A charming innercity home with soul

One of the most popular homes I've shown this year has got to be this 'beautiful 1920's home decorated on a shoestring budget' in Brisbane, Australia. I can totally see why, it's relaxed, unique and personal - with fab vintage finds, treasured artwork and handmade pieces. All within a relatively small rental space of 55 metres square / 592 square feet. Yesterday I came across yet more lovely snapshots taken by the owner - photographer and documentary filmmaker Nicolette Johnson who shares the home with fiance, Tom Dawson. And fell in love with the space all over again. It just goes to show what you can do with a little creativity and oodles of love!

Photography: Nicolette Johnson. Found via The Design Files with thanks.

I never get tired of seeing this home - it's sooooo cosy and charming. I especially love the beautiful mix of dark blue and teak.

Is this your kind of style?

Items I love: sitting room - this navy blue mid-century chair is similar (and fabulous!), as is this mid-century oval-shaped table, I like this teak mid-century credenza. Workspace - wishbone chair, white sheepskin throw. Dining area - I love this mid-century style dining chair. Bedroom: blue linen bedding, sea grass belly basket. 

You can read more about this fab home here. And check out more homes with a cool mid-century vibe here.

Have a lovely day!

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A Parisien apartment with beautiful bones

Hello Monday! I usually try to think inspiring, positive thoughts at the start of the week but today all I really want to be doing is sitting here drinking coffee all morning or back in this bed (it looks a lot like Sri Lanka).  But most of all I'd like to be padding around this Zen like space high above the rooftops of the hip Marais District of Paris. If a morning coffee in the sunshine isn't enough then the beautiful herringbone floors, period features and marble fireplace will have you swooning!

Birgitta Wolfgang Drejer / Sisters Agency

Oh the things I'd do to this apartment if it were mine. What a beautiful space?!

Could you see yourself living in an apartment like this?

Get the look: Bubble lamps - Modernica, Beni ourain rug, mid-century modern chairs, Isamu Noguchi coffee table, white bed linen.

Other lovely apartments Paris include this truly unique and eclectic home, and a perfect Parisen home. I also love this home just outside France's capital in Fontainebleau.

More Monday links:

Have you ever thought about escaping the city altogether and moving to the countryside? This lifestyle blogger did, and she shares her lessons learned here.  Tempted?

Does this lovely idea solve your 'back of the sofa' dilemma?

Etsy find of the day - a vintage industrial lamp shipping from Germany. Oh yes.

A guide to the best indoor plants (love the windowsill display).

And finally.....thank you so much to everyone who entered the weekend give-away to win a poster from Posterlounge - the three winners have now been announced here (oh the suspense!). Oh and Posterlounge are offering all readers 10% discount (more info here).

Have a great start to the week!

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A fabulous Dutch home in an old tannery

After two eye-watering early starts at the IKEA headquarters this week (checking out their new products for 2016 - eeeee, so exciting!) I'm finally enjoying a slow coffee morning at home. Slow is a bit of an understatement. I bumped into a friend on my way back from nursery and had a chat for the best part of an hour - just because I could! I'm finally at my desk and getting down to today's home tour. Luckily when the home is as wonderful as this (it's an old tannery in Gilze, Holland dating back to 1900) pictures speak more than a thousand words. Owners Wesly and Astrid have tirelessly nursed the space back to health, turning it into the fabulous home it is today. Let's take a tour....

Photography: Jansje Klazinga (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Emmy van Dantzig. VT Wonen.

Wow! What a space! Mid-century and Scandinavian pieces against a back drop of exposed bricks, glass room dividers and incredibly high ceilings. What more could you ask for?

And don't get me started on the plywood shelves and that swing!

This might be a crazy question, but could you live here?!

Items I know and love: source a mid-century armchair here, DLM side table, Hay tray, keep an eye out for a mid-century leather sofa here. There's a great selection of mid-century credenzas here.

See more of this fabulous Dutch home here. 

I had the pleasure of meeting the photographer behind this shoot, Jansje Klazinga when she came to shoot my home a couple of years ago. She's fab, and so talented! I love these pics she took of Valentina Fussell's Copenhagen home (you may recognise the name as Valentina wrote a lovely review of my book recently) and this fab family home in a former nursery.

Have a lovely day! 

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The perfect blend of modern and traditional in a Paris home

Hello! I hope you're having a great start to the week? We're back in Sweden and the snow (shock to the system after the soaring heat of Sri Lanka! - not to mention the start of the working week!). But the good news is, I've got a home tour that is set to put a smile on all our faces! It comes in the form of the fab Parisian home of Morgane Sézalory - founder and designer at Sézane the first online French fashion brand. Clients are invited to try on the collections in 'The Apartment' (now that's what I call my kind of changing room!). Morgane's private home is the perfect blend of modern and traditional which is both relaxed and stylish. I sense a touch of Scandinavian influence too. Yay!

Photography: Hervé Goluza - shared with kind permission. Found via French by Design with thanks. 

What a truly lovely home, don't you think?! Relaxed, personal and homely. It's really brightened up my day!

Get the look: this lovely blue velvet mid-century chair is very similar, House Doctor floor lamp and rug, source a vintage Japanese cast iron teapot here, or a new one here. Keep an eye out for an industrial table lamp here and pom poms here.

Other spaces with a mid-century touch I love today include the fab home of Natalie Myers, an LA pad (one of my favourite homes!) and a beautiful Swedish space.

Have a wonderful start to the week!

PS  If you order a copy of my book through my book store before Friday18th March 2016 I'll happily sign it for you.  Simply send me a separate email with your order number and the message you'd like me to include. Your book will be shipped week beginning 20th March 2016.

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Plants and mid-century pieces in a New York City brownstone

Hello weekend (almost!). The beauty of the Internet is that you can transport yourself anywhere in the world, anytime you like! I'm taking full advantage of this and whisking us to a Brownstone in Brooklyn. I was fortunate enough to visit this fab borough of New York City last summer while working on my book. It's so vibrant and celebrated for it's diverse people, restaurants and bars as well as it's art scene. Lisa Munoz, owner of Leaf and June - an interior plant design company and David Azzoni, a partner at Turntable Lab DJ shop recently moved to this lovely apartment in the Clinton Hill neighbourhood. The duo have furnished their pad using only their most treasured items which include salvaged, vintage and inherited pieces...and of course an abundance of plants. So inspiring!

Photography: Erica Gannett. Via Design Sponge with thanks. 

What a great space! I'm loving the mid-pieces and all the plants!

You can read more about this home and see a few more pics (captured by Erica Gannett) over at Design Sponge here. It's fascinating to read about why certain plants have been placed where.

Get the look: loving these fab hanging plant holders and stands. Source teak mid-century furniture here. For more plant and flower inspiration you might want to check out my archive (yes, I have an archive for everything!).

I'm writing this from a café inside the walls of beautiful Galle Fort here in the South of Sri Lanka. I have to say though it's scorching today so we've been camping out hiding from the heat!

Have a lovely day!

PS This home is filed under my 'International Homes archive' - not that I want to wile away a morning for you.....but just saying! 

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Mid-century sitting room in a converted garage

I was doing so well all week with the wifi and then there was a thunderstorm and it all went caput! Sorry for the radio silence yesterday! Now it's fixed, I thought I'd nip in to spread a little love this weekend with a pic of a fab mid-century sitting room in a converted garage.

Everything except the garage doors (although they do make a great backdrop?!) can be found in this wonderful little Etsy shop I stumbled on earlier on in the week.

Have a lovely weekend and see you Monday (wifi here in Sri Lanka permitting!).


My Scandinavian Home posts feature affiliated links. However, I only ever share pics, business and product info I truly love and think you will too! This is not a sponsored post - I just happen to love the sitting room - it's fab! 

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The Swedish home of a collector

Good morning! This Swedish home belonging to Annika and Mattias was recently captured by Johanna Flykt Gashi and Carina Olander for Hus o Hem. The space has been decorated in lovely earthy tones. But for me, it's about the mid-century touches - the string shelves, the teak credenza, the black leather chair! I was also interested to see they have several collections, including wooden animal figures, vintage glass vases and a beautiful selection of bottles. The latter immediately whisked me back to Milkweed Barn (which we photographed for my book). Bill Hovard had the most fascinating 'poison' bottle collection - not something I would necessarily grab and re-use for some elderflower squash perhaps...... but so much fun for display purposes, don't you think? Anyway, on with the tour....

Stylist Johanna Flykt Gashi, photographer Carina Olander, shared with kind permission. Hus o Hem.

Is there anything that stands out to you about this home?

This is a great source for vintage brown bottles (including old medicine bottle and demi johns) Vintage string shelving,  vintage clear glass decorative vases, black and white striped rug, Mooi random pendant light in black. White linen bedding.

The photographer behind this shoot, Carina Olander, also captured this Norwegian rustic mountain hide-away. Could you imagine?!

Have a lovely day!

PS Do you collect anything?

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The calm and collected home of a Swedish interiors stylist

It's always a pleasure to stumble across the home of a prop and interior stylist.  And this Stockholm space belonging to the talented Joanna Lavén and her husband David is no exception! The couple set about restoring the flat back to it's former glory - even peeling back layers of flooring to reveal beautiful original parquet floors. I love the light in these photos by Marcus Lawett - he has really captured the elegance of the space, which has been decorated throughout in grey tones and teak mid-century finds. The brass gives the home a distinct touch of fifties glam too, what a fabulous home!

Home owner / stylist - Joanna Lavén. Photographer: Marcus Lawett, shared with kind permission. Via Dust jacket with thanks.

Is this your kind of style?

There is something very cool, calm and collected about the space. I couldn't ever imagine feeling flustered if I lived here. 

Get the look - source beautiful teak mid-century furniture here or on auction sites such as e-bay and Live Auctioneers. All of these vintage drinks trolleys / bar carts are fab! This wall light is similar. Oven from Ilve. 2097 Chandelier by Flos. Painting over bed by Lennart Sand.

To see more of Joanna's lovely home and find out where other items are from check-out the full piece over at Elle Decoration. You can also find out more about her work as a prop & set stylist here.

And if you're after a few sneaky peeks of Scandinavian stylists' homes how about the stunning Danish home of Nathalie Schwer, the lovely home of Dorthe Kvist and Sofia Jansson's delightful family home.

If it was Christmas inspiration you were after today, you might want to sit back and enjoy this archive or my latest pins! Or if that fails - how about this recipe for spiced mulled wine? Ooooo, now you're talking!

Have a lovely day!

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