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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The Beautiful Swedish Home of a Visual Merchandiser

What does your forever home look like? Is it OK to have a forever city home and a forever weekend country retreat?! A girl can dream, right?! If permitted, my forever city home would have bones just like this beautiful Swedish one. Think sky-high ceilings, stunning architraves, double 'spegel' doors and original parquet floors. Aren't they lovely?! Swedish visual merchandiser and design student Cajsa Berndtsdotter has worked with the colour and furnishings to make sure that they positively shine too. 

The plant in the window of the dining room has been placed on a plinth to make it even taller and work with the height of the window.

Marshall speaker*, IKEA cabinet, Bistro chairs*

Tall upper cabinets use the full height of the room (which work fine if you store little-used items higher up).

One of the beauty of high ceilings is having the space for statement lighting (like this Pholc light*) which lower ceilings don't allow for.

 AJ floor lamp*, leather butterfly chair*

A low almost invisible shelf painted in the same colour as the wall is ideal for magazines, plants speakers etc.

Painting walls a darker shade (these are 'neutral grey 6000) helps a room with high ceilings to feel cosier and also allow the cornicing to pop. I also love how Cajsa has used curtains in the same colour as the wall. Curtains really are a home's best friend - they help to dampen sound, reduce drafts and make the space look cosy (and they can hide a multitude of sins!) - total winner! 

Source made-to-measure linen curtains online here*. The bench is from IKEA. 

Barely there IVAR cabinets from IKEA have been painted in the same colour as the wall for a cleaner look and feel while the beautiful original door has been painted in a contrasting white for a spotlight affect. 

Such an inspiring home! And although we might not have features like this to play with, there are still so many wonderful ideas to take away, don't you think?

Is there anything that stood out to you?

See more of Cajsa's home here.

I'm in a bit of a rush today as we're in the middle of a renovation (I'm sitting here amidst complete chaos and can barely breath for dust, plus I can only feel three of my fingers as we had to turn the heating off! But I haven't missed a weekday blog post since 2011 and not about to because of a little dirt, cold and chaos!). Oh and I need to pack for London  - eeeeek! Hurry!

Have a lovely day friends, hope you're a little more comfy than I am today!

Niki

Photography: Cajsa Berndtsdotter

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A Norwegian Home Gets The Dark Treatment, And It's Beautiful!

People often refer to Scandinavian interior design as a 'trend' - but to me (and I'm pretty sure all Scandinavians) it's anything but. The beauty of Scandinavian design is that's is timeless and surprisingly versatile - the simplicity means it blends with different styles, eras and architectural elements. And as this home shows, it definitely doesn't need to be all about the white / light look! Interior stylist and visual storyteller Catrine Svellingen has transformed her home in Oslo, Norway into a luxurious yet calm sanctuary using a delicious deep blue, rich greens and black and peach accents. The furniture is a mix of elegant contemporary classics, new Nordic design and the occasional IKEA piece for a smart yet homely feel. Are you ready to take a tour?

White Juju hat* (on wall), Kong Gloria candle / vase*, order a made to measure Beni rug like this here*, Flos 2097 chandelier. Oh and what's that we see peeping into the left of the first image? Shock, horror - a TV! Ha ha! It blends in so well it's barely noticeable too - another reason to go for a darker wall colour! 

Paint colour code. S3020-Y40R, Eames side chairs*

Pov wall candle holders* 

How beautiful this home? 

I love the colour combinations (I'm just trying to find out the exact shade she's used in the living room and will hopefully be able to stop by and update the post shortly.  

Is there anything you love about this Oslo home? 

You can see more pictures of Catrine's beautiful home and follow her latest styling projects here. 

I also thought I'd spread a little more Norwegian home love with this beauties: 

Lessons to learn from a colourful yet calm Norwegian home

A serene Norwegian space for the weekend

A Norwegian House by a fjord

I'm really excited to be heading to Bergen next month for a work trip - but thinking about staying for the weekend. Any tips are so welcome! 

Are you up to anything fun this weekend? Whatever you do, I hope you have a fabulous (and relaxing) couple of days!

Niki

Photography: Catrine Svellingen shared with kind permission

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The Beautiful 1920s House of a Swedish Creative

Is it just me, or is the week moving at an alarming rate? If you feel like taking a breather with me, come and enjoy this beautiful Gothenburg home for a moment! It belongs to Swedish graphic designer, artist and photographer Cecilia Hedin (see her former home here), sambo (meaning 'live-in partner') Johan, their baby Björn and dog Bertil. Built in the 1920s, every room has been painted in a different colour - from a deep, luxurious green to soft blues and warm greige and they've also made use of some fabulous wallpaper, and yet there's a wonderful flow to the space. Cecilia's friends Alice Johansson and Johanna Bradford paid a visit and snapped these lovely pics. Välkommen in!

Kitchen cabinets painted in NORDSJÖ simplicity greige and wall panels in the same shade by 40% lighter. 

A circular table and series of Mogensen J39 chairs are surrounded by geraniums for a wonderful 'winter garden' feel! 

This is the kind of 'snug' you can imagine the family spending the lion's share of their time in. I love the classic Jetson chair and indoor climber. And that rustic wood wall adds so much character to the space too, don't you think?!

Sitting room painted in Farrow & Ball Oval Room Blue

This Blackthorne wallpaper by William Morris is so pretty!

Bannisters painted in Farrow & Ball Estate Eggshell

Source vintage botanical prints like these here*.

This lovely desk area reminds me a lot of the home office in their former apartment. The walls have been decorated in luxurious yet calm Chicken Coop by Alcro. Source a vintage architect's desk like this one here*. 

Björn's room has been partly decorated in Jimmy Cricket Woodland wallpaper in charcoal.

So fun with the vintage gymnastics equipment (source similar here*), don't you think?! Although not vintage, my daughter has a set of wooden gymnastics rings in her room and she absolutely loves them - she even gets ready for bed hanging upside down (you can imagine how long that takes *rolls eyes*!)! Rattan lounge chair from Tine K Home.

If I was merely considering adding more colour to my home before, I'm fully committed after seeing these pictures. It's also amazing how much the right wallpaper can transform a room too - Björn's room is just lovely!

Are you tempted to add more colour / wallpaper to your home too?

If you love Cecilia's home you'll also love her online shop where she sells her photography, art and badges (the latter of which remind me a little of our time in the Lake District, England as a child - my sister had a ton of badges showing all the fells she'd conquered - me, not so many!).  

Other inspiring Swedish homes with plenty of colour and pattern include Johanna Bradford's former home, an eclectic 19th century Swedish house and snapshots from Ida's vintage-inspired home in Dalarna. Oh and there's actually an entire archive dedicated to 'decorating with wallpaper' too! 

Do you have a favourite wallpaper?

Ha så bra! 

Niki

Photography: Alice Johansson. Styling: Johanna Bradford. 

Affiliate links marked with *

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