A Swedish home with a hint of Autumn

Well hello there! I have to confess I'm feeling decidedly fragile this morning after a magical weekend in Stockholm  - it's been a while since I danced until 2am  - don't tell my physio! (you may remember I snapped my achilles heel back in May and it's still recovering). Let's just say I'm in need of plenty of coffee today. Nothing that a great home can't cure. And I've got a lovely, serene Swedish space with Autumn accents to share with you today. It's a great example of how to update a home for the season using accessories such as bed linen and cushions in rust, brown and creams and of course, plenty of plants and flowers. Enjoy!

Photography: Jonas Berg. Styling: Grey Deco for Stadshem. 

So simple, yet so inviting!

A few favourites: Cesca cane chair (seen round the dining table and by the desk) - source vintage ones here, Karin chair (in sitting room) and the ant chairs.

If you're looking to add similar autumn touches - I'm loving this bed linen, a 'natural' linen table cloth and these Belgian linen cushions!

These homes are also great for pure Autumn interior inspiration - the dreamy The Estate Trentham, a Swedish space with touches of Autumn and an elegant white home. Beeeeeautiful!

Have a great start to the week!

PS Instagram feed tip of the day: follow the renovation of a loft apartment in a 1910 water tower outside of Stockholm on @thewatertowerproject - pure inspiration!

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Bright ideas: Lighting up our Cabin and a Friend's Bathroom

Paid partnership with Hudson valley Lighting Group, all words and pictures are my own

There's nothing like the autumn and winter darkness to make you realise you don't have enough lighting at home (yelp!). Put simply, you need at least 5 different types of lights in a standard size room (a mix of ambience, overhead and task lighting). Outdoor lighting is also important to extend the alfresco season, brighten up an entrance and create a welcoming vibe! Last week, Per and I headed to the cabin to install two lights in the fading autumn light. 

The first one we installed was the District pendant by Troy Lighting which is made from hand blown glass with soft black detail. The cabin has a 4-metre ceiling height, so we borrowed a ladder. Here's me checking the length (for someone who has a slight fear of heights, this was a brave moment!). The light comes with a black ceiling canopy which looks super smart once in place.  

As with all handmade pieces, the handblown glass has subtle imperfections which give it a lovely vintage feel. It comes in two different sizes (this is the smaller one measuring 40 cm high x 20.32 cm wide), and three different glass finishes: clear, topaz and smoke. Since it's a fairly small room, I chose the clear glass for a 'barely there' feel. 

I love the closed concave bottom - it's not unlike a fine bottle of wine! But more than that, it catches and reflects the light in a lovely way. 

Outdoor lighting 

Meanwhile, outside it can be pitch black (save for the moon and stars) at this time of year at the cabin. 

I've learned good garden lighting is key for three reasons: it means you can still be outside and enjoy mild evenings after the sun goes down, it creates a welcoming feel when you arrive home and finally, there's something unsettling about looking out into a black hole of darkness through the window, and good garden lighting can do wonders to lighten up the outside world - highlighting your deck, a tree or other parts of the garden, helping you to feel less 'closed-in'. 

Note: try to steer clear of lights that emit light directly upwards as this can disorientate migrating birds.  

For us, the first step was to install a light in the decked area so we can sit outside on autumn evenings (when the weather allows for it of course!). The Atwater Wall Sconce by Troy Lighting caught our eye as we liked the vintage brass finish and the warm glow. 

Specifically designed for outdoor use, it's available in three different sizes. This one is 45.72 cm high x 16.51 cm wide. 

I particularly like the finish - it's a tone I've used throughout the cabin. I also really appreciate the golden glow, it creates a really welcoming, cosy vibe! 

It's so much cosier to sit out here in Autumn now. Maybe we'll invest in a fire pit next, what do you think? 

Lighting up my friend's bathroom

And finally, it would be mean spirited of me to keep all these wonderful lights to myself. My friend Ullis (who I've known since I was five and lives a few doors down) has recently completed her bathroom renovation and it's amazing! There was just one piece missing - mood lighting! 

Ullis already has spotlights in the ceiling, so the overhead lighting was covered, what was needed was a warm mood light. Which is where this beauty came into the picture!

Made from solid cast brass, the Diggs wall sconce by Hudson Valley Lighting Group is small but fairly weighty (you do need a good, solid wall for this one). It looks great all over the home, but I also love that it can be installed in the bathroom. 

It has a hooded design with a handcrafted look and feel which looks equally pretty switched off or on.  

It gives off such a lovely warm glow, don't you think? I love it when a plan comes together! 

I'm considering installing this in our stairwell too (a dark area of our home that's in need of more light!). 

I hope you like these lamps as much as we do. Do you have a favourite? 

You can see all the lights have selected from Hudson Valley Lighting Group in the past here, here and here. 

This weekend is perfect timing to do a light edit in your home and ensure you have enough each room. Is there somewhere in your home you need to work on? 

Have a great weekend friends, vi ses på måndag! 

Niki

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Turn Your Outdoor Space Into a Cosy Haven This Autumn / Winter

Studio Joanna Laajisto

Baby, it's cold outside. At least in Sweden! Usually, this would be a cue to move indoors, but there's nothing normal about 2020, right? This autumn it's all about catching up with close friends and family al fresco. Which means it's time to up the backyard / balcony ante! The good news is, the Scandinavians have been pros at this for years. Visit a café or restaurant in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and you'll find every chair in the outdoor area has been prepped with a fleece blanket. And they don't stop there. Sheepskins, outdoors rugs, string lights, lanterns, candles and fire pits are all pre-requisites to a cosy evening al fresco - no matter the weather! I started to up my backyard game a few weeks back, but I've realised there's a whole lot more I can do. Are you also looking to turn your outdoor space into a cosy haven? Here's a little inspiration to get you started.

Apartment Therapy

Early Autumn nights call for candles, lanterns, a beautiful set of string lights and maybe even the warmth of an open flame. All this, not only to illuminate your outdoor space but also to create a relaxing ambience and the kind of comfort we crave right now! 

Designen Wonen

Dyke and Dean

Andreas Mikkel Hansen

Entrance Makleri

Bon Traveller

Bon Traveller

Fresh Exchange

The Spoiled Home

The Spoiled Home

Lastly, round up some extra chunky blankets and put them within easy reach for you and your guests to grab. You can never have too many! 

Deavita

Just add woolly jumpers, a hat and a steaming mug of glögg and you're all good to go! 

What are your plans for staying connected this Autumn (or Spring if you're in the southern hemisphere)? 

I'm thinking lots of Zoom calls, but we also might just fire up the barbecue this weekend for halloween!

Niki

Thank you so much to Ana Degenaar for helping to collateral the lovely pictures for this blog post! 

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A Charming Swedish Home With Pops Of Golden

I've just arrived in London for my book launch as well as a very exciting collaboration with new Scandi homeware brand Eërtmug (if you're in town try to get down to the pop-up shop in Shoreditch on Saturday where you can pick up beauties like these - with all proceeds going to Centrepoint!). Miraculously it's going to be beautifully sunny all weekend (how's that for a warm reception?!) and it's the same in Sweden too. Even so - don't you find there's a distinct crispness in the air? Today, I'm taking inspiration from this lovely Swedish home which embraces the fiery colours of autumn. Think  tones of cinnamon, golden brown and mustard yellow mixed with olive green and a hint of yellow.

Credit Fantastic Frank / stylist - Ida Lauga

So cosy!

I love how the autumn sunshine pours in through the double balcony doors. I can just imagine drinking a coffee and reading all day in those warm pools of light!

Is there anything that captures your imagination?

Get the look: Dining - Series 7 chairs. Sitting room -  this bar cart is similar, pick up a mid-century mustard yellow chair here. Bedroom - blue linen duvet cover and pillow cases (I have the same in my bedroom and it's such a cosy colour for this time of the year!).

Other homes with autumn touches include a dreamy estate in Australia, a beautiful Swedish home with beautiful autumn touches, and a lovely small Swedish space.

And that's it from me this week! If you're curious about my London adventures follow along over on Instagram Stories!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend - and see you Monday!

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My Autumn Bedroom Make-over with an IKEA hack

Paid partnership with Bemz which includes affiliate links, all words are my own*

Hejsan! I'm curious: are you a fan of change? I love change and find that surrounding myself with a new environment always gives me new energy (Per's actually the opposite, which can be, shall we say interesting!). I often make small changes at home, but with Autumn looming (dare I say it!) I felt it was time for something bigger!

As pretty as it was, I've grown tired of the 'blushing peach' wall in the bedroom and felt it was time to change up our bedroom to give it a fresh lease of life. Per and I applied lime paint to the walls a few weeks ago, and I've since been layering the room with new pieces as well as beautiful textiles from Bemz (the Swedish brand makes luxurious designer textile covers, cushions and other accessories for IKEA furniture and I've been a fan ever since my sitting room make-over way back in 2017!). So, what 's changed in the bedroom? Here's the low down: 

Overall look

To me, a bedroom should have a wonderful element of calm. It should be somewhere that's easy to switch off - and also somewhere heavenly to wake up. I consulted with the MSH interior designer Helen - and we decided to go for soothing tones of white and soft beige as well as cosy Autumnal tones of cocoa, acorn and rosemary. So pretty together! 

I've also added a new mirror (we've never had a full body one so maybe I'll no longer look like I've been getting dressed in the dark!), various vases and a reading lamp (all Ferm Living)! 

Let's get started with the bigger pieces: 

Headboard

As you may have noticed, we've never had a headboard before. To be honest, I always thought it was impossible with the window. But I was keen to give it a go as I knew it would make our bed feel so much more sumptuous and 'grown-up'(!) come Autumn! 

This one is the STAVANGER / BORÖY headboard from IKEA which is perfect as it just slots between the bed and the wall leans. I then added a Bemz universal headboard cover which comes in different widths and a choice of 130+ fabrics, and it just slides on over the top of any headboard. How crazy is that? See the end of the post for details on discount and samples.

I chose a new linen fabric which launches this Autumn (more info to follow!),  however, there are a couple of other beautiful white linen fabrics available. 

Side note: the windowsill has always doubled up really nicely as a shelf for books, plants, my Anse vase and morning coffee  - and admittedly a whole host of other things like batteries, receipts etc *rolls eyes!*.  

The bed skirt

Are you a fan of bed skirts? Once considered twee and a little OTT (I am still scarred by some of the floral ones I witnessed in the eighties!), bed skirts have totally come into their own in recent years, have you found the same? 

I love them as they hide a multitude of sins under the bed including unsightly bed bases, storage and that ghostly black gap (hands up anyone who's ever checked under their bed before going to sleep). Plus, they add a wonderful element of calm to the room. 

My new one is the Boxpleat, Rosendahl Pure Washed Linen, Absolute White. It's so pretty - and has a lovely, relaxed feel about it. 

Bedspread

I love a throw. They make a bed look so much neater when made. This is the Loose Fit, Brera Lino by Designers Guild, Natural which has beautiful seams (if you're thinking of getting this, go big. My bed is 180 cm x 200 cm and I opted for the 240 cm x 240 cm one). 

I love the subtle contrast with the white bed skirt too. What do you reckon? 

Cushions

I'm not sure how these cushions slipped through the net (Per banned me from buying more for the house sometime a go) - but I'm so glad they did! I always think Cushions are a perfect way to add accent colours (this time I went for Autumn vibes in acorn, cocoa and rosemary)- and also to snuggle up against for some cosy bedtime reading. 

I picked out four larger cushions to lean against the headboard (size 60 x 80 cm) and then smaller ones to pile on (50 x 50 cm).  

Armchair

A bedroom wouldn't be complete without a 'chairobe' (your entire wardrobe of clothes waiting on a chair to be put away or worn...!), guilty of this? I am! 

We've had an IKEA Söderhamn armchair in our bedroom for donkeys, and I was keen to cover it in a retro bouclé, tweed or teddy from the new Bemz Tactile Collection. You'll most likely have spotted the trend for textured fabrics over the past 12 months and now we can all update our existing IKEA sofas and armchairs! Liking that a lot! 

I chose the Söderhamn Armchair cover regular fit, Boucle, ivory. All I need now, is a pile of books and a candle and I'm good to go! 

And that's it! 

I hope you like our new bedroom as much as Per and I do!

If you've got questions about anything you've seen just give me a shout and I'll be happy to help. I'll likely do a follow-up post highlighting the details soon (just in case you're curious about the vases, lamp, print etc!). 

If you're interested in buying a Bemz cover, I'd advise ordering samples first so that you can test out the colours and fabrics at home (it can be hard to tell online). 

Right guys, that's it from me. Wishing you all a lovely day! 

I'm tempted to go back to bed now, what do you think? 

Niki

Photography; Niki Brantmark

Styling: Helen Sturesson

This post is brought to you in paid collaboration with Bemz and contains affiliate links. However, all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I absolutely love and think you will too (#Ilovemyjob!). 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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