Simple yet pretty Christmas / party table ideas

With only a few days to go before the holidays I thought I'd share some beautiful inspiration for creating a rustic Christmas table - or simply a lovely winter party table for friends and family! I love the idea of a natural white or grey linen table cloth or rough wood table decorated with foliage from the garden, with flowers and berries providing the only dash of colour.  I'm taking inspiration from these pretty, yet simple displays.

 

Pictures:
1 + 2:  A Quiet Style in collaboration with West Elm - see more of the lovely shoot here.
3: Hus o Hem - the entire post is full of beautiful inspiration (piled red apples anyone?).
4 + 5 + 6: Table inspiration from Swedish shop Artilleriet (see more here).
7 + 8: Call Me Cupcake - how delicious (and pretty) does that gingerbread cake with cream cheese and cranberry look?

get the look with these stonewashed white and light grey table cloths. 

This holiday I also hope to be tucking into this mouthwatering cake. And perhaps Thomas Kellers Chocolate Souffle. Mmmmm!

What'll be your favourite dish over the holidays?

If you're looking for more inspiration today  - check out 8 beautiful rustic gift wrap ideas? Or maybe pour yourself a coffee (or steaming mug of glögg?!) and take a scroll through the Christmas archive and Christmas / Party Pinterest boards.

Or if you feel like skipping the parties and heading to somewhere beautiful and remote this December, I'm thinking this pretty cabin in the Faroe Islands could do the trick?

Back tomorrow with the final post of the year (so soon?). Have a lovely day!

PS Thank you so much for all your lovely comments and mails about my new book- and for the pre-orders - it really means a lot to me! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as have writing it. I'll be back in the new year with more details! 

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My book - Modern Pastoral (sneak peek!)

Christmas has come early in my house.  After an entire year of shooting (with photographer James Gardiner) and writing, the first copy of my interiors book - Modern Pastoral has finally arrived! Although it doesn't launch until 11th February 2016 I couldn't wait to give you a sneak peak!   Modern Pastoral is published by CICO Books and features homes in Scandinavia and the US which embrace the pared-back lifestyle of living in the country. The homes take nature as the main point of inspiration - from exposed wood and rugged stone surfaces, to neutral textiles and rooms filled with light. They evoke an ideal, rural life adapted to modern living. Here's a sneak peek, I hope you like it!

These two photos were taken by My Scandinavian Home blog.

Finally having it in my hands is such an amazing feeling. When I look through it, it's like re-living the journey - from a day at a breathtaking house on top of a hill in Vermont to a cool cabin in the Catskill mountains and a pretty Danish summer cottage by the sea. I hope this book will inspire you to bring a touch of nature into your home too!

Thank you all for all your tremendous support without which I would never have had this opportunity! And to the generous homeowners who opened their doors to us and made us feel so welcome.

If you are interested in pre-ordering a copy please click the 'pre-order now' button in the top left of this blog page. If you would like a signed copy please send a mail to myscandinavianhome@gmail.com along with your order confirmation, I'd love to hear from you!

Modern Pastoral is published by CICO books and will launch on February 11th, 2016. 

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The Danish home of a ceramicist

I'm a big fan of Anne Black's beautiful ceramics (these hanging planters are a permanent fixture in my home). I was therefore soooo excited when I discovered pictures of her Copenhagen apartment ready for Christmas (shot by Birgitta Drejer). Anne's home is a lovely mix of mid-century finds, linens and of course - her signature ceramics against a backdrop of white. Let's take a tour....

Birgitta Drejer - Sisters Agency. Shared with kind permission.

I love the first picture of Anne baking with her daughter - so lovely! Making St Lucia buns and 'pepparkaka' or gingerbread biscuits with my girls is one of my favourite things about Christmas. There's never much leftover from the ingredients though - I'm not sure where it all goes....strange?!

What do you enjoy making at home?

Anne Black's ceramics are available here.


I mentioned earlier in the week that I have some exciting news and I'm finally able to reveal it tomorrow, so pop back if you have the time...

I hope you have a wonderful end to your week! 

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A beautifully simple DIY Christmas candleholder

I love this beautifully simple DIY candleholder idea, how pretty for a side table or the guest bedroom this Christmas?

Viennawedekind.com

See the full tutorial here.

I'll be back shortly with a fab home tour  - so make sure you pop back with a cup of coffee in hand! 

Oh and there are only a few hours left to enter the give-away to win a cordless vacuum cleaner from Electrolux. Hurry!

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8 beautiful rustic gift wrapping ideas

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is the gift wrapping. I absolutely love finding new ways to make presents look pretty under the tree. A few years ago I cut branches of holly and slipped them under brown string - I have to admit it was soooo prickly, my poor family couldn't fully appreciate the beauty of it)! I still absolutely love the idea of wrapping presents with natural items - simple brown paper and string, or even muslin and decorating with whatever is in the garden (without thorns!)- pine, skimmia, thyme, eucalyptus. And the presents smell lovely too. Here are my favourite eight DIY rustic wrapping ideas:

What do you think? Is there something outside your door you could use?

These lovely ideas are from:

1. Nåde-studio
2. Made by Mary - visit page for tutorial and more beautiful Swedish ginger biscuit inspiration.
3. Mur lifestyle
4. Local Milk - visit page for tutorial and more lovely christmas decoration ideas.
5. Hege in France  - Click over to see Hege's three beautifully simple christmas wrapping ideas.
6. Local Milk - Stunning Christmas inspiration including a cake, wreath and wrapping!!
7. Le Fork
8. Fox in the Pine

If you're quick there's still time to pick up brown paper, paperbags, and white paper. Plus hemp cord, rustic mesh ribbon online. Source brown string at your local DIY store or nursery. The rest can be foraged! 

Oh and if it's a present you're after - I love this DIY idea (perfect for a last minute gift too!). Or how about hyacinth's wrapped in newspaper?

More Christmas inspiration here and on Pinterest (where I'm madly pinning away - isn't there so much wonderful inspiration this year?!).

PS tomorrow I'll be participating in the live twitter #ElectroluxChat chat tomorrow (Friday 18th December) at 4pm CET (#ElectroluxChat- come and join us, there's a fab prize for My Scandinavian Home readers on offer too!).

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Win an Electrolux Ergorapido cordless vacuum cleaner

This week I'm excited to team up with Electrolux - developers of premium kitchen, laundry and cleaning appliances -  to offer one lucky My Scandinavian Home reader the chance to win an Electrolux Ergorapido cordless vacuum cleaner! See below for instructions on how to enter.

To enter all you need to do is:

- Let us know that you're in it to win it in the comment section below
- Follow Electrolux on Twitter. 
- Join the fun, live #ElectroluxChat on Twitter on Friday, 18th December, 2015 from 4pm - 5pm CET where myself and an Electrolux product expert will be on hand to answer your questions around 'Christmas Entertaining'.

The winner will be announced directly after the chat on Twitter at 5pm CET!

 This post is sponsored by Electrolux. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the company's which make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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A cosy Swedish home in neutrals - with festive touches.

The winter solstice is around the corner and although I've been up for several hours it's still dark outside. A friend said the great thing about this is you get to use lots of candles which is true, even so  I am really starting to miss the light (is it dark where you are too?)! I think that's what drew me to this Swedish apartment today. The lovely, light-filled apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden has been artfully staged for sale using neutral tones and natural textures by Emma Fischer. The space is perfect inspiration for anyone living in a one room / studio apartment. I especially love the kitchen - it looks as though someone's busy preparing for the Christmas Eve julbord! Lovely!

Photography: Anders Bergstedt. Styling: Emma Fischer. 55 kvadrat.

Such a cosy space don't you think?

I love how seasonal plants and trees have been dotted around the apartment in baskets and paper bags (it reminds me of these mini trees).

Get the look: SINNERLIG daybed, handmade seagrass basket, linen bedding, ARÖD floor lamp. Thonet chairs, Artek stool, the Golden Bell light is similar (receive 15% off the last three items with code MYSCAN), source a black rail here, source vintage chopping boards here, Leaf lines print.

Incidentally the London home of Ilse Crawford (the designer behind the SINNERLIG collection in collaboration with IKEA) is currently for sale here.


I'll be stopping by later today with an exciting give-away so make sure you pop in (it's open to everyone!).

Have a lovely day!

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A monochrome Danish home with Christmas touches

Hello there, how're you faring up this week?! I think I've got just the home to bring you a little mid-week calm! It comes in the form of Henriette Bach's cottage in Holte, in the Northern outskirts of Copenhagen. Henriette is part owner of design firm Nordstjerne, which creates beautiful items for the home. Henriette favours a minimalist approach to decorating, carefully selecting items she loves, including treasures collected on travels and of course items from her company. She's also inspired by nature which you can see from the abundance of sheepskins, and natural elements. I love the subtle Christmas touches too. Let's take a tour....

Photography: Nicoline Olsen shared with kind permission.

So serene!

Is this your kind of style?

Items I know and love: Sheepskin, Sofa from Eilersen, cushions/ pillows Day Home, Danish Christmas ornaments and dark grey stocking from Nordstjerne, Bestlite floor lamp, Bestlite wall lamp,  I love the light grey cashmere blanket, source a similar beautifully soft one here. 

You can see more of this lovely home and read a full interview over at BoligLiv.

Other links I love today:

Don't miss this pretty Swedish Christmas inspiration from Residence magazine.

I had the pleasure of visiting this Danish home briefly last summer (it was fabulous) - I'll always love these images of it in the snow all decked out for Christmas too.

How pretty is this Christmas tree? - it reminds me of my girls decorating the tree a few years ago. I've finally got around to putting a few cosy touches to my sitting room too (over on Instagram)...

Comfort food of the day.

I'm so happy with the posts I've got lined up for the rest of the week - including a Scandinavian gift wrapping guide, a fab give-away, some lovely festive home tours, plus some very exciting news....I look forward to hanging out with you!

Have a lovely day!

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A simple yet cosy festive Nordic home

It's the simple things in life that make all the difference don't you think? This morning I'm typing away next to my new Candle carousel, the deers dashing around in circles over the heat - so lovely!  This Danish home belonging to Lisbeth Assenholt (owner of Barkshop) beautifully captured by Frederikke Heiberg, is full of simple, subtle Christmas details - a bundle of mistletoe hanging from a door frame, skimmia in a vase, little paper ornaments hung from handles, or a shock of red berries in a ceramic vessel. What a cosy, festive space!

Photography: Frederikke Heiberg shared with kind permission, Stylist Pia Olsen. Featured in Femina.dk.

What a lovely home, don't you think?! It's truly brightened up the start of my week.

I've noticed it's really popular in Scandinavia to hang garlands of flags in the tree. If you'd like to do something similar but would prefer not to use your country flag how about this pretty gold flag garland?

Lisbeth sells a whole array of beautiful Scandinavian Christmas decorations (I'm not kidding, I think they're the nicest collection I've seen this year!) here (the site is in Danish but there's always google translate!).

Items I know and love from Lisbeth's home: Fancy finger cushion /pillow, sofa from Bolia.com, Normann Copenhagen table,  grey Snowpuppe lampshades over dining table, wishbone chairs, sheepskin chair cover, sheepskin throw, Spear grey wallpaper.

Read the full article and see more pics of Lisbeth's lovely home in Femina.

Other homes captured by Frederrike include this lovely apartment in Copenhagen and the home of a danish designer.

Have a great start to the week!

PS Don't forget today is the last day to receive 30% off these fabulous Christmas pressies by One Must Dash!

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