One of my favourite trips of the year is almost here!

Sponsored by Formland, all words are my own.

Eeek! I've just booked my train to Herning, Denmark and my hotel for 16th-18th August, which means one thing... it's almost time for Formland!

I've been making this biannual trip to the Nordic interior and lifestyle tradeshow for many years now, and honestly, I never tire of it. Every season I come home with a notebook full of ideas, a camera packed with inspiration and (usually!) rather sore feet.

People often ask me what makes Formland so special. Of course, it's a chance to see what's new in the world of Scandinavian interiors, but for me it's really about the people. It's where I catch up with old friends from across the industry, finally meet people I've only ever emailed, and spend three wonderful days completely immersed in beautiful design.

If you're thinking of visiting this year, I thought I'd share a few of the things I'm looking forward to most.

1. Discovering beautiful brands

One of my favourite things to do is simply wander through the halls and see what catches my eye. Alongside many well-known Nordic brands, there are always exciting independent makers and smaller studios I'd never have discovered otherwise-not to mention a sprinkling of international exhibitors too. 

These are often the brands that end up appearing on My Scandinavian Home months later, so I can't wait to see what treasures I uncover this time. See all the exhibitors here.

2. Popping into the talks

I always try to make time for a few of the talks throughout the fair. This season there are sessions exploring everything from retail and consumer trends to AI, alongside daily trend talks, debates, workshops and plenty of creative inspiration. As always, I know I'll leave with pages of notes!

3. Visiting the Trend Zone

Another stop on my list is this season's Trend Zone, 'Analog ...a store', created by Studie Flyhelsted.

From what I've read, it sounds wonderfully immersive. Visitors are invited to step into a series of spaces where soft meets hard, smooth meets rough, and the different settings flow together to tell a story around sleep, wellbeing, food and beauty. It's designed to awaken the senses, to encourage you to pause, notice the details and experience design more intuitively.

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those spaces where I'll linger a little longer.

4. Catching up with wonderful people

This is probably my favourite part of all.

Working from home can sometimes feel surprisingly solitary, so I really treasure these few days of conversations with designers, stylists, PR teams, buyers, shop and brand owners and fellow writers. Every chat sparks a new idea, introduces me to someone interesting or sends me off in a completely unexpected direction.

I always come home feeling inspired-not just by what I've seen, but by the people I've met.

Why not join me?

If you've been considering a visit, it's worth knowing that international visitors receive free entry, and there's also a free express bus from Copenhagen to Herning, making it really easy if you're flying in.

And if you can't make it this time, don't worry! I'll be sharing plenty of discoveries, beautiful stands, favourite brands and behind-the-scenes moments over on Instagram throughout the fair, so do follow along if you're curious. Hopefully it'll feel like you're wandering the halls with me!

On a completely seperate note, tomorrow will by my final post on the blog before I head off for a two week summer holiday, I hope you'll stop by! 

Niki

Photo credits & exhbitors: 1 & 5 Creative Souls (J7512), 2. Bröste Copenhagen (J2795) 3. Jakobsdals (M9646), 4. Casa Mags / New Mags (J7122), 6. Rosendahl Design Group (M9445)

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A Magical Theatre Home on the Danish Island of Møn

Sometimes a home lands in my inbox that completely stops me in my tracks.

Last week, these photographs arrived from the Danish island of Møn and, from the very first image, I knew this was somewhere rather special. The owners, Peter Kirk and Tilde Knudsen, are the creative force behind Asterions Hus, the theatre company they've run since 2003. Known for their imaginative interpretations of myths, fairy tales and classic literature, their productions are poetic, highly visual, sometimes a little grotesque, and always infused with humour. It doesn't take long to see how that wonderfully creative spirit has found its way into the place they call home.

Set close to the breathtaking white chalk cliffs of Møns Klint, this former village school has been transformed into far more than a house. It's a family home, a theatre, an artists' residence and a gathering place for creatives from around the world. Built in 1935, the school has lived many lives. After serving generations of local children, it became a refuge for Bosnian families in the 1990s before later evolving into a housing collective. Over the years it suffered neglect and even fire, but today Peter and Tilde have lovingly restored it, preserving its remarkable history while writing an inspiring new chapter.

What struck me most wasn't simply the beautiful old buildings, but the layers of stories woven throughout them. Antique treasures gathered from the French and Scandinavian countryside sit happily alongside theatrical props, artworks and cherished mementoes collected over a lifetime of making theatre. Every object seems to have earned its place, and every room has a story to tell.

Because this home is so deeply personal, I thought we'd do something a little different today. Rather than me doing all the talking, Peter and Tilde have kindly shared the stories behind many of the rooms, objects and spaces in their own words. It feels only fitting that two lifelong storytellers should guide us through this magical place themselves.

So, shall we take a peek behind the curtain?

"We use this as the theatre foyer whenever there are performances. We built the sink ourselves. There used to be a toilet here when the building was still a school, so the plumbing and drainage were already in place. Now we use it to make tea and coffee. The bell is rung to let everyone know it's time for the show to begin."

"Also in the foyer, the white piece is the top of a Bornholm clock. The rest found a second life as a prop in one of our theatre productions about Leonardo da Vinci."

"To the right, there is the entry into the dance space, and upstairs is the entry to our apartment and the kitchen."

"The mannequins in the entry for the dance space are props from a solo piece ‘My Room’."

"This is our office. We were performing at Icharia. We went around the island, exploring on a scooter, and found an abandoned school full of maps. We took as many maps as we could carry on a scooter. We felt very naughty!"

"Many of our pieces of furniture were spontaneous second-hand finds. It doesn't matter to us that it's antique - it's just important that it has personality. We had a big theatre van. We have taught each other that it's good to say yes. 'Grab it when you see it', instead of overthinking." 

"In Copenhagen, we have two good neighbours: the Royal Theatre warehouse, which often threw things out, hand-painted backdrops, etc. The other neighbour was a big second-hand furniture website, the B&W. We collected so many interesting items from them. In our theatre, we had audience seating for 70 people, just antique couches."

"This is our scenography workshop in an old classroom, you can see where the heightened platform for the lectern was. It's full of props and paint and small details."

"This is a costume from a performance called The Europeans, by UK playwright Howard Barker. The screen is from the old shipyard in Copenhagen. And the pink animal on the shelf in the back is an iconic animal from a Czech art festival. It was our mascot when we performed there."

"This the heart of our home: the dining room. We designed the tables from stage podiums during the pandemic. The big black artwork on the left is by our beloved photographer Ingrid Bugge, unfortunately no longer alive, who has followed us for many years. The artwork in the background is a drawing from the well-known local political cartoonist Per Marquard Otzen."

"We built the kitchen ourselves from old grocery store and pharmacy cabinets. We searched online and drove to different towns to collect the pieces. The island bench is from an old shop on the ground floor of a 1929 villa in Odense. It had been built into the space. We had to cut the legs off to take it out."

"We live here with three cats: Natskygge (Night Shadow), Skumring (Dusk) and Stevie Wonder.

One day, a friend called about a tiny kitten they had found, thinking it might be ours. Stevie was very, very small. He wasn't our kitten, but we took him in while we tried to find his owners. We put him in our son's bedroom and, during the night, our son accidentally stepped on him, badly injuring him. Stevie started having fits. We'd already decided we would have to put him to sleep, but miraculously, he recovered.

The accident left him blind, so we called him Stevie because of his blindness, and Wonder because he had survived against all the odds. After we named him Stevie Wonder, we started to hear him sing.

He's now one year old and thriving. He's incredibly sociable and completely fearless."

"This is the school inspectors' house, seen from the garden."

"In 2014, we created a theatre performance in Finland and toured it around Finland and Estonia. After every performance, we visited a different sauna—a traditional smoke sauna, a floating sauna, a sauna by the sea... We loved the ritual so much that we decided we wanted to go to a sauna after every show in Denmark too. So we bought one and installed it by the sea near our home in Copenhagen, where we could jump straight into the water afterwards. We even created theatre performances around it!

When we moved to Møn, we knew we wanted a sauna here as well—so now we have two, one in Copenhagen and one on Møn. This one occasionally doubles as a bedroom when all our guest rooms are full.

Next on the list is an outdoor shower. The sea is about two kilometres away, which is just a little too far to run!"

"All the houses share a large, lush garden overlooking the sea at Klintholm Havn, the nearby fishing village. In summer, it's buzzing with life.

When we moved into the school, the garden had been completely abandoned. During our first year, we dug a drainage channel to prevent the fields from flooding, then planted an orchard with apple, pear, plum and cherry trees. We also planted birch trees to create an outdoor stage-now known as The Birch Stage-as well as raspberries, gooseberries and other berry bushes. Altogether, we've planted around 150 birch and hazel trees, along with 50 fruit trees."

"We're very close to the UNESCO-protected Møns Klint, with its dramatic white chalk cliffs, widely considered one of Denmark's most beautiful natural landmarks. The entire island is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, home to an extraordinary variety of rare habitats and species, including 18 species of orchid and the Large Blue butterfly, which is extinct everywhere else in Denmark.

This year, we created a theatre performance about the Large Blue butterfly, and since then we have become ambassadors for the UNESCO Biosphere."

I honestly feel like I could have wandered around this magical place for hours-there's a story waiting to be discovered in every room, every object and every corner of the garden.

A huge thank you to Peter and Tilde for so generously inviting us behind the curtain and sharing not only their extraordinary home, but also the stories and philosophy that have shaped it. It's been such a privilege.

To discover more about Peter and Tilde's artistic work, To The Møøn Festival, their artist residencies and home stays, do pay a visit to teatermon.dk, or follow them on Instagram @teatermoen.

And finally, a heartfelt thank you to Australian writer, editor and journalist Jana Perkovic, now based on the beautiful Danish island of Møn, for thinking of My Scandinavian Home and so kindly sharing her beautiful photographs and story with us.

I hope you've enjoyed this tour as much as I have. I'd love to hear what caught your eye-or which story stayed with you the longest.

Niki

Photography: Jana Perkovic, shared with kind permission

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A Light & Lovely Malmö Home to Brighten Your Day

Hej raringar!

We've relocated back to Malmö for a few days (just a little interlude before heading back to our summer cottage since Alice is off to gymnastics camp tomorrow), and with that, I felt a Malmö apartment tour was in order!

This lovely home in the relaxed Möllevången neighbourhood (if you're planning a visit, don't miss my Malmö guide, and more recently: Malmö by the sea!) immediately caught my eye for its wonderfully light, easy-going feel.

I love the soft palette of warm greys, dusty blues and gentle greens, which creates such a calm atmosphere throughout and a wonderfully cool, restful backdrop to life in the heart of the city during summertime. The bedroom is especially lovely. That muted blue wall feels cocooning without being dark (clever how they've painted the IVAR cabinets the same colour), while layers of linen and natural textures keep everything feeling relaxed and effortless.

Elsewhere, it's the little details that really make this apartment sing: a deep windowsill transformed into a cosy spot for a morning coffee and a little people-watching, original doors full of beautiful patina, simple open shelving in the kitchen and carefully chosen artwork that adds personality without making the space feel cluttered. It strikes that wonderful balance between pared-back and cosy.

There's something about these old Malmö apartments that always gets me. Perhaps it's the generous ceiling heights, the original joinery or simply the way they balance history with such an effortlessly relaxed style. 

Ready to take a look?

Very nice!

I have to say, I love the old-school look in the bathroom – it's so cool!

I'm also seriously considering painting our guest bedroom a blue like this. It's such a calm, restful shade. Maybe I'll manage it before my sister and her family come to stay in August (Per's ears are probably burning from across the room right now!). Mind you, I'll need to wait for a rainy day first!

An interior designer friend once told me that the danger with adding colour to walls is that you can grow tired of it over time. But I honestly don't think I'd ever tire of this blue. Do you have a wall colour in your home that you've loved for years? I'd love to hear what it is!

Before I head off to help my daughter pack, I thought I'd leave you with a few more Malmö home tours to enjoy:

Step inside a cosy Malmö apartment where old meets new
Tour a Malmö home filled with smart Scandinavian design ideas
An artist's home and studio in a converted Malmö warehouse

I hope you enjoyed today's Malmö tour! Thank you so much for dropping by, and for all your lovely comments and messages; they really do brighten my day. I'll be back later this week with one final post before I disappear for a couple of weeks to soak up the Swedish summer. See you then!

Niki

For sale via Bo-laget.
Photography Pernilla Wästberg

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An Idyllic 18th-Century Swedish Farm Summer Oasis

Sun, sun, sun, sea and swimming. Sorry for waxing lyrical about summer on the blog lately, but we've waited so long for it and now it's finally here! With that in mind, I hope you don't mind me sharing another dreamy Swedish summer house.

Today we're heading to Lilla Nävesta in south-east Sweden, where this charming farm (currently for sale via Historiska Hem) feels as though it's been lifted straight from an Astrid Lindgren story. Red cottages are dotted around a shared garden, creating the loveliest setting for family gatherings and long summer days. 

The farm dates back to the 17th century, and while it's been lovingly updated over the years, it hasn't lost an ounce of its soul.

Inside, it's everything I love about an old Swedish country home: honey-toned floorboards, wood-panelled walls and wonderfully wonky ceilings, all softened with linen, fresh flowers and painted wooden furniture in cheerful shades of blue, red and white. The old wood-burning range in the kitchen still takes pride of place, and the covered veranda is surely where everyone ends up after a swim or a day in the garden.

Could you imagine spending your summers here? Take the tour to find out!

I think I'd struggle to leave. Then again, perhaps there's room for a home office so I could stay and work from here year-round?

Is this your kind of summer oasis too?

Speaking of which, my daughter is standing beside me with a towel slung over her shoulder, patiently waiting for us to head down for a dip in the sea. I'd better not keep her waiting!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, and thank you so much for stopping by. See you early next week!

Niki

Photography via Historiska Hem, with thanks.

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