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A Dutch Family Settle In A Charming House in the Forests of VƤrmland, Sweden


Some days I spend hours looking for homes - other days they simply pop up in my inbox (hooray!). Today is one of those lucky days. Photographer Chantal Bruienne-Buil emailed me these beautiful images of her home in Sunne, VƤrmland. Originally from The Netherlands, Chantal and her husband and their daughter emigrated to Sweden 14 months ago in pursuit of a quieter life surrounded by nature ("one of the best decisions ever").  After a period of time in SmĆ„land, the Dutch family were drawn to this early 20th century house in the middle of a forest in central-west Sweden. I caught up with Chantal to find out more about their move, transforming their house into a home and the inspiration behind their online print / poster shop Loveprinted.



What attracted you to the house?
While house hunting, we saw this 1909 build and felt immediately smitten by it. It's in the middle of a big forest with all the freedom and peace and quiet we were dreaming of. The perfect place for my husband, our five-year-old daughter and I! So of course, we put in a bid and the house was ours one week later!

Source similar vintage pendant lights on Etsy*, Stokke chair (green)*, Kitchen aid*

How did you turn the house into your home?
Never before has a house felt like home so quickly. I immediately knew what our home should look like. So, making decisions wasn't difficult at all. We love white and wood and natural colours you find in nature so we used these plus a touch of gold. Decorating our home has been a real treat and I love how it all turned out. It really suits our lifestyle. 


Tell us about your choice of wallpaper
I've been wanting to use lovely William Morris & Co. and Engblad & Co wallpapers for ages and now we had the perfect home for it. The funny thing was that we took down a wall in the living room and were surprised to find layers and layers of very old wallpaper and even some bits of newspaper dating back to 1912! 

What inspires your work as a photographer?
As a real nature lover, I like to be outdoors: to grill over an open fire, enjoy long walks with my family and capture the Swedish countryside on my camera. I wanted to share this - I mean if it makes me happy surely it must make other people happy as well, right?! That was why I started Loveprinted, an online poster webshop where we sell our nature photography and graphical prints. It's a place where I combine my passion for photography, graphic design and interior design.  



Thank you so much to Chantal for sharing your lovely home with us! 

See more pictures of her lovely home on @movingslowly.se and @loveprinted

I'm really enjoying seeing wallpaper pop up more and more in Swedish homes (check out this archive  for a load of Scandinavian homes featuring beautiful wallpaper!). Could you imagine using wallpaper like this in your home?

Ha det sƄ fint!

Niki

Photography by Chantal Bruienne-Buil (with a little colour re-touch by me!)
Affiliate links marked with *

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A Scandi-inspired Urban Oasis

Hallo (limited German ends there...)! I'm excited to be sharing a tour of the lovely home of Maria in North West Germany today. Maria was born in Sweden, and still feels inspired by Scandinavian style, evidence of which can be seen in her apartment which she shares with her husband and two Jack Russell terriers. Her home had me at the hallway - which is flooded with light from the double glass front door. Imagine coming home to this each day?! In the blog survey, many asked to see more 'real' homes, and Maria's struck me as this. There's something so personal and relaxed about it - and the entire space benefits from the most beautiful light. Enjoy the tour!

 Qatmer kilim rug, Button hooks from HK LivingFrench basket bag (so pretty!)

There's something about large, spacious hallways that make a great impact when you walk through the door.



I love Maria's mid-century bureau and it's ideal for narrow spaces too. The mirror above it is from IKEA (and ideal for leaving your lippy / keys etc on!). The accent wall has been painted in Farrow & Ball.

Hay Copenhague table, Kartell Masters Chair, About A Chair, Ripple Curves Pendant lights.



 Over-sized Hektar pendant from IKEA. 




Did you get a warm feel from this space too?

How I'd love to have this much light in my home (it's the one thing we're quite short of in ours and I do miss it - especially in the winter!).

Is there anything that stood out to you?

Check out more shots from Maria's home here

Get The Look




1. qatmer kilim "ser"
2. Copenhague Table CPH30
3. Ripples Curve Pendant Light
4. STOCKHOLM mirror
5. About A Chair
6. Kartell- Masters Chair
7.  French basket
8. HK Living hooks

Looking for a little more interior inspiration for the weekend? You might also like this mid-century inspired space in Berlin, a relaxed home with fabulous splashes of colour and snapshots from the dreamy house of a ceramicist.

Any fun plans for the weelend?! I've got a a bit of an office revamp going on at home which I'm looking to finish up (so wild these days...!). I hope it all works out so I can share the before and after next week (watch this space!). I might just have to treat myself to some drinks in the sun too... do you have any fun plans?

Have a great couple of days and see you Monday!

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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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Viktoria's Swedish Home with Pretty DIY Festive Touches

Today, we're going on a journey up North to the cosy home of Viktoria Holmgren in UmeĆ„. Sweden. Viktoria is a dab hand at DIY and there are so many lovely creative ideas around her home at Christmas time. Wreaths, stars, bouquets and small embellishments all feature in each room of the house, making it a warm, inviting and 'mysigt' place to be, even when it's cold outside. Let's take a look! 

At Christmas time, Swedes love to go all out, even swapping normal pendant lights for wreaths or stars like this one by Watt & Veke

A sidetable in the kitchen has been transformed into a festive bar with glasses and plates at the ready! My Mum does this too in her house in London and it creates such a lovely vibe - like there could be a party any minute! I do love a home bar, how about you? 

There's something special about vintage glasses like these. I have set from the 1930s at home. 

Viktoria has made candleholder embellishments out of metal leaves to enhance her usual candlestick holders at Christmas - such a lovely idea! 

Wreath making is on the cards year round in Viktoria's home. In December boxwood or eucalyptus are the preferred material! 

A simple bouquet of eucalyptus hangs in the study. It would be equally nice placed in the shower to allow the steam to release the aroma - a perfect way to freshen up in winter! 

I love these little mini Christmas trees - they are so simple and take up next to no space. Look at the little mice too! 

Stars and amaryllis add a wintery touch to the bedroom while the snow comes down outside. 

Lovely!

I'm feeling especially inspired about the metal work - and making small embellishments to add to existing items to give them a small Christmassy touch - so clever! 

Is there anything that stood out to you?

See more of Viktoria's ideas and pictures from her lovely home in UmeƄ here

It's dawned on my that there aren't that many posts left here on My Scandinavian Home before the holidays. Is there anything in particular you would like to see? Perhaps Scandinavian Christmas tree round-ups, gift wrapping ideas, party table settings, DIY decorations or other festive decorating inspiration? It's also dawned on me that I haven't showed the full tour of my cabin yet, so perhaps that could also be of interest? Please do let me know your thoughts and ideas below! 

Oh, and another thing, sorry for the mix up with the links in Mondays newsletter. I can only put it down to the fact that it was, well, Monday! Gaaah! If you would like to receive each post directly to your inbox, do sign up at the bottom of the page - and I promise to try to be better with the links! 

Happy Wednesday friends! 

Niki

Photography: Viktoria Holmgren

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An Inspiring Finnish Home With an Element of Surprise

It was such a long while since I featured a Finnish home, wasn't it?! I have absolutely no idea why since I love Finnish style. In fact, one of the highlights of my second book The Scandinavian Home was that I got to visit Finland for the first time and photograph two inspiring homes. Naturally both had saunas (they are such an integral part of daily life that there are said to be more saunas in Finland than cars!) - but with one being in the countryside and one in the city the two styles were very different. The home of interior design and lifestyle blogger Sini Liikala, her husband and two children reminds me very much of the second place we visited. It's modern, bright and minimalist with a beautiful, large open-plan living space.  But it also harbours an element of the unexpected...

In the kitchen, sleek, white kitchen cabinets from Finnish brand Topi Keittiot  (IKEA sells similar) are broken up by a black mat faucet and sink (both Tapwell) . The shelves above are laden with ceramic and glassware including the classic Oiva Stoneware Teapot* by Marimekko (loving the gentle silhouettes).

I like how Sini has combined marble (the large square tiles are from Tarratinta) with wood flooring to create a distinct kitchen zone and add a lorry load of warmth! I'm not sure if you're thinking what I'm thinking: how about stubbing a toe in the night?! On closer inspection however, it looks like the wood floor has a soft gradual edge. The oak bar stools are from Hay and the lights are the Artek A110 pendant (FYI!). 






 "I think our home is quite a typical modern Finnish house. Nowadays people like to build modern houses with big open spaces, large windows and minimalist shapes. Although, I still think our home is quite unique and looks like us."




The family dining area includes some real Scandinavian classics including the Artek beehive light and wishbone chairs. I like how the inclusion of a black chair balances the dining area with the black door behind (US readers - check out Target's budget friendly look alike!). The white storage cabinet in the background (and below) is by Finnish brand Lundia.






"The best thing about our home is that we have a big open space which incorporates a kitchen, dining room and living room. It means we can all be together as a family but there is still enough space for everyone to do their own things if needed."



Despite the open space, Sini has created a cosy spot for the family to relax (I bet it's even toastier when the fire's going!) using layers of textiles (including a Beni ourain rug), plants and a raft of new nordic design pieces such as a pink Ferm Living Plant Box (I've got my eye on that, how about you?!) and the Around coffee table.

"I think that the best interiors come with time, and years bring different interesting layers to it. I usually buy furniture that I hope will last decades and tell the story of our home to our visitors."

 "Every interior guide says that all the rooms should be in 'perfect harmony' with each other to create a complete look. I am quite a 'safe' decorator who loves neutral tones but I wanted to have one room with a completely different look." 


To achieve the darker look,  Sini covered the back wall with bold floral wallpaper from Ellie Cashman Design (if you have the time you must check out this insta feed!). The rest of the room has been painted in Stiffkey Blue from Farrow & Ball. A rattan pendent from Bloomingville, and an IKEA bench and cabinet add a soft, light touch to the overall look.

"I really love our bedroom because it's like going to a completely different land! It's dark and kinda romantic and that's what I like in a bedroom. People are always so surprised when they enter the room! They're like "wow! this is awesome!" it's not what you'd expect from our home when you look at the other rooms. And that's why I love it so much, it's my hidden flower garden."



"We have black window frames so I figured black doors would go well with them. I also wanted to add an 'edge' to the interior since most of our walls are white. I have not regretted them, I love them!"


Thank you so much for inviting us into your home Sini! Love that you have broken the design rules and followed your heart - that's what makes a house a home - don't you think?

If you'd like to know where more of the items give me a shout in the comment section below and I'll do my best to help. Sini is also great at tagging her images over on instagram, so you can always check there too (and see more of her home over on her blog!)!

If you fancy taking a peek at more homes in Finland today, how about this home in a converted factory,  a living space where old meets new and the calm Finnish home of Anna Pirkola. Yup, the Finns know what they're doing when it comes to interiors!

A little bit of Finnish trivia for you too - did you know that when a baby is born in Finland they are given a box which includes every single item thing they might need for the best start in life? The box itself is designed to be slept in too! You can find out more about what it contains and why they provide it here (it makes for a fascinating read!).

Have a lovely day all!

All photography © Sini Liikala shared with kind permission. 

*My Scandinavian Home posts include some affiliate links.

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