A split machiya home in Tokyo, Japan

Hej hej! I'm back and as promised this will be a bit of an Asian interior week! Last Monday I visited Tokyo, Japan for 24 hours. It was a fantastic city and perhaps the most intriguing culture of all. Japanese are guided by the 5s principles: Seiri: Tidiness, Seiton: Orderliness, Seiso: Cleanliness, Seiketsu: Standardisation, Shitsuke: Discipline which are reflected in the home. Interiors are based on natural materials wood and stone and designed to encourage a respectful relationship with nature and bring balance and harmony to your life. This beautiful split machiya home in Tokyo, Japan from  Atelier Bow Wow is in two parts and connected by a lush courtyard.

'split machiya' by atelier bow wow, shinjuku, tokyo, japan
photographer: Manuel Oka via Design Boom

Can you see any reflection of the 5s principles in your home?! Every one minute I step on a piece of lego or trip over a barbie car which is followed by a string of expletives, so perhaps I need to work on this!!

Tomorrow it's time for a little Japanese give-away for you lovely readers so pop by if you get the a chance!

Have a lovely day!

 PS You can read more about this home here.

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Home sweet home: my kitchen

My week's work trip in Asia is coming to a close and it's been soooo fantastic! I've been to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Taiwan with sadly too little time in each. And now I'm looking forward to going home and seeing my little family. So here're a couple of shots from my kitchen back in sweden. My cheeky 18 month year old kept running into the shot and lying down on the sheepskin rug (a present from Dalarna, Sweden). She's so sweet! Awwww. 

My Scandinavian Home

My Scandinavian Home

My Scandinavian Home

A few little tips on where things are from....the black and white tray is from Design Torget. The appliances are all Bosch. The rug over the back of the chair is Himla of Sweden and the little black and white lanterns are Graham and Green.

Sorry for being a poor blogger this week and thank you all for your lovely comments. I am really looking forward to getting back on track and blogging everyday next week. First off will be to find some wonderful Asian inspired interior design pictures to share with you. Oh and a give-away! :)

Have a lovely weekend! See you Monday! From a very tired Niki! x

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Home inspiration: pom poms

Hejsan! Anyone who saw my post on Friday will know that I'm currently on a fly-by tour of Asia. OK it's for work, but I've still absolutely loved my past couple of days in Tokyo. The city is beyond belief and I simply can't believe how stylish and graceful all the women are. I feel a little like the incredible hulk in comparison! I thought about creating a Japanese inspired post today but sadly I don't have the time so I thought I'd have an Asia inspired week next week (including a small give-away of something I picked up in Tokyo! Ooooo!). Instead I'm going to cheat a little and publish a post about pom poms I made last week (hope you dont mind but they are rather lovely...). I absolutely love pom poms right now and they're popping up everywhere in the home.....

Etsy

Pinterest (sorry!!! can anyone help?)

Via Covet Garden

Bodie and Fou

Weekday Carnival

via 

Via

What do you reckon? Are you a pom pom gal/boy?! If you're feeling crafty you can make your own ones here. Of for the more, um, time deprived?! you can buy beautiful ones on Etsy here.

I'll be back again on Wednesday so sit tight and have a lovely couple of days!

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Jade Jagger's home in Goa, India

I must say I'm just a liiiiitle bit stressed out today as I'm gearing up for a business trip to Asia (with my day job). So I'll be whirling around 4 countries in 7 days. Wooooah! In theory it sounds V exciting! In practise not so. But it's got me in the Asian mood all the same and so I thought I'd share this very exotic home of jewellery designer Jade Jagger in Goa, India, photographed by the talented Idha Lindhag. Oh how I wish I was holidaying here......!

Photographer: Jade Jagger stylist Emma Aspelin

I love the flashes of hot pink, it works so well in warm, sunny climes. I'm sure I could feel preeetty relaxed here. Oh won't you invite me to visit Jade?!

And of course I won't leave you high and dry for home inspiration next week as I will in fact report from Asia! So pop by and see me on Monday!

Have a LOVELY weekend!

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White and colour pops in Malmö's boho district

As I said in Tuesday's post, sometimes you don't need to look further than some of the Swedish estate agent websites for some fabulous interior design inspiration. This white apartment is for sale through Malmö agent Bo-laget and is in the bohemian / arty district of Möllevång. I love how the owners have used white on the walls and floors as a blank canvas and brought the home to life through colourful wallpapers and textiles. 

Bo-laget

I love completely white but I know it's not to everyone's taste - the jury's always out on this! In Sweden it's super popular at the moment and it's the perfect way to create a light home. When I lived in Edinburgh as a student it was popular for every room to be painted a different colour such as deep blue, dark red and yellow. I loved that look too and it suited the environment.

What about where you live?

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My home: sitting room

On monday I showed a few snaps of my dining area. Here's the other side of our open plan living space. Looking at the snaps now I see that perhaps it could have been a little neater, but that is our style: laid back! We had great fun creating the picture wall. It was a case of finding items we love and that have meaning such as my daughter's hand prints, a framed heart engagement present from my mother-in-law, a Therese Sennerholt print from my husband, a poem read out on our wedding day which I wrote out and framed, mirrors and sculptures and then a few hours of 'left a bit, right a bit....!'

My Scandinavian Home

My Scandinavian Home

My Scandinavian Home

I picked up the armchairs for 10 pounds each at a mid century flea market in Malmö - such a bargain!! Admittedly they're a bit 'springy' to sit on but I love the shape of the arms! The shelves are by string. And the mid century coffee table used to be my parents-in-laws but you can pick these up at auction site Lauritz and the lights in the corner are from Granit. The blanket draped over the sofa is from Himla.

In the bottom left of the two top pictures you can just see a little IKEA Lätt childrens table and chair. I painted the top of it with blackboard paint and the legs and chairs white for my girls. The wicker Alseda pouffs are also from IKEA and great for adding a little extra seating when needed.

Next steps - paint the stairs white. Watch this space!!!

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A beautiful Stockholm apartment with mid-century touches

Sometimes, when you're in need of a little interior design inspiration the best place to turn is the estate agents. Especially Swedish ones like Fantastic Frank. And that's where this beautiful home in Vasastan, Stockholm is for sale. It is oh so Scandinavian, with the beautiful light wood floors, white and pale grey hues and the stark contrast of the wooden mid-century furniture. Such a perfect balance.

Photography:Styling: Sofie GanevaPhoto: Kristofer Johnsson Styling: Sofia Ganeva for Fantastic Frank via Emma's Design Blog

Ooooo what a wonderful home, I don't know how they can bear to part with it. And such beautiful light! What d'you think?

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments about my home dining space yesterday. Tomorrow I thought I'd show a few more snaps from another part of our open plan living space, so pop back if you get the chance!

Hej då!

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