Home tour: A Charming, Rustic House in the Genoa Hills

Why, hello there! Sorry for posting a little late today. I've been busy launching a 30 Day Home Love challenge on Instagram with Holly Becker this morning. We hope it will bring a little light to everyone's day and help to make our homes a brighter place! Please do come and join in if you fancy it! SO, on with today's tour. And I thought we could take a peek inside the beautiful rustic home of Sarah Tognetti in the hills of Genoa, Italy today. Sarah, who founded the magazine Slow Home Slow Living Living, husband Gigi and their two daughters Beatrice (15) and Mathilde (12) enjoy a slow pace of life nestled between the beautiful Ligurian mountains and the sea. Their country home is filled with natural touches, raw materials and earthy tones. Fresh in-season flowers and plants also help to bring nature indoors. Welcome to Sarah's cosy world! 

The family's pink residence is nestled amongst a cluster of pretty houses on the Genoa hillside. She and her family are the first to live in the house in over a century. In the past it has been a carpentry workshop, a tavern and a meeting place where people got together to dance during the war. 

"We love nature and our dream is to buy a house with lots of land and be able to cultivate it," Sarah tells me. 

The kitchen has a really Scandinavian feel to it, don't you think? I love the open wood shelving lined with jars of pasta, pulses and rice - they add a really cosy touch. 

A vintage dresser in the kitchen has been painted in a soft grey from Farrow & Ball and filled with bowls, baskets, tins, glasses, kitchen towels and other necessities! 

Look closely at this beautiful space and you'll spot exposed wood beams over the window (I missed these the first-time round), which add a lovely rustic touch to the room.

Pick up similar factory lighting here*.

Sarah shared this picture in the #30dayhomelove challenge on Instagram today as her favourite room. I can totally see why, it's somewhere cosy where everyone in the home can gather. There's also a great wood burning stove which can be fired into action on chillier days. So toasty! 

There's so much to love about the master bedroom - the whitewashed wood cladding, the linen curtains, the plants..... But also, if you have a sloped ceiling, putting in a dummy wall like this is a great way to optimise space. 

Look what we have here! My book The Scandinavian Home! What an honour that my interior book has been a source of inspiration for Sarah. And I see it's in great company too! 

Such a beautiful home, don't you think? 

Is there anything in particular that stood out to you? 

Sarah's instagram feed is really beautiful too - if you don't already follow her, it's a must! 

If you're in the mood for more mountain / hill home inspiration today, make yourself cosy and take a peek at these charming spaces: 

A magical Norwegian mountain cabin

A family home with a breath-taking view of the Austrian Alps

A Norwegian house by a fjord

Sending lots of love and hugs to Italian readers and all today. 

Niki

Photography: Sarah Tognetti / @shabbychicinteriors 

*affiliate link

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Sharing My Favourite Uplifting, Healthy Swedish Easter Recipe (Thanks To Samsung!)

Sponsored by Samsung

Spring is in the air in Sweden and Påsk (Easter) is around the corner - I can see it from my window! So, today I thought I'd share one of my favourite Swedish Easter dishes to lift the spirits! And the best thing about it: it's super quick and easy to make, requires only a knife, chopping board and bowl and when made in the right way, it's packed with nutrition. Plus, it can be whipped up as a light lunch or even just a snack (we've been known to eat it straight from the bowl in our house, shhhh!). But firstly, you might be curious about why I'm sharing my first ever recipe on MSH (Lagom book aside!). You might recall I acquired a new fridge and freezer a few weeks back (so happy with them - I can totally see why they won best in test at Elgiganten for the past three years!). And now Samsung has inspired me to share my favourite healthy holiday recipe. With many of us spending copious amounts of time at home right now, the timing couldn't be better!

Samsung Refrigerator RR39M73657F/EE and Samsung Freezer RZ32M71357F

The Swedish Easter Feast

Before I dive into the details, I wanted to share a little more about the Swedish Påsk (I'd love to hear about what a spring holiday looks like in your country). Easter in Sweden is a big deal and traditions linger even if many Swedes are largely secular. Maundy Thursday 'påskkäarringar' aside (see Wednesday's post for details!), like all holidays here, the big event happens the day before - on Påskafton (Easter Saturday). And it's something I'm looking forward to at home this year even if it's just Per, I and the kids! In many ways, the Påsk feast bears many similarities to the Julbord (Christmas buffet) and Midsummer's Eve fare. Pickled herrings, new potatoes with dill, poached salmon, a cheese flan, knäckerbröd (crisp bread) and a strong cheese are all delicacies usually included in the Easter buffet - as are any dishes that contain egg. And that's where we come to my favourite: gubbröra! 

So, what is gubbröra?!

Loosely translated as 'old man's mix', gubbröra is a delicious, classic egg-anchovy salad. It can be eaten warm or cold (I prefer mine cold) and tastes best served on dark rye bread or a thin crisp bread and works great as a light lunch, starter or as part of a smörgåsbord!

Gubbröra light!

It always feels great to make something for the family that's both yummy and nutritious and the beauty of gubbröra is that it has both of these elements! Anchovies, for example, are packed with healthy fats such as Omega-3 fatty acids and hard boiled eggs contain vital nutrients such as metabolism boosting B vitamins as well as Vitamin D which helps calcium absorption. 

You might also like to up the amount of radish garnish - it's high on fibre, and if eaten regularly it helps guards the heart. It's also high on Vitamin C which helps boost the body's immune system. I also like to use low fat creme fraiche - it tastes equally as good! 

Fresh ingredients 

If you're lucky enough to have a garden with a great vegetable patch and a window sill lined with potted herbs - wonderful. Otherwise, I keep my herbs and vegetables in the fridge to keep them as fresh as possible. My Samsung Refrigerator RR39M73657F/EE has a special drawer with a Humidity Control setting which helps them stay fresher for longer (a feature I love!)! It's also worth noting that Swedish anchovies differ from the ones you get in The Med and are actually known as 'sprats' elsewhere. Tinned, sprats have a shorter lifespan and need to be kept in the fridge. If you can't find sprats, no probs, normal tinned anchovies will suffice! 

Ready to get started? 

Ingredients:

(serves 4)

Mix:

4 hard-boiled eggs

1 tin sprats (or anchovies)

10 g chives 

10 g dill

1 small red onion (finely chopped)

2 tbsp light creme fraiche

Pepper

Salt

Garnish / serving:

1 radish (sliced)

5 g chives (chopped)

Half red onion (thinly sliced)

Directions:

Hard-boil four eggs and roughly chop before placing into a bowl. Chop the red onion, dill, chives and sprats (or anchovies) and then place everything in the bowl with the eggs. Add two tablespoons of light creme fraiche and mix everything together. Serve on rye bread or crisp bread and garnish with a slice of radish and a sprinkle of chopped chives. 

Why not serve it the Swedish way?!

Gubbröra tastes great washed down with a beer or a shot off schnapps - singing optional of course, but who can resist a round of 'helan går'?! 

Skål! 

Are you tempted to whip this dish up at home? If so, please do share the results, I'd love to see it! 

Roll on Påsk! 

Niki

PS would you like to see more simple Scandinavian dishes on My Scandinavian Home? Let me know if so! 

This is a paid collaboration with Samsung. However, all words are my own and I only ever work with brands and products I love and can truly recommend. Thank you for supporting the businesses that make My Scandinavian Home possible. 

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