A Bright and Airy Portland Home in Sepia Tones

Gog morgon vännen! How was your weekend?! The official holiday month has started here in Sweden. Swedes everywhere are rushing off to summer cottages, mapping out road trips or simply wondering down to the nearest bathing desk in their dressing gown for a morgon dopp (morning dip!). We're currently in Varberg on Sweden's West coast (a bit of a surfer's spot) and I'm enjoying an hour's respite from my family (eeek, is that mean?! I do love them really, it's just that, you know, school holidays and all that...!). I thought I'd take an hour, pour myself a coffee and we could virtually transport ourselves to Portland Oregon and the home of assistant interior, prop stylist and interior designer Ezz Wilson, what do ya think?! Recently featured in Rue Magazine, Ezz's bright and airy home is delightfully sepia (cue: white with touches of tan, rust and ochre) with natural textures throughout. I caught up with Ezz to find out more about it!

Can you tell us a little about the history of the house? 

The house is a 100-year-old, former farmhouse that was turned into a multi-family building, and then back into a house, and then humbly patched and slap-dashed together before we moved in. So, needless to say, the layout is somewhat wonky! So much so that we almost didn't get the house. But it felt so cozy and charming that we decided to adapt to the layout as best we could. But there are days when you find a hidden chimney stack in the TV room wall or a mysterious doorway outline appears in the bedroom wall as the foundation settles over time and the drywall cracks and you think to yourself, "What on earth??" The size of the house is about 1500 square feet.

Stockholm 2017 chair, Chemex coffee maker*,  round basket bag*, The Scandinavian Home (so happy to spot this on Ezz's coffee table!). 

How would you describe your colour scheme?

Lots of whites, creams, and wood tones, but lately I'm adding some earthy colors like terracotta, rust, warm blush and ochre. I think that's about as wild as it's gonna get at my house! 

Kitchen from IKEA.

Peacock rattan headboard*, Natural and white striped pillow covers*, Tulip side-table* 

What inspires you?

I grew up in a sunny climate in the U.S., in a Puerto Rican family, and was heavily influenced by the Mediterranean and Caribbean, although I didn't care for those styles as a kid. If you told me that when I grew up, my house would end up full of rattan and wicker, I probably would've cried! When I was 19, I moved to Sweden for about six months, and I think that must have influenced my love for Scandinavian design as well. 

For a long time, I've felt that my style was the love child between a serene Swedish minimalist and a bohemian, beach-loving Spaniard, even though I wasn't sure how to execute that combination at first. But I finally narrowed in on what I really wanted this home to look and feel like. I need lots of white, calm and clean lines in my home to feel relaxed and clear-headed. Yet, I also need plenty of warmth, natural fibers and folky 70s vibes to get me through the long, dark winters of Portland and help me feel more connected to my roots and culture. 

I'm also very inspired by the design coming out of Byron Bay, Australia, as well as French magazines such as Maison Cote Sud, Toc Toc Toc Editions and Milk Decoration!

You have some beautiful pieces in your home, where do you shop?
I've found a lot of great pieces through my local thrift stores, Craigslist, World Market, Urban Outfitters and Target. I also love the following ethically minded companies: Fine Life Co - a beautifully curated shop in Arizona that mostly sells ethically made clothing but has some lovely ceramics too (and the shop owner Emily Benziger has a gorgeous home!), Bohemia Designs for Moroccan straw bags, stools etc and Bea Linen* for linen sheets.

Can you recommend three inspiring Instagram account 'must follows'?!

@audreyrivet, @bohemegoods, @taylorsterling. 

The loft space has been painted in the faintest hint of pink which goes beautifully with the rust coloured cushions!

Thank you so much for inviting us into your lovely home Ezz! 

If you'd like to see more pictures, check out Ezz's instagram feed and also issue 50 of Rue Magazine, for the full write-up! 

And for more 'sepia' home inspiration today I'm loving this cosy weatherboard cottage, white and warm brown tones in a lovely Swedish home and a soothing white and caramel home. 

I'm curious, is this your kind of scheme, or do you need more colour? 

Due to the (aforementioned) holiday here in Sweden my blogging is going minimalist and I'll be stopping in every other day instead of everyday (I hope that's OK?!). 

 Have a wonderful couple of days and see you Wednesday!

Niki

Photogtaphy by Chris Dibble for Rue magazine except pictures 4, 9 and 14 (taken by Ezz Wilson). 

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My Scandinavian Home Sunset Beach Gathering!

This gathering was made possible by Granit  - all words and thoughts are my own.

Do you have a favourite beach? One of my all time favourites is Ljunghusen on Sweden's south-western tip. Dunes and powdery white sand stretch out as far as the eye can see and the Baltic waters are crystal clear and a cool, blue-grey. Oh and the beach is almost completely deserted! I've always felt it would be the perfect spot for a beach gathering - and what better than a My Scandinavian Home summer celebration to kick off the start of the Swedish holidays?!

Sarah Brooks-Wilson and I nipped to Swedish brand Granit, who sell an assortment of interior design and functional storage in timeless neutral colours - as well as a local DIY store to pick up everything we needed. 

We decided to keep the look simple to match the surroundings, opting for natural materials such as linen, bamboo, sea grass, wood and glass and soft, muted colours. The table was constructed from a wooden palette (the only heavy item!), which we covered with a linen towel.

In my mind no gathering is really complete without flowers, what do you reckon?! To match the wild setting we filled glass vases and jars with simple blooms such as Baby's Breath and Queen Anne's Lace and tied left over sprigs to bottles and napkins.

The food was kept equally simple - with tapas style olives, charcuterie, salad, bread, cheese and the most delicious orange and sultana loaf baked by Sarah (she makes a mean cake!).

You'd never find a Swedish home without one of these cheese slicers! Incidentally, the irregular shaped plate it's resting on is actually made from eco paper - such a great find!

The light was pin sharp (it's an area famous for artists because of this) and the evening air balmy (we were very lucky in other words - especially for Sweden!). Even so, the sky shifted constantly between dramatic, bruised clouds which threatened to leave us running for the car one minute and a golden sunset the next!

For the awning / wind break we used wooden poles from a local DIY store (make sure they have a spiked end so they are easy to bury in the sand) and 2 metres of sheer white fabric tied on with elastic bands. It honestly took about 2 minutes to put up!

Here's a quick run-down of all of the other items we used in case you'd also like to recreate this for an evening at the beach: 

Get The Look

1. Cushion Ribbed Grey 2. Cushion Ribbed Offwhite 3. Basket Palm Small 4. Carpet Seagrass 90x200cm 5. Wineglass 52cl 6. Candle 7x10 cm White 7.Vase Recycled Glass 30x18 cm 8. Plate Eco 10pcs 9. Blanket Quilted Grey 10. Cushion Linen Lightgrey 11. Cushion Linen Dark Grey 121. Basket Seaweed Small 13. Lantern Rattan 20x24cm 14. Lantern Bamboo 90cm 15. Lantern Glass Jar 16. Light String Ball 80 Lamps 17. Bottle Seegrass 0,75L 18. Plate Tapas 19. Tray Bamboo Ø30 cm 20. Kitchen Towel Linen Dark grey 21. Kitchen Towel Linen Offwhite 22. Cutting Board Beech 30x12cm 23. Towel Linen Large Lightgrey 24. Basket Bamboo Ø20cm 25. Bottle Patent Cork 0,5L 26. Lantern Glass Bottle 27. Bottle Patent Cork 7cl 28. Cheese Slicer Wood/Metal 29. Cushion Chair Lightgrey

* Granit has physical stores in Sweden, Germany and Finland and ships Europe-wide. 

We had a truly magical evening - and now I know how simple it is to set-up, we'll definitely be doing it again soon!

There are only two thing I'd do differently - the first would be to take a wheel barrow or some kind of mode for transporting the stuff down to the beach... and the second would be to ask Sarah to bake even more of that cake!! It was sooooo good!

Do you have a beach near you for sunset gatherings like this? If so, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section below!

And speaking of beaches and summer, I hope you don't mind that, as per every year, I'll be paring down to three posts a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) over the next three weeks to enjoy a little down time with my family and make the most of everything the Swedish summer has to offer.

I hope you are able to enjoy a little down time to njuter av solen too!

Skål to sea, sands and sunsets!

Niki 

Photography / production: Niki Brantmark. Styling: Sarah Brooks-Wilson

Thank you to Granit for sponsoring this post and making our My Scandinavian Home beach gathering possible. As always,  all styling and words are our own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the companies that make fresh content possible.

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