A fab Danish home with a Moroccan twist

Godmorgon! It's Friday! Woop! I'm always super slow on Fridays, how about you?! I think I'm a secret 'four day weeker' except my mind hasn't told my body yet so I'm still at my laptop. Either that or I'm dreaming about the prospect of chilling out here over the next couple of days (can't wait!). But thankfully things feel super easy today since this little beauty of a Danish home dropped into my mailbox last night. Do you remember Julie Wittrup Pladsbjerg and her lovely flat in the Danish city of Aalborg (lest we forget that purple bike!)? Julie (who works for a Moroccan interior store), her boyfriend Mads and daughter Vanilla recently moved from the 5th floor to the ground floor in the same apartment block. Their new home has been furnished with a wonderful blend of designer items, vintage finds and Moroccan wares, or as Julie puts it: 'green, Scandinavian with a twist of Moroccan in my own, cosy, warm and colourful style'. Let's take a tour...

Home-owner: Julie Wittrup Pladsbjerg. Photographer: Benjamin Lassen. 

What a fab home - the apartment itself has beautiful bones and I love Julie's mix and match style.
How about you?

Get the look: dining area - Tom Dixon copper round pendant, Panton chair, Tripp Trapp children's chair, source a lovely boucherouite rug here and kilim cushions here, these string lights are similar. sitting room - source fashion prints and posters here, string pocket shelves.

In case you missed it, you can take a peek at Julie's previous apartment here and here and keep up to date with her latest home projects here.

If you fancy dipping into a whole host of other beautiful Danish spaces today, you could always check out the Danish home archive (oh yes!). My top tips - don't miss the dreamy home of a best selling author, an inviting space with vintage touches, and an eclectic apartment with attitude. Oh I do love Danish style!

Have a wonderful weekend!

PS I'll be dropping in tomorrow with a little pure linen inspiration.

PPS Or if it's drink trolleys (bar carts) you're after, you might want to hop on over to The Washington Post where I contributed to a splurge or save feature! So fun! Hope you like my selection. 

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5

6 Subtle Festive Ideas to Steal from Alexandra's Swedish Home

Why, hello there! The big chill in Sweden continues and the Christmas lights look so pretty against the snow - even if it does make for treacherous cycling conditions (yes, Swedes cycle in the snow - with varying results I might add!).  

The minus temperatures also mean we only really go out if we have to - and homes are being transformed into cosy sanctuaries. This also means Christmas decorations come out a little earlier than they might do in other countries. However, I'm not talking the full monty - instead, I've noticed Swedes start out with subtle festive touches with a natural wintery theme and then continue to layer their homes throughout December (something I touch on in my new book Njuta*!). 

In Alexandra Löfgren's family home in Mölndal, south of Gothenburg is full of lovely, subtle touches and nice ideas. I especially love her son Matteo's room with it's brown, rust and blue colour scheme and a mini Christmas tree all of his own! So magical! Here's a glimpse of the rooms and six ideas to steal. 

1. combine amaryllis with other foliage from the garden such as branches with berries and eucalptus for a beautiful bouquet. 

2. A simple touch of pine in a vase draws the winter season inside without going all out 'Christmas'. 

3. Swap out your usual pendant light for a star pendant such as this one. It can easily be stored the rest of the year!

4. A mini undecorated tree in a pot can be decorated as time goes on - and kept until the following year! 

5. Add a mini Christmas tree in unexpected places - such as in the hallway or in a children's bedroom to sprinkle a little magic all over the home! 

6. Wreaths can be placed anywhere in the home, but I especially love seeing them over the bed, as seen here! 

I hope Alexandra's home has given you some cosy ideas! 

If you're looking for more Christmas decorating inspiration this weekend check out these home tours:

15 small festive touches to steal from a Swedish country home

A Copenhagen home full of festive cheer

A colourful vintage-inspired Christmas themed home in Denmark

Inspiring Christmas touches in a Swedish family home

11 Christmas decorating ideas in Mari's lovely Swedish home

And also, scour the Christmas decoration archive - for a ton of beautiful Scandi ideas to be found! 

If you'd like a virtual tour this weekend, Per and I will be heading to a Christmas market on the island of Bornholm, which has a focus on quality goods and creating a magical atmosphere - and I'll be covering it in my instagram stories! 

Have a cosy weekend! 

Niki

Photography: Alexandra Löfgren, shared with kind permission.

*promotion of my own work. 

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4

Suvi's Beautiful Modern Home on Finland's West Coast

Hei, Kuinta voit? ('hi, how are you' in Finnish I hope!). It's Friiiiday - woohooooo! I always find it so hard to concentrate at the end of the week, don't you? (it could be the thought of a G+T on ice just around the corner!). Tomorrow we're heading to the family cottage a little further up the coast where I'm hoping to take some long walks (the nature is beautiful up there). A girl after my own heart on the nature front is Suvi Melender-Lågland who lives on the beautiful West coast of Finland with her husband, children, Daniel and Fiona and two cats. Suvi's inspiring blog Valkoinen Harmaja and instagram feed features snapshots from her modern Scandinavian home peppered with intermittent pictures of the incredible nature that surrounds it. Let's take a peek inside Suvi's world!

Rocking chair, Round mirror: Save / splurge, Kähler Omaggio vase.

How would you describe your style? 
Modern scandinavian with a cosy twist.

What's your goal when it comes to decorating?
I want to create a timeless interior, which I spice up with small trendy items. Interior trends can be seen in textiles and smaller accessories.

Flos 2097 Pendant, Artek stool by Alvar Aalto, Bertoia chair, Series 7 chair

Would you say your home is fairly minimalist?

I am not a minimalist in the strict sense. It is important to me that home feels cosy and inviting - not too styled.

Can you spot the TV?! Maybe my greenhouse make-over last summer might give you a clue?! It's the Samsung The Frame disguised as art!

If you had to pick one Finnish designer who would it be?

My all time favourite Finnish designer is Alvar Aalto.

I love Suvi's bedroom, it's so pretty! There's something about the combination of dusty pink bedding (this one is similar) against the St Paul's Blue by Jotun Lady wall colour. It also helps that one of my favourite lights (the Formakami by &Tradition) has also been thrown into the mix (remember it from this home?). 

The bespoke headboard has been painted in the same St.Paul's blue as the wall and doubles up as a shelf - such a clever idea when space is of a premium. I think I prefer this to the wall mounted shelf, there's something cosier about it, what do you think? Suvi has shared the DIY instructions here (in Finnish but the pictures are helpful!).

Do you have any tips for anyone looking to bring Finnish style into their home?
Use (Finnish designers) Aalto furniture and Iittala and Marimekko. Keep everything simple and minimalistic.

And finally, where would you recommend people to visit in Finland?
I would recommend spending time in nature - it is very inspiring! Beautiful areas in Finland can be found around the coast (we are just starting to build our summer house by the sea and the nature is so beautiful there!) as well as the East side where there are thousands of lakes. Lapland is a great place to visit in the winter. Visit Finland shares some great tips!

Thank you so much for inviting us into your world Suvi!

You can see more of Suvi's home over on her blog and instagram feed. I also featured her sitting room back in 2014 (it's gone through quite a big transformation since then!).  

In case you missed it, I shared another Finnish home earlier on in the week here - both homes have opted for blue in the bedroom but the one from earlier in the week has a surprising twist!

And finally, if you're looking for a simple way to incorporate Finnish style into your home, Suvi suggests adding a Finnish design piece, and one of these beauties are a great place to start:

5 Finnish Design Classics That look Great in Any Home

1. Artek A331 Beehive 2. Oiva teapot by Marimekko 3. Aalto Stool in Birch 4. Aalto vase 5. Block light

If you're into bold and bright patterns - Marimekko sells some really funky fabrics both for the home (check out this bedding!) and to wear (this skirt is pretty!). And of course, no mention of Finnish design would be complete without the Moomins! Who doesn't love the Moomins?!

Right. I think that's it from me for the week! I hope you have some great plans for the weekend! See you Monday campers!

Niki

All photography © Suvi Melender-Lågland
My Scandinavian Home posts include affiliate links. 

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12

An artist's home in a former factory

Iiiiit's Friday - yaaaay! It's been a very relaxed-bohomian week here on My Scandinavian Home with so many exciting homes full of personality - I hope you've felt inspired? To round up the feel of the week I thought we'd head to Melbourne, Australia and the home of artist Saskia Folk in a converted factory. Think industrial with a relaxed vibe and the odd splash of colour. The perfect home to complete the week!

Photographer: Derek Swalwell shared with kind permission. Stylist: Heather Nette King , found via House of C with thanks.

How I'd love to have a home in a converted factory like this - high ceilings, exposed bricks painted white, graciously worn wood floor, industrial pendant lights...that freestanding bath?!

Get the look: similar vintage industrial-style pendant lights here,  Source beautiful Boucherouite rugs here.

Also love these factory conversion homes here, here and here.

If you feel like dropping it all and moving to the Swedish countryside - this stunning mansion has just come on the market - oh the things you could do?! Or perhaps go one step further like this young Norwegian guy who quit his job to go hiking across Norway with his husky - beautifully captured here on Instagram.

Back tomorrow with a very exciting give-away set to brighten up your weekend (there's a clue in there...).  Oooo, what could it be?!

Hope you have a wonderful Friday! See you tomorrow...

PS I've had a few questions about the beautiful colours in yesterday's home and have since updated the post with some paint colours which are a good match.

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7

Cosy Danish Outdoor Lights - Handmade Using Recycled Glass!

Partnership*

Determined to make this autumn and winter as cosy as possible, I've added some new lights to our little backyard. After all, once the sun sets, it becomes very dark, very early, very quickly, and there's nothing like the warm glow of lights to lift your spirits! These beautiful ReUse light chains are from Pernille Bülow - a small atelier on the Danish island of Bornholm.  Regular readers will know that Pernille Bülow is a big favourite of mine and I have SO many beautiful handmade pieces from this atelier around my home (including SKY lamps and Odin tableware).  But there's something EXTRA special about these outdoor ReUse light chains, and the clue is in the name. Read on to discover more! 

True to Pernille Bulow style, each of the 9 pendants are mouth blown and handmade in the workshop in Svaneke, Bornholm (if you're ever on the island, you must pay a visit - I love the shop!). This means that each glass light is ever so slightly unique - one of the wonderful hallmarks of handmade pieces. 

I used two sets in our little back yard to create a little extra glow (the chains are three metres long and attachable, so you can easily string together as many sets of lights as you wish which is really handy).

Best of all? The ReUse collection is made of waste from Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company that has large amounts of excess borosilicate glass from their diabetes drug production. Rather than going to waste, Pernille Bülow remelts and moulds the glass into beautiful objects, including these ReUse light chains and a pendant lamp! 

The light chain also come with 9 2 W energy optimised LED bulbs which are CE marked. 

In order to really put them to the test, I invited a few friends over from the neighbourhood for an autumn evening alfresco - (any excuse!).  

It was a bit of a 'knytkalas' - where everyone (including my dear friend Ullis - above - and interior designer Jessica Ward - below) brought whatever they had in their fridge and wine cabinet! 

We had such a mysig (cosy) evening under the warm glow of the lights - even if coats were a must! Brrrr!

Roll on more autumn evenings al fresco! And even when it's time to move indoors, we'll still enjoy the twinkle through the window! 

If you'd love these lights for your outdoor space, the ReUse light chain is available to pre-order here  - and will be available from mid-November. There's a list of countries Pernille Bülow ships to here. 

I'm curious - can you still sit outside in the evenings in your country? 

Wishing you a great day! 

Niki

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

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