The lovely home of a Danish artist

Why, hello there! It's miserable outside today and probably never really going to get light, but I don't mind because it's my biiiiiiiiiiirthday! Now, I know you're not really meant to make a song and dance about these things, but you know, life's short and I actually really do like to sing (not very well) and dance (even worse) each year on this day!! It kicked off beautifully with a surprise 'full english breakfast' (no easy feat in Sweden, and the man and my girls nailed it!!) so things are going exceedingly well..... Anyway, I digress, I've prepared a post featuring the most fabulous Danish apartment for you today. Owner, Anne Aarsland is exactly the same age as me (that young? I hear you say!). The only difference is that she lives and works in Copenhagen and is "an astronomer with a liberating legendary approach to painting." Anne's work is characterised by stripes, dots and triangles in all angles and constellations, using repetition and abstract pattern formations to develop and change the shapes and can be seen throughout the living space. On with the tour!

Aaaaah, what a great home! Anne's art totally makes the space, don't you think?! - and rightly so!

The high ceilings, spacious rooms and general style reminds me a little of the home of Karen Maj Kornum who's home I posted about here and here  (and also featured on the front cover of  my book The Scandinavian Home). What do you think?

Get the look: Anne's artwork and limited edition paintings, saucer pendant, AJ floor lamp, wishbone chair, Artek chair, Ligne Roset Togo sofa.

You can follow Anne's latest projects and see more shots of her home and studio over on Instagram. 

If you'd like to see more artist's homes today you'll love this relaxed, vintage style home,  an artist's studio and home in Stockholm and a former artist's studio converted into a beautiful home - makes me wish I was a little better at painting!!

Have a lovely day!!

PS - I received the best birthday surprise  - My Scandinavian Home won Best International Design Blog in the first ever Domino Design Blog Awards - weeeeeeee! Thank you so much to everyone who voted, it really means the world to me. A feature about My Scandinavian Home is now live on Domino here if you fancy a read!

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A Swedish home reminiscent of the Nordic winter landscape

It was a while since I featured something with monochromatic appeal which is why I was excited when this popped up on one my favourite Swedish blogs Stil Inspiration today. Located in Örebro, The space belongs to Maria Karlberg, an interior designer, blogger and "creative Mom to a magical daughter." The clean lines and marriage of black, white and wood furniture with a concrete floor remind me of the beautiful starkness of the nordic landscape in winter, while soft textiles and textured surfaces add a warm and inviting feel. No wonder it caught the eye of Pella Hedeby and Sofi Sykfont who captured it for this months' edition of Elle Decoration Sweden! Enjoy the tour!

So striking! I particularly love the dining space and bedroom areas.

.....And that stonewashed linen bed skirt against the concrete floor is so beautiful! (this bed skirt / coverlet is similar!). 

Is there anything that stands out to you?

A few items I know and love: dining room -  Menu Afteroom dining chair, Kubus bowl (black). Office - Lampe gras. Bedroom - ConceptBetong bedside table, Muuto wood lamp.

Pick up a copy of this months Elle Decoration Sweden (it's a beautiful magazine for inspiration even if you don't understand Swedish!) to see the full tour.

And if you're up for a little more monochrome inspiration today, put your feet up and enjoy this archive! 

Have a lovely day!

PS I had a great evening chatting with the guys at LiveHappy about my Lagom book - the podcast is now live if you fancy a listen! 

Photography: Sofi Sykfont /  Styling Pella Hedeby (shared with kind permission).

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Be&Liv: Fika by Candlelight

Sponsored -  I use the word fika a lot! In case you're not familiar with the term, it's a Swedish word meaning to 'take a break and enjoy a hot drink (usually super strength coffee!) and a small sweet treat'. A fika can be enjoyed at anytime of the day and nothing, but nothing gets in the way of a Swede and they're fika! Naturally, I was quick to adopt this cultural ritual (it does sound rather nice, right?!). I especially love them at this time of the year as it always feels so cosy. Lately, I've really stepped up my game in this department thanks to two beautiful items from Be & Liv (a Finnish design brand making beautiful items for the home designed to "bring the poetry back to everyday life" - how lovely?!): the Solo candle holder and Treepot 3D trivet in wood.  While the candle holder in black chrome is a pretty way to bring a warm glow to the table, the wooden Treepot 3D trivet can be used as both a coffee pot stand and a 3D Christmas tree, how fabulous is that?! I've found they go particularly well with a steaming cup of coffee and pepperkaka (ginger thins)! Any excuse.... 

Photography / styling: Niki Brantmark (My Scandinavian Home).  

Ahhhh, and relax!

I was lucky enough to meet the Be & Liv the team on my last trip to Helsinki and they're the loveliest people - truly dedicated to creating beautiful items made from high quality materials. The pieces also arrive flat-packed, which is a more sustainable choice for the environment - love that!

If brass is more your thing -  you may want to take a look at this feature captured in my sitting room. See entire collection here!

What's your favourite treat to munch on your coffee break?


This post is brought to you in collaboration with Be&Liv however all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too.

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My bedroom make-over in detail

I hope you had a great weekend?! Thank you so much for all your kind words about my bedroom make-over (feeling the love guys, feeling the love!). I promised to come back with info about all the items yesterday and then my family and I took an impromptu trip out to the forest to chop down our Christmas tree which was soooo fun but also meant I completely ran out of time! So, a little late, but here it is.....

The accent wall is painted in Jotun Lady Pure 'Blushing Peach' which I think makes the room feel so cosy, and warmer too (something of a necessity in the Swedish winter!!). It also makes a great backdrop for deep rust and chestnut hues as well as lighter off-white / wheat tones - thank you so much to My Scandinavian Home interior designer / stylist Gen for finding this colour for us! The big 'ole waffle throw is from Granit.

I love a big old fluffy bed with tonnes of pillows, cushions and throws, it makes it look so much more inviting don't you think?! The white pillow case is from John Lewis, the off-white linen pillow is part of a bed set from H&M Home and the dark rust from Granit.

We were looking for prints with a relatively calm feel.  I'm so happy with the limited edition New Form 4 print by Riikka Kantinkoski and Noon print by Kristina Krogh from the The Poster Club. The bedside lamp was handmade by someone in the UK years and years ago, and sadly (as far as I'm aware) is no longer made.

When we moved in, we couldn't find shelves to span the height of the four metre wall that would also hold a load of heavy objects. In the end my husband designed and built the shelves himself! If you look closely there are support brackets on the back and side wall for each shelf and then they are also suspended on a strong wire which runs from floor to ceiling. If you've got any questions about it just give me a shout (the man's super proud of them so he loves to help anyone looking to do the same!).

The four metre long Washed white linen curtains were made-to-measure by small, independent online shop notPERFECTLINEN. These guys also made the curtains in my window nook and are so wonderful to work with (they ship worldwide too!).

The pendant over the bed is the Feriel drop light by Paris Au Mois D'août - it really pulled the whole look together. I absolutely love it (and it's as light as a feather too). 

Here's a complete run down of all the items for you...

GET THE LOOK

1. Granit Maroon Linen Cushion
2. Nordal Candle holder
3. The Poster Club Noon print by Kristina Krogh
4. Jotun  Blushing peach 20047
5. Granit Waffled Maroon Bedspread
6. NordicWoolCompany Gotland sheepskin
7. Paris au mois d'août Feriel drop light
8. Bemz Loose Fit Urban unbleached linen Bedspread and Bemz Loose Fit Urban Bed Skirt 
9. The Poster Club New Form 4 print by Riikka Kantinkoski
10. notPERFECTLINEN Washed white linen curtains
11. Ikea Söderhamn armchair - covered with Bemz Loose Fit Urban Armchair cover


If I've missed anything - give me a shout below and I'll be happy to advise! I hope you like the make-over as much as we do!

Have a great start to the week!

Photography / Production: Niki Brantmark - My Scandinavian home. Interior design / styling - Genevieve Jorn.

Some of the items were generously gifted from companies across Europe - thank you! 
This post contains affiliate links.

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Cosying up my bedroom with Bemz

Do you have a favourite room? A few years back we decided to turn the entire top floor of our house into our bedroom. It's become a little oasis among the rooftops of Malmö (if you peep out of the window you can see the sea too!). But with the drop in temperature we just weren't feeling the cosy vibe, and that's important right?! My Scandinavian Home interior designer Genevieve Jorn and I got together to make a plan  - yes, we take this kind of stuff very seriously! Having collaborated with Bemz before for my sitting room make-over (aaaaaah, I love that space - can I have two favourite rooms?!), we knew it would be easy to create an entirely new look without a whole load of hassle (and with all that's going on at this time of year, who needs that?!). If you're not familiar with Bemz, they make the most beautiful customised design covers for IKEA furniture (including sofas, armchairs, chairs etc) as well as curtains, cushions and bedroom textiles - in a choice of over 250 colours and patterns (machine washable and sewn to order too!). Read on to here more about the transformation!

  The Planning

Since we were aiming for a cocoon like feel, the room needed some some rich, warm tones, and yet at I also was keen to keep the Nordic aesthetic.

Bemz Rosendal Pure Washed Linen in White and Unbleached were the obvious choices to use for layers of soft textiles (linen has such a wonderful relaxed look and it's a great material since it's snug in the winter and helps keeps you cool in the summer). We combined it with Velvet Malmen in Chestnut cushion covers to ramp up the cosiness!  

I'm particularly pleased with the bedspread made in Rosendal Pure Washed Linen in Unbleached in their Loose Fit Urban style. It's beautifully made with exposed seams and a lining. Best of all? When I'm in a bit of a hurry in the morning (err, daily) I can just chuck it over the bed! Yasss!

I've had my eye on the bed skirt made in Rosendal Pure Washed Linen in Absolute White in their Loose Fit Urban style for a while. A bed skirt / valance is a great way to hide the box spring, under bed storage, and all other kinds of stuff that finds it's way under there! This one is so pretty too, don't you think? I love the detail!

The Söderhamn one seat section with Urban Loose Fit cover in Rosendal Pure Washed Linen - Unbleached was a must. Not only does it mean I finally have an armchair in my bedroom for all my clothes. Eh hem.  I mean, for reading, the linen slipcover adds much needed cosiness to the window nook (check out the seams too).  I kind of want to sink in and stay there all day drinking coffee and flipping through magazines (what kids?!).

 

Or maybe the chestnut?

What I love most about Bemz is that you can quickly update the look of an item of furniture by replacing the slipcover whenever the mood takes you. For example, check out how switching to the Söderhamn 1 seat section cover in Malmen Velvet Chestnut gives a new look to my reading corner! The only problem now I can't decide which I prefer - what do you reckon?

Photography / Production: Niki Brantmark - My Scandinavian home. Styling - Genevieve Jorn

So happy with the outcome, I hope you like it too.

If you're interested in getting a similar look in your home, you can shop the look at Bemz here. 

And in case you're wondering where any of the other items are from - there'll be a big follow-up post on Sunday covering all details - but feel free to ask away in the comment section below in the meantime!

Have a great weekend all! 

This post is brought to you in paid collaboration with Bemz and contains affiliate links, however all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too.

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