A Dutch guest house with red floors and vintage touches

Iiiiit's Friday - woohoo! I thought I'd celebrate with a flash of colour. Do you remember this striking Dutch home with red floors which we were all pleasantly surprised about? Well the architect and industrial designer owners have since moved and opened up their wonderful home as a guest house. The  'hostel in The Hague' was furnished by Holly Marder (in record time!) and the result is a bright fun space with cool vintage finds and a boho vibe. If I find myself in this Dutch city I know where I'll be staying, how about you?!

Hostel The Hague. Photos / styling: Holly Marder

What do you reckon about those red floors?!

A note on where a few items are from: Dining room: vintage dining chairs / Eye Eye poster /  magazine holder. Bedroom 1: wicker love seat / black and white cushion/ walnut candlestick/ black patterned cushion. Bedroom 2: vintage lamp / wicker stool / granite blanket / patterned cushion / blue and white cushion.

Other fabulous Dutch homes here.

Holly has such a great sense of style, I love her bedroom (one of the most popular posts on here ever) and studio. She's also photographed this fab black and white home and a whimsical family home.

The beauty of jet lag (I arrived back from New York yesterday) is it's meant I've managed to creep downstairs first thing and create this post before my girls are awake. There's something great about these quiet hours with just my coffee, laptop and a chunky knit blanket! Do you ever work/ study at first light?

Oh and I'm sooo excited to introduce you to my new sponsor Yorkelee today. Yorkelee is an online shop selling unique, creative, affordable Scandinavian style prints for the home and for kids (check out Yorkelee on IG). It's almost like these prints are made for My Scandinavian Home, think monochrome and pastels. I've got my eye on the Ampersand, you can and Perfection Home prints. I hope you find something you love too.

Have a great couple of days and see you Monday! 

PS This weekend I'm holding a give-away with a talented German artist, so don't forget to stop by! 

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A Stunning White Farmhouse in The Snow

It snowed here this morning. Nothing major, just a light sprinkling, but it was enough to make me feel all warm inside! Do you love the first flurry of snow too? I felt nothing captures the cosy mood today like this beautifully simple farmhouse in the Indiana countryside. Photographer and stylist Angie Wendricks has struck the perfect balance between minimalism and warmth thanks to the white washed floors and walls and rustic furniture. Look out for soft, natural textiles, simple bouquets of flowers and the odd candle too!

The beauty of having furniture on wheels like this table, is that you can easily move it around depending on where you need it - you can even roll it outside (not that you'd want to in the snow of course!).  

I have a similar stool beside my bed which I sourced here* (I see they currently have a beautiful side table too - but there's only one left*, so you'd need to be quick!). The kitchen cabinets are from IKEA.

Kitchen Aid range

These images of Angie's homes are from a selection taken over the past year - which is why the Smeg is in a different position! I still wanted to include the image all the same, as I think it helps to understand the shape of the room - and get a better look at that stunning table! 

Angie's Ikea sofa has been covered with a Bemz linen cover (a girl after my own heart - I'm loving my linen sofa cover!). My bench / coffee table is almost identical too - pick up a similar one here.

This is such a pretty idea: white candles in vintage baking moulds! 

 The black wood burning stove looks really striking in the all white space and helps to show off the immense ceiling height - imagine how it looks all aglow with the snow outside?!

Woooow, this home is just beautiful, don't you think?

If this hasn't got us all in the mood for winter (and a white Christmas!), I don't know what will!

Could you imagine rocking around here this December?!

See more gorgeous pictures of Angie's home at @countyroadliving and www.angiewendricks.com.

Other countryside cabins I love (I'm on a roll now - there's no stopping me!) - include this little Danish cabin in the woods, an idyllic lakeside cabin in Canada and Leanne Ford's dreamy white cabin.

Speaking of cold weather, I'm currently packing for my trip to Moscow tomorrow (I'm talking at an event about Pure Scandinavian Design there on Friday) - I've never been to Russia before so I'm super excited. Just got to work out what to pack to keep the minus temperatures at bay! Tips welcome!

Have a cosy day - keep warm!

Niki

Photography: Angie Wendricks, shared with kind permission. 

Affiliate links marked with *

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A beautiful white Danish home

Now, there's nothing I love more than a white home. I live in Scandinavia after all. And this Danish home is the eptiome of white lovely-ness. I especially love the wooden floors. We have recently white washed our dark oak floors and our house has become so light and airy because of it. Next step - beautiful mid century furniture like in this home....

Pernille Kaalund for Femina via Seventeen Doors

There are so many things I love about this home I'm not sure where to start, perhaps you can help me?! What catches your eye?

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A serene white and grey Swedish apartment

An eye-watering start today with a train ride to the IKEA headquarters to view all their new products - always so exciting despite the red-eye train! They're doing great things at the mo (love the SINNERLIG collection and all the fab styling by Pella Hedeby including this DIY project I'm on it!). Since I'm back in Sweden I thought I'd also celebrate by showing a classic Swedish home tour with fresh white walls and light grey floors. The natural fibres such as rattan and wood add warmth to the look. Since the clocks have gone back and the light is starting to fade here in the North, light tones are helping to bounce around what little natural light we have - essential!

Alvhem

Lovely!

I love the fifties style kitchen counter top - the pattern is a design classic known as 'virrvarr' and was designed by a member of the Swedish family - Prince Sigvard Bernadotte. The 'boet' glass storage drawers are also an original from the same era - so fab!

I also spy: string shelves, vase with brass top, cluster light, children's brio oven and trolley. 

Farrow & Ball's  'strong white' is a great very pale grey hue for floors.

Other homes with a fresh white and light grey colour palette include this serene swedish space, a cool Stockholm apartment and this dreamy flat.

Have a lovely day!

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A Dated Home Becomes a Fresh, Modern Farmhouse

Ever since I stumbled across the portfolio of Pittsburgh based interior designer Leanne Ford and featured this incredible home, I've been a huge fan of her work! Leanne is currently the star, along with her brother and contractor Steve Ford, of Restored by the Fords on HGTV, which follows the siblings as they turn some of Pittsburgh's most dated buildings into magazine-worthy homes. Their latest project was to transform the Faraci family's pokey ground floor (made up of three rooms) into a fresh, open-plan space. I caught up with Leanne to find out more about the project...

What was the design brief?

I loved the Faraci family! They are so lovely and loving and their demands were rather simple! They wanted a simple and well designed home to be together as a family and to entertain in. The first floor of their house was separated by three walls when we got our hands on it. And of course, I removed them ALL. We wanted those in the kitchen to be able to see out the front window. And we wanted a more welcome communal living space for them.

What style were the family after and how did you achieve it? 

"They wanted a fresh and modern farmhouse style. We gave them all the classic fixings; subway tile, butcher block counters, classic white cabinets, open shelving, farm table down the center of the kitchen, simple design and decor. And I played with all of these features over the original and very beat up wooden floors. Though they started out as a kind of disaster to try to make them work, they ended up being my favorite feature of the home. Ain't that how it happens. The rough and vintage floor really adds life to the clean lines of the new kitchen." 

 Do you have a favourite feature from the make-over?  

That amazing modern "sculpture" of a stair case that Ed Zeiler from Wood N Wrench made us! We had to totally reconfigure where the staircase went after ripping walls out, so we played with the new "railing/wall" And made it a design feature.

 Did you experiment with anything new? 

"We did Board and Batton on the INSIDE of the home for a change. It was a simple and economical way to bring texture and character into this home. Over the coffee table you see a white chandelier that I TRIED to make... I would say this is one of those examples of letting art evolve...I certainly never set out to make the light look like that, but let's just say it really "wanted to" ;) The family made me feel better when they said it looks like something from the MOMA. I don't know about that, but... I'll take it!"

Photography: Alexandra Ribar

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful make-over with us Leanne!

If you love this look and want to steal a few ideas (I certainly will be!) - here's a quick guide:

Get the look

1. Nuvo lighting, warehouse shade
2. Vintage chopping board
3. Glass cake stand
4. Natural linen napkins
5. L:A Bruket liquid soap
6. Drip Glaze 16-Piece Place Setting
7. Tour Eiffel brackets  
8. IKEA armchair with Bemz Loose Fit Country cover (get 15% off design covers for IKEA furniture at Bemz with code '15myscandinavianhome' until 11th Feb - ships worldwide!).
9. Woven basket pendant light
10. Sisal natural jute rug

Ahhh, so inspired by this space - the statement basket lamp, the asymmetry of the chairs and bench around the table, the open shelves. So much to love. I hope it's inspired you too!

Have a lovely day.

****

Complete Source list:

Kitchen: Cabinets / Miter Box (custom built),  Farmhouse 3018 sink in pearl / Native Trails, Trinsic kitchen faucet in champagne bronze / Delta, White subway tile / Jeffrey Court,  Butcher Block countertop / IKEA. Cutting boards / Whitney Jurgovan of Kinsey Vintage market, Small white rug in bleached jute ivory / world market*, Wooden shelving with Tour Eiffel brackets / Anthropologie*,  Napkins and Tea towels, Parachute home, Vintage Mirror / Garden Style Living, wooden kitchen table / Weisshouse, Woven Basket Pendant / World market. Wooden chairs / 1stdibs. 

Family room (with fireplace): Cloud sofa in beligan linen natural / RH Modern,  Sisal natural jute rug / World market. White linen armchair / Weisshouse. Blue Tin Washer // Kinsey Vintage Market, coffee table / weisshouse, Metal Locker Boxes // Urge Studio.

Living room: White rug in bleached ivory jute / World market, Burlap sofa / Weisshouse,
wooden coffee table / IKEA, Chandlier custom made by Leanne, Green credenza / Urge Studio.

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