Step Inside A Relaxed Bohemian Family Home In South Korea

Why, hello there! I'm excited to be kicking off the week with a My Scandinavian Home all time first: a home tour in South Korea! And it's perfect time with the country's first ever Oscar win last night!  B.Minjung (who I'll refer to from now on as 'B'!), her husband and their adorable two-year-old girl Yoon Seul live in the coastal city of Busan. The family are currently awaiting the imminent arrival of a baby girl, a little sister for Yoon Seul. The relaxed apartment is testimony to B's passion for vintage and bohemian decor and is a sea of warm, earthy tones and natural materials including wood, rattan and bamboo. B also loves to make her own home decor items - some of which she sells through her web shop. I hope you enjoy this lovely tour as much as I did! 

The apartment is full of earthy natural tones - including an abundance of wood, rattan and bamboo. A simple wooden children's fence / gate ensures Yoon Seul can play safely in the sitting room. 

I spy IVAR cabinets from Ikea. In Sweden it's popular to paint the cabinets to match the wall colour - but I love the way B has left them in natural pine. 

And how cosy does that fluffy sheepskin throw* look on the rattan chair?  

I have been scanning the pictures for clues on how South Korean's live. If the picture above is anything to go by, it seems they have a tendency to put washing machines / dryers in the kitchen - just like the Brits (in Scandinavia they these appliances tend to be in the bathroom). Where do you place them in your country? 

Another thing I noticed is the dark wood floors - something you don't tend to see in Scandinavia right now. 

I have always been a fan of binga baskets having seen them in this relaxed beach home, a bargain hunter's Antwerp home and a relaxed Tucson home (source a set of 5 here*). 

Cuteness overload!

Is it too early to be thinking about weekend lie-ins and breakfast in bed? 

Spot the tootsies! 

There are few ledges in the bathroom so B has used the power of hanging plant holders and an Ikea step stool to add a touch of greenery! 

There are so many pretty items in Yoon Seul's bedroom - but I especially love the little wicker trolley. I remember when my girls were two. They used to love rolling their toys from room to room, this luggy basket* would have been perfect! 

I absolutely love that most of Yoon Seul's toys are made from wood. I often wince when I see mountains of colourful plastic toys that buzz and beep (even if kids do love them!). Having said that, I used to have a plastic fisher price garage and my children enjoyed it 30 years later. Some toys never go out of favour! 

Did anything from B's home stand out to you? 

You can see more pictures from B. Minjung's lovely home over on her instagram feed @ddbling. 

Here in Malmö the sun has just come out (hurray!) and I'm thinking of heading out to survey the damage from the storm last night - did you get crazy winds too? I also need to clear my head after a crazy week at fairs in Denmark, Stockholm and Frankfurt. I'm feeling full of inspiration but massively tired too! Roll on the weekend. Oh. It's only Monday. Bah! 

Have a great start to the week folks! 

Niki

Photography: B. Minjung - shared with kind permission

This post contains affiliate links which means I might make a tiny amount of money if you click on the a link marked with an asterisk * and buy something. 

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A lovely clutter-free, light and airy Swedish pad

Keeping it simple in Sweden today with this light and airy space in Majorna, Gothenburg. Decorated throughout with very light wood floors, the palest grey walls and a lovely mix of old and new, this lovely clutter-free one bedroom apartment is like a mid-week breath of fresh air! Oh and did I mention it's for sale?!

Kvarteret Mäkleri

....And breathe!

Just lovely! Makes me want to go through my wardrobes and have a de-clutter! How about you?

I know I'm likely to get the question - where are the rugs?! Firstly this apartment has been staged for sale so I'm guessing the guys at Kvarteret Mäkleri would like to show-off those beautiful floors (and who can blame them?!). And secondly, Swedish apartments are incredibly well insulated so the wood floor will be draft-free and lovely and soft and warm. Having said that, I'm sure the (lucky) new owner will add a few fab rugs - how lovely was the one in yesterday's post? Feel free to wade in in the comment section below!

Get the look: O coffee table, Patterned and Jacquard Weave cushion in white, Marshall speakers, this bed frame and clothes rail are similar.

Other mid-week links I love:

Ever wondered how the latest interior trends started?

I was so happy to see My Scandinavian Home was included in Swedish magazine Hus o Hem's list of 9 interior blogs to follow. Thank you!

Cute spring style (sneakers), And moodboard.

Wood's sneaking it's way into the home more and more. As seen in this lovely Australian home.

How quickly would you pulse come down in this pool?!

And for the little ones, how cute are these limited edition paddle people?

Have a lovely day!

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Update: Our Tiny House Interior Plans & Inspiration

It's been a while since I shared an update on the tiny house we're building in the garden of the summer cottage in southern Sweden. A lot has been going on behind the scenes, but most excitingly Per and I headed up there for a meeting with the builders last week and it's starting to feel VERY real! A while back, I shared our plans for the exterior. I'm looking forward to sharing the finer details of that soon (once we have settled on the wood finish). Until then, I thought I'd share the plans and inspiration for the interior! 

Layout: 

Our cabin is called a Komplementsbostad which is a special Swedish dwelling measuring 30 m2 (323 f2) and a maximum of 4 metres (13 feet) high. The idea is to use it as a place to unwind at the weekends and in the holidays. If we're staying in the main cottage, it will be a place for guests to stay and hopefully in the future, somewhere our children to come with their family and friends!

The cabin will contain a small kitchenette, social area, bathroom and two sleeping quarters. It's designed to sleep 4. I think I'll start with the latter! 

We decided to lay the sleeping zones out over two floors (which is fairly customary with this type of house). The 'master bedroom' will be in an alcove / nook on the lower floor, and a sleep loft will be placed over the bathroom and bedroom. 

The reason we decided to do it this way and not create a separate master bedroom is because we also wanted to create a nice social area in which to hang out - so we needed the extra space. For the same reason, we also decided not to have a formal entrance / hallway. 

Inspiration for the bedroom / sleep loft area: 

I absolutely love the look and feel of Lina Kjellvertz's cabin (the swede has impeccable taste - check out her house in Mallorca if you have the time!). Her attafallshus was designed by Sommernöjen and features white walls and a light wood ladder and sleep loft - something I am looking to emulate. The only difference is that the atelier / desk area will be exchanged for a bed. Basically like this: 

The bedroom nook will be fairly snug! The cosy danish bedroom below has also been a major source of inspiration for us. See the rest of the lovely cabin here. 

We are looking to convert the under section of the bed into two separate, very large drawers which will be used to store clothes, bed linen, towels etc. A little like the ones in this tiny Norwegian house on wheels.

We're also hoping to add shelving, but sadly we won't have space for a surface behind the bed like the one seen above since the nook is the exact length of the bed! 

Kitchenette

The kitchen and dining area is very much a work in progress! As with everything else, it will of course be small. Since space is of a premium, it will involve upper and lower cabinets. I love this kitchen by Swedish Nordiska Kök - it's clean and contemporary, but also features some beautiful natural elements including stone and wood, which would be a nice way to bring the surroundings inside. Do you like this look too? Clearly the island is a no go, as we simply don't have room! Instead, I'm hoping to find a small vintage table for four. Let the hunt begin! 

One big dilemma: we were hoping to put the boiler in the top right cabinet BUT the plumber told us it would be way too small. Instead it might need to be placed to one side of the sleep loft which is not ideal. I know my family, and they do love their showers! If you have any other ideas on where to place it, I'm all ears! 

Main living / social area

You might have noticed that all these inspiration images have something in common: wood panelling. I absolutely love wood panels, they bring a more relaxed feel to space and help to add a coastal touch.  Are you a fan of panelling too?

This panelling by Swedish brand Norrlands Trä seen in this Scandinavian cabin is spot on. I'm just in the process of ordering samples to see which style would look best (every panel option comes in an option of at least two different whites as well as various textures - I tell you, it's a minefield!).

Sitting room

I'm going to be honest, we still haven't decided which direction to go in with the sitting room. All thoughts are welcome at this stage! The only thing we do know is there are a LOT of windows and doors to contend with (see plan) and there'll definitely be a woodturning stove (more info to follow soon!).

But what we don't know, is what seating to go for. 

Do we go for some kind of built-in bench running from the kitchen units to the wall with storage underneath like in these lovely rooms?

Or do we opt for a sofa-bed with storage to make room for extra guests? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Looking at these images I'm wondering if I've over sold our cabin now!! I mean, some of these spaces are simply incredible and quite a lot bigger than our cabin! The pressure is on! 

I can't wait to share more plans with you soon including the bathroom, outdoors space and wood burning stove! Meanwhile, we're hoping the first spade will go in the ground this week - woohooo! 

For more tiny cabin inspiration check out: 

Opening doors vs folding doors - see the comments for the final reader verdict!

And the tiny house archive - which is full of inspiration for small spaces! 

Right guys, that's it from me this week, thank you for coming along for the ride - and for all your kind messages in yesterday's post, it really meant so much. 

Trevlig helg / have a great weekend!

Niki

Photography: 1. House Doctor. 2&3 Sommarnöjen 4, 5 & 10. Morten Holtum 6. Nordiska Kök 7. Norrlands Trä 8. Femina 9. My Domaine

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A happy Swedish home with black floors and bright colours

As I finally complete my off white floor  - this Swedish home comes along and throws everything up in the air! GRRR! Will you take a look at those glossy black floors?! What a striking backdrop the black and white makes for all those bright splashes of colour and lush plants?  Owners Hannah and Don Billberg are an impressive duo. Using a shoe string budget they set about building the home and then furnishing it with flea market finds and items bought second hand online -  and a bucket load of imagination. The result is a truly inspiring, vibrant family home. What a perfect tour for the weekend, let's take a tour....

Homeowner: Hannah Billberg Stylist: Anna Mård. Photographer: Karin Foberg - shared with kind permission.
/ Hus o Hem. Post inspired by inspired by Desire to Inspire with thanks. 

Wow, I love this home. It's so refreshing! I love the creativity with which it's been put together. How about you?

I first visited Sweden when I was around seven years old to visit Ullis and her family (who are still great friends today). Her mother Yvonne, has a loom and she'd make these wonderful rag rugs. I've been a huge fan of them ever since - they're just so simple and such a great way of brightening up a space. I love how the colourful rag rugs in Hannah's home pop against the black floor too. Try Etsy for similar.

Other simple ideas to steal from this lovely home:
- Create moodboards using colourful pictures to brighten up a hallway, or delicious looking recipes cut out from magazines in the kitchen.
- Add a touch of comfort to bent wood chairs with fluffy, bright colour seat cushions.
- Adding a splash of paint to a simple box makes a fab wall-mounted bed side table.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

You can see more of Hannah's charming home on Instagram. 

For more inspiration this weekend I'm loving this cheerful Swedish home with bright splashes of colour and another home with black floors but in a whole different style. Or perhaps you're inspired by green floors or even red floors?!

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday! 

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A stunning Dutch home blending old and new. And give-away winner....

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful weekend? I ended last week with a Dutch home tour and this week I'll start with one too (talk about going Dutch!). This one hundred year old farmhouse owned by Rosemarijn van Zandvoort of Skattejakt (check out her beautiful shop and blog) has been carefully restored using a blend of old and new. I think the old world rustic charm of the beams and wooden floor against the Scandinavian blonde wood and white walls (and a touch of poured concrete) looks truly fantastic, how about you?

Photography: Margriet Hoekstra with kind permission. Styling: Rosemarijn van Zandvoort Barbara Natzijl, VT Wonen Via The Style Files with thanks

l often look around my open plan sitting room and dining room area and think I have thrown together to many different types of wood. But when I see Rosemarijn's home it gives me confidence that everything doesn't need to match. How about you?

Try here for stunning aged / reclaimed wood floors.

Thank you so much for all the wonderful entries into last week's give-away to win a Ferm Living Candleholder String from Nest. I wish you all could have won, it was so much fun reading your lovely comments. I am excited to announce the winner: Bene Artuphel please send me a mail with your address so we can organise the shipment.

Have a lovely Monday!

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A beautiful and smart tiny one room flat in Finland

The other day a friend and I were puzzling over a small one room cottage with a grey wood floor. We were trying to figure out a way to make it practical and cosy. And then this morning I opened my mail box to find a message from one of my favourite Finnish stylists Laura Seppänen. She's been working on a project with YIT - who have recently launched a new housing solution called 'Smartti' - a flexible solution that combines functionality, adaptability and reasonable prices. Cleverly the apartments have no partition walls, instead dividing the space using cabinets and sliding doors - which provide storage and can be removed according to the owners needs. The Smartti home Laura has been working on is a mere 26 metre square (279 feet square) and - yes you've guessed it - has grey wood floors too - the chances?!  Laura's aim was to decorate the space, on behalf of her client, a local florist, with ecological and organic materials such as wood, cork, rattan and flax and locally sourced items. Green plants bring colour to the otherwise calm tones and neutral surfaces. Perfect inspiration for anyone living in a very small space? Oh and there's a twist to this space too....

Credits: Furnishing and styling - Laura Seppänen / @laurajuulia, photography - Krista Keltanen / @krista_keltanen. Architect - Kanttia for YIT / @yitkoti.

....it's been built inside a shipping container!

Remember this lakeside Finnish cabin made from containers? Incredible!

Get the look - eye eye and atelier CPH prints. Chairs, rug, mirror. Bell jar, AJ floor lamp, string shelves, HAY tray table. Small and large glass water bottle, round chopping board. Shorebird. White linen throw.

If you're looking for more small space inspiration you can always check out my small space archive - who needs a large house when you can do all this in under 30 metres square anyway?!

We're enjoying the last couple of days of our summer holiday here in Sweden (in the rain....*^?&%). and will be back on Wednesday. Until then, have a wonderful couple of days!

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