Home Tour: How to Add Colour, The Danish Way!

It's fun to see more colour in homes right now (even in Scandinavia!). But this doesn't come without its perils - for colour-shy people like myself, adding even the most subtle of hues can be a daunting prospect - and I've even spoken to interior designers who say the same! If done right however, colour can breathe life into a space and yet still feel calm.  This vibrant 1940's Danish apartment is a fine example of this. Located in Frederiksberg, a leafy area of Copenhagen, the home belongs to Sofie Amalie who works at a design agency as a service designer and runs the instagram @thusthefuss and her boyfriend Niels. Sofie Amalie has always been passionate about colourful interiors and thrift shopping, and this shines through in their lovely home. I caught up with Sofie Amalie to find out more about the subtle injections of blues, yellows and pinks - as well as their collection of contemporary art.

 Louis Poulsen Enigma 425 Pendant Light, Arne Jacobsen Rosewood Coffee Table, paint Jotun Lady ‘Sval Sjø’ 5262. 

Tell us a little more about your apartment?
The building is from 1942 and the apartment is 114 metres square (1227 foot square) with a pretty awesome terrace.

The paintings in the dining room are both vintage: the smaller one is by Danish artist Helle Thorborg and the larger one by Tom Wesselmann which the pair found in a second hand shop in Tokyo. 

What renovations have you carried out?
We've lived here for 1.5 years and spent the first 8 months completely renovating it. The final details are still a work in progress. Nothing had been done for 30+ years, so everything needed stripping down. We lived there throughout the renovations (which meant no bathroom, kitchen or even running water for 5 months!).

Painting on the floor by Farshad Farzankia from Exhibition A gallery. Montana shelving. 

It's refreshing to see so much colour in your home, is this something you've always been passionate about?
Before moving, we had just renovated our old apartment (not as extensively) and played around with different colours, which we loved. So we decided to be even bolder with colours in our new apartment.

How did you decide which colours to use?
All our paints are from Jotun, they make great colours and have an inspiring selection - also I love their super matte finish. We spent a lot of time deciding on our wall colours and thinking how they would suit one another, which I think is important.

I love the light blue tone, was it tricky to find the exact hue you were looking for? 
We knew we wanted the living room light blue, but struggled to find the right shade without risking it looking like a nursery. In the end we went for Jotun Lady ‘Sval Sjø’ 5262 and it is perfect! Just the right mix of fresh and colourful, yet calm and comforting.

A poster by Hilma af Klint purchased at Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.

Dining chairs by Rex Kralj, DOCKSTA table from IKEA. 

I spy some white walls in your home too...
We kept the bathroom and kitchen white (to my surprise). We wanted to let the tiling and the lovely oak of the kitchen shine on its own. But maybe it will get a splash of colour too at some point :)

Kitchen cabinets by IKEA, Jielde wall lamp, Le Creuset jug, Stelton Vaccum jug.

Pendant light by Broste, Georg Jensen alarm clock, this velvet cushion is similar. 

I love the cocoon like feel of your bedroom - what colour is this?
My boyfriend chose the color for our bedroom: Jotun Lady ‘Deco Blue’ 4477 and we love it. The dark and rich hue is soothing, perfect for a bedroom.
 

A vintage lithograph by Tom Krøjer adds a splash of colour to the bedroom. 

I love the glass details - are these original or something you added?
Most of the glass details are original. The building is from the architectural period of functionalism, so the small window details above the doors have a practical function to allow more light to flow through the space.

Can you tell us about the other colours in your home? 
For the miniature hallway between the bedroom and dressing room, we used a green-blue leftover from the other apartment called Jotun Lady ‘Prismegrønn’ 5341. And the dressing room is painted yellow in Jotun Lady ‘Velvet’ 10246. It was a bit of an odd one out, but I just loved the color samples and wanted to try it out. You can so easily repaint. But so far it is still a keeper.

I also love the pink in the hallway!
I really liked Jotun Ladys ‘Deco Pink’ 2782 and knew I wanted it somewhere. We ended up choosing the huge main hallway, which opens up to the living rooms. We were a bit concerned about the light blue vs. light pink right next to each other, but they complement each other well. Also, we have decorated the hallway with items in dark wood to even out the girliness, and actually think that my boyfriend is even happier with the result than I am!

Do you have any tips for anyone looking to inject a little colour into their own home?
Choosing colours was not easy. I used pinterest and instagram a lot in the colour selection process , so I could see pictures of how they looked in real life peoples homes and changed with the light. That was a big help in the process.

Thank you so much for showing us around your inspiring home Sofie Amalie! I love the use of colours, the unique furniture, the art - just everything! You've also made me feel a little more bold about using more colour into my home!

Does anyone else feel this way?

Colour guide:

1. SVAL SJØ 5262    2. DECO BLUE 4477   3. PRISMEGRØNN 5341  4. VELVET 10246   5. DECO PINK 2782

You can see more of Sofie Amalie's lovely home on her instagram feed @thusthefuss. And there's an archive dedicated to colourful homes here (hop over this home if it rocks up first - unless of course you'd like to look at it again, which I'd fully understand!).

Since it's a pubic holiday here in Sweden and I've got a man and two little girls waiting for me, I'm going to rush outdoors into the sunshine. I hope you don't mind that I won't be stopping by tomorrow to make the most of a bit of family time.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!

Niki

All photography Sofie Amalie 

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A Berlin Home of Many Colours

Guten morgen! I hope you're feeling fiiiine? Looking through the survey responses a few weeks back I noticed the request for more 'colour' (gulp!). You know me - I'm kind of colour shy. I think it comes from living in Sweden for 14 years! Don't get me wrong, Scandinavian homes often feature colour - but it's often exercised with a huge amount of restraint, and hues tend to be of the muted, earthy variety. Done right however, splashes of bright hues and accent walls can put a real spring in your step and make your home that more interesting. A fine example of this can be seen in the Berlin home of Franziska. I caught up with her to find out more...

 The green in the kitchen is a mixed 'Schöner Wohnen' color, code 04.031.02

I love the use of colour in your home it's subtle yet bold in equal measure, do you have a go-to paint brand?

I love the colors by Farrow and Ball. The color choices at Jotun are great too, but unfortunately they are not available in Germany.

The green is carried through to the hallway to give the flat a cohesive look. I once styled a home with a black hall (for The Scandinavian Home) and the owner told me the darker colour does wonders to hide a messy entrance-way. Got to love that!

It's fun to see two different accent walls in one room. How did you choose the colour combination?

My all time favourite colours are blue, green and pink. To these, I combine 'playing colours', for example in the form of pillows, pictures or flowers that change frequently. Everything inspires me: films and series, art, fashion, nature...

Franziska's home office is painted in Farrow and Ball 'Hague Blue' and Jotun 'Warm Blush'. A zingy yellow eames chair adds another dimension to the colour scheme. 

Do you have any tips for anyone looking to introduce colour into their home?

In order to choose a color you always have to consider the light, the room and the surrounding colors. That's why I would use a large color sample, pinning it on the wall and watching it change over the course of the day. Otherwise: Just try it! A wall is quickly re-painted and gives the room its own character.

The dusty rose bed linen (source similar here) and ochre cushion (this is similar - and budget friendly!) look pretty against the calm Farrow and Ball 'Light Blue' wall.

Where did you get the painting your bed, it's so beautiful?

It's a photo from Billy and Hells, two photographers from Germany. I bought it from Lumas.

And finally, what do you love most about your home?

The cozy, relaxed atmosphere in which I can live my creativity. The apartment is so beautiful with its high ceilings, the old large windows, the hinged door and the floorboards, that it is the perfect canvas that looks good with everything.

All photography ©Franziska / Lieblingsblicke

I especially love the tip to just go for the colour - as it can always be re-painted. Words to live by indeed!

Here's a summary of the key colours used in Franziska's home: 

From left to right:  Schöner Wohnen' color, code 04.031.02, Farrow and Ball 'Hague Blue', Farrow and Ball 'Light Blue' wall and Jotun 'Warm Blush'.

You can see more snapshots of Franziska's lovely home over on her instagram feed Lieblingsblicke. 

Thank you so much for inviting us into your home Franziska!

Looking for more colour inspiration? This archive has tons of it (if this home pops up first, you know the drill... just scroll on passed!). 

Have a härlig dag!

PS If you're intrigued about what's going down at Milan Salone del Mobile it's all on my Stories!

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Trend: Greige Walls

White walls are almost becoming extinct. As the year wears on, more and more of my friends seem to be getting weary of their walls and trying to find a middle ground between the straightforward trend of whites and the color palettes of late, which are filled with pinks, indigos and desaturated (and gorgeous, I might add) greens.

Greige is the perfect example of an in-between. It is not grey but it’s also not beige. That’s why it’s become increasingly popular–and it deserves to be for its diversity and subtleness. Greige is the color that says “I’m grounded, reliable, wholesome but also unexpectedly classy.”. To me, it’s one of the best colors of the year; it matches perfectly with light woods... and let’s be honest, it’s quiet a needed break from whites.

If you, like me, are not quite ready for the bold-color movement, consider this for your end-of-year home refresh.

Niki is in Paris for the launch of the French version of her book Lagom (Le juste équilibre) - if you're passing Galeries Lafayette between 4 - 6 pm this Saturday,  pop in for a signed copy and join in with a fun DIY session! I believe she's sharing the adventure over on instagram stories too!

Beautiful images by: Evalotta Sundling and Elin Kickén, with thanks!

About The Author

Ana Degenaar → My Scandinavian Home Contributor

Author, Graphic and Web Designer.
Mindfulness is at the heart of everything Ana does—from work to life and everything in between.
For over five years she's focused on creating honest, intelligent and refreshing projects—believing that the best way to accomplish this is to dedicate herself to the essential and making things speak of their intrinsic beauty and purpose.

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Sara's fabulous 'funkis' house in Malmö, Sweden

A few Friday's ago I packed up my photography equipment and nipped over to the other side of Malmö to spend the day with Sara Hallin Sandström. Sara is a Master of CMF (Colour Material/ Finish) at Electrolux and co-producer of Colour Therapy (along with Tina - who's beautiful home I featured here) and lives with her husband Nicklas - an Art Director (and ex colleague of mine - it's a small world!) and their gorgeous sausage dog Kakan in a funkis house from the 1930's. We had a brilliant day, including chats and laughter over a fika (coffee and a small treat) and capturing the details from Sara's wonderful home. I hope you enjoy the tour! 

Tell me about your beautiful house:
Our house was built in 1934 for families working at the nearby airport (Bulltofta, closed in the 1970’s). At that time, it was made up of two apartments with a shared bathroom, laundry room (in the basement) and garden.

What drew you to the house?  

We really love the architecture and the structure. It was made in the early days of the “funkis” (functionalist design) era and this is visible in the details of the house. The very rational structure and the big windows are very “funkis”, while the decorative details inside are more inspired by the 1920’s style. We liked that the house was left in its original state with a lot of original details. We also love the location of our house, it is a cosy, bohemian neighbourhood within walking distance of the city center. And of course, that we have our own garden with several fruit trees (original from 1934) and space to grow our own vegetables.

Have you carried out any major renovations? Yes, we re-made the kitchen and built a modern bathroom next to our master bedroom. But we have also kept the original bathroom with a tub in the basement. When we made the new kitchen, we removed a wall to open up the kitchen towards the entrance of the house, we hired carpenter Christer Bentmon to build a custom-made kitchen inspired by the original but with modern functionality. I painted the kitchen in a traditional, ecological paint made of eggs, linseed oil and pigment. We want this kitchen to live as long as the previous one, for more than 80 years!

How would you describe your interior style?
Eclectic, I like to mix new with old things and things from home with things from other cultures.

How would you describe your colour palette?
Colourful Scandinavian - we have lots of colours in our house but they are all quite muted and not too loud (very Scandinavian!) and work well in combination with other colours.

What tips do you have for anyone looking to introduce colour into their home?  
Dare to be personal. Go for what you like and don’t care too much about trends. But it's always a good idea to try the colour on a small part of the wall before you buy a big bucket. Colours change a lot depending on the light in the room, but that's also the beauty with it! Our grey colour in the living room is shifting from warm to cold depending on the time of the day and the season.

***

Thank you so much Sara, Nicklas and Kakan for inviting me into your home - what a fun and truly inspiring day. I think I need to go and fix a walk-in-wardrobe for myself now - how much would you love a room like this in your house?!

Get the look from Sara's home:

Kitchen - cabinets painted in Ovolin (code 5-632), Sara made the pendant lamp using the
HÖLJES Pendant lamp from IKEA, gold electric cable from a local store and this brass vase which she drilled a hole in.

Dining room - the Olle Alberius for Orrefors lamp was a wedding gift to Sara's parents from her grandparents

Sitting room - the round mirror is an antique (from Bukowskis) - this one is similar (see our mirror round-up here!). Sofa from Bolia, Isamu Noguchi coffee table. Book shelves from IKEA (painted the same colour as the wall: Lin from Alcro). Vase on shelf from Stilleben, Copenhagen.

Walk-in-wardrobe - storage baskets from H&M home, Ilva rug, clothes rails from Vore. This, this and this stand are ideal for jewellery.

For more inspiration check-out Sara's blog and instagram feed!

....And that's me done for the week here on the blog! We're enjoying our last couple of days in Spain before I head to London to celebrate the new limited edition Nespresso Variations Confetto collection in collaboration with artists Craig and Karl (candy inspired coffee blends - What's not to love?!) at the Regent Street boutique on Monday night (keep an eye on Instagram Stories!).

I hope you've got some fun plans over the next couple of days?

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!


Photography - Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home. Design / home-owner: Sara Hallin. Styling support from Tina Lekeberg.

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