A Relaxed Cologne Home with Mid-Century Vibes

Hallo! A German greeting since I'm super excited to share the home of Antonia Schmitz with you today! If you love relaxed, boho style and don't follow Antonia's wonderful blog and instagram already, you must! Her feed is awash with daily snapshots of her and her husband Gabriel's lovely Cologne home. Blending vintage with cool contemporary style, the space is teeming with touches of mid-century, design classics, the odd high street find, home-made arts and crafts set against a backdrop of white, deep blue and sage. Oh and there's her two delightful resident cats Pinkie and Flocke too. Step this way!

I love this wall colour - isn't it beautiful?! I believe it's this shade by Kolorat.  Teak and rattan furniture goes so well with it too. Other items: String shelves, PH5 mini pendant, rattan lounge chair (liking these!).

Look at that cat perched on the radio enjoying the warmth and tunes! He looks like he's overseeing the Chemex coffee brewing too - he and I would make great friends! Also spotted - the vintage scissor lamp (I picked up a similar one here!).

Ah yes, the hottest item in the home (and instagram right now!) - the mid-century teak credenza! I don't think I'll ever tire of these bad boys! Source a similar beauty here.

"It has to be cosy with a personal touch," Antonia tells me when I asked her what she finds important when  decorating. "I love things that tell a story and things that make me happy."

I think this magazine rack would certainly make me happy each day - how about you? Keep an eye on this page for a similar one. 

Antonia picked up the mid-century armchair at Otto - if you live outside of Germany, you can source  a similar vintage one here (so many beautiful ones!).

There are a few beautiful items to pick out from this corner of the sitting room so I'm just going to hop to it: Hay tray table, String shelving, Sitzfeldt sofa (you can create similar look with the Söderhamn modular sofa from IKEA with a Bemz Urban Loose Fit cover like I have in my sitting room - 15% off right now with 15myscandinavianhome - just saying :). Junit configurator light.

I normally shy away from sharing photos with TV's - which is kind of crazy since nearly all of us have one! Plus, they're one of the hardest things to style nicely in the home. I think Antonia's kind of nailed it though, don't you? If you're on the market for a TV - I'd totally recommend The Frame by Samsung - it hangs right next to the wall and looks like a work of art (check out the second film in this post featuring my Greenhouse make-over with Emily Henderson and you'll see why!).  

Photography: Antonia Schmitz / @craftifair / www.craftifair.com

This home makes me so happy. It's just so lived in. Could it be the cats? The relaxed style? Or simply the mix of everything combined? Do you feel the same?

Thank you so much for inviting us into your lovely home Antonia!

I've got two exciting projects in the pipeline which I've been meaning to start for ages - but I just haven't found the time. I've thought about it and the only way to get to it is to skip tomorrow's blog post. I hope you don't mind, a rare move! I'll be back on Sunday with a special My Scandinavian Home reader offer  (I even drafted in the man for a little modelling so it's not to be missed!!).  If you're looking for some inspiration in the meantime I'm loving these home tours:

A cosy, modern boho home
A beautiful retreat in Marseille
A magnificent Berlin apartment
And tell me you didn't miss Hilton Carter's awe-inspiring loft last week?!

Have a great couple of days and see you Sunday!

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A Dated Home Becomes a Fresh, Modern Farmhouse

Ever since I stumbled across the portfolio of Pittsburgh based interior designer Leanne Ford and featured this incredible home, I've been a huge fan of her work! Leanne is currently the star, along with her brother and contractor Steve Ford, of Restored by the Fords on HGTV, which follows the siblings as they turn some of Pittsburgh's most dated buildings into magazine-worthy homes. Their latest project was to transform the Faraci family's pokey ground floor (made up of three rooms) into a fresh, open-plan space. I caught up with Leanne to find out more about the project...

What was the design brief?

I loved the Faraci family! They are so lovely and loving and their demands were rather simple! They wanted a simple and well designed home to be together as a family and to entertain in. The first floor of their house was separated by three walls when we got our hands on it. And of course, I removed them ALL. We wanted those in the kitchen to be able to see out the front window. And we wanted a more welcome communal living space for them.

What style were the family after and how did you achieve it? 

"They wanted a fresh and modern farmhouse style. We gave them all the classic fixings; subway tile, butcher block counters, classic white cabinets, open shelving, farm table down the center of the kitchen, simple design and decor. And I played with all of these features over the original and very beat up wooden floors. Though they started out as a kind of disaster to try to make them work, they ended up being my favorite feature of the home. Ain't that how it happens. The rough and vintage floor really adds life to the clean lines of the new kitchen." 

 Do you have a favourite feature from the make-over?  

That amazing modern "sculpture" of a stair case that Ed Zeiler from Wood N Wrench made us! We had to totally reconfigure where the staircase went after ripping walls out, so we played with the new "railing/wall" And made it a design feature.

 Did you experiment with anything new? 

"We did Board and Batton on the INSIDE of the home for a change. It was a simple and economical way to bring texture and character into this home. Over the coffee table you see a white chandelier that I TRIED to make... I would say this is one of those examples of letting art evolve...I certainly never set out to make the light look like that, but let's just say it really "wanted to" ;) The family made me feel better when they said it looks like something from the MOMA. I don't know about that, but... I'll take it!"

Photography: Alexandra Ribar

Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful make-over with us Leanne!

If you love this look and want to steal a few ideas (I certainly will be!) - here's a quick guide:

Get the look

1. Nuvo lighting, warehouse shade
2. Vintage chopping board
3. Glass cake stand
4. Natural linen napkins
5. L:A Bruket liquid soap
6. Drip Glaze 16-Piece Place Setting
7. Tour Eiffel brackets  
8. IKEA armchair with Bemz Loose Fit Country cover (get 15% off design covers for IKEA furniture at Bemz with code '15myscandinavianhome' until 11th Feb - ships worldwide!).
9. Woven basket pendant light
10. Sisal natural jute rug

Ahhh, so inspired by this space - the statement basket lamp, the asymmetry of the chairs and bench around the table, the open shelves. So much to love. I hope it's inspired you too!

Have a lovely day.

****

Complete Source list:

Kitchen: Cabinets / Miter Box (custom built),  Farmhouse 3018 sink in pearl / Native Trails, Trinsic kitchen faucet in champagne bronze / Delta, White subway tile / Jeffrey Court,  Butcher Block countertop / IKEA. Cutting boards / Whitney Jurgovan of Kinsey Vintage market, Small white rug in bleached jute ivory / world market*, Wooden shelving with Tour Eiffel brackets / Anthropologie*,  Napkins and Tea towels, Parachute home, Vintage Mirror / Garden Style Living, wooden kitchen table / Weisshouse, Woven Basket Pendant / World market. Wooden chairs / 1stdibs. 

Family room (with fireplace): Cloud sofa in beligan linen natural / RH Modern,  Sisal natural jute rug / World market. White linen armchair / Weisshouse. Blue Tin Washer // Kinsey Vintage Market, coffee table / weisshouse, Metal Locker Boxes // Urge Studio.

Living room: White rug in bleached ivory jute / World market, Burlap sofa / Weisshouse,
wooden coffee table / IKEA, Chandlier custom made by Leanne, Green credenza / Urge Studio.

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A lovely, relaxed Swedish home

Why, hello there! I'm just nipping in to share this beauty of a Swedish apartment with you. Styled by Emma Fischer for Bjurfors, the warm natural textures, abundance of plants (there's that climber again! - see our guide here!) and linen textiles create a lovely relaxed feel. If you look closely there's also a touch of blush in every corner which helps to create a cohesiveness throughout. Enjoy!









Photos: Alen Cordic. Styling: Emma Fischer for sale through Bjurfors here. 

Seeing the wood flooring reminds me of the house we grew up in. We had the same parquet floor and  some of the wood tiles were loose. I used to spend hours playing with them (they made perfect 'jenga' tiles!!). Of course, I never noticed how lovely the actually floor looked!

Even though I was only supposed to be ducking in and ducking out today (busy day) I still can't resist sharing a quick guide to a few of the items I love in this home. Here goes:

Living room: Hay cushion, mustard knot cushion (check out this knot stool too!). Dining area: series 7 side chair, wishbone chair, Skultuna Lily candleholder. Bedroom: the Hay mega dot quilt is similar, Diamond chair, Muuto dots.

Have a great evening guys!

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My daybed update

Sponsored post:

I love how small updates can make a big impact. Recently I've grown a little tired of the original IKEA cover in pale grey on our Söderhamn chaise longue (in the window nook), plus it was starting to look, well, a bit manky (think foot marks, splashes of hot chocolate, you name it!). So earlier this week I swapped it for a new Bemz Loose Fit Urban slipcover in Rosendal Pure washed Linen - Medium Grey and I'm soooo happy with the result! Not only does it feel extra cosy (I love the darker colour!) it also matches the rest of my sitting room - perfect! 

I already had the Söderhamn chaise longue with a cover, but if you're ordering a new one from IKEA you can buy one without the cover for less and then add the Bemz cover at home (it's so easy to put on!). A quick side-note: I bought the baby's breath wreath at a flower shop in town back in December - it's been in the hall for ages but I think I might just have found a new spot for it, what do you think?

You may remember the touch of chestnut from my bedroom make-over. I think the 40 x 60 cushion in Malmen velvet chestnut adds a lovely warm touch to the window nook too. I love the exposed seams and relaxed look of the Loose Fit Urban - it's what drew me to this style. 

In this last pic you can catch a glimpse of my Chinese Money plant (I love the shape of the leaves!) and my book The Scandinavian Home (not that I sit and read my own book....but I do like to dip and out for inspiration, press interviews etc). After all - there's no such thing as a cosy corner without plants and books, don't you agree?! 

Photography: ©Niki Brantmark / My Scandinavian Home

Aaaaah, so pleased with it! If anyone's looking for me I'll be cosying up here for the rest of the day!

Have a cosy day!


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

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