Colour tips and Inspiration from a Danish Interior Stylist's Home

A new dawn, a new day... and a whole new month! Let's kick off with some colour! What struck me most about the Danish home of Charlotte Kruse is her home office - a hot topic these days, and this one is very inspiring indeed! But there are some other corners of her home I love too - not least because they include some wonderful pastel hues. I caught up with the interior stylist in Herning, central Denmark, to find out more about her home, sources of inspiration and favourite online stores. 

What do you do for a living? 

I have my own company Studio Decor where I style and take pictures for interior and lifestyle companies. And I also teach small business owners and instagrammers how to style beautiful pictures. 

Who do you live with? 

I live with my boyfriend and our two dogs (Pomeranians) in a small house. 

The arch was added last week - what a lovely addition, I love the soft feel it adds to the space. The white opal glass pendant* is by Louis Poulsen. 

Your house has lovely high ceilings, when was it built, and can you tell us more about the size and layout? 

Our house is from 1926. It's 87 m2 (935 f2) and we also have a workshop that's 27 m2 (290 f2). It consists of a kitchen, living room, dining room, a master bedroom and a second bedroom which I use as a study - it's where I run my business from. 

I love that your home is so colourful, can you tell us more about the tones in your home?

I absolutely love colour and use it as much as I can in my home. Colours make me happy and give the room a special feeling. I really like pastel colours, rose and other warm tones. I love to play around with colour, mix my own (the colour in the kitchen is a mix of leftover paint) and see how the rooms turn out. For the most part, I love the result - if I don't, I'll just try again!

Would you say it's unusual for a Dane to have lots of colour in their home? 

Over the past few years, colourful homes have become more and more popular in Denmark, especially on instagram! We want our homes to be as full of life and personality as we are! 

What colours have you applied to the walls in your home? 

Bedroom: Green Harmony from Jotun Lady

Kitchen: a home-made blend of NCS s2010-Y50R and NCS S3020-Y70R (I used a little more of the latter). 

Living room: Hummus from Jotun Lady

Do you have any tips for anyone looking to apply more colour to their home?

If you'd like to add more colour to your home, opt for toned down hues. They are softer and add a pleasant feeling to the room.

 

You have lots of art in your home, where do you. buy your prints? 

Most of my prints are from instagram collaborations - they are from Desenio and Juniqe. I also have bought some from Permild-Rosengreen and Little Detroit. 

Can you share three styling tips? 

1. Give your home a whole new feel by adding colour

2. Always be on the lookout for cool inter items in thrift stores or Facebook marketplace. You can buy a lot of unique items for a little less! 

3. Use plants and fresh flowers in your home. They bring joy to the room and create a nice atmosphere. 

The patchwork curtains seen above are taking the Danish interior world by storm right now. They are made in Denmark by Arvestykke. I also spy a little wooden stool* just like the ones I have by my bed and vases by Ljungby. 

What are your three favourite online shops? 

Luxo Living, Fabrek and Sakura Copenhagen. 

Where do you do you find inspiration?

I like these instagram, including these Danish accounts: @mariaharmuth, @christinedelmar, @trinesblend and @danicachloedk - but also look a lot on Pinterest! 

Thank you so much for telling us more about your home and sharing all your styling tips, shops and sources of inspiration! 

***

If you'd like to see more snapshots of Charlotte's home and find out about her courses, hop on over to @decorstudiodk or Decor Studio. 

For a total colour fest today, you might also like: 

A fabulous Danish home in a plethora of colours

Home tour: how to add colour the Danish way

Lessons to learn from a colourful yet calm Norwegian home

Do you use lots off colour in your home, or do you prefer neutral tones? I'd love to know!

I'll be back tomorrow with a tour of a wonderful home in Finland, watch this space! 

Niki

Styling and photography: Charlotte Kruse / Decor Studio

READ MORE...

2

Duvet Day In This Cosy 'Forever Autumn' Bedroom?

The walls in my bedroom were white for years (take a peek here) and it always felt so fresh and light. But it's only when I painted the back wall in a 'blushing peach' hue that I realised the power of colour - and how much more cosy a room feels with slightly darker, warm tones (I'm sure you've seen it, but just in case, there's a tour of it here). It's funny how that can happen don't you think? Yesterday I came across a tour of this beautiful bedroom belonging to Jeska Herne of Lobster & Swan and it reminds me so much of the colour in my bedroom - except she's gone all out. All four walls and the radiator have been painted in Warm Mud Brown by Cassandra Ellis. The result is a bedroom with a calm yet inviting 'forever autumn' feel and a warm, relaxed vibe.

Oh my word - while searching this picture for details to write about I spotted my very own book 'The Scandinavian Home' - what an honour! Thank you Jeska!

The pair are a big fan of antiques and many of the pieces have been collected on their travels to places like India. They also like to shop for fair-trade antiques at Ian Snow.

When it comes to DIY, Jeska and Dean are on a whole other level (their garden retreat which they created on a shoe-string budget is a fine example of this!). Dean made the bedside shelves in this room and Jeska pieced the lights together with various items collected over time. You can find similar pretty vintage lights like this on Etsy* (I particularly love this hand cut glass lamp*  and art deco vintage lamp* but you'd need to be super quick, there's only one of each!).

Sheer lace curtains (source similar here*) slip in a soft pool of filtered light giving a calm feel to the space and glass cabinets provide a place to store magazines and bed linen while keeping them dust free. 

Layers of linen complete the relaxed feel of the space (I love the look of this linen bedding*!). The picture above the bed is vintage. 

It seems like Jeska and Dean's cat Marlo looks totally at home in their new bedroom - and who can blame him?

Is it me or have feline friends been stealing the show in home tours lately? Just look at yesterday's home and Audrey Rivet's lovely apartment!

Are you a cat person? I grew up with rescue cats and my husband and I used to have a cat called Fredrik-Bo. He was a real character - he used to go to the local cafe and eat muffins. He was really charming when he wanted to be (namely when he wanted a muffin!) but was also massively vicious, to the extent that we had to run passed him when he wasn't looking for fear of being attacked!! Needless to say, my husband has vetoed ever getting a cat again. Bah! I miss them purring away while curled up on my lap and climbing over my keyboard as I type!

Back to this bedroom though - could you imagine spending a duvet day here? There's something so calm about it and it makes me feel really nostalgic - it reminds me a little of my grandmother's home on the South Coast of England, which was really lovely!

Oh and if you love the look of the Cassandra Ellis paint - Jeska's holding a very exciting give-away to win 10 litres of it on her blog here! Hurrah!

Have a lovely day!

Niki

PS Only three days to go before the launch of my online interior design service - scary Mary! There's only a couple of spaces left for the big discount - thank you so much to everyone who has signed up so far! If you'd like to be one of the first twenty to get help re-designing a room in your home from the My Scandinavian Home Studio team just send me a mail and I'll add you to the list and notify you as soon as it launches!

Photography: Dean Hearne for Lobster & Swan
Affiliate links marked with *

READ MORE...

5

My Scandinavian Home: Best of 2017

I can't believe the year has almost come to an end! Is it just me or did 2017 whizz by? It's been a strange twelve months, with many disturbing happenings throughout the world. I like to think of My Scandinavian Home as a little bubble in which to escape each day: somewhere you can pour yourself a cup of super strength coffee (got to get into the spirits of the Scandinavians after all!), put your feet up and transport yourself into a world of interiors - and hopefully walk away with a few new ideas too! I hope you experience this! Here's a round-up of the top 5 My Scandinavian Home blog, Instagram, and Pinterest posts of 2017 - as well as a few other highlights.....



1. A magnificent family home in Amsterdam

2. My sitting room make-over

Photo - Niki Brantmark Styling Genevieve Jorn

3.  My dream holiday home (and garden room) - and yours too it seems!

Photo - Marnie Hawson

Holly's inspiring sitting room make-over

Holly Marder

5. Lovely blues and greens in a Swedish home

Photo: Anders Bergstedt. Home-owner/ stying: Caroline Ulkner /  Entrance.

I used to dabble in it a little, but if there's one thing that's truly taken me by surprise this year - it's just how much I've fallen in love with Instagram (do you have an ever so slight obsession too?!). I was thrilled to reach over 115,000 friends this year - thank you for making it such a fun place to be, and for all your interesting and passionate comments (and to Vogue UK for including my feed in the top 12 interior instagram feeds to follow (*strikes a very happy pose*). Here are the top 5 My Scandinavian Home instagram posts of 2017:

***

1. Living room in a magical mountain cabin
I'm so happy to see a corner of the living room from Marianne Vigtel Holland's magical mountain cabin which James Gardiner and I had the pleasure of capturing for The Scandinavian Home book.  Marianne made so many items for her cabin it was crazy! In this picture alone she knitted the chair cover, sewed together the cushion covers, created the art on the wall and crafted the side table out of tree trunks - I'm not kidding! Check out the full tour of her beautiful cabin here.



2. Josi's hallway in Berlin
Aaaah, how I love this hallway (the bench is available here - just saying!). In fact, I love everything about Josi's entire Berlin home, it's so charming and relaxed - don't miss the full tour here.

3. Sitting room with a boho vibe
The modern bohemian vibe captured our hearts and minds in 2017 (once again)- and this Polish home designed by Magdalena Milejska was up there with the most inspiring! Take the full tour here. PS is this is totally you're kind of style don't miss the bohemian home archive (goooorgeous spaces).



4. Credenza and books
A wall bursting with books, a beautiful mid-century credenza, layered rugs. What's not to love about the relaxed, boho home of Madewell's lead designer - Joyce Lee! See the drool-worthy tour here.



5. Put a ring on it (see what I did there?)
A beautifully wrapped gift by Finnish blogger Local Artisan in all its crinkled paper and pine wreath glory has already racked up over 7000 likes in the last 24 hours! In fact, it's so pretty that I'd be happy to receive this without a gift inside, how about you? (Note to man - don't take this last sentence too literally). If you haven't wrapped your pressies yet - see our complete round-up of beautiful nature inspired gift wrapping ideas!

Aaaah, Pinterest you'll always be my go-to for moodboards and styling inspiration (if only I could actually tear myself away to do any work - do you find this too?!). Here are the top 5 My Scandinavian Home pins of 2017:

1. This cosy bedroom from a charming Swedish apartment decorated in white and wood
has totally captured pinners hearts having appeared on Pinterest over 590,290 times. How crazy is that? Then again there is so much to love about this little space, right?

Photo: Maria Sahlander Styling: Emma Fischer for Bjurfors.

Rember that green sofa we all fell in love with in a sitting room in Yeabridge House? Combine it with a fabulous mix of old and new and you get the top My Scandinavian Home *power pin* of 2017 (yes, this really is a thing - it's measured in terms of clicks and saves in case you're curious!). Whatever you do, don't miss the full tour here - it was one of my favourites!

Photo - Benjamin Edwards Home-owner - Mark Homewood

While green sofas are always fab, greige is a bit of a safer bet  - which is why this elegant Swedish sitting room created by H&M Home was hugely popular! Get the complete look and feel here. 

Stylist: Lotta Agaton

The relaxed dining space in the Norwegian home of Maja Hattvang appealed to many - which makes me so happy as I love her edgy and relaxed style! See the full tour here (if you don't already follow Maja on instagram, you must!).

Maja Hattvang

And finally, I was so happy to see the delightfully simple bedroom in the Copenhagen home of Karen Maj Kornum of Another Ballroom - captured by James Gardiner and myself for The Scandinavian Home book! You can see a full tour of her home in the book and here and here (that's how much i love Karen Maj's home!).   

Photo: James Gardiner.  Stylist: Niki Brantmark. Featured in The Scandinavian Home book published by CICO.

I am so grateful for the support of businessed big and small without whom My Scandinavian Home wouldn't be possible (you can see a list of many of my partners and the different types of collaborations we offer here).  It's been a year of fun and inspiring partnerships - but I have to say I do have a little penchant for make-overs! Here are the top 3 from 2017:

Greenhouse makeover with Samsung and The Frame

Oh how I loved working on this make-over in a little greenhouse in Upstate New York with Emily Henderson and the Barbarian creative team. A special thanks also to Brady Tolbert for your amazing organization skills and interior design eye and Agata Helena for hair and make-up. See more pictures (and films) of the make-over here and here.

My sitting room make-over with Bemz

Photo by me, styling by Genevieve Jorn. See more here!

My new window nook with Nordal  

Photo by me, styling by Genevieve Jorn. See the full tour here!

I've been writing a way in my little corner of the world and was so happy to launch not one but two new books this year (still not sure how I did it, but it was a wonderful feeling to get them in my hands!) - Lagom: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life launched in September and is available in English US, English UK, French and Portuguese with 4 more languages to follow in 2018 - weeeeee! And The Scandinavian Home launched back in the spring!

Photo: Niki Brantmark.

Photo by Karin Björklund

Aaaah. it's been so much fun looking back over this year. Do you have any favourites from everything I've shared? Or perhaps you have some personal highlights you'd like to share - if so, I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below!! And please do also take it as an opportunity to let us know if there's anything you'd like to see more of in 2018.

Before we head off to enjoy the holidays I just wanted to say a few words of thanks.

I am constantly amazed by the incredible pool of creative talent in the online communities - not only among the professional interior designers and photographers, but also writers, artists, designers etc, all of whom contribute in some way and are kind enough to allow me to share their work. These 'creators' dare to put themselves out there for the world to critique (a scary prospect, I can tell you!) - and I thank each and every one of you who inspires us every day!

I'd also like to say a HUGE thanks to the wonderful team behind My Scandinavian Home - including my right hand gal Ana Degeneer ( a whizz at graphic design, picture research, writing and everything in between - she can even code - isn't that b*d *ss?!!). If you're thinking of starting a blog in 2018 (go for it!), Ana sells the most stunning blog design templates through her shop alongside her book '30 days to minimal blogging'.

I've also been lucky enough to work with the talented interior designer Genevieve Jorn - (we always have such a laugh and no photo shoot is complete without a chicken pasta from my local deli!) as well as the fabulous Sarah Brooks-Wilson who moved to Malmö earlier this year and is the speediest interior stylist I know (and always arrives with a smile and wearing the most fabulous outfit)! So happy to have you guys on board!

And finally - to all of you, who come here each day and make My Scandinavian Home a happy place - none of this would happen without you. Thank you for all your amazing support this year and making this little space on the web such a pleasure each day. Here's to a fabulous 2018!

Niki

PS those of you who like to reminisce might enjoy looking back at the 2016 and 2015 round-ups (so interesting to see how interior style has evolved!!).

READ MORE...

9