A Wonderful Vintage-Inspired Family Home in Metz, France

Formerly the owner of vintage concept store Le Velo Rose ('The Pink Bike'), Pauline Mellinger closed her brick and mortar shop in 2017 to devote her time to raising her children, looking after their three cats, chickens and rabbits - and renovating the family home in the countryside near Metz, France. I don't have access to all the 'before' pictures from Pauline's home but the few I do have perfectly demonstrate the incredible transformation it's been through. From play tents, flower petal lamps and swans  - to splashes of blue and countless vintage finds: the family enjoy a beautiful, playful, relaxed and truly personal living space that caters for all ages! 

Kitchen before

Kitchen after

Dated dark cabinets have been replaced with fresh white fronts, vibrant blue tiles, a wood worktop and relaxed open shelving.

The family dining room has been decorated almost entirely in white and wood for a light and airy feel. 

Look closely and you'll notice that the wire chairs all have a slightly different form which helps to add to the relaxed atmosphere of the room. This Bertoia chair* is similar. 

Playroom before

Playroom after

Despite the dark blue walls, the room is full of dappled light thanks to the dual aspect windows and disco ball light! The flower pendant light is one of my absolute favourites right now (and picking up momentum on instagram!). It's available here. 

The main sitting room is made up of IKEA pieces, DIY items, vintage finds and the odd children's toy! 

Landing before

Landing after

The heavy bookcase and cast iron banisters have been replaced with a simple white wall and a mirror for a lighter look. Trinkets and a chair collected on travels add a vibrant pop of colour to the space. 

Bedroom before

Bedroom after

Pauline and her husband's bedroom has been transformed into a cool, light and airy space thanks to the blue and white theme. I also love how she's used the darker paint to turn the fireplace and chimney breast into a focal point. 

Round jute rug*, rustic bench

It's amazing how one bright coloured Boucherouite rug* can make all the difference to a white bathroom, don't you think?!

The blue and white theme (with rattan accents) is continued into the children's bedroom - with a half-half blue and white wall. The cane flower pendant lamp also mirrors the lighting used in other rooms. 

Aaaaaah, what a perfect home. It's charming in every way, don't you think? 

Is there anything that stood out to you? 

If you'd like to see more of pauline's lovely home, hop on over to her instagram @leevelorose.

Also, don't miss: A relaxed vintage-inspired family home in the French country-side, The colourful home of a French photographer and stylist and a charming white and natural family home in Normandy.

Right, that's it from me for the week, The sun's shining and the sea beckons. I hope you have a fabulous weekend that sparkles in every way!

See you Monday1

Niki

Photography: Pauline Mellinger

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A Beautiful, Atmospheric Malmö Home in Rich Dark Tones

Having ventured to far-flung places like Joshua Tree and Norway on the blog this week (only virtually, of course, although wouldn't it have been nice to have visited in person?!), it feels so good to round up the week with a home tour right here in the heart of Malmö. And it's a beauty too! Think deep, earthy tones, vintage finds in lovely dark wood, a vibrant mustard yellow accent and the odd fresh bloom. This charming Southern Sweden home is bound to put you in a perfectly serene mood just in time for the weekend - and there's so much inspiration to be taken from it too! 

Beautiful.  

To me, it holds a touch of nostalgia too. My Grandmother spent her thirties in the Punjab in India and brought back a lot of her dark wood / cane furniture with her when she returned to England. 

Is there anything that stands out to you? 

If you'd love to see a few more homes in rich, dark tones over the weekend - take a look at these:

A Norwegian home gets the dark treatment - and it's beautiful! 

Make-over: a dated space becomes a tranquil bathroom

Converted stables become a dramatic Norwegian home full of contrast

Is this your kind of look, or do you prefer to decorate your home with a lighter touch?

Right. All that's left for me to say is: I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  Thank you for a brilliant week. I've loved reading all your comments and mails! 

Niki 

PS Speaking of Malmö, I'm excited to be spending the day at the home of the founder and designer behind Aveva Design today: Eva Gassna Jeckelmann. I'll be sharing snapshots from her fabulous home and studio over on Aveva instagram stories if you're curious to see what we're up to!

Photos courtesy of Bo-laget (where it is currently for sale!). Found via Trendenser with thanks.

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Get The Look: A Cosy Blue and White Swedish Pad

Tjena raringar!  I've got a cosy little number to share with you today in the form of a charming 53 square metre / 570 square foot apartment in Linnéstaden, Gothenburg. It's one of those pads that you could totally imagine rocking about in and enjoying a fika on the balcony in the spring sunshine (someone told me that the Swedish word fika means something completely different in their own language. I mean, completely different! Just in case you have other ideas, I'm talking coffee and cake!!).  There are a couple of things that really stand out to me about this lovely home. The first is the small bedroom with the pretty row of hooks (FYI - I discovered some in HM Home the other day and they're selling out like hot cakes!) and lace curtains, and the second is the 'evening green' colour in the sitting room - so calming! Let's go for a snoop...

1. Frama E27 light*
2. Wooden peg rail
3. Evening Green paint by Jotun
4. Menu chair*
5. Tine K Home Lounge Chair
6. Vintage rug* (only 1 available! if sold, try here* for similar)

Believe it or not the coffee table is also from H&M Home (I wrote to Elli who designed this space and nearly fell off my chair when she told me). Sadly, I couldn't find it on the H&M homepage, but if you're interested you could always ask in store. I also found similar striped linen bedding here*.

All in all, a lovely space, don't you think?

This middle blue colour is set to be huge this year in terms of interiors and fashion. For more inspiration, I'm loving all the shades of blue in this stunning Norwegian home which I featured a few weeks back, the slightly more vibrant middle blue in the wonderful home of a Swedish food blogger and Sofie Amalie's Danish home with pops of bright colours again a blue background.

Have a wonderful day friends, I hope the sun is shining where you are too!

Niki

Photography: Anders Bergstedt
Styling: Nouvel Interior
For: Entrance

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A Stunning Norwegian Home In Many Shades of Blue

This has been a really inspiring week on the blog, I hope you've felt the same! On Monday I was dreaming about buying this holiday cabin on the Swedish island of Gotland complete with sea view and sauna. Yesterday I felt the urge to pack up all my belongings and move to a tiny cabin in the woods and pursue a career in pottery and today, I'm thinking I might just stay put after all and paint my home in shades of blue! When you see the interior of this stunning Norwegian home you'll understand why! Former owner Jan Thoresen and his wife (the apartment was sold last year) hired Tone Kroken to design their beautiful home in Oslo, which she decorated using a range of blue shades, veering from a soft grey-blue in the sitting room and a vibrant middle blue-grey in the hallway to a deep blue in the bedroom. Cognac accents, contemporary art and piles of books also add to the wonderful, unique feel of the space. Så flott!

TIP: To achieve the same rich patina seen in the bedroom and hallway try a minerals based paint like Pure & Original (which was used to paint this home) Jotun Lady Minerals (seen in the first two Norwegian bedroom shots in this post) or Kalklitir powder based paint (which the girls from Our Food Stories used to paint their beautiful studio and home) - the latter ships worldwide. You can also add Roll-A-Tex to normal paint like I did with my dining area (although be warned, this last option is soooo messy!!). Notice how the skirting boards and architraves have been painted in a slightly different blue accent adding interest and depth.

My eyes on that hallway. BE STILL MY BEATING HEART! Anything with piles of books and I'm in (I know I'm not alone either, the open shelving in Katarina Mattson's home is still my number one most popular instagram post E.V.E.R!) - but in combination with the 'mineral walls' - simple amazing!

Is there anything that caught your eye?!

Kudos to photographer extraordinaire Yvonne Wilhelmsen who took these wonderful pictures and interior architect Tone Kroken, the latter of whom who I had the pleasure of meeting when we captured her former home on an tiny car-free island outside Oslo for my second book The Scandinavian Home. It was such a magical day! Check out their interior book here and see more pics of this beautiful home on their website here.

More blue interiors to drool over today: feeling the blue in a Swedish home, a striking dark blue Stockholm pad, the wonderful home of a Swedish food blogger and how to add colour the Danish way.

I hope you're also singing the blues after all this Scandinavian inspiration today!

Niki

Photography: Yvonne Wilhelmsen  Styling: Tone Kroken

PS We've been beavering away on all your new room designs - so fun, thank you so much for signing up! If you'd also like to give my new room design service a whirl, I'm offering a special kick-off discount of 20% off with code MYNEWROOM. Get started here, or read more about the service here! 

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Embracing The Blues In The Fabulous Danish Home of Michael Schmidt

There's no mistaking Michael Schmidt's favourite colour. The thirty year old Danish creative consultant and business owner (with a background in fashion and interiors) acquired his 74 sqm  (796 sq ft) apartment six years ago as a student. "It had more space than I needed, but I fell completely in love with it's quirky layout and the great location - it's literally a few metres down the street from the Copenhagen lakes in the lively Nørrebro area." Michael has shared the apartment with various flatmates and partners, but today lives alone giving him a free hand on how he decorates the bedroom, dining room, living room, kitchen and bathroom. Not only is the home full of bold, yet harmonious contrast, it's also full of fascinating collector's items including art, design classics and sculptural pieces. I caught up with Michael to find out a little more about his wonderful, colourful Copenhagen home! 

Rhythm & Blues Dhurrie rug, teak credenza*, Knoll diamond chair*, vase by Helle Mardahl (seen in top picture)

How did the apartment look when you first bought it?
It actually had a lot of colour in each room - but a mix of purple, red, terracotta and beige - far from my liking! So I started from scratch by renovating it and painting everything white to create a blank canvas.

When did you start adding colour?

Over the years I have added more and more colour, as I feel it can be a great way to highlight different things. My apartment is very long, with an extended view through three rooms so I decided to highlight this by painting one wall in each room in three different colours, which elongates the layout even more. 

Art by Fabian Treiber, Karl Monies, Vintage poster from Vintage Cph. 

In what other ways has colours helped to create the atmosphere you were looking for?

I have a very small kitchen and it looked a bit dull in white, so I opted for a rich green to give the room a moody expression. People tend to be frightened of adding colour to small spaces but it can actually bring them to life in a totally new way.

How else have you added colour to your home?

Of course colour in the home is not only about walls, it's about furniture, accessories and art. Art especially can create a unique mix of colours in every room - I buy all my art from the heart, but I do think about how it would fit into my home, how it will work with the other colours, the light etc. 

Eiermann2 table, Montana shelves, VP Globe pendant* Photo by Martin Solyst

I notice you also have some fabulous, bold textiles!
I find another great way to add colour is with rich fabrics such as curtains or cushions. I have collected a number of cushions by designer Raf Simons for Kvadrat - his eye for colour and texture is amazing.

What are your go-to colours - I guess blue...?!

Blue is one of my favourite colours, as demonstrated. by my wardrobe and home! But I try to be careful not to overdo it with one colour, so I add a lot of green, grey and some red to my interior as well. I love to create a contrast between a green wall and a red shelf, or a blue wall and yellow vases. Maybe it sounds like a loud combination, but I spend a lot of time finding the exact shades to create contrast but maintain a calm atmosphere. Most of the colours I choose have a dusty tone. 

Poster from Louisiana museum, painting by Michael's great grandfather, Strøm Collection vase / jug. 

Where do you find inspiration for colour combinations?

One of my biggest inspirations is the Bauhaus movement. It is known for its functional design and use of primary colours like red and blue which help to highlight function and form. When I started painting the walls in my home, I made a collage of five Vilhelm Lundstrøm paintings, which gave me ideas on how to combine contrasting colours in a harmonious way. 

Kitchen by Reform, Boucherouite rug* 

Recently we've been admiring the colourful Danish homes of Celine Hallas, Sofie Amalie and Trine Brunsvig. Do you think we'll see more and more colour in Danish homes? If so, what do you think is behind this movement?

I think Danish homes are much more colourful than they were ten years ago. The internet and social media provide amazing inspiration from all over the world. I also think Scandinavian countries have always created trend-forward homes, so why wouldn't they be adventurous with colour as too?  

Le creuset pot*

Do you think the way Scandinavians use bolder colours differs from other parts of the world?

I think the shades of colours will be tailored to our climate, our light and our way of living - so even a colourful Danish home will probably appear different from a colour-filled Spanish or French home. We use muted colours to create our famous hygge, and add bolder colours to create contrasts and personal splashes of colour in our homes. 

Fine Merino Plaid Blanket in blue / black, Lato side table, 

Thank you so much for telling us more about your home Michael! It's totally inspired me to start playing around with colour contrasts, how about you? 

See more pics of Michael's interior and fab style on instagram: @danskmode. 

Meanwhile, I'm off to find out more about the Strøm Collection and pieces by Helle Mardahl - they look fabulous! 

Is there anything that stands out to you?

We're busy packing for a half-term ski trip today (I always forget how much stuff there is to do before you go away - help! We're bound to forget something important too (we've forgotten my elder daughters' ski jacket two years in a row now, not popular! Bah!). 

I'll be nipping in tomorrow as I've got some super exciting news to share with you!!! 

Have a lovely evening, see you tomorrow!

Niki

Photography by Martin Solyst & Michael Schmidt
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