A calm white house in the Catskill Mountains

It's my last day in the USA today. We've had such an incredible time on our Upstate New York house tour. The home owners couldn't have been more welcoming (with breakfasts and snacks straight from their farms, big smiles) and the nature was beautiful (snakes, deer and chipmunks by day and fireflies which twinkled like stars at night)! One of my favourite places was the catskill Mountains so I thought it'd be apt to post a home tour from there today. The house belongs to J.M Generals store owner Jeffrey Monteiro (who also designed this fabulous dress) and film actor Clayton Dean Smith in Peakville, Western Catskills and recently featured on Design Sponge. You'd be forgiven for thinking it's in Scandinavia with it's lovely painted white floors. What a great home, don't you think?

Photography: Maxwell Tielman / Design Sponge

I do love an all white painted / decorated home. I'm not sure if it's the aesthetic, the light, or the serenity but it would definitely be my go to look if I had a country home (hey, a girl can dream right?!).  How about you?

I'm off to have a little walk about in Williamsburg now, never been to this part of the city before. Tips welcome! And then it's back to Sweden tomorrow - awww I can't wait to see my little family, I've missed them! And I'm looking forward to getting my daily posts back in order too - thanks for being so patient over the last few days.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

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Happy Midsummer! - and a mini guide on how to create your own

Friends and family in Sweden will be staying up to celebrate midsummer's eve today (here's a little pic of my crew on the same day last year). Sadly I'm thousands of miles away (on a photo shoot in Upstate New York), but that won't stop me from creating a small midsummer celebration of my own -  and raising a glass or two! I've put together a quick guide to creating your own midsummer's eve below...wild flowers at the ready!

Photo: Local Milk - check out all the other images in this beautiful series here

Why not throw a mini party this evening to celebrate the longest day of the year (in some parts of the world!).

Pick wildflowers and create your own midsummer crown (and a wreath for your door).

Serve a selection of pickled herrings in pretty jars and serve with new potatoes, boiled eggs and fresh dill. Enjoy with cool beer and ice cold schnapps (you'll need to warm up your singing voice!).

Bake a delicious cake decorated with hundreds of sweet strawberries.

Set up thousands of pretty light bulbs over the outdoor table.

Invite as many friends as you like - and if you don't have enough chairs, how about rugs instead?!I also love all these outdoor party ideas.

And dance the night away under the midnight sun!

Wishing you all a very happy midsummer's eve! Skål!

PS Feel free to add your own midsummer tips in the comment section below...

PPS I'll be back in action here on Tuesday since I have a bit of a tight schedule until then. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

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An idyllic Swedish summer cottage in Orust

With preperations under way in Sweden for one of the biggest events of the calendar year - midsummer's eve, I thought it would be apt to show a pretty former sea captain's cottage over looking the beautiful Gothenburg archipelego, on Sweden's west coast. What a perfect spot this would be to enjoy the longest day of the year: sing, eat and dance around a maypole with family and friends, don't you think?

55 Kvadrat. Photography: Anders Bergstedt

Just so idyllic!

And guess what...it's for sale! How incredibly tempting! Could you spend your summer's here?

More pictures and the complete details here.

The Gothenburg archipelago is one of my favourite places in the world, it's absolutely stunning. My family and I have spent many incredible summers sailing around the islands. Do let me know if you ever visit and I can give you some tips.

More Scandinavian summer cottage tours here if I've got you in the mood (this one might come up first so just scroll passed). 

Don't miss my mini midsummer's eve guide tomorrow...wild flowers at the ready!

Have a lovely day!

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The Moscow home with a cool scandi-vibe

Located in the Novoslobodskaja region in the heart of Moscow this fabulous apartment belongs to Harry Nuriev and fiancé Marya Kacharava. The creative duo own and run Crosby Studios, a resource for design concepts and creation for everything from architecture, interiors and furniture to websites, posters and books.  You'd be forgiven for thinking their apartment's in Scandinavia with it's monochrome scheme and touches of wood. The look is warmed by vibrant kilm rugs - which contrasts with the grey painted parquet floor. And the furniture is a beautiful blend of vintage, mid-century, retro and modern.  What a cool home?! Loving the vintage camera collection!

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

Photographer: Jenny Brandt (shared with kind permission). Stylist: Isabelle McAllister.  / Residence.

The tree stump side tables are a really great way to bring the outside in, plus they're practical and look fab too. If you're a landowner in the country - they're also free! If not you can always buy beautiful ones here. 

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Quick guide on items I know and love: kilim rug / Tulip table (or docksta for an inexpensive version)/ Eames DSW chairs (currently 15% off) / karlstad sofa / vintage cameras / retro stools.

I think this is the first home I've shown on here from Russia. However I have shown a ton of international homes from all over the world which you can find in this archive (skip past the first home as it's likely to be this one).

I'm heading Upstate this afternoon - so exciting! I'll miss the view I've had over the past couple of days, but looking forward to a whole load of new adventures - eeeeee!

Have a lovely day! 

PS I apologise in advance if the posts are published a little later than usual / I need to skip a day or too due to travel.

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The perfect boutique design hotel for a surprise?

Did I tell you that the man and I have made a deal to surprise one another with a weekend away this year? It could be anything from camping, or an overnight stay in the world's smallest hotel to a long weekend in a beautiful Riad in Marrakesh (here's me hoping!!). Naturally, my travel radar has gone into over drive (cue hours on Pinterest). And then I came across Hotel Henriette Rice Gauche in the Mouffetard district of Paris. Hotel Henriette is a new boutique hotel with thirty-two individually designed bedrooms created by interior designer Vanessa Scoffier, as well as a vintage winter garden and a library. If you're looking for bedroom inspiration, this post is for you! Better still, if you're going to Paris, could this be your home from home? Let's take a peek inside....

 

 

 

Photography: Hotel Henriette thank you to At Home In Love and Avenue Lifestyle who inspired this post.

What do you think? A good hotel for a surprise weekend with P?!

The most inspiring thing about these rooms (for me) is the paint. I thought geometric / half painted walls were reserved for a modern-cool look. But seeing the bedroom painted half and half in pastel green and pink makes me think it could be the route to a pretty, romantic boudoir. I'm of course loving the vintage finds and retro pieces too.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Other dream hotels on my hit list include this little piece of paradise in the Philippines,  and a beautiful oasis on the Greek island of Mykonos. *sigh*, imagine?!

More bedroom inspiration here and here.

Have a wonderful day!

PS I'm on a whirl wind tour of New York right now for my book - so exciting! Things are a little hectic so I apologise in advance if my posts appear a little later than usual...or perhaps not at all on certain days!

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The wonderful home of a Swedish food blogger

Hello! I hope you had a great weekend?! Out of interest, do you follow any food blogs? I've been pinning yummy looking recipes on my food board for a while now (admittedly most involve either eggs or avocados!). I recently started following Swedish food blogger, journalist and editor Waltzing Matilde (delicious recipes by a Swede in english - what's not to love?!) And today I'm really excited to be able to share a sneak peek into her wonderful home styled / captured by Tina Hellberg and Idha Lindhag. The first thing I noticed of course - is her love of blue, which is evident throughout. it creates such a cool, calm effect and works beautifully against the reds and pinks. She's furnished the home with a lovely mix of Swedish antiques, mid-century finds and items collected on her travels. What a lovely home, don't you think?

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Home-owner: Matilde Sköld. Stylist Tina Hellberg. Photographer Idha Lindhag - shared with kind permission.

Lovely!

Blue really is turning to be the accent colour of 2015. We're seeing so much of it right now. Do you remember this Danish apartment from a few weeks back?  And I love the bedroom wall in this swedish space and blue accessories in this pretty apartment. I also love the blue sofa in the home of Sofia Wood (another Swedish food blogger). For a similar blue paint colour seen in the walls of Matilde's home try Parma Gray or Lulworth Blue.

If you're stuck for what to eat this week I can highly recommend looking through some of the mouthwatering recipes on Matilde's blog. Some of my favourites include Swedish pancakes with cream cheese, lemon curd and cardamom, Swedish chokladbollar with a twist and a meatball sandwich with beetroot, apples and capers. Mmmmmm!

Thank you so much to Idha Lindhag for sending me these fab photos. She always finds the most wonderful homes to photograph including Jade Jagger's Goa hangout, and this and this fabulous Swedish space one.

Have a great start to the week! I'm on my way to New York right now - soooo excited!

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