Sitting comfortably?!

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Earlier on in the week I completed my well overdue home office revamp (see the before and after here)- phew! It's been a dream sitting there ever since (I'm not sure why it took me so long, isn't that always the case?!). Even so, there was still one piece of the jigsaw missing. As someone who loves design, I'm often tempted to go for form over function. And one thing I've been compromising on is my office chair. Apparently this is so easy to do when you work from home. And as someone who sits for long hours at a computer - the flea-market wooden chair was just no longer cutting it. The final straw came when I needed physio on my neck - apparently thanks to my beloved chair - gulp! It was time to bring an ergonomic desk chair into the mix!

I was thrown into a slight panic: we all like things to look good in our home, and well, ergonomic chairs are not always synonymous with 'design'.  After a little research I selected the Humanscale Diffrient World Chair, created by iconic industrial designer Niels Diffrient.

The chair has everything my physio listed. Made from an intelligent mesh, it's height adjustable (to find your optimum height, stand in front of your chair and adjust so your seat is just below your knee. In a sitting position, your feet should be flat on the ground and knees bent at a 90 degree angle), features depth, back tilt and arm support, has good lumbar support, and offers all the features needed to encourage posture changes throughout the day: it swivels, rolls on good quality castors and has a back rest that flexes with your body.

In other words it's unbelievably comfortable when I'm sitting around reading magazines all day working - and good for my general well being. Result!

Now, I thought it was just me who thought it looked pretty sleek, but then my Danish artist neighbour Daphne (not to be confused with my other neighbour's dog by the same name!) popped in for a fika (coffee and cake) earlier, spotted the chair and started hopping up and down saying this is exactly what her husband needed to replace his giant-sized monstrosity currently cluttering up a corner of their sitting room AKA the 'home office'! And let me tell you, she has very good taste!

So here I am, happy as Larry (anyone know who Larry actually is?!), tinkering away at my desk - no neck pain in sight.

Although I do need a new monitor.

And I once read in a guide somewhere that you should always keep your feet warm by wearing socks when working from home.

Is there no end to the list of 'office well-being' requirements? Oh well, at least I have the chair now. Baby steps my friends, baby steps!

If you're feeling inspired for your office (home or otherwise) - the Humanscale Diffrient World Chair is available in black, grey and white from Houseology (ships worldwide). You can also see other chairs in the collection here.

Stay comfy!

PS  For those of you who think my office is usually this immaculate - it's not - it's simply because I've just renovated the space (except for the floor which, thanks to the high res image, I can clearly see is also in need of a touch up - although it's quite charming, no?!). I'm certainly going to make the most of it while it lasts though!


This post is brought to you in collaboration with Houseology,  however all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too.

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Before & After: My Office Make-Over

Do you work from home? I've been sitting at my little desk in the corner of my bedroom for just over two years now. There are many pluses and minuses of working from home, but one of the things I truly love is having total autonomy over how my work space looks - no LED strip lights in sight! So why hadn't I done anything to spice it up (I mean, really spice it up) for over six years?! The thing is, there's nothing wrong with my office (it even appeared on the front cover of a book once upon a time!) but it began to feel well, a bit tired and I had started migrating to the kitchen table or a nearby café instead (they do serve great chocolates muffins so it's kind of understandable!). A friend of mine from Greenland told me recently that if you're not using the space for the purpose it's set out for, you need to re-think it. Wise words indeed! It was time to make a change...

Before

The Area

My home office occupies a corner in between the stairs and balcony at the far end of our bedroom on the very top floor of our house. The area I have to play with is pretty mini: approximately 3.4 metre square (36 square foot), which is open on one side. Here's a quick overview of the dimensions (as you can probably tell, I'm not a trained designer - the lines were drawn with the side of a magazine!) but I hope it gives you an idea of the area.

My Inspiration

Since changing my bedroom to warmer chestnut and blushing peach tones in the same open-plan room, I was keen to create more of a cohesive space (that's the problem with doing something new - it's exciting but has a total knock on effect - bah!). 

While I wanted the office space to blend in, I also wanted to create a distinct space where I could sit and work, store all my books and have all my bits and bobs to hand: in other words, a complete mini office where I can work on my billion dollar deals (if only!). This meant re-configuring the space and picking up some new pieces such as a smaller desk to fit the shorter side of the space and a row of shelving opposite. Here is the original moodboard (put together with the help of designer extraordinaire Genevieve Jorn who also worked with me on the design of my adjoining bedroom):

It has the warm brown, chestnut and netural tones which I love and felt earthy, calm and relaxed.  I ended up changing the artwork selection to make it more personal and swapped out the rug for a similar one I already had.  See further down the post for the final selection!

The Paint:

I can't tell you how nervous I was about the Norwegian Wood paint colour (by Jotun) - it's quite possibly the boldest I've gone - eeeek! But I loved its warm, woody notes and was willing to give it a go! I tested a sample on the wall (it's always a good idea to observe the colour over a number of days to see how it looks in various lights) and was so thrilled with it!

To the paint the entire wall I stripped away the shelving to the right too. FYI I'm absolutely no painting and decorating pro  - but I'm learning paint splodge by paint splodge! After prepping the area with a damp cloth, tape and newspaper, I used a roller for the bigger areas (long strokes and a generous amount of paint is key) and a smaller paint brush to go around the edges and tighter corners.

Oh yes, and in order to create cohesiveness with the rest of the room I painted the entire wall below in the same Norwegian Wood colour. Of course, once I finished, I realised the back wall now looked a little yellow next to my lovely new accent wall - so this required a fresh lick of white - phew!

After

With the paint finally finished it was time for the fun part. To put the furniture and all my gear back in place! Here's how it's looking...

I was so happy to finally get around to putting up a moodboard of some of the items that inspire me right now. One challenge I still have though is the radiator. While it's going to be great for keeping my toes toasty in the winter, I'd much rather it was the same colour as the wall - next project?! 

Hanging the artwork!

I didn't want to mess up my new, sparkling white wall with trillions of unnecessary holes- so I used an interior design trick I learned from Gen a while back (you may have seen it in this post). It's a really safe way to avoid making mistakes!

Here's a step by step guide: 

 

1. Take a large roll of paper and draw around each of the pictures you intend to hang. Cut out the template.
2. Stick them on the wall with blu-tac - and play around with the templates until you have a composition you're happy with. Quick tip I learned: artwork looks best if it's around two thirds of the width of the furniture beneath it (of course rules are there to be broken and this is definitely not an instruction - more a guide if you're feeling stuck!).
3. Measure the distance of the hook on the back of the picture (both vertically and horizontally)
4. Mark out the same spot on your template on the wall.
5. Hammer a nail through the marked out spot
6. Tear away the template leaving the nail in place and you're ready to rock!

I hope you like the results! It was a fun project, but best of all I've got myself a shiny new work space (I'll have to do a take-out on those muffins instead!!

I've put together a quick guide on where a few of the items are from below. If I've missed anything just give me a shout in the comment section below!

Get The Look

1. Gurilla Portrait H
2. The MANTIS lamp
3. Desk w/drawers, oak, nature
4. EKET cabinet
5. Hubsch Metal black Table lamp
6. Norwegian Wood paint by Jotun
7. Washed white linen curtains
8. Carpet with fringes
9. Black Scissors from Hubsch
10. Desk organizer

If this has given you the incentive to update your workspace you might like to have a snoop around this archive (if this pops up first just hop over as always!).

Have a lovely day all!

Photography / styling : Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home. Interior Design direction: Genevieve Jorn. Thank you to all the brands that helped contribute to this make-over by gifting items. The post contains some affiliated links.

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The beautiful workspace revamp of an interior designer

If you took a peek at my Instagram stories yesterday you'll know I spent the day hanging out at My Scandinavian Home interior designer Genevieve Jorn's home. Gen is one of the few people I know that changes her home around more than I do (quite a feat!) - and this time I was over there to shoot her newly revamped office. You may remember the space from this feature (also beautiful!). Today, the dark green walls have been replaced with a soft 'antic grey' hue by Jotun and natural textures such as wood, rattan and wool have been added alongside beautiful pieces from MSH partner - Danish homeware brand Nordal. I really didn't want to leave by the end of the day, it's such a lovely, calm place to work! Here's a peek in detail....

Photography: Niki Brantmark. Home-owner / interior design: Genevieve Jorn. 

Isn't it lovely? Could you imagine working in a room like this?

Get the look from Gen's office:

1. Hippo head 2. Rack with 6 shelves 3. Wooden chair 4. Nature side table 5. Natural basket 6. Oriental canvas carpet 7. Nature folding table 8. Downtown chair

(Find a webshop that sells Nordal in your country here).

You might also like to check out Gen's sitting room, kitchen and bedroom - yup, she has the most beautiful home E.V.E.R!

Have a lovely day!

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Nordal. However, all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I absolutely love and think you will too! Thank you for supporting the businesses that help bring fresh content to your mail box and make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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Workspace envy: Studio Slow

Gooood morning! I'm flying back to Sweden today after an incredible few days on set in Upstate New York. I'm so happy with the results (you can catch a glimpse of it here). All will be revealed soon - I hope you like the space as much as Emily and I do!). Tomorrow I'll be back in the office again, but I've been thinking perhaps it's time to get a studio in town - what do you say? I'm kind of thinking something like this incredible work space of Slow Studio in The Netherlands (hey, a girl can dream right?!). We've seen this space before, but being designers extraordinaire that they are, it's constantly evolving. It's where the talented Studio Slow team work to develop interior design, styling and graphic design concepts - and turn visions into reality with a strong sense of sustainability - love that! Let's take a little peek....

Interior design / work space: Studio Slow. 

Could you imagine working here? It certainly gives 'open-plan office' a whole new name!

How I'd get the look in my new studio (stil dreaming....): Z1 pendant light (it's no secret that I loooove this light - as you can see from this and this post of my home!), yards of grey linen (beautiful!), lampe gras wall sconce, old dutch teapot, Eames lounge chair and ottoman, Lisabo side table.

My workspace envy also includes the creative space of Katrin Bååth, Avenue Design Studio's converted loft and Studio Hear Hear. Don't get me wrong, I love my little home office, but it would be fun to have somewhere fabulous to go each day and be able to chat to other creatives! Don't you agree? Any tips Malmö friends?!

How does your workspace look? Do share below!

Have a lovely day!

PS Thank you so much Valentina for including both Modern Pastoral and The Scandinavian Home
in your list of 'the best interior design books you can't live without' - such an honour to be among such good company!

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My spring office update

Hello there. I love this time of the year - all the leaves unfurling on the trees, the fresh spring colours appearing in the shops and a wonderful abundance of light! Yay! I felt it was about time I dusted down the cobwebs at home and gave it a bit of a spring clean - beginning with my workspace.  I started with a much needed de-clutter and then added a few natural textures such as stone and leather as well as a plant (thought to increase happiness and productivity - worth a shot right?!). But the most exciting update is my new 'the MANTIS' lamp from Houseology. I can't tell you how long I've had my eye on this beauty! Designed in 1951 by Bernard Schottländer, the mantis DCW BS3 table lamp is part of a collection which also includes a ceiling, floor and wall lamp. I've always loved the helical shape of the lampshade, and specifically with the table lamp: that it can be adjusted to three different heights depending on how direct/ where you need the lighting. Perfect! Here's a sneak peak of my updated work space.... I hope you like it!

Photography: Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home

And not a row of coffee cups in sight!

You might already be familiar with online interior shop Houseology since we often collaborate. Not only do they stock many of my favourite Nordic design pieces from brands such as Design House Stockholm, &Tradition and Muuto, they also offer interior design ideas, advice and inspiration - so helpful!

I'd love to hear which items you love to surround yourself with at work?!

Have a great weekend!

PS Please ask away if you'd like to know about where anything in my office is from. 

PPS See a load more  fabulous offices/  studios etc here. 
 
***

This post was brought to you in collaboration with Houseology. However, all words are my own and I only ever work with business I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the businesses which make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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