Maria's Colourful Apartment Will Brighten Up Your Day!

It's very grey here in Malmö today which made it almost impossible to get out of bed this morning (not helped by my new bedroom make-over!). To pep things up a little, I thought I'd go for some colour, what do you think? Maria-Silva Villbrandt's home in Wedding (love the name!), Berlin is just the ticket! Maria is a content creator and manager for the popular lifestyle blog Herz und Blut, founded by her sister Jules. Her creativity transcends through to her apartment, which is made up of a spacious kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom. Maria has created a wonderful, unique living space which is a sea of vibrant colours and full of interesting art, eclectic furniture and interesting details. Ready to feel inspired? 

Maria's pink kitchen is from Burger Küchenmöbel. The TR Bulb, Suspension Frame light from Menu hangs over the countertop. 

A Flowerpot portable table lamp* sits atop a vintage table for two in the kitchen. But the showstopper is the striped curtains - very funky and different! Try Etsy* for similar. 

'Illegal Party' lithograph by Stefan Marx (I see there are only a few left on his site). Colourful art by Janes Haid-Schmallenburg. Ambit Lamp* by Muuto. 

Art by Fabienne, Jules Villbrandt, and GABE. The cabinet is by Swedish brand String. 

Colourful parasols are the way forward right now. This fine specimen is from Business & Pleasure Co. I also love the ones by Sunday Supply (here's Ali and I enjoying our yellow and white striped one on the beach a few weeks ago! - yes, I'm on TikTok - just trying to find my feet, with a lot of help from my girls! Are you on there too?).    

Speaking of sunny yellow, Maria's sofa is from the young furniture brand Noah Living. 

One of the big Danish colour trends this Autumn (discovered at Formland) is a yellow accent combined with lavender and coral, as seen above! 

Colourful Montana shelving (on the far side of the sofa) is used to display a variety of eclectic pieces including on-trend colourful twisted candles*, a flowerpot lamp* as well as books. 

Such an inspiring home! I loved all the colour, it's really brightened up my day - and given me a load of ideas. 

Has Maria's home put a spring in your step and inspired you, too? 

See more of her home over at @ponysailor - and feel inspired by her wonderful travel, food and beauty stories over at Herz und Blut. 

Looking for more colour today? I love: 

A fabulous Danish home in a plethora of colours

Home tour: how to add colour the danish way

Lessons to learn from a colourful yet calm Norwegian home

Wishing you all a bright, sunshin-ey day (who knows, the sun might even make an appearance here at some point!). 

Niki

Photography: Jules Villbrandt 

*this post contains affiliate links

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Snapshots From a Playful Copenhagen Home

Good morning! How are you today? A simple question, but an important one, particularly right now! If you're in need of a bit of a lift today, I've got some interior shots to share with you that I hope will put a smile on your face - just like they did with me. yay! Welcome inside the former Copenhagen home of Linea Maria also known as @guest.studio. Well, I wish this was a guest studio, I'd be there in a flash - how about you?! The delightful space is awash with subtle colour and pattern against a backdrop of white, pale blue (some might call it green) and lavender. Look closely and you'll also spot an eclectic blend of furniture and accessories which might just tempt you to get the paintbrush out! Ready to take a peek?

Gorgeous! 

I love how effortless and natural this home looks - it's also calm and yet subtly playful. Fab! 

Are there any ideas here you'd like to apply to your home? 

I'm tempted (as always) to go to flea markets and find some beautifully shaped furniture to paint. Remember this bed frame?

You know what's coming, don't you? Yep, some more danish homes to drool over of course! Here are some other colour happy living spaces I love: 

A Copenhagen home full of arts, books and danish design

A vibrant Aarhus home with a sustainable touch

Enjoy the hint of colour in this light and airy danish summer cottage

Gotta love Danish style! I love the use of colour! Are you a fan too? 

Niki

Photography: Another Studio - shared with kind permission

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Danica's Delightful Danish Home In Cotton Candy Shades

New York Fashion week 2020 was a sea of dreamy pastels - a trend quickly adopted by the Danes. Actually, who am I kidding, the Danes have been rocking pastels for years! If there's one thing I've learned living so near the danish border, it's that the Danes are the ones to watch! One of my latest Instagram follows is the lovely Danica Chloe. Danica lives in a 98 m2 (1054 f2) apartment in the Amager district of Copenhagen with her husband, a paramedic, and their two young children Sylvester and Nola. Danica loves to experiment with cotton candy shades including pistachio green, orange sorbet, baby blue and lavender - both in her home and her choice of clothes - giving a sense that spring is just around the corner. Keep an eye out for quirky, on-trend details too! 

Spot the TV? The Samsung Frame never fails to disappoint -  I love the art Danica has found for hers - found on Etsy*! I had no idea Etsy was such a great source for Samsung The Frame art*, did you? Also seen on the wall are pieces from Paper Collective, Sorte Negle, Little Detroit* and Arthus Studio. 

The Muuto stacked shelves system* have become a real classic - I've had a set in my own home for years, although I wish I'd also gone for the ix of white and wood! 

An array of colourful glasses from Karen's Bord and a Hay candle add a pop of pastel in the kitchen.

The handcrafted dining table is from DAYLY and the twirly candles are from HAY (you can easily make these yourself too - check out the simple twisted candle hack I shared last week!). 

A fan from Sakura Copenhagen has been displayed under Swedish string shelves, lined with pretty pastel ornaments. The bed is made with linen from Juna Design. 

Danica also shares a load of style and beauty inspiration on her instagram and blog - and even the occasional trip (not right now though, of course) as well as recipes. I love her style - it involves her signature pastels, over-sized pieces, quirky accessories and lots of layering! 

Sylvester and Nola sleep in a funky bunkbed by danish brand FLEXA. 

My friend Sarah's going to cry when she sees this picture - which includes not one but TWO rattan wardrobes from IKEA - now out of stock with a rapidly increasing secondhand value on eBay! Gaaah! 

Just as I was writing, the sun came out for the first time in days - and I suddenly feel like spring really is just around the corner. Hurray! 

Time to add a few pastels to the home? 

See more pics of Danica's wonderful home and her fab daily outfits over at @danicachloedk and on her blog. 

Shall we take a peek at a few other pastel-inspired homes today? Why not! 

Trend alert: how to rock the pastels

A delightful Swedish family home in a former schoolhouse

A pastel-infused Danish home

By the way - thank you so much for all your tips yesterday about buying / installing / tuning a piano - so helpful! Happy you loved the home tour as much as I did too! 

Wishing you all a lovely day!

Niki

Photography @danicachloedk - shared with kind permission

*affiliated links, which means I might make a tiny amount of money (at no cost to you) if you click on the link and buy something. 

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An Eclectic Home In The Heart Of Copenhagen

It's Friday friends! The weekend calls for something, don't you think? And today, I'm chatting to Ann Poulsen, a Dane who's passionate about DIY, sustainability and making her home feel as personal as possible. Velkommen to her beautiful Copenhagen apartment, decorated in a sea of colours, and adorned with art, vintage items and lovely, unique touches. 

Where do you live?

I live in an apartment in Copenhagen in an area called Island Brygge. 

Who do you share your home with? 

My boyfriend, Tim. He moved in a few months ago which explains why I haven't mentioned him in the renovating process on my instagram :)

What do you do for a living? 

I study Danish at Copenhagen University and also work in Langsamt, a store with a focus on sustainability. 

What is important to you when decorating your home? 

To design a space that feels like home and where I want to spend a lot of my time. Our home is our base. I feel best when things are tidy and I'm not surrounded by too much clutter. But it's also important to me that my home feels lived in. I also like my personality to shine through. I love to be creative and create a personal home where the decor is mainly made up of recycled and vintage finds. 

I love the tiles in your kitchen - where are they from? 

I bought them from a shop here in Copenhagen called Alverdens Fliser. I've always loved the herringbone pattern but there were so many colours to choose from! In the end I want for the beautiful blue and I've never regretted it! 

Your home is a wonderful, eclectic mix of colour and pieces - where do you find your inspiration from? 

I feel very inspired when I walk around secondhand shops. It always feels like I'm stepping back in time and it's fun to see the various trends from the past - I find the mix interesting. I also get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. 

 

Can you tell us a little about the colours you've chosen? 

In my bedroom I've chosen a mineral paint called Dusty Rose from Jotun Lady. It gives the room a raw, beautiful look and changes depending fin how the light hits it. In my kitchen, I've used Modern Beige from Jotun Lady. And in my living room, I've applied the yellow Gullhår from Jotun Lady. The green is from Bech & Jørgensen (colour code: 2014-N048). 

You have a lot of art on your walls - where do you buy it from?  

I like to buy posters from the exhibitions I have been to - it gives them a little history and art galleries always sell the finest art! I also buy a lot online. 

Did you make the piece in your bedroom (to the left) yourself? 

Yes! I made it around a year ago. It's quite easy to make with PU-foam, a canvas and the colour of your choice! 

Finally, what do you love most about your home? 

I love that it feels like home to both Tim and I. It's liberating to know I can decorate it however I like, and completely in my style. I don't think I will ever finish renovating - it's a never-ending project! 

Now that Tim's moved in, do you think he'll want to have a say in the decorating? 

No, not at all actually - he couldn't care less! He's really great as he never complains about the mess I make when I'm renovating either - and it can go for on for weeks! 

Thank you so much for telling us about your home Ann! 

You can see more snapshots and follow Ann's latest home decorating projects here. 

I love all the tones Ann's picked for her home - especially the blue tiles in the kitchen - refreshingly unique!  

Is there anything that stood out to you?

How about a few other Danish homes to enjoy over the weekend? Here are some of my favourites: 

Welcome inside the home of a Danish interior design consultant

On trend ceilings, art and books galore in a Danish home

A dreamy Danish home full of arts, books and design

Well folks, that's it from me this week. I hope you've enjoyed all the inspiration! Thank you so much for all your comments, I love reading each and every one of them - they're part of what makes this space a great community of fellow Scandic-design lovers! 

Trevlig helg!

Niki

Photography: Ann Poulsen

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A Pretty Home With Touches of Peach - And a Snoozing Dog!

Good morning friends. I'm stopping by to share snapshots of the the prettiest of homes. Laura shares daily snaps of the 'tidy version of her home' - an apartment in Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, Germany - on her Instagram feed @anotherflat_ - and it always brightens up my day. Think tones of peach, soft blue and lavender, Scandinavian design pieces and a gorgeous snoozing dog! Enjoy the tour! 

I love to combine different styles. I feel it's important to make it individual, but I can identify most with Scandinavian styles. I also like it when a space isn't too uniform and contains lots of unique pieces"

- Laura

So lovely! 

I especially enjoyed the touches of pastel, it makes me want to add more colour to my home, how about you? 

Wishing you a wonderful start to the week friends! 

Niki

PS Thank you SO much for all your well wishes on Friday it meant so much. It's a tough time. I'm so grateful for my blog, it always brings a little comfort and escape and everyone is so positive! I am still with my parents and still hoping for the best. If I don't post at times this week, bear with me! 

Photography: Laura / @anotherflat_

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