The beautiful Swedish country home of an interior stylist

We're experiencing 'the calm after the storm' here in Southern Sweden today. The gale force winds have died down and the raging snow storm has silently moved on, paving the way for beautiful sunshine.  I have a feeling this is going to be a great day, don't you?!  Not least because I have a beautiful house to share! Step inside the beautiful Swedish home of writer and interior stylist Anna Truelsen. Anna lives with her husband Michael and children Johanna, Joel, Jonatan and Josua in the Västragötaland countryside. The house dates back to the 1930's and has been painstakingly renovated to transform it into the beautiful family home it is today.

 Credits: Photos & interior design Anna Truelsen.

Isn't it lovely? I love the traditional country style with a modern edge as well as the light, muted colour scheme.  And the exterior in all that glistening snow - just *beautiful*!

get the look: dining area - this white bentwood chair is similar, Uulipolli sells a beautiful selection of vintage mirrors, white sheepskin. Sitting room - this Moroccan blanket with pom poms and Beni ourain rugs are similar. Second dining room - Kluster light.

You may recognise Anna's name as I've featured many homes she's styled for shoots including a Swedish country home at Christmas, a cosy home with festive touches and a Gotland home in soothing greys. Anna and her photography partner are now on the look out for homes anywhere in the world to capture over the next few months. If you or anyone you know has a beautiful home which would look wonderful in the pages of a glossy magazine please drop her a mail!

Have a wonderful day!

PS  It was so fun reading all about your post-Christmas decoration traditions from all over the world here on the blog, Instagram and Facebook yesterday! Thank you!

PPS I'm packing for a visit to another snowy country tomorrow - Austria, where I've been invited to visit the beautiful studio of Berndt Gruber in Kitzbühel. So excited! Berndt Gruber is an internationally known carpentry and interior architect company who plan and conceptualize private and public spaces in the most beautiful way. I look forward to telling you more about it when I get back!

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The inviting home of a Danish florist

One of the surprising things I learned about Sweden when I moved here is that Christmas decorations are officially taken down on 13th January. This unnerved me as I grew up in England where I was led to believe leaving them up past twelfth night / 6th January is unlucky (what tradition do you have in your country?). These days I go with the flow and although our Christmas tree has long since gone I've grown to love the twinkling fairy lights which brighten up our neighbourhood in the first half of January.  It helps that the festive touches are subtle and all about nature too. A fine example of this can be seen in the charming Danish home of florist Signe Nelleman Bruun. White walls and floors and old wood beams serve as a magnificent backdrop for lovely displays of spruce, pine cones, moss and bare branches while lanterns, cosy blankets and rugs both inside and out add a warm and inviting feel. Let's take a peek!

Credit: Niels & Iben Ahlberg - www.ahlberg.photo. Shared with kind permission.

Oh so lovely, don't you think?!

I especially love the back yard with it's roaring fire, cosy blanket and the scent of hyacinths, spruce and rosemary in the air.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Get the look from Signe's beautiful home: this lantern is similar, light grey reindeer hide throw, beautiful sheepskin and rug by Private0204. This dark grey linen duvet cover and soft grey blanket are similar.

Have a lovely day!

PS There's a blizzard raging outside here in Southern Sweden - definitely a double coffee and chunky knit blanket kind of morning!

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An inviting Danish home with vintage touches

Hello there! I had a mail yesterday asking for advice on how to create a Scandinavian feel on a budget. Of course, there are many different looks (both dark and light) but I suggested starting with a light backdrop - white or light grey walls matched with a wood or white washed floor. From there you can make the space unique with a wonderful mix of vintage pieces (it's incredible what you can find at flea markets both at home and abroad, online auctions and one of my favourite sites - Etsy!) and combined with the odd highstreet ( IKEA find and fab new Nordic pieces. Keep textures natural using materials such as wood, leather and linen and add plenty of sheepskin and candlelight for that true hygge feel! What do you reckon? Is this your idea of a Scandinavian home? To my surprise, I found the most beautiful apartment today to illustrate my vision! Step inside the wonderful, warm and inviting home of Henrik Hemmingsen, director of Copenhagen boutique and online store Fil de Fer, captured by Martin Sølyst. I'd love to tuck into that breakfast in bed and stay all day, how about you?!

Credit: photography Martin Sølyst (shared with kind permission).

How toasty! And conceived from an entirely white backdrop too - it's amazing how vintage finds in wood and leather can add character and warmth to a space. Time to start looking for bargains? Or perhaps a visit to Fil de Fer is in order?!

A few ideas to steal from Henrik's lovely home: pick up a vintage punch bag here, cosy up with this grey sheepskin. Source a selection of vintage and antique brass candles here. The Norwegian cabin I stayed in last week had the same Tolix dining chairs (source vintage ones here and here - although you'll need to hurry, they only have a few left!) which they then softened with sheepskin seat covers. This dark grey linen bed cover and selection of cushions are beautiful.

A little note on floor paint. Rather than opting for white I went for a very pale grey (slightly confusingly named 'strong white' in my bedroom  - which I really love and can highly recommend.

A few more fab danish homes to drool over today: a lovely apartment with a relaxed vibe, the home of a Danish style icon and finally a danish home with dusty hues and a homespun feel.  Ahhh, so lovely, don't you think?!

Have a wonderful day!

PS I loved reading your 2017 home decorating goals in the houseology give-away, so inspiring! I'm excited to now have announced the winner here!

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The cosy winter home of a photographer

Hello! Happy new year! I hope you're feeling all refreshed and ready to go after the holidays? I took a slightly longer break than usual this year and spent the last week in the most magical Norwegian mountain hide-away belonging to the amazingly creative owner of Slow Design (which also features in my book The Scandinavian Home out in 8 weeks... eeee, soooo exciting!). We skied, played board games, ate good food and took in the scenery - it was a true winter wonderland!  We arrived back in southern Sweden late last night (after an eight hour drive) and now I feel all recharged and ready for the year ahead (admittedly a little bleary eyed too!).  I thought I'd kick off with something suitably cosy - the 'winter home' of British photographer Michael Sinclair. The interior draws heavily on nature and showcases an array of natural textures including reclaimed wood, stone, linen and handwoven jute as well as bowls of feathers and pine cones foraged from the nearby countryside. How wonderful?!

Credits / copyright: Michael Sinclair, represented by One. Shared with kind permission.

What a beautiful home! I love the muted colours and vintage touches - how about you?

Ideas to steal from Michael's cosy interior: linen cushion and beautiful linen fabric by the yard. I love how the draft around the door is kept out by a linen curtain, source a similar made to measure one here. This is a great place to pick up vintage chopping boards. I found similar rustic wooden stools (seen in my bedroom) here. It's amazing how much you can add to your home using items found just outside the door. In Michael's house branches make a perfect place to store jewellery and feathers make a pretty display in a ceramic vase. And they're free too!

Is there anything that catches your eye? 

Right, that's it from me today - I'm so happy to be back, I have a feeling this is going to be a great year, don't you?

Have a wonderful start to the week! 

PS Today is the final day to enter the give-away to win £300 / €355 to spend at Houseology - it only takes a second to enter and it's open to all! I've got my eye on so many things in that online store it's unbelievable - see my pick here. Yup -whoever wins is going to be one happy gal / guy!

PS One final thing (bit random!) - does anyone have any experience of an egg bath? Would love to know your thoughts.

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