today with a truly elegant Swedish space with high ceilings, period features and lovely natural light. I can almost hear the sound of music from the piano, the crackle of the fire and a slow coffee brewing in the kitchen! Oh how I'd love to be hiding out from the cold and darkness here in Sweden under that blanket by the fire today (possibly tucking into one of these (or perhaps this variety?! Hang on - a cronut? why haven't I heard of these before?). Er, sorry. Moving on swiftly with the  tour...

Photography Jonas Berg. Styling: Stil & Rum. Entrance.

Want to hang out too?!

It's fun seeing mosaic tiles as a kitchen splash back rather than on the bathroom floor - what a great feature?!Source similar at Bert & May.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

I also love this elegant Stockholm home in black and navy (oh, the drama of it!).

Is it just me or is Christmas slowly creeping into your Pinterest feed? You may have noticed that I'm holding out on festive posts for now. When the time is right though, I'll be making this pretty door decoration, to spread a little love to everyone passing by my door.

Have a lovely day!

READ MORE...

5