My Scandinavian Home - Best of 2016

Well friends, this has been one crazy year. I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed blogging in 2016 - it's been a little oasis of calm each day (I hope you've felt the same).  I've absolutely loved reading all your thoughts and ideas on here, Facebook and Instagram (if I've missed your page please leave your link in the comment section below, I'd love to check it out!). It's been a wonderful year of home tours, styling updates and give-aways. Here's a round-up of the...

Top six My Scandinavian Home blog posts of 2016:

 1. Serene, small space living in Gothenburg. Photo Alan Cordic, styling Emma Fischer for Bjurfors.

2. My home at Christmas - photo - me with help from my little six year old), styling Genevieve Jorn.

 3. Six beautifully simple DIY Christmas decorations - credit: Marij Hessel for VT Wonen. 

 4. My bedroom tour - photo by me, styling Genevieve Jorn.

 5. Decorating my home with posters - photos / styling  by me

6. A romantic Swedish home with vintage touches - home-owner - Cattis sold through Entrance.

I've also developed a slight Instagram obsession (haven't we all?!) and am so happy to have amassed over 50,000 friends! It's a perfect place to share little snippets of Scandinavian life  - including rustic cabins and wonderful corners of Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Looking at the top five most popular instagram posts of the year it seems you share this passion too...yay! Here's a round-up of my...

Top 5 Instagram posts of 2016

 1. A canoe trip in Finland - Photography - Henrik Koskelo / @hentus (featuring Konsta Punkka)

2.  Christmas in a cosy Swedish home - photo Carina Olander stylist Anna Truelsen.

 3. A snapshot of Nyhavn, Copenhagen I captured on a visit to Denmark's capital city.

 4. Pink chair by a desk - Photograph - Anders Bergstedt for Kverteret Mäleri.

5. A charming Little red cabin - this little pic has been separated from it's owner- can anyone help?


And last, but not least - Pinterest!! Where mood boards come together and ideas come to life (if you can tear yourself away from the screen!). Here's a round-up of the My Scandinavian Home...

Top 5 Pins of 2016

1. This little pic I took of a corner of my home has had over 1.5 million impressions in the last month alone! It must be that little guy at the top?

 2.  Quite a few (million) of you like the idea of a bench at the end of the bed like in this Swedish home captured by one of my favourite duos photographer Carina Olander and stylist Anna Truelsen.

 3. Stonewashed linens have been everywhere this year - and these lovely ones in the home of Vintage Piken are possibly yours and my favourite!  Photo by Line Kay.

 4. On Pinterest it's all in the pink it seems, as the fourth most popular pin was this lovely picture of an Amsterdam bedroom captured by my talented friend Holly Marder.

 5. And finally, we do love a gallery wall - and Maaike Koster of My Deer certainly knows how to create one! See the rest of her wonderful home here.

I have to say, these are also my favourite posts and pins from 2016 too! But do you have an absolute favourite?

On a different note, back in the spring I was excited to launch my first interiors book - Modern Pastoral (exploring my passion for rural retreats, and sharing beautiful homes like Milkweed Barn in the Catskill Mountains below!) it was such an amazing feeling to finally get it in my hands and I'm so happy to see others around the world enjoying it too! Thank you!

Photography: James Gardiner from Modern Pastoral by Niki Brantmark, published by CICO Books.

This summer we photographed 10 more fabulous homes across Scandinavia for my second book The Scandinavian Home - which will be out in the shops next March - I am so incredibly excited as I know it will be right up your street! Creating the book was the most amazing experience, even when lost on a Norwegian mountain in the dark. I tell you, the site of that magical rustic ski cabin full of layers of sheepskin at the end of the dirt track at 1 am is one I'll never forget! But more on this in the new year....

Before I head off I'd also like to say a huge thank you to all the amazing photographers, interior designers and stylists out there who have filled us with inspiration this year - and also to my wonderful sponsors who make My Scandinavian Home possible. Many of them are small online shaops, and when you buy something an actual person does a little dance!

And finally - thank you to you all for all your wonderful support and words of encouragement this year, you're wonderful!

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a *fabulous* new year!

PS If you feel like being horizontal this holiday (isn't that what they're for?!) but would still like to feel inspired, you can always explore my archives (full list to the left) - days of inspiration, I promise! And don't forget to enter the HUGE Houseology give-away to win an amazing gift voucher to spend on your home in 2017 (think all those Scandinavian design items you've always wanted!).

PPS see you on January 9th!
 

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The inspiring dining area of an interior designer

Last month I paid a visit to my friend Genevieve Jorn's apartment in the heart of Malmö and had a great day photographing her sitting room (you may remember the post here). The area combines with a dining space where Gen, husband Kasper and daughter Olivia gather for family meals and sit and create thanks to the wonderful light. Although I have to admit, on the day I completely took over the space with my coffee, camera equipment and general clobber!). I did manage to clear it up just in time to snap these pictures though. As part of the wonderful monthly collaboration with one of my favourite Danish homeware brands - Nordal (I do love my job) Gen acquired the rather fabulous Pharmacy sideboard chest, which has proven to be a perfect place for all her family's bits and pieces. Oh, how we need one of these in our household, how about you?!

Photography: Niki Brantmark - My Scandinavian Home. Styling: Genevieve Jorn - interior designer.

Such a lovely space! I love the warmth from the wood and the luscious plants too!

Get the look from Gen's dining area:

1. wall hanging 2. pharmacy sideboard chest 3. Garden pot

Check out more of Gen's home here, here and here. 

Have a lovely day!

PS Nordal ships throughout Europe.

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Nordal. However, all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I absolutely love and think you will too! Thank you for supporting the businesses that help bring fresh content to your mail box and make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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Feeling the Hygge: My Holiday Table Setting

Sponsored post-

The winter solstice is a few weeks away and the sun never really gets very high in the sky here in Southern Sweden (is it the same where you are?). This can only mean one thing: it's time to get cosy over casual, candlelit dinners. In preparation for my favourite time of the year (admittedly it's also birthday season so I'm a little biased!), Genevieve Jorn and I had a fun afternoon creating this holiday table setting using beautiful items from the Nordal homeware collection (my Danish partner who are not only the loveliest team ever, they also design the most beautiful items - seriously!).  We selected natural linens, cast iron candle holders,  tactile stoneware  and mouthblown glass combined with a foraged wreath, dried poppies and age-old wood furniture to create a rustic vibe. Bring on the hygge!

Photography - Niki Brantmark,  Styling - Genevieve Jorn  / My Scandinavian Home). 

Ahhhh, so pleased with the natural materials and layers of texture. I feel completely ready for the holiday season now!

In case you'd like to know where any of the items are from, we've mapped out an entire 'get the look' below. 

And here's a styling tip I learned from the pro (Gen!): linen tablecloths will arrive ironed and folded. To get the 'relaxed crease' look, wet the entire linen cloth and then hang it up to dry (if it's curtains you can simply hang them in place) - and then simply throw over the table.

And finally... the wreath! This year I'm really into rustic foraged wreaths. I'm hoping to create a DIY post shortly so keep an eye out!

Get the look*

1. Burgundy velvet quilted cushion 2. Pure drinking glass 3. Retro drinking glass 4. Retro red wine glass 5. Cast iron candle holder (short) 6. Cast iron candle holder 7. Glass vase 8. Cast iron server spoons (small) 9. Tapas board 10. Black cutlery 11. Stoneware bowl 12. Stoneware cake plate 13. Stoneware dinner plate 14. Table cloth 15. Napkins 16. Stoneware pitcher 17. Stoneware mug.

 *Nordal ships throughout Europe. Find a webshop stockist near you here.  


If you'd like to know anything else about my dining space just give me a shout in the comment section below.

Hope you feel as inspired as I do to get together over long lunches / dinners under candlelit!

I'm heading off to a friends cabin in the woods with friends and family for a couple of days (weeeeee!) - back Monday - see you then! Have a lovely weekend, and Happy Thanksgiving to all American friends and family!

PS I feel very honoured to be a part of the world's first influencer-specialised magazine - Le Buzz. Thank you so much for the lovely interview / feature!

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Nordal, however all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too.

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Get The Look: Gen's Swedish Sitting Room in Detail!

A couple of day's ago I featured Genevieve Jorn's beautiful sitting room make-over here in Malmö and I promised to pop back and share the details! So here's the post - one day late but hopefully well worth the wait - there are so many lovely ideas to steal!

And the low down on what's what...

1. Jotun 'Almond beige' 10 966 2. Jotun 'Space' 10 678 3. White linen curtains* 4.  Moustache, Inga Sempé Vapeur Lamp 5. IKEA Stockholm 2017 cabinet 6. Le Grand Air, Loveseat sofa, Misty Grey* 7. Pealing print by Riikka Kantinkoski* 8. Perséfone poster 9. Close Contact 05 print by Paper Collective* 10. Object Blanc No.25 by Atelier CPH* 11. Dancer One Poster 12. Karlstad three-seat sofa with simply linen graphite grey cover from Bemz (get free shipping until end of July with code 'freeshipmsh'). 13. Round oak tables from Hubsch* 14. Wood pinnstol H17 grey-green chair* 15 IKEA PS 2012 dining chair 16. Arigato floor lamp 17. Hubsch Vase glass / concrete 290604* 18. Hubsch vase, ceramics, sand* 19. Fiddle leaf fig tree 

*items which are either affiliate links or gifted (or both) 

I hope you enjoyed this sitting room tour as much as I did. By the end of the day's shoot I really didn't want to leave! 

If you have any questions about anything give me a shout below and we'll do my best to help! 

Have a cosy day!

Niki 

Photography: Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home. Interior Design Genevieve Jorn. 

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The beautiful workspace revamp of an interior designer

If you took a peek at my Instagram stories yesterday you'll know I spent the day hanging out at My Scandinavian Home interior designer Genevieve Jorn's home. Gen is one of the few people I know that changes her home around more than I do (quite a feat!) - and this time I was over there to shoot her newly revamped office. You may remember the space from this feature (also beautiful!). Today, the dark green walls have been replaced with a soft 'antic grey' hue by Jotun and natural textures such as wood, rattan and wool have been added alongside beautiful pieces from MSH partner - Danish homeware brand Nordal. I really didn't want to leave by the end of the day, it's such a lovely, calm place to work! Here's a peek in detail....

Photography: Niki Brantmark. Home-owner / interior design: Genevieve Jorn. 

Isn't it lovely? Could you imagine working in a room like this?

Get the look from Gen's office:

1. Hippo head 2. Rack with 6 shelves 3. Wooden chair 4. Nature side table 5. Natural basket 6. Oriental canvas carpet 7. Nature folding table 8. Downtown chair

(Find a webshop that sells Nordal in your country here).

You might also like to check out Gen's sitting room, kitchen and bedroom - yup, she has the most beautiful home E.V.E.R!

Have a lovely day!

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Nordal. However, all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I absolutely love and think you will too! Thank you for supporting the businesses that help bring fresh content to your mail box and make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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