Could you go grey like this fab (small) Swedish apartment?

It's pouring with rain here this morning - in that cosy way you only feel when you actually don't have to go out in it?! I was actually planning on posting something vibrant today but actually this beautiful grey Swedish apartment matches the day far better  - so I'll park the other one for tomorrow's post! There's a lot to be said for grey - it's calm, it's elegant and it's sort of 'adult' in a way that I love. Do you know what I mean? This Swedish apartment combines grey (in the form of doors, skirting boards, radiator covers, window frames and textiles) with black and white and a hint of cognac leather. And there's some fab lighting going on too! Let's take a tour....

Source: Bosthlm

I love how the kitchen cabinets extend around the corner - what a clever way to add work surface and storage in a small space ( this home is a mere 38 square metres / 409 square foot)?

A few items I know and love: dining - Thonet chairs (absolutely love these!), aim suspension lights. sitting room - Sinnerlig daybed, linen throw, sheepskin throw, sinnerlig stool, leather ottoman. bedroom - charcoal linen pillow cases, light grey linen sheet (in fact my latest linen love has got to be anything and everything from this etsy shop - be still my beating heart!!

After something a little er brighter today? Why not dig into my (dangerous) archives for a few hours and check out this white Brooklyn home with vibrant touches, a Swedish home with black floors and fun, colourful touches, and the happy home of a Dutch illustrator (you can always count on the Dutch for some wonderful pops of colour!). 

By the way, I loved the discussion in the comment section yesterday (a home tour not to be missed by the way)  - so interesting! If you have any constructive thoughts on the homes I show, please do leave a comment in the section below and join the chat! It always adds a huge amount - plus it makes my day too! (if you don't have gmail you can click the anonymous box and then add your name or initials against the comment. 

Have a lovely day!

You can stop raining now Sweden. 

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An idyllic Swedish country home

I first discovered Sweden when I was 7 years old when I came to visit a friend (Ullis) who had been at school with me in London. We spent the summer at her family's summer cottage in Dalarna,  swimming in a lake, eating homegrown lingonberries on waffles, and dancing around a midsummer maypole with wild flowers in our hair*. Seeing this lovely country home at the end of a winding track in Mockfjärd, Dalarna transports me back to that magical summer. Sanna and her family have furnished their country home using simple yet lovely flea market finds and even items found in the outhouse (including a table which they dusted down and use as their dining table). Wild flowers from the garden can be seen dotted throughout the space. What a charming family home?!

Could you imagine enjoying the midnight sun here?

Personally I've got my eye on that afternoon tea (such a fan of the mon amie tea cups too)....but if I can drag myself away from that - I also absolutely love all the flea market finds - they create such a lovely, relaxed feel.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Get the look:  dining room - vintage mirrors,  this black factory light is similar - you'll need to be quick, there's only one! Pick up vintage crates here, bar cart in brass. Source a cactus print here. This shop is currently selling five gold frames like the ones seen,  paper pom poms.

If you'd like to see more pictures of Sanna's home you might like to check out her instagram gallery And if you live in Sweden, there's a full feature in Lantliv (6/2016). 

I've featured quite a few of photographer Carina Olander's home tours here in the past (with kind permission of course) including the home of a collector,  a lovely home with a mix of old and new, and a dreamy master bedroom - oh how I could go back to bed here today - how about you?!

Have a lovely day!

*Who would have thought that same friend would introduce me to my Swedish husband twenty years later? Today we live a few hundred metres down the road from each other and our little girls start school together this autumn - just like we did 3 decades ago.  

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