A Clever Small Space Hack in a Beautiful Danish Apartment

Hey friends! How are you this fine day? 

One of the things I have always admired about Scandinavians is how practical and resourceful they are. Something needs fixing? Out comes the toolbox. Car tyres need changing? Out comes the jack! And this practical approach transcends to the home too. Scandinavian homes might be beautiful, but they're also user-friendly and comfortable. 

This comes particularly in handy in a small space, where every inch counts.  

A few days ago I was browsing Simply Scandi magazine (if you don't already subscribe, it's a must! And I'm not just saying that because I'm a proud contributor, honest!) - and stumbled across Vasia Moragianni's home. 

After her divorce, Vasia and her young son Emil moved into a one bedroom flat in Copenhagen. Determined to ensure privacy and maximise space, Vasia devised a plan to turn the 60 sq.m (645 sq.ft) space into a spacious and bright two bedroom apartment. Read on to discover how! 

The original floor plan:

When they first moved in, Vasia and her young son Emil shared a bedroom. 

Glossary: værelse - bedroom, stue - sitting room, køkken - kitchen, bad - bathroom, entré - hallway

Floor plan after: 

Vasia swapped the bedroom and sitting room areas and removed a wall between the kitchen and sitting room to create one large room. A wall was erected to divide the bedroom into two separate rooms. 

Kitchen before 

This is how the kitchen looked before the wall was removed:  

And this is how the room looked after the renovation: 

The open-plan space includes a small sitting room and dining room area. 

One bedroom becomes two

Vasia was particularly keen to ensure Emil had his own room. The answer was to divide the single room into two.

In order to maximise floorspace, the bed can be rolled through a hatch into the adjacent room, fitting neatly under the raised bed in the adjacent room.  

While, initially the larger room doubled up as a bedroom and office. These days, the rooms have been swapped and Emil occupies the larger room. When the bed is removed, he has plenty of space to play! 

What a clever idea - so unique! 

The best thing about this renovation is that it ticks all the boxes for small space living: it's multifunctional, flexible, has zones for all activities and allows a wonderful flow of light for a spacious feel. 

Could you imagine doing something like this in your home? Or perhaps you have a friend dealing with a similar conundrum? If so, please do share this post with them in case the idea comes in handy! 

For other small space solutions today, check out: 

10 small space tricks to learn from a Swedish apartment

A small Stockholm apartment with a clever library solution!

11 small space hacks to learn from a beautiful Danish home

You might also like to scroll through the entire small space archive which includes ideas for studio apartments, smart room dividers and more! 

Thanks so much for dropping by this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

Niki

Photography: 11& 13 Christina Kayser, the remainder by @small_nordic_tales 

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8 Pretty Easter Decorating ideas from Minimalist to Maximalist!

Easter in Sweden is a big event. Although the country is largely secular, the holiday offers a perfect excuse for families to gather in the spring sunshine (hopefully), eat some herring, egg based delicies and of course sing songs while downing akvavit! Afterwards, egg rolling is likely to take place in the village and if the children are lucky - the 'Påskhare' (Easter bunny) might just pay a visit and hide large paper eggs filled with sweets. 

But let's rewind. Before the big event, there's decorating to be done! The leaves haven't yet unfurled in Sweden, instead birch twigs are decorated with brightly coloured feathers or hung with decorative eggs. You might also see a witch on her broomstick in the window (Swedish legend has it that witches fly off to Blåkulla on Good Friday before returning on Påskafton (Easter Eve). And on Maundy Thursday, you might just receive a visit from a little witch with rosy cheeks and freckles, asking for sweets. You've been warned! 

Whether you believe in witches or not, why not decorate your home and the table with some pretty Scandinavian inspired Easter touches. Here are eight display ideas - from minimalist to maximalist! 

1 & 2. This pretty display above by Nordic stories mixes flowers with eggs for a delicate table setting (first picture and above). 

3. Swedish paper eggs don't need to be simple - as Ingrid Wenell shows with her dried flower and ribbon DIY idea on Lovely Life. 

4. Don't forget to stock up on carrots, in case the easter bunny shows up! I love this edible display idea created by Céleste Bouchayer and captued by Louis Gaillard for Marie Claire.  

5. Feeling dextrous? Cracked eggs filled with delicate spring flowers look so pretty hung from branches. 

6. Paper honeycombe eggs also look lovely hung from a branch as seen in this pictures via My Life From Home. I've seen similar eggs in H&M Home. 

7. In the mood for some serious DIY decorating? This flower and egg display from Metro Mode is beautiful! See the step by step guide here. 

8. or why not go all out with eggs, flowers, paper decor and anything else you can find like Miss Kitten Heart - for a centrepiece that will put a smile on everyone's face! 

So pretty! I particularly love the edible carrot idea and the flowers in eggs. Is there anything you might try this year? Looking at these pictures, do you feel like a decorating minimalist or maximalist? 

And do you have any unusual easter traditions in your country? If so, please share as I'd love to hear about them. 

If you'd like to see more decorating ideas, check out: 

My big easter DIY edit

6 beautiful easter craft ideas from scandinavia

Swedish easter traditions and inspiration 

A danish home with easter touches

Easter touches in a charming Swedish home

I'll be taking a short break over the easter holiday and back Tuesday 2nd April. I hope you have a relaxing week! 

Niki 

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Before and After Vintage Wall Shelf Makeover

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments about our summer cottage master bedroom makeover on Wednesday. Per and I are so happy you like the update as much as we do! 

As promised, here is a post about how I transformed the pine wall bracket.

This wall shelf has been hanging on the bedroom wall in the summer cottage for many years (long before I arrived on the scene!). Needless to say, it belongs here! But the varnish on the pine had yellowed with age and while we all love the shape, the outdated look wasn't quite in keeping with the calm style we had envisioned for the newly revamped room. 

Caveat: I am not quite sure why there's an old mattress leaning against the wall in this picture obscuring the view - but I hope you get the gist as it's the only shot I have! 

So, we took it off the wall and I carried it to my studio where I scrubbed it down with soap and water (an important step!). 

I selected Tidlös paint by Jotun Lady to match the Sandberg wallpaper (the great thing about this paint is that I didn't need to sand down the wood first - but if you are looking to carry out a similar project on a wooden item, it's important to check the requirements first).  

I applied two layers of paint using two different paint brush sizes - one fairly small (featured) and the other very small (the knobs on the drawers were so fiddly!). Afterwards, I lightly sanded the edges of the drawers to ensure they slotted back into place and could be pulled in and out freely. I've learnt this from my childhood home - I had an antique chest-of-drawers in my bedroom and would need to wiggle the drawer for about 20 minutes just to get to my socks, it used to drive me insane! 

Once the paint had dried, we hung it back on the wall using a spirit-level app on the phone (have you tried these types of apps? so handy!). 

Aside from drying time, the entire process took about 2 hours. 

And hey presto! A brand new shelf! 

I hope you like the results and feeling inspired to revamp something unloved too. 

Who knows, perhaps you'll be looking at that piece at home that you were thinking about chucking out with new eyes now? Or maybe you'll discover a tired looking item of furniture in a loppis (flea market) that no one wants this weekend and give it a fabulous revamp? If you do, I'd love to see the pictures! 

Happy Friday friends! 

Niki

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How a Vintage Cigar Cabinet Became Perfect Home Storage

I was so intrigued by the incredible vintage cabinet in Jana Roach's home yesterday that I had to dig deeper. Where did they find it? And most importantly, how did they manage to find the exact size piece required for the space? Read on to discover that not all is always as it seems... and sometimes it takes a whole load of imagination and some hard work to make the vintage piece you fall in love with fit your home! 

The original piece: 

Jana and her husband Tanner were in a second-hand building materials store in Seattle, US in March 2019 when they came across this old cigar display. 

They immediately fell in love with it, but the unit was way too big for the space they had - plus the slanted shelves (originally used for displaying cigars) were far from practical for kitchen storage. 

Many would have been deterred, admired its beauty and walked on. But not Tanner and Jana! 

The space

They could see its potential as a cabinet for their new dining room. The unit and the space just needed some work! 

What they did

Since the cabinet had no back, they prepped the back wall with white subway tiles. They opted for white grouting so that it wouldn't take over from the items in the cabinet. 

The cabinet was then modified to fit the space. This meant cutting off one of the bays, raising it by around 6 inches and adding a crown trim, base and side. The shelves were also levelled. 

The result:

I love this transformation! 

Looking at some of these homes, it can appear that everything has just effortlessly fallen into place, but it's not always the case - often there's a whole level of imagination and hard graft involved! 

Jana always recommends taking a tape measure to flea markets and reclaim yards. You never know - you might just stumble across a piece you love, and even if it's not quite right in terms of size or colour you might just be able to adapt it for your home and give it an entirely new lease of life anyway! 

Have you up cycled / renovated any second-hand pieces in your home? If so, I'd love to hear about them! 

Niki

PS I don't usually publish posts on Friday, but tomorrow will be an exception - and it's dedicated to anyone who has been wondering whether or not to install a woodturning stove! 

Photos courtesy of Jana Roach, shared with kind permission.

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10 Scandinavian Christmas Crafting Ideas (Many are Edible!)

Hemköp

If there's one thing I really admire about the Scandinavians, it's their passion for crafting and DIY. And at Christmas there's no stopping our dexterous Nordic friends. Referred to as 'Julpyssel' adults and children across the country are busy rolling out gingerbread dough, perfecting their Christmas caramel, carving out paper snowflakes to hang in the window and finalising candle holders with moss. If you'd like to channel your inner Scandinavian and get crafting this week, here are 10 Christmas DIY ideas to get you started: 

1. A-Frame Gingerbread house: a favourite in Sweden, edible gingerbread houses look so pretty at Christmas. If you're a novice, it might be best to start with a kit (they sell them at IKEA!), but I also love this fab A-frame cabin made from heart shaped gingerbread!  

Anna Nilsson

2. Mini gingerbread houses: These pretty houses can be hung in the window or on the tree (they might also get eaten on the way - and who'd blame you!). Instructions / recipe here. 

Hannah Larsson

3. The gingerbread village: Why create individual houses, when you can make an entire village? There's so much fun to be had creating a skyline, and you can eat it afterwards too. 

Owans Studio

4. Mini gingerbread drink decorations: Imagine serving hot chocolate with this little touch - hygge personified! Instructions  here. 

@sambohjelm

5. Julkola (Christmas caramel): Who doesn't love homemade sweets at Christmas? Caramel makes a perfect addition to the table too - or wrapped as a present. Original recipe here (in Swedish), English recipe here. 

Dörte Janusxzewski / @lewesmap

6. DIY snowflakes made from cardboard: These pretty decorations made from loo roll cartridges (or straw, toothpicks, newspaper - just about anything!) look just as pretty on the tree as they do hung in the window! Instructions here. 

@genommittfonster

7. Window drawings: Looking a little grey outside? Why not grab a white pen and create a pretty Christmas display to brighten up your view? 

@hemlikheter

8. Paper flowers: Colourful crepe is a perfect material for making pretty paper flowers. Place them on mini trees, in a bowl or create a garland. Know-how here. 

@jenniferthors

9. DIY Forest friends wrapping: put a smile on your children's faces with these cute forest friend Christmas wrapping ideas! 

@haga.vastergarden

10. Candle displays: Small plant pots make a perfect candleholder at Christmas time. Simply fill them with soil, a little moss and some small branches from a fir tree. 

So many great ideas here. Can you imagine making any of these? 

What do you make at Christmas? Inspire us in the comment section below! 

More Christmas DIY ideas here: 

Let it glow: 5 simple candleholders you can make in an instant

6 beautifully simple Scandinavian DIY ideas

How to make Swedish Christmas angels from paper

Have a great start to the week!

Niki

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7 Christmas Gift-Wrapping Ideas Using Cloth (Furoshiki)

Back in October I thought to myself "this year, I'm going to be super organised people and buy / make / bake all my Christmas presents well in time". Fast forward two months and I'm in the same position as I am every year - a few things left to buy, none wrapped. But this weekend, things are about to change. Once I've ticked everything off my list, I'm going to attempt a new gift-wrapping method: Furoshiki. 

For those of you not familiar with it, Furoshiki is a Japanese square-shaped cloth traditionally used to wrap and transport goods, with a focus on aesthetics (I like the sound of this already)! Although less formal than 'fukusa' which is used to present more formal gifts, Furoshiki is becoming increasingly popular in the design world. And the good news? You can wrap your presents in just about any fabric you have at home: silk, cotton, linen, nylon. As long as you can fold it, you can use it! Feel inspired? Here are 7 examples of beautifully cloth-wrapped presents to get you started! 

1. Top picture: Beth Kirby has used linen and silk to wrap her Christmas gifts.

2. Forever the romantic Swede, Anna Kubel has added a pretty flower, to her wrapping although any Christmas bloom will do!

3. More of a simple fold held together with safety pins, this delightful wrapping would look equally pretty with a sprig of eucalyptus, boxwood or holly as it does dried flowers.

4. Pretty berries add a touch of colour to this linen wrapping. 

5. Dried oranges, spruce and cinnamon add a divine smelling, decorative touch to wrapping. 

6. Dried wild flowers make a pretty touch - anytime of the year! 

8. Or for something completely different, why not wrap your presents in knit - they'll be as snug as a bug in a rug - and look pretty too! 

So pretty, and this is all very well, but I noticed that there are no awkward shaped items here like a football or a bottle of wine! No fear though, as there are many different Furoshiki techniques you can use - find out more here. 

What do you think, could you imagine using the art of Furoshiki this Christmas? 

More gift wrapping inspiration: 

5 gift wrapping ideas with a natural touch

8 beautiful rustic gift wrapping ideas

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! Happy wrapping! 

Niki

Credits in order: Anna Kubel, Beth Kirby, no credits found,  Majamas Earth, Shyntatamya, Découvrir Design, Adventures in Cooking - shared with thanks. 

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