A Colourful, Vintage Inspired Danish Home At Christmas

Go'morgon! How was your weekend? We had a birthday girl in the house (me!) and my sister came over from London to celebrate, it was so much fun! I have to admit I'm feeling a little ropey this morning. But, the cheerful Danish home of Louise, blogger behind Mor till Mernee, her partner and two children Merle and Neel never fails to put a smile on my face, especially at Christmas time! Decked out with multiple trees adorned with brightly coloured vintage decorations, homemade advent calendars, fairy lights and other festive touches, it's fun, personal and cosy! I caught up with Louise to find out a little more about Christmas in Jutland! 

I love how you have decorated your home - it looks so festive!

It's my favourite time of the year, except for the weather - in Denmark it's so rainy in December and I don't love that! But I love Christmas, the decorations, the tree, the time spent together. 

Look at that pup! Adorable! 

Every December I think "this year I'm going to really enjoy the run-up - baking with my family etc and then things just get crazy, do you find the same?

Christmas is always such a busy time, but every year we really try to take the time to just be. When the school holidays start next week, we'll be spending lots of time together as a family just doing nothing. 

I love the sound of that Louise! Your decorations are so pretty and unique, where did you find them? 

My decorations are very dear to me. Some are from my childhood; others are from my grandparents and some are bought vintage. I love vintage Christmas decorations, every year I by a new second-hand piece.

I love the trees in your house, can you tell us a little more about the ornaments? 

We decorate our trees with vintage pieces and also pieces that have been made by the children. They are a joy to unpack every year.  

Do you have a favourite tradition?

Every year, we head to the woods in the first weekend of December to pick our favourite tree and take it home. This way, we have a tree in our living room throughout December. The tree is the best decor ever, so why not have it the whole month? We love that! 

Oh, so pretty! 

Has this brightened up your Monday too?

You can also see a full tour of Louise's home (not at Christmas!) here and keep up to date with her latest updates on her blog and instagram. 

Etsy is a great source for vintage Christmas ornaments* (in case you're feeling inspired to pick up some of your own!). 

Up for a little more Danish inspiration today? Hop on over to the Danish home archive! 

Have a great start to the week friends!

Niki

PS I loved reading all your comments about your Christmas traditions (and your thoughts about Swedish ones) on Friday! Don't forget that you can get 20% off the seasonal collection at Skandinavisk with the code nikijul20 until 16th December - such a bargain and their candles smell divine! 

Photography: Louise / Mor till Mernee - shared with kind permission.

*Affiliate link

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Our Swedish Christmas - From Per's Perspective!

How do you celebrate Christmas? Since moving to Sweden (16 years ago - how crazy is that?!) - we usually have two celebrations - one in Sweden on 23rd and one in England on 25th. But this year, the entire English clan is coming to Sweden, so Per and the girls finally get to watch Kalle Anke (Donald Duck) at 3pm on Christmas Eve (a very Swedish tradition!). For my final post of the year with partner Skandinavisk - who tell the story of the Scandinavian Christmas / Winter through a collection of heavenly fragrances (discount at end of post!) - I thought I'd interview my husband Per about his thoughts on Swedish Christmas, and some of the traditions he loves the most!

When does Christmas begin for you?

The First Sunday of Advent - this is when we traditionally jular fram - start to put up Christmas decorations, play Christmas music etc.

What do you love most about this time of year? 

It gets very cold and dark as we near the winter solstice and Swedes tend to gravitate indoors. Christmas gives us a perfect excuse to hang out with friends over a glögg (spiced mulled wine) and pepparkaka (gingersnaps)!

What are your favourite family traditions? 

Every year we head out to the woods to chop down our tree. When I was at school, parents would organise a class trip and we'd all go out together and make a big event out of it. These days I love to continue this tradition with my family. In Sweden we're known for being fairly calm and democratic - but when we choose a tree, we can become pretty feisty! There are a lot of strong opinions about how a Christmas tree should look!

How do you decorate your home for Christmas?
I'm married to an interior-crazy woman so I don't get too much of a say these days (Editor's note: he so does) - but there are a few things that are important to me. I like to put traditional 7-arm candelabras and paper stars in the window. I also like the Christmas decorations to be cosy but not over the top - us Swedes don't tend to go all-in - for example, you rarely see colourful flashing Christmas tree lights or a Father Christmas and his sleigh on the roof!

What fragrances do you associate with Christmas?

The fresh scent of pine, orange, cloves, smoke from a crackling log fire, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom all remind me of Christmas. 

JUL (Christmas) scented candle with bold notes of baked gingerbread, melted honey, cloves and warm glögg. 

Where do you spend Christmas? 

We celebrate Christmas on Julafton (Christmas Eve) in Sweden. We have a big family gathering at my Father's house, which is in a fishing village further up the coast. Around midday, we all meet at a 'kalbadhus' (sauna pier) by the sea. The sauna is a great way to kick off the Christmas Eve celebrations as there's something really cleansing about heating up in a sauna and hopping in the cold sea - it really raises your spirits! We usually enjoy a few Christmas beers in the sauna too - just for good measure! 

The TRÆ (tree) scented candle is a wonderful reflection of the bright, fresh scent of the forest! 

How do you celebrate Christmas Eve?
When we arrive at my Father's, candlelit lanterns line the snowy pathway up to the door and a nice, warm mug of homemade glögg (spiced mulled wine) with almond and raisins awaits! At 3pm we all settle down to watch the 1958 Walt Disney film, From All of Us To All of You, affectionately referred to as Kalle Anke (Donald Duck) - even though we all know it off by heart! And then we tuck into a traditional Julbord (Christmas smorgasbord).

SNÖ (snow) scented candle with a fresh, crisp and icily dry scent infused with a hint of winter berries and frozen timber wood. 

Ah yes, the julbord! Can you tell us a little more about what this involves? 
It's a smorgasbord made up of different types of meat, fish and vegetable dishes. The fish part is my favourite - it includes different types of pickled herring (marinated by my stepmother), an assortment of salmon (warm smoked, cold smoked, gravlax etc.) prawns, and other delicacies! Our julbord also includes the traditional ham, sausages, green and brown cabbage, Jansson's Temptation (a potato dish with anchovies), meatballs and many, many other things! We all bring something with us so that no one is burdened with doing everything (we all have our own specialities - I'm on meatball duty!).

We accompany the julbord with Christmas beer (for the adults) and Julmust (for the kids - basically an adapted Christmas Coca-Cola). We also enjoy my Father's home-flavoured wormwood schnapps along with Christmas songs! In Sweden, we don't drink wine with the julbord but I've noticed my wife always sneaks in a glass or two!

When do you exchange presents?
In our family we only give presents to the children. They all stand at the window waiting for Tomten (Father Christmas) who appears in the garden with a lantern and a sack over his shoulder. It's met with squeals of delight and the children race to the door to greet him - it's such a wonderful sight! He asks "finns där några snälla barn?" (are there any good children here?). Unfortunately, I always tend to miss this moment as I've 'popped out' for an untimely errand ;).

What do you miss most when you spend Christmas in London? 

I take a lot of the traditions with me in my suitcase - including some of the julbord specialities and song sheets, so I can feel at home! I love the crackers (we don't have them in Sweden) the stockings are also fun, but I do think it's a shame that the rest of the world don't get to meet Tomten!

When do you take Christmas decorations down in Sweden?

We have a saying: tjugondag Knut dansas julen ut (on the twentieth day Knut, Christmas dances out). In other words, all our Christmas decorations are taken down on 13th January. This always stresses my wife as it's said to be unlucky to leave decorations up after Twelfth night (6th January!) in England!

ÖNSKAT ('wish') special edition giftset

Thank you PP! You've got me dreaming about Christmas Eve now - and that glass of wine with my julbord ;). In the meantime, we've got some Christmas shopping to do (I noticed that was included in your favourite traditions!). 

Speaking of which - if you feel like giving someone the gift of a home filled with the heavenly scent of the Scandinavian Christmas / winter, Skandinavisk are offering My Scandinavian Home readers 20% off the JUL (Christmas) scented candle and mini scented candle, TRÆ (tree) scented candle and mini scented candle, SNÖ (snow) scented candle and mini scented candle, NORDLYS (Aurora Borealis) scented candle and mini scented candle, ÖNSKA special edition giftset and the NORDEN mini giftset! To claim your 20% discount type in nikijul20 at checkout (note the small caps!) - valid until 16th December, 2019. Find out which countries they ship to here. 

I hope you enjoyed hearing Per tell a little more about our Swedish family Christmas - is there anything that stood out to you? Do you have any similarities in your country? I'd love to hear more about how you celebrate Christmas (or the holidays in general!). 

Have a cosy weekend friends!

Niki

PS I'll be back on Monday with a magical danish home decorated for Christmas - oh, and it involves a little colour too! Make sure you pop back! 

This was part of a paid partnership with Skandinavisk. All words and pictures are my own and I only ever work with brands that I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the businesses that make My Scandinavian Home possible.

Photos by me. Interior pictures of my home styled by Helen Sturesson.

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Step Inside Janniche's Delightful Swedish Home

Janniche Kristoffersen's home is one of those you can visit time and time again and never tire of. It's simply beautiful, in a relaxed, homely way. I nipped over to her blog yesterday to see what she was up to this Christmas and was excited to find she'd made some lovely colour changes (the 'melun' in the children's bedroom being my favourite) and added some cosy festive touches. Think stars, orange garlands, simple wreaths and candles. Ready for a return visit to Bagarmossan, Sweden? Let's dive in!  

What a cosy dining space! Look closely and you'll see the decorations are very simple - an orange garland, branches of pine in a vase and a wreath made from eucalyptus. Love the mix and match mid-century chairs too! 

Can you spot the TV? This setting would have fitted in perfectly in my 'stylish ways to display a TV' feature a few weeks back!

Janniche's Ikea Söderhamn sofa has been covered in a Simply Linen cover in Absolute white* from Bemz. 

The wall of books and magazines is one of my favourite things in this home. I love the idea of using books as art - plus you can really see all of the titles! 

Janniche's daughter's room has been painted in a beautiful combination of shiny melun and modest white from Nordsjö. 

Rug from Oyoy Living, 'hello' - playwood studio, print from Fine Little Day.

Oh, how I love this home!

Have you seen this before on MSH or is this the first time you've toured her home?!

Either way, I hope you enjoyed this space as much as I do!

You can see more pics of Janniche's home over at @bloggaibagis and her blog and also check out a load more Swedish homes (as always) in the archives here. 

For tomorrow's post I've gone down a slightly different track - and sharing an interview with Per about our Swedish Christmas and all the traditions he loves (along with pics of course!). I even learned a few new things! I've also got an exciting discount code to share which is perfect for very Scandi gifts! Hope to see you then! 

Vi ses imorgen! 

Niki

Photography Janniche Kristoffersen / Bloggaibagis

*Affiliate partner links

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A Soothing Swedish Home With Subtle Festive Touches

Why, hello there! How's your week going? It's kind of a crazy time in the weeks running up to Christmas, don't you find? I hope you'll be able to find a little respite while enjoying today's post because I've got a lovely Swedish home to share with you! This beautiful Swedish house in Piteå (that's FAR, FAR, FAR north!), belongs to interior stylist and Mother Frida Andersson. The country home has been decorated in soothing tones of green grey which provides a calm backdrop for a blend of traditional and contemporary design pieces and lots of lovely linen! I love the Christmas touches too! Enjoy the tour!

I wonder what Frida's planning to do with the orange slices? Perhaps she's going to make a garland like the one in this post? 

Source a similar linen tablecloth here*. I also spy a Bernadotte thermo pot* by Georg Jensen (I have a new found love for the Danish brand having experienced their Christmas Collectibles first hand yesterday!). 

I wasn't kidding when I said that these paper snow flowers are the biggest thing in Sweden this Christmas! I've shared a DIY tutorial here. 

This sitting room is all about the texture from the wooden chest and Urn to the linen sofa (Bemz do an urban loose fit linen cover* like this for IKEA sofas). The dusting of snow outside adds to the cosy feel too! 

How pretty is this snöblomma in the window? I also love the simplicity of the fir tree branch in the urn. It reminds me a little of the decoration beside our daybed (except I added a single golden Christmas decoration!). I often think more simple seasonal touches are the prettiest. 

The mix of linens in earthy tones add a cosy touch to the bedroom and look super soft too! 

I discovered a great source for rustic benches like this one on Etsy here. 

There are so many lovely touches in this home - did anything catch your eye? 

I like the wreath in Frida's daughter's bedroom - it's such a pretty way to add a festive touch! Incidentally both my daughters have asked if they can put Christmas trees in their bedrooms this year. There's no way their bedrooms are big enough and we've got a load of guests coming (plus our big tree fell over yesterday - I'm not kidding! - so I'm already battling enough with that one!). But maybe they could each have a mini table toptree? Hmmm. Do you have multiple trees in your home? 

You can see more of Frida's home over on her instagram and blog - Mitt Pallas.  

Check out more soothing Swedish homes here. 

Ha en bra dag! 

Niki

Photography: Frida Andersson

*Affiliate link which means if you click on the link and buy it, I might earn a very small amount of money - perhaps enough for a pepparkaka biscuit with my tea!

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'Jul' Touches In My Home (Thanks to The Beautiful Georg Jensen Christmas Collectibles!)

Have you started decorating for Christmas (if you celebrate, of course!)? At home it has started to feel a lot like 'Jul' thanks to the beautiful Christmas Collectibles from Georg Jensen. I've always been curious about Georg Jensen since the iconic Danish brand has played a pioneering role in Scandinavian design for over 100 years - that's a century of timeless jewellery, home decor, silver and accessories! And then I discovered the annual Christmas collection - created in collaboration with a handpicked designer. This year, designer Sanne Lund Traberg worked together with Georg Jensen to create the 2019 Christmas Collectables which are based on classic yuletide symbols of love, togetherness and tradition: hearts, stars and trees all plated in gold and palladium. I was so excited to be given the opportunity to play around with pieces from the collection in my own home, and I can safely say, they are even more beautiful in real life!



As you know, I'm never one to shy away from candles - especially at Christmas! And this isn't the first time I've put real candles on my tree (remember this one?!). I have to say, it's always equally nerve-racking! The Danes, of course, have this down. My Danish neighbour advised me (I thought it was important to seek advice!) to be very careful about where you place them so the flame is nowhere near a branch or another decoration, to never ever leave the tree unattended when the candles are lit, and always keep a bucket of sand nearby.

I have to say, there is nothing prettier than real candles - even if you only enjoy them in short bursts. The 2019 Candleholder Set includes a star and heart version which look super pretty even when the candles aren't lit!



How cosy are these 2019 Tea light heart candle holders? They're like a cosy, warm hug! Did I mention, they're also made from 18 Kt. gold plated brass? Tea lights at the ready! 



We chopped down our tree at a local sustainable Christmas tree farm again this year, and we knew as we saw this one that it had a heart made of gold - isn't this ornament pretty?



I have always loved the idea of using Christmas decorations as part of gift wrapping - and the lucky recipient can hang this pretty 2019 Christmas ornament star on their tree the following year! Any guesses what's inside?



Hard one, but I think the 2019 Christmas Bell Decoration is my favourite. It's made from 18 Kt. gold plated brass and engraved with the year. I think this would make such a beautiful present, don't you?



Usually we put our Christmas tree in this corner, but this year my English family are descending on us (super excited) - so I thought keeping the daybed / reading corner could be a nice place for people to hang out alone with a book when it all gets a bit much (you know what it can be like!). I

True to Scandinavian style, I kept the decoration super simple (especially since it's so near the tree!), using just one single 2019 Christmas ball decoration. Helen (who came and hung out with me for the day to help with the shoot), pulled this mini fir tree up at her summer cottage in Blekinge (you might recognise the name as it's where we went sailing this summer). The key with these mini trees is to keep the roots intact so they last all Christmas.



What do you think? Could you imagine treating yourself or someone you love to something from the Georg Jensen 2019 Christmas Collection? Explore the entire collection here.

I am going to a christening soon and have my eye on the 2019 Christmas Collectibles Gift Set as a present. I hope it's something the little girl can enjoy at Christmas time for many years to come!

Have a lovely day!

Niki

Photography: Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home
Styling: Helen Sturresson

This post is sponsored by Georg Jensen, however all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. 

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