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Beautiful Danish Christmas Decorations in a Cosy Swedish Cottage

 
These images were taken as part of a paid Christmas campaign for Pernille Bülow*

As I walked home early evening yesterday, the night sky was bathed in a warm light from the glow of fairy lights and candles shining brightly from windows and I felt a sense that Jul (Christmas) is just around the corner. In Blekinge, Sweden, interior designer Helen Sturesson's decorations will be slightly different this year thanks to a stunning handmade Christmas collection by Pernille Bülow - a glass atelier on the Danish island of Bornholm. It's safe to say the Pernille Bülow elves have been burning the midnight oil to create the most beautiful mouth blown baubles you'll find this year (some of which are made from recycled glass) - as well as candleholders, oil lamps, vases and dinnerware. I chatted to Helen to find about her family Christmas traditions up at the cottage, and to take some photos of the collection. 

When does the Christmas period begin for you? 
It starts on the first Sunday of advent when I put up star lanterns and line the windowsills with candles and oil lamps. Around St Lucia (13th December), we put up a Christmas tree and dot more Christmas decorations around the house. 

How do you like to decorate your home for Christmas? 
As well as the star lanterns and candles, I also love to find a little Christmas tree in the garden which I bring indoors and decorate with a few pretty baubles. And I make a wreath or two, also using whatever is available outside. Since it's so small, our cottage doesn't need more than that to feel festive and cosy.



Your cottage makes the perfect backdrop for Pernille Bülow Christmas decorations - what are your thoughts on the collection? 
I love that the ReUse items (bowls, glasses and decorations) are made from recycled glass and also that everything in the entire collection is handmade or mouth blown on the Danish island of Bornholm. Every piece feels really unique and good quality. You get so much more value from items that come directly from a designer / atelier and are not mass produced.  


When do you head to your cottage for the holidays?
We usually go there one or two days before Christmas. 


What do you love most about being at the cottage at Christmas time?
It's more cosy here than at our apartment in the city. I love to light the fire in the Kakelugn (tiled oven). It's very peaceful here and I really like to be near my parents and brothers who live nearby. 

Where do you spend Christmas Eve and what does your day look like (the day Christmas is celebrated in Sweden)?
On Christmas Eve we drive over to my parents which is around 15 minutes away. The entire family gathers so we're usually about 12 people in total. We all bring dishes for the 'Julbord' (the Christmas spread) and rally around in the kitchen to finalise the meal before it goes on the table. 

After lunch there's always someone who wants to sit down and watch 'Donald Duck and his friends wish you a Merry Christmas' - a bizarre Swedish Christmas tradition - while others chill and chat! In the evening Tomten (Father Christmas) arrives bearing gifts and we drink glögg (mulled wine). 



What type of dishes does your Julbord include? 
We have a fairly traditional one with ham, pickled herring, Jansson's Temptation (a potato dish with anchovies), meatballs, salmon etc washed down with 'Julmust' (a form of Christmas cola) a little beer and schnapps. In the evening we drink glögg (spiced mulled wine) with gingerbread and tuck into Rice á la Malta or Christmas porridge. 


What do you do on Christmas Day (the day after the festivities)? 
It's a very relaxed day. We meet up with my parents again and go for a long walk together in the countryside before eating leftovers from the Julbord. Sometimes we head back to the city to meet up with Kristoffer's family. 


When do you take down your decorations? 
I don't really stick to a specific date - it's basically when the tree starts to look awful! The stars are the last things I take down. It feels so dark without them. My son always gets sad and cries when we take the star down in his bedroom - he loves the cosy, warm light it emits. 


Thank you so much for sharing your Christmas with us Helen, it sounds so lovely!

And thank you to Pernille Bülow for entrusting Helen and I with all the beautiful glassware! 

Follow any of the links in this post to treat yourself or friends (everything they sell makes a perfect present, but especially the clear mouthblown baubles which come in a lovely box!) - or head over to the Pernille Bülow online shop (they ship almost worldwide and it's free if you buy for a certain amount). I have a suspicion their elves will be working overtime in the coming weeks as the Christmas decorations are the prettiest I've seen this year.

Is there anything that stood out to you about the decorations or Helen's mysig family Christmas at the cottage? 

Stay cosy friends!

Niki

Photography; Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home (except for first and last cottage image by Helen)
Styling: Helen Sturesson 

*This post is a paid partnership with Pernille Bülow. All words and images are my own and I only ever work with brands I absolutely love and think you will too! Thank you for supporting the small Nordic businesses and ateliers that make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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Fab pink / grey accents in a small Stockholm pad

Hello! I hope you had a great weekend? It was super sunny here in Southern Sweden (finally), so it was all hands on deck getting our little back yard ready (inspired by these outdoor spaces!). It's amazing what you can fit into a small space - and get it to look good to. As you can see in this small Stockholm studio apartment belonging to interior and set designer Emma Wallmen, which measures a mere 23 square metres (247 square feet)! I absolutely love the colour combination: pink, grey, black and white. And of course those reclaimed glass windows used as a room divider. What a truly inspiring small space?













Fantastic Frank. Photographer: Anna Malmberg. Interior designer: Emma Wallmen. Found via La Maison D'Anna G with thanks.
Love, love love! The home is full of little surprises around every corner!

Is there something you like in particular about this home?

A few items I know and love: sleep / sitting area- I recently stumbled across these fab clothes rails, Hektar lamp, this soft knit throw is similar. Other: this rattan chair is similar, pick up an industrial drinks/bar cart here and spray paint black, SINNERLIG jars, vintage terracotta planters. Kitchen / dining: SINNERLIG cork stool,  Frama diamond light. Hallway: bench, these vases are similar. Bathroom - Aesop and LA:Bruket soaps.

The pink / peach colour is NSC 2020-Y70R and the hallway has been painted in Alcro pigeon grey.  

The coffee table books - The Kinfolk Home, Monochrome Home, Freunde Von Freunden: Berlin.

And of course the windows: if you're in the US you might want to snap up these reclaimed windows which are very similar (hurry!). Or keep an eye on this page for other beautiful windows that pop up all over the world. 

If you're loving the pink you might want to check out my 'pink' pinterest board....(anyone guess that it's my favourite accent colour?!).

And for more small space inspiration, the way the interior designer has created different zones reminds me of this Gothenburg apartment...very clever! Or why not pay the small space archive a visit, hey, it's Monday, real work doesn't start until Tuesday.....

Have a lovely day! 

PS Thank you so much to everyone who entered the give-away this weekend. The winner has now been announced here.....fingers crossed!.....

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A Dated Property is Restored to a Dream Swedish Country House

From a summer cottage on an island in southern Jutland, Denmark yesterday - to the fields of Skåne, South Sweden today: welcome to Marie and Eric's beautiful country home. The pair have been painstakingly restoring their dream home for over four years - transforming both the interior and exterior.  To say they had vision would be an understatement. In fact, the facade alone will inspire any house hunter out there to see beyond less attractive exteriors! Step inside, and you're transported into a cosy world of exposed wood beams, arched windows, DIY cabinets and antique furniture. Ready to feel inspired? Let's take the tour. 

Exterior before

A red brick house has been given a complete make-over with the help of a new facade, windows and doors.

Exterior after

Entrance before

Entrance after

Main kitchen after the renovation


The beautiful black glass cabinet was made using a built-in structure fitted with antique pains. It reminds me of the DIY cabinet in the Montana home of Jana Roach

Main living area before 

Previously a warren of small, modern rooms, Eric and Marie completely gutted the space, knocking down walls, ripping out the floor and stripping back the ceiling to reveal the original wood beams and original architecture. 


Main living area after
The cosy open-plan living room and dining area is bathed in light from arched windows, while wood beam ceilings add warmth and an intimate feel to the spacious room. 





Mezzanine floor after

Bathroom before

The bathroom is pretty much unrecognisable, with the ceiling completely knocked through and smaller windows exchanged for arched glass doors in keeping with traditional Skåne architecture. 

Bathroom after

Quite the transformation!

I love it when a house is restored to its former glory like this, it requires so much dedication, but the results are so worth it! 

Is there anything that stood out to you? 

You can see more of Marie and Eric's wonderful home and their ongoing renovation over at @oliverogård

There are a ton more 'before and after' tours in this archive if you feel like hanging around for a while (if this pops up first, just scroll past!). 

I'm very excited about sharing my new dream wardrobe with you tomorrow including the before pictures, the design and results. I hope you're going to like it as much as I do - hopefully it might inspire anyone out there looking to create some more storage! 

Vi ses imorgon!

Niki 

Photography courtesy of @oliverogård, shared with kind permission. 

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