Giving My Sister's Guest Room the Scandi Treatment

Paid partnership with Decology (all words are my own):
 

Do you find some rooms just seem to fall into place and you can puzzle over others for years and no matter what you do, it just doesn't feel right? I can be so indecisive that in the same time I've been obsessing over small details of my hallway, my sister Cas has managed to dig out an entire basement (obviously not with her own bare hands!) beneath her South West London townhouse and kit it out down to the door knobs. I'm in awe! But she has come unstuck with one space: the guest room. Admittedly, it's a tricky one. It's situated at the back of the basement and only gets a very small amount of natural light (down a light shaft). I promised to help create a warm and inviting room (considering I'm often the guest in question it was in my best interest!). Plus I'd been waiting for an opportunity to test out Decology - a new online interior design service.



Decology offers two different online interior design services. 'Studio light' is free and provides you with 100+ designer creations organised by style or room. You can visualise them by adding them to a standard 3D model of your space, edit away and chat with a Decology designer if required - and then shop the look!

'Studio Plus' is the whole shebang and comes at a fee. It allows you to upload info about your room  along with pictures showing the look you love and a floor plan (it doesn't matter how rough - it can even be sketched on the back of a napkin) - as  long as there's no ketchup in the way, the professional interior designers can use it to create an actual 3D version of your room as well as a room scheme for you to play around with to your heart's content.  Once you're happy with the space, you'll receive a rendering of the design and get access to the personal shopping concierge.

I decided to give Studio Plus a whirl:

The brief
 
Cas was looking for a Scandi style (can you tell we're sisters?!), light, de-cluttered room with a couple of style statement pieces thrown in (and knowing her husband, the space should be highly practical too!) - I kept this in mind during the Studio Plus survey.




I also uploaded a few pictures which Cas snapped with her iPhone. As you can see, the room is a blank canvas, begging for a little TLC!

 

2. Room Schemes
Once the designers had read through my brief, they put together two room schemes for us to choose from.

A Scandinavian style guest room with a chest-of-drawers found on Decology here.


A Scandinavian style guest room with a wardrobe found on Decology here
 

I was super happy with both (and so was Cas!) - they're pretty nice aren't they?

3. Playing around in the 3D studio
The good news is both schemes were placed in the 3D studio (an exact replica of the guest room) so I could play around with everything and see what looked best. Funnily enough I preferred scheme number one on paper but when I started to play around in the 3D tool I preferred the second scheme - it felt cleaner and more practical (Cassie's man would be pleased - perfect!).



The tool allowed me to rotate the room, zoom in and out and move items around as well as swap them in and out.
 

I could also play around with the colours - going from a lighter look to darker tones.

In the end I opted for one dark grey accent wall behind the bed since I like the contrast, but am aware of the lack of natural light in the room. 

Final Room Design

What do you think? Do you like it?

I showed them to my sister earlier today and she's super happy - yay!

All that's left to do is shop the final design directly through the Decology studio* (so handy!).
 

I've got a feeling I'm going to be a pretty happy guest the next time I visit Cas!

If you're also stuck on a room, I can definitely recommend seeking a little help from Decology! If you'd like to use my schemes as a starting point you can find them here and here. Your space will be ready in no time! 

Niki

Note: I found the Decology site worked best using Google Chrome or the latest Firefox browsers. 

*Shopping service available to UK residents only. 

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Decology, however all words are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the businesses that make My Scandinavian Home possible.

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7

Lauren Maclean's Beautiful, New, Montreal Home

Do you remember Lauren MacLean's beautiful studio in Montreal? I was sneaking around instagram last night and realised I hadn't visited Lauren's feed for a while - and lo and behold her home had completely transformed. I fired off a quick mail to Lauren to get the low down. "So, the recent photos are actually of my new apartment!" she explained. "I moved right across the hall - which is why it looks so similar! It has much of the same character but it's a little bit larger." The space was in major need of renovation when Lauren first got her hands on it, but with a little grit and a huge amount of determination, Lauren has slowly made it her own and transformed it into a stunning living space. Oh and it's hiding another secret too.

//affiliated links marked with *//

Silhouette Pedestal table* by West Elm, Art by Lysa Jordan

 "I had my eye on this place because I knew I'd want a little more room eventually. I would catch glimpses of it in passing. It was in a terrible shape but I saw the potential to turn it into something special. With a lot of work and just one pair of hands, I cleaned it up, painted it and gave myself a fresh, blank canvas to work with."

Pelle Chandelier*,  art by Lysa Jordan.

"The apartment is an odd layout. It's basically two symmetrical (mirrored) rooms that aren't fully closed off and a small bathroom and kitchen off the back room (I'm still working on those!). I use one room as a living room / dining room and the other as my bedroom / office."

Curvilinear wall lamp*,  art from Citizen Atelier.

 "I changed most of my decor and design. I treat each space as its own and I wanted this apartment to connect with the feeling you get from it when you walk in the door."

"I had more room to work with compared to my last apartment and was therefore able to introduce bolder colours and furniture. I wanted to channel the 'Paris apartment' vibe because the space has so much character, but I also added more relaxed pieces so it still felt like home (soft textures, linens, rattan and other natural materials)." 

And the other surprise?

"I also have an outdoor space that I just completed! It was in terrible shape, but with a little paint and lots of flowers I was able to turn it into a really nice outdoor space for myself!"

"It was so hard to move, I loved my first studio and the chance to take this place came a lot sooner than I had planned, but it felt like now or never so I took the chance and I'm so happy I did! It was quite a nightmare getting through all the work, but I'm so proud I did it all myself and the space really feels like mine."

Is anyone else feeling incredibly inspired by this?! It just does go to show that you should follow your gut instinct, and with a little vision and hard work you can get the home of your dreams! With fireplaces like these too with any luck - how beautiful are they?! 

See more of Lauren's home here, a tour of her previous apartment here and other Montreal beauties here!  

I can't wait to see what Lauren does with a kitchen and bathroom, how about you?

Speaking of hard work... I'm kind of buckling under the pressure of working at the same time as having the kids and husband (he's a teacher) at home for the school holidays.  I love them all dearly but.... err.... when does school start again?! 

I really, really hope you don't mind, but for my own sanity I'm going to have to go back to blogging three days a week until mid August when the school gates open once more! 

So on that note, I'm going to leave you to dream over Lauren's lovely home over the weekend. Have a wonderful, sparkly few days and see you Monday!

Niki

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7

A Cool, Grey, Cream and White Swedish Space

It's the hottest day of the year here - it's absolutely baking! While it's bliss splashing about in the cool, blue waters of the Öresund, sadly the heat is causing devastating forest fires across the country and Sweden has had to draft in the help of neighbouring countries to help extinguish the blaze. In certain areas locals have been lining the roads to cheer on the convoys of firefighters as they arrive - it's really heartwarming! Rain is on the forecast for this weekend too - phew! Meanwhile,  I'd quite happily hang out in this shaded apartment, with it's cool, calm colours for a few hours today. The space belongs to Swedish interior designer and stylist extraordinaire Hanna Ahlin - and it's a wonderful combination of soft white, cream and striking dark grey. Look out for her cute dog licking his chops! 

// affilliate links marked with *//

The gallery wall looks amazing against a dark grey wall. Hanna has stuck to a black, white and cream scheme for the gallery. I paticularly love the Nude 02 by Ekaterina Koroleva*.

I love this Elfa shelving / desk combination in the bedroom - it's such a great way to turn a wall in a narrow spot into a home office!

The linen curtains seen above in the bedroom have been chosen to match the wall colour and offer a perfect way to create storage and hide a lot of things! I've actually been thinking of doing this in our hallway since we always have so much clobber. It would be great to just pull a curtain across the whole lot and pretend none of it's there!!

I usually buy my linen curtains made to measure from this Etsy shop - and I see they sell dark grey linen drapes* just like these ones!

There's a lot to be said for cool greys when the mercury rises outside- don't you think?

Stay cool friends!

Niki

Photography Hanna Ahlin / Alen Cordic.

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4

This Incredible Swedish Country Home By The Sea Could Be Yours!

Do you ever dream of moving to the countryside (or perhaps you've made the move already?). As a Londoner at heart, I'm so happy in our little townhouse in Southern Sweden, but that doesn't stop me from dreaming about living in a beautiful house in the country. Somewhere old, somewhere with acres of outdoor space for our children to run riot, and somewhere with my very own studio atelier. Oh and did I mention the sea view?! Hmmm. Perhaps I'm asking for too much. Or so I thought.

Earlier today I discovered exactly this on a real estate site!! The artist's home dates back to the 1800's and is located right on the beach in Smygehamn (try pronouncing that!) on Sweden's beautiful southernmost tip. It also has the most incredible atelier (with it's own fireplace!) *heart skips several beats*! There's one slight drawback though. It's way out of my price league. Ah well. Perhaps we can share it?!

The bohemian in me loves traditional-style mix and match kitchens. How pretty is this cabinet under the sink? Knowing my family we'd have a hard time remembering which draw we put things in, but it'd would be worth it all the same!

A traditional Swedish masonry oven in the corner of the bedroom is something I've always dreamed of! Loving the cane sleigh bed too (try Serena & Lily* for similar).

It's so inspiring how all the items are vintage / antiques of some sort. I'm thinking that if I ever make that move to the country this type of furniture would be high on my list. My Mother used to take us to loads of auctions in Sussex, England when we were kids (she collected antique chest-of-drawers like I collect cushions!!)  and I've never really had the opportunity to do this as an adult. 

This bath is so pretty - and if you hop over to the rest of the pictures over at Residence you'll spy an original Thomas Crapper loo (I wonder how it found it's way to Sweden?!).  

 This was the fireplace I was telling you about. I'm already picturing myself here in the winter. Would I get any work done ? Potentially not! But think of all the tea I'd drink while I looked out over the stormy waters!

And there you have it.

Anyone else envisaging themselves living here?!

Me? I'm already on one of those deck chairs (in my mind).

Whoever buys this house is one lucky soul!

What does your dream home look like?

Niki

Photography courtesy of Residence. 

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