A former lighthouse keeper's cottage on Gotland

One of the things I love about writing My Scandinavian Home is I come across homes such as this one, which engulf me with inspiration and I know they will you too. This former lighthouse keeper's cottage is one of them. Located in Visby on the island of Gotland off Sweden's east coast, this family summer cottage has been beautifully renovated using white, greys and dusty pink and breathtaking views out to see. Safe to say, I could spend my summer here, how about you?

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt (shared with kind permission) via Casa del caso

What do you love most about this home?

Each year my parents visit us from London and take my little girls away somewhere for a treat. Last year they had a fantastic time on the Danish island of Bornholm and this year they plan to go to Gotland. I think I'm going to have to pack myself in their trunki, I've been waiting to visit Gotland for years!

If you're not convinced, this post by Little Scandivian will have you sold. It's such a breathtaking island with so much to see and do, plus you get to rent holiday homes like this one. 

I've shown so many beautiful homes on Gotland before including this stunning summer cottage, a Gotland retreat, and a converted brewery.  Could you imagine restoring your own home here?

Have a lovely day!

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A cheerful Swedish home with flashes of bright colours

Who said primary colours were only for children? This cheerful home makes me smile with it's brightly coloured bunting, garlands and accessories and there's not a little one in sight! The great thing about all of these items is that they can be moved or exchanged at anytime - such a quick and easy way to update a home!  It helps that the former Swedish carpenter studio has beautiful bones too of course, but I think this apartment demonstrates that it's very easy to bring out the kid in all of us, don't you agree?!

Stadshem

What do you think of these pops of bright colours?

I spy IKEA rugs, cushions and hooks. Search Etsy for a ton of vintage lamps and colourful garlands. I love this bright coloured bunting and pom poms. I also love these paper flowers, in fact the more I search, the more colourful home decor items I find, it's like opening pandora's box!!

Other colourful home inspiration to be found in the happy home of Jenny Brandt, this vintage inspired Southern Sweden home and a fresh and modern apartment in Malmö. Bright Bazaar's new book 'Embracing Colour for make-you-smile style' is also teeming with fab inspiration.

Have a lovely, bright  and cheerful Monday!

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A beautiful Swedish home and creative studio.

I do love the home of an artist don't you? Their natural creativity nearly always shines through. Take this home and studio for example. It belongs to a friend of Swedish stylist and blogger Pella Hedeby (who is responsible for the styling on this shoot). According to Pella the home is even more beautiful, relaxed and comfortable in real life and constantly evolves with the seasons. What a lovely space don't you think?!

Styling: Pella Hedberg. Photographer: Kristofer Johnsson (with kind permission), . Femina 2014

I love the vibe of this home, how about you?

To get the look pick-up some lovely linen cushions, search for easels, tables and vintage desk and ceiling lamps on Etsy, and source antique cutlery here.

If you have some time to kill over a coffee this weekend- there's home-tour after home-tour of Swedish country-style homes to be found here. And other fabulous homes photographed by Kristofer Johnsson here.

Before I head off to enjoy the weekend I also wanted to let you know that The Linen Works have just launched a new line of ultra soft Bamboo Linen bedding and to celebrate they're holding a give-away to win a set here, there are even 20 Japanese linen slippers up for grabs for the runners-up so it's well worth taking a few seconds to enter!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!

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Beatiful inspiration from The Stuff of Life

I'm often being asked to recommend fabulous interior design books and today I've added a new one to my list. The Stuff of Life by New York stylist Hilary Robertson is a beautifully illustrated tome dedicated to creative ways to style and display possessions in the home. Chapters include an intuitive and practical guide on how to arrange your items and stories told by real homes, such as that of Swede Josephine Ekström and Copenhagen based Charlotte Vadum shown below, beautifully captured by photographer Anna Williams. The Stuff of Life has pride of place on my (now beautifully arranged - ha!) coffee table.

The Stuff of Life by Hilary Robertson, Photography Anna Williams, Published by Ryland, Peters and Small

What a beautiful book, perfect for the coffee table don't you think? You should see the rest of the images - it's packed with stunning interior inspiration.

Are you a natural at creating vignettes or do you struggle to group things together? I think it's a real art and I'm improving daily thanks to all the wonderful inspiration around me. I actually even started a Pinterest board lately dedicated to grouping objects.

Here in Sweden it's a 'red day' which means a public holiday, the sun's shining (hello May!) and we're heading to my brother-in-law's summer cottage by the beach. Yay! Are you up to anything nice?

Have a lovely day and see you tomorrow for a fabulous Swedish home tour!

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