An idyllic Swedish cottage with outdoor kitchen and shower

Hello! How are you this Monday? The schools break up in Sweden later this week and I'm starting to get that summer feeling; think bare feet, dips in the sea, fishing, cooking and eating alfresco and showers under the open sky. At least that's what would happen if I were to spend the summer in this idyllic Swedish summer cottage. Like many Scandinavian holiday homes, it's been designed to make the most of the outdoors. And for rainy days, the interior has been decorated with traditional rag rugs, summer quilts in a basket, antique and vintage Swedish furniture and wicker chairs for enjoying the summer read. Oh yes! Could you spend your summer here?

 

 

Photography: Clive Tompsett (shared with kind permission). Sköna Hem

I'm such a big fan of holiday homes with a black exterior (see also this and this cottage!).

And I've always been a fan of bathing and showering outdoors (do you remember this post?!). Not only is there something special about washing under the open sky but they're also perfect for rinsing little feet after a day at the beach. Do you have an outdoor shower?

And move over barbecues - this summer I've got my eye on an entire outdoor kitchen (more inspiration can be taken from this Finnish cabin - so wonderful?!). 
More fabulous Swedish summer cottage inspiration here.

Thank you to everyone who entered the Houseology give-away this weekend. The winner has now been announced here..(oh how I wish I'd won!). 

Have a great start to the week!

READ MORE...

2

The winner of the Marimekko tea cups and tray is...

Thank you to everyone who entered the Houseology give-away. I'm excited to announce the winner of the set of four Oiva tea cups and a Fokus tray by Finnish brand Marimekko is.....Maria. Congratulations! Please send me an e-mail with your address so we can ship the prize to you.

And thank you to Houseology, congratulations on your shiny new website, I'm looking forward to stopping by to get design tips, interior inspiration and ideas. Oh and a little shopping too! 

This give-away is now closed.

 This post is sponsored by Houseology.

READ MORE...

203

A pared-back Swedish summer home on Gotland

Oooo, it's Friday and it feels like the summer's finally arrived here in Sweden - wooohooo! When it comes to Swedish summer time - a pared-back lifestyle is the way to go. Many like to retreat to a summer cottage for up to 4 weeks to make the most of the long summer days and surrounding nature. This home of a Swedish actor and comedian on the beautiful island of Gotland is a fine example, although a little bigger than most! It's made up of several buildings which allow friends and family to come and go and it's decorated with a lovely no-frills approach. And guess what? it's for sale! Could. You. Imagine? Gotland anyone?!


 

All Photography: Mats Hemlin / Bertwig fastighetsförmedling

Could you wile away a summer with family and friends in this cottage? If so, you might want to see the full tour here....

Other Gotland homes I absolutely love include this former lighthouse keeper's cottage, the boho home of a Swedish fashion photographer and the idyllic stone cottage of a stylist / photographer.

Got to love Gotland!

In case you're in the mood for a little Scandinavian summer cottage inspiration today (hey, the sun's shining, it's Friday, why not?!) you might want to check out all the summer cottages / Swedish cottages and rural retreats I've squirreled away over the years. 

Roll on the long summer holidays..are you up to anything fun?

Don't forget tomorrow I'm holding an exciting weekend give-away so pop back if you have the time, I think you're going to absolutely love the prize. 

Have a lovely day!

READ MORE...

6

A simply stunning and calm Swedish space

Sometimes, not very often though, I search and search for the perfect home to post and simply can't find anything. From experience, I know that often this is when the most beautiful home tours of all pop up. And today is one of those days. For me, this home is the epitome of calm, Swedish pared-back simplicity. It has just the right balance of traditional (beautiful period features and architecture, antique and vintage furniture) and modern (brass fittings, grey marble worktop, industrial lights, classic design furniture...) and a wonderful use of natural materials throughout. Beautiful styling by the team at Sarah Widman and definitely worth the wait, don't you think?!

Alvhem Mäklari. Styling: Team Sarah Widman.

To me this is one of those homes in which you could never feel anything but calm. Just what I needed on a rather hectic Thursday!

Could you live here?

Other lovely spaces for a touch of calm today include this striking danish home (cue: music from that piano), a lovely white and grey Swedish space and the serene home of a Swedish singer here in Malmö. Or perhaps a duvet day in this Danish bedroom could do the trick?!

Have a lovely, relaxed day!

PS If you find some time this weekend,  I'll be holding a fabulous give-away with a very cool, coveted Finnish design prize. I'm sooo excited as I think you're going to love it! Watch this space....

READ MORE...

2

The lovely, light-filled workspace of a blogger and nutritionist

How're you feeling today? If like me, you're in the middle of a looooong working week you might enjoy this inspirational home office in Northern Virginia, USA created by Carlene Thomas and her husband. The space was converted from a second story front porch into a beautiful office for Carlene to write her blog and work as a dietitian nutritionist. Three out of the four walls have french windows and it's a long narrow room which presented quite a challenge when it came to working on the layout. However, the clever use of a mirror and handmade furniture helped to solve the puzzle and the result is a beautiful uncluttered, clean home office. I could work from here today (especially with that little doggy curled up at my feet), how about you?!

Carlene Thomas / Heathily Ever After with kind permission

A quick guide to where a few of the items are from: vintage Eames chairs (there's currently a beautiful one in cream for sale here), antique mirror (find a similar one here). The black door is painted in Benjamin Moore Onyx. Black and white painting by Meg Biram. The floating desk was built by Carlene's husband. Bin from H&M home. Thonet chair. original Inslee watercolour. Anthropologie pencil holder.

See before and after pictures as well as more info about this space here.

For more inspiration you might want to make a pot of coffee and scroll through these home offices and studios. After all - if you find the right job and create an environment you love, you'll never have to do a days 'work' again! So they say...

....but no matter how wonderful work is, I'll always prefer travel and the great outdoors, how about you?!

Thank you so much to Carlene for submitting the images for today's post! If you have any images of your home / studio /atelier / outdoor space you'd like to share I'd love to hear from you!

Have a lovely day!

READ MORE...

3