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Get The Look From A Serene Family Home in Berlin

Why, hello there! How was your weekend? I'm feeling way to relaxed for a Monday morning. My family and I spent the weekend at a friend's cabin in the woods (can't wait to share a few pictures!) and my hair still smells of bonfire - don't you love that?! The Southern Sweden sun even shone for us - wonder of wonders! I hope you had a great weekend and the sun shone for you too! I always think it's a good idea to start the week as you mean to go on - calm! And boy, do I have a serene home to share with you guys! Fashion, hair and make-up artist Viktoria (AKA @tthese_beautiful_thingss) has decorated her beautiful, old Berlin apartment using soothing, earthy tones and beautiful design pieces to create a haven in which she, her partner and three children can truly switch off and relax. I really wouldn't mind spending the week here - once you've seen the tour, perhaps you'll want to join me! 








Pretty serene, right?! It's the kind of home you could never imagine getting in a mess (bet Viktoria is having a good laugh at this comment - we all know what living with kids is REALLY like!!). Even so, I bet it always feel calm. 

Here's a quick round-up of some of the beautiful items in Viktoria's home:



Get The Look
1. Mantis BS2 Wall Lamp
2. Söderhamn 3 Seater Sofa Cover
3. Knitted Cushion Beige
4. Large Knitted Pouffe
5. Vitra Nuage Vase
6. Aura Table Mirror
7. SERVEit tray table with tray
8. Cooee Design Ollie Sand
9. Table S + L rectangular
10. Gejst NEBL Mega Grey
11. 50X70 Miss Annie Poster
12. KK 4 Fold Soft Rose
13. Rafa Kids TROLLSTIGEN Wallbars
14. EOS Micro Light Brown
15. Georg Jensen Ilse Vase
16. House Doctor Wall Lamp
17. Rafa Kids F&A120 Bed
18. Rosendahl Clock
19. Kizu Table Lamp

I've featured so many Berlin homes in the past - all of which have very different looks! Here are a few of my faves:

The Berlin flat and country home of Our Food Stories
Bohemian touch in a magnificent Berlin apartment
Grey and greige in a wonderful Berlin home

Have a fabulous start to the week friends. Stay calm!

Niki

Photography: Viktoria /@tthese_beautiful_thingss

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Skandinavisk: Telling the story of Scandinavia, One Fragrance at A Time



If you wander through the pretty back streets of central Copenhagen, you might just come across a secret courtyard nestled between the centuries old golden yellow buildings where bikes lie propped up against the wall and an outdoor table awaits the spring sunshine. This is where I found myself last Thursday, visiting Skandinavisk, with whom I've struck up a wonderful partnership with this year! Inside minimalist furnishings, white washed walls, a light wood pine floor and fresh coffee awaited. It felt a million miles form the hustle and bustle of Copenhagen's main shopping fair, a few hundred metres away. But this is something at which Skandinavisk is immensely skilled: transporting you to another world. Fill your senses with a Skandinavisk home or body fragrance and you'll find yourself drifting off to a fjord in Norway, the shores of the Baltic or a cosy Danish cottage with the nostalgic aroma of bread rising in the oven. I caught up with co-founder and fellow Brit Shaun Russell to learn about storytelling, fragrance, the Scandinavian passion for nature and candlelight, and life in Denmark's capital city.





I'm pretty envious of your studio, how did you find it?!
We moved in last May - it's really starting to feel like home now. It's owned by Rolf - a film photographer who has had the building for over 40 years. When we walked in, it immediately felt right. It was all white washed with a beautiful light wood floor. Having sat at my kitchen table and desk hopped for five years,  I couldn't imagine a better place to work!

If you move out, let me know and I'll move in!

Marketing & PR assistant Cecile Lind Christiansen in the Skandinavisk studio in Copenhagen

You and I share the same passion for Scandinavia - what do you feel sets this region apart?
As a Brit who's lived in Scandinavia since 2001, including six years in Sweden and more than twelve years in Denmark and working in various Nordic roles, I had unconsciously been gaining a broad depth of knowledge about this region. Then, after about ten years I had a eureka moment where I felt like I finally felt like I fully understood what made Scandinavia so different, so special and a role model for the rest of the world. There are of course differences between the Scandinavian countries, but what I find interesting are the similarities: their deep respect towards nature, finding happiness in the everyday as well as strong values of trust and equality. Scandinavians are good at making life better for everyone. It's no coincidence that the Scandinavian countries consistently come top of the world in happiness surveys: and I believe a more Scandinavian approach to life, makes life better for all. There is something deep, substantial and beneficial we can learn from them. I wanted to find a way to tell the story in a simple way.


How did you find a way to tell your story?
I was searching for a symbol or canvas, a representative element for Scandinavia and it dawned on me that I had been sitting in front of it for the past ten years: the candle. It's the candles on almost every table, the candle that my Danish wife lights at breakfast time, it's the flickering flame in every restaurant or gathering, and it's enjoyed all year round.

My daughter even enjoyed a candlelight breakfast at her nursery, it always looked so calm! 



Why do you think candles are so important to Scandinavians?
Candles are the first catalyst for hygge or mys (essentially cosiness) - they create the atmosphere. Of course, the people make the atmosphere, but candlelight softens the moment, brings people together and, I think, plays a part in their desire to seek comfort and happiness in the everyday. I think it stems back to geography: the lack of sunlight and the need for warmth in the winter months. Gathering together around a fire is something people have done for centuries - but in Scandinavia it has never gone away. The Scandinavians burn more wax than any other nations on earth, it's a very important part of everyday life! 


Complete collection

What are the key elements you use to tell your story? 
Through Skandinavisk we tell stories from Scandinavia using fragrance, design, and language.


What role does fragrance play? 
If you put fragrance into a flame, you can tell richer stories, different stories. You can transport people to a Swedish boreal forest, an island in the Baltic or a Copenhagen rose garden. Norwegian fjord land, for example, is the most fertile soil in Norway. It's full of orchards and where apples, pears, plums, cherries and all kinds of berries are harvested. By creating a fragrance that reflects this, you can take people on a journey to different places across Scandinavia.


The Escapes Collection

How would you describe the Scandinavian relationship to nature?
Scandinavia is a story of contrasts. You get vast, sparsely populated landscapes and extreme weather: short dramatic springs, endless sunlight in the summer, and almost zero sunlight with temperatures well below zero in winter. As a result, exposure to nature for Scandinavians is so significant and I think they are humbled by its dominance. I think in many other parts of the world people tend to lose the relationship with nature over time, certainly in more developed, industrial regions. Scandinavia is a large land mass extending way North well into the Arctic circle. A lot of the time it's just you and the elements in all their primitive glory, surrounded by forests, lakes, streams or the sea. I believe this has shaped the mindset of Scandinavians. They embrace nature, and they adapt to nature rather than forcing nature to adapt to them. It's something the world really needs to learn from.



How do you develop an atmospheric scent that's not related to nature?
Hygge is a good example - it's a Danish word that means a lot of different things to different people; no one really knows what it smells like it but they all know what it feels like. What's important is that we add notes that are reflective of simple, everyday pleasures - a cup of tea with a friend, baking bread, strawberries, rose petals, picking wild mint, minor everyday things that you associate with feeling good. This is how we deconstruct a fragrance.





Hygge (cosiness) scented candle

I'm a big fan of your packaging /design language - it's very distinctive. What was the thought process behind it?
I wanted to do a few things that I felt weren't currently in the scandinavian design gene. Historically Scandinavian design is pared back, monochromatic and understated and I wanted to add more colour. Colour plays an important role in the storytelling. We look for hues that are true to the region - sometimes found in nature, sometimes connected to a feeling. We don't always get it right, but I think our colour palette is quite distinctive because it reflects the chapter that it represents e.g. the dark blue sea of (HAV), the soft pink-red of the berry harvest (BÆR), the soft pastel, tranquility of RO - meaning peacefulness.


What role does the name of each product play?
Scandinavian brands usually use English to reach out to the rest of the world. We wanted to celebrate the local languages and find words that represented the stories we wanted to tell. If it's a story about the forest - and Sweden is 70% forested while Denmark is only 12% forested. - we'll use the Swedish word. If it's a story about cosiness, hygge directs itself towards the Danes and the Norwegian fjords are the ones that everyone admires and draws breath from. So sometimes the words are local - sometimes they span all languages. It's part of how we want to be authentic in everything we do. 



SKOG reflects the morning mist rising from spruce and pine needles, of woodland lily of the valley musk and aged leather - scents associated with the Swedish boreal forest.  

I also like the distinctive pattern - how does this contribute to the story?
The pattern is made up of a collection of symbols, each symbol represents a chapter. The symbols are part of the story and for each chapter, one symbol will be elevated - evergreen forests, maritime history, snowflake, happiness or love, flags, unusual symbols in the alphabet. The pattern is a graphic way of telling the story of Scandinavia.



LYKKE (Danish word for 'happiness) scented candle

How do you decide which elements from Scandinavia to elevate? 
We start by identifying an aspect of the region which we consider precious to the inhabitants and unique and exotic to the outside world, based on our experience of living here.



HAV (distant shores), launching in Feb / March

Do you have a favourite fragrance?
I have a couple of favourites - ØY (solitary island) which we're burning in the office today and is one of our best sellers. We've also just refreshed the HAV (distant shores) fragrance which is launching this spring. And ROSENHAVE a special one which was a reflection of my wife's rose garden, where she collects and grows more than 120 varieties.


Hand cream from the best selling ØY (Island Solitude) collection

Last year saw the launch of your luxurious hand and body care products, what's next for Skandinavisk?
We have a new edition of HAV (meaning 'sea') coming out in February / March in all variants: candle, diffuser, hand cream, washes and lotion, a luxuriant new body cream, and a flaxseed body scrub from Finland. It's the first time we have reinvented an existing theme while also launching it in more than ten product categories. It's a complete fragrance collection, and we're very excited about it!


Where can we get our hands on items from Skandinavisk?
The complete range is available from our online shop and is the first place for news (we ship to most European countries within one to three days). We can also be found in some of the world's leading retailers including Illums Bolighus, Selfridges, Liberty, KaDeWe, Isetan. A selection of our largest retailers can be found here.



In short:
Secret Copenhagen tip: The Carlsberg pub
Favourite neighbourhood: Frederiksberg and Vesterbro
Favourite restaurant: Granola (popular for brunch but I think it's better for supper!)
Escape: The pure tranquility of a Swedish forest (and hop into a lake to appreciate the amazing silkiness of the water!)
Key to a successful business: Persistence

Thank you so much to the Skandianvisk team for inviting me to their studio for the day!

Incidentally, I've been burning ØYwhile writing this piece, as you know, I love the idea of island solitary, and it truly smells divine!

Is there a fragrance you've got your eye on?!

Niki


// Photography: 1-3 and the final shot Niki Brantmark  / 4+ courtesy of Skandinavisk

//This post is brought to you in collaboration with Skandinaviask, for whom I am a very lucky and proud ambassador! All questions are my own and I only ever work with brands I absolutely love and think you will too! Thank you for supporting businesses that make My Scandinavian Home possible. 

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My home: Mouth Blown lights From The Danish island of Bornholm

Brand story

Hello there! I'm on a cruise ship Norway bound right now. I'm on board to hold a talk about Scandinavian design - definitely a first, and very fun! One of the key parts of my talk is about how Scandi design is associated with artisans. There's something extremely special about the passion and care that goes into handcrafted items, not to mention the feeling you get when you hold them in your hands. Every nick, bubble and irregularity gives the piece its soul and adds to the character. Scandinavia has a long history of glass blowing and my latest find are these absolutely beautiful mouth blown SKY lights by Pernille Bülow. Located on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, the esteemed team of glass blowers are passionate about unique design and sustainability - and take the process of collecting liquid glass pulp from a 1120 furnace and blowing it into shape - extremely seriously. I can't tell you how happy I was when they arrived!


I went for three different sizes of the clear SKY pendant lamps in gold to hang over our dining table - aren't they pretty?! They are also available in grey, golden, pink, blue, tea, turquoise and recycled glass with the option of either chrome or gold fittings (check out the complete collection here).



In this picture you can really see the different shapes of the glass - a result of the individual glass blowing.



In case you love these lamps as much as I do -  you can pick them up online here. They ship worldwide - yay!

And if you find yourself on the (magical) Danish island of Bornholm why not pop into the Pernille Bülow workshop and watch the daily glass blowing in action? You can also check out their other handcrafted glass items such as glasses, vases and candle-holders in the gallery

Have a wonderful weekend - and see you Monday!

Niki

I collaborated with the delightful team of glass blowers at Pernille Bülow for this post, as always all words, photography and styling are my own. 

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Olivia's Adorable Bedroom in Southern Sweden

As a mamma bear to three (two daughters and a bonus son!) I'm often on Pinterest looking for inspiration for children's bedrooms. That's why I was so excited to discover my friend, interior designer Genevieve Jorn was re-doing her daughter Olivia's bedroom (everything Gen does turns to gold so I knew it was going to be beautiful!). I've got to know Olivia through the various photoshoots we've had over at Gen's place and she is one of the cutest 4-year-old's I know - not to mention a great photo shoot assistant, offering us 'pancakes' from her makeshift kitchen whenever we're low on energy! She's so funny! These days, she's also one of the luckiest 4-year-olds I know, her new bedroom is sooooo lovely! I couldn't resist heading into the centre of Malmö with my camera and a notepad to grill Gen on the details!

Profile
Owner: Olivia
Age: turning 5
Room size: 25 m2 (269 f2)
Favourite pastimes: loves to read, draw and run her own restaurant

What was your over all aim with the bedroom?
I wanted to keep a similar style to the rest of the home but also wanted to give her a fun and inspiring room. I've been working on the children's section of the IKEA catalogue this year and was therefore really inspired when I decided to redo her room. I went for a soft pink wall color (code NCS S1005-Y70R) and picked a bolder dark red accent (code NCS S6030-T90R) to give a little punch to the room - which was greatly needed in such a big space! I also used a Kelim rug as a basis for the colour scheme.

What are the challenges when it comes to designing a large children's room? 
Admittedly, that is quite a luxury problem! Normally when I design a room I usually start with a colour or a product that I want to highlight. Something has to be the hero or focal point. In Olivia's room it was without doubt her loft bed (Wood Collection Mini+ low loft bed from Oliver Furniture), which turned out to be her favourite place to sit and read. So I started from there. I painted a rectangular shape behind it. Then came the challenge of the ceiling lamp. I think in such a big room, it makes sense to go for a large lamp to balance the proportions. So when I found the Big Dot lampshade from Afro Art I was really pleased!



"Olivia loves to go up into her bunk and wrap herself in her hand quilted blanket (from Camomile London) and act out her favourite characters from her books." 






What are the essentials to think about when designing a children's room?
I guess it's the same for all rooms: it has to be connected to it's inhabitant. I know that my daughter loves to move around. She can sit very still for a long time creating stories or she can move stuff around and be completely disorganised. So I wanted to create different areas that would support all her needs.

Children's Room Essentials
- A soft and comfy place to chill and cool down
- A place to play and be creative
- Good lighting to support all needs
- An ergonomic place to sit and create (with place for more to join the party)
- Plenty of storage options (drawers are a great way to store things away quickly).
- Tactile textures to soften up the space and help children feel cosy and comfortable.



Did you hand draw the kitchen?
Yes! I love drawing and sketching, it's an easy way to add personality to a room (for me at least!). It takes some time but it's definitely worth the hard work. Especially when it's for my little nugget!

Gen's 10 Step Guide to Creating a Wall Mural
1. Decide on the type of wall mural you would like to create
2. Search Pinterest and other sites for similar murals
3. Once you have an idea, sketch it onto A4 paper
4. Amend the sketch until you are happy with it
5. Draw it again to size on tracing paper using a pencil, make sure the proportions are correct
6. Trace over the lines on the other side of the tracing paper with a pencil
7. Tape the tracing paper to the wall in the exact position you would like the mural
8. Draw over the lines once again on the tracing paper with a pencil (this will leave lines on the wall)
9. Remove the tracing paper from the wall
10. Draw over the lines on the wall with a sharpie / marker pen



What has turned out to be Olivia's favourite corner?
I would have to say her bed! Whether it's the top bunk or the hidden space underneath. She loves to wrap herself in that cosy blanket too. She also loves the Upperlig bench. We often find her sitting on the edge of it drawing or making one of her famous lists!





Thank you so much Gen and Olivia for inviting me over, it was such a pleasure to visit you. And Olivia - the soup you made me was the best yet!

I put together a list of all the items below (gifted items have been marked with a *) - give me a shout in the comment section if I've missed anything, or you have any questions!

Get the look






1. Oliver Furniture Wood Collection Mini+ low loft bed* 2. Amayadeeme, Paulina poster* 3. Large House Cushion* 4. Ochre Single / Twin Hand Quilted Blanket / Camomile london* 5. Ink Fitted Sheet* / Camomile London 6. Mini Check Duvet Cover in Coral* 7. Rug by Gur, Cararina Carreiras 8. Afro Art Big Dot Lampshade (L) 9. Ikea upperlig bench 10. Ferm Living Kelim Rug (large) 11. Ikea Ingo table painted in Lady pure colour Industrial Blue 12. Ikea Flisat stool 13. Ferm Living clothes rack 14. Ikea Nordli chest-of-drawers

***

Aaaaaa, such a lovely children's room, don't you think?

Is there anything you love in particular? I love the antique wardrobe in the corner - I wish I had space for something like this in my children's bedrooms.

Just in case you're curious, you can see more pics for Gen's fabulous home here: kitchen, sitting room, bedroom and office.

... and more pretty children's bedrooms in this archive (if this pops up first, you know the drill - just scroll passed!).

Have a lovely day and see you Friday!

Niki

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