A Pretty Family Home in Brussels

Welcome to the Brussels home of Isabel - 'teacher by day, blogger by night', wife of Walter and Mother to two adorable children, seven year old Jules and five year old Jeanne. Despite a "dizzying pace of life" (we all know that that feels like!), Isabel takes the time to slow down and dabble in fashion (both for her and her children), travel and interiors - decorating their home in a simple, authentic, lovely way. Let's dive in!  

IKEA kitchen with Superfront doors, brass tap from Tapwell, table from Opsmuk

Marble and wood feature throughout the ground floor which feels both cool and warm in equal measure. Although I think we all agree the warmth triumphs in the end!

Isabel has installed an adult Kuatour desk and the very cute mouse table and chairs from Danish brand Nofred so that there's plenty of space for the family to work side by side!

The upstairs sitting room has been simply furnished using the Poetry sofa by Karup. The pretty rug pulls the entire space together.

The wall colour in the attic bedroom looks a little like the blushing peach hue I have in my bedroom. I love the shade, it's really cosy and constantly changes with the light. The little side table is from Woodchuck and the oak bed is from Ethnicraft.

The dolls house in Jeanne's room is from Things We Love (it's a little like the one we saw in Aurélie's home last week). And the bedding is GOTS from Danish brand Cam Cam. The wonderful rug is from Rozenkilim. 

What a pretty home! I love the children's rooms (and their clothes!) in particular and it's so fun to see them enjoying the various rooms!

It's also great to see so many pieces from small independent brands. I've tried to link where possible but if I've missed anything feel free to leave a note in the comment section. You can also find out more info and see a few more pics on 'Visual stories by Isabel' and Instagram.

It's been ages since I've featured a home from Belgium on here. In case you missed them, it's well worth checking out a vintage inspired rural home in Belgium and the relaxed Antwerp home of a creative duo. Oh and I've always fancied staying at the eclectic B&B owned by Bea Mombaers - how fabulous is that?!

Have a lovely day!

Niki

PS I'm in Skagen, Denmark right now - famous for it's light, artists and being the place where three seas meet! We're hopping back on board at 4.30pm - if I miss that I'm in trouble. Better run!

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A Swedish Home With The Loveliest Earthy Blue Walls

Why, hello there! I hope you had a trevlig helg ('nice weekend' - notice how I subtly drop in new swedish words every now and again - I promise you'll be fluent by the end of the year!). I arrived home on Saturday night from Norway and will be rejoining the cruise in Gothenburg later today for my second talk (*mops brow*). But before I shoot off, I wanted to sit back and enjoy a moment of calm with you! This 46 metre square (495 foot square) Swedish apartment is so soothing for the soul! It's been styled for sale so probably features less items than it ordinarily would, but I'm still feeling massively inspired by the blue walls (could they be painted in Deco Blue?), subtle autumn hues, the fab Gubi coffee table and Frama light and some very pretty rugs!

Gubi Pedrera coffee table*, Frama lamp form 1, Loulou Avenue One Soul poster*

One of the things I've always loved about turn-of-the-century Swedish apartments are the sweeping double doors between rooms. Aren't they wonderful?!

It's been a while since I've seen a bed canopy like this  - what are your thoughts? I am a little divided but I do appreciate the soft, cloud-like look of it! The colours are what really stand out to me though - the chestnut duvet cover and soft green walls (I  just painted my daughter's room in Minty breeze which looks similar).

Afteroom dining chair*,  Bentwood chair*

I love the little pendant light over the dining table, it looks like it's wearing a top hat (so cute!)- but no idea of the name! Perhaps you can help?

This is the kind of space that you need to look through several times to catch all the details. For example, I've only just noticed the subtle glass shelf high up on the window over the kitchen table. It's the perfect place for a plant!

Did you spot anything I haven't? Or perhaps there's something you absolutely loved about this home? Please share away, I love hearing your thoughts!

Oh and more blue home inspiration in the fabulous 'decorating with blue' archive. Remember to just scroll passed if this pops up first.

Happy Monday!

Niki

Photography Anders Berstedt / Styling Nouvel Interiors for Entrance

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My home: Mouth Blown lights From The Danish island of Bornholm

Brand story

Hello there! I'm on a cruise ship Norway bound right now. I'm on board to hold a talk about Scandinavian design - definitely a first, and very fun! One of the key parts of my talk is about how Scandi design is associated with artisans. There's something extremely special about the passion and care that goes into handcrafted items, not to mention the feeling you get when you hold them in your hands. Every nick, bubble and irregularity gives the piece its soul and adds to the character. Scandinavia has a long history of glass blowing and my latest find are these absolutely beautiful mouth blown SKY lights by Pernille Bülow. Located on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, the esteemed team of glass blowers are passionate about unique design and sustainability - and take the process of collecting liquid glass pulp from a 1120 furnace and blowing it into shape - extremely seriously. I can't tell you how happy I was when they arrived!

I went for three different sizes of the clear SKY pendant lamps in gold to hang over our dining table - aren't they pretty?! They are also available in grey, golden, pink, blue, tea, turquoise and recycled glass with the option of either chrome or gold fittings (check out the complete collection here).

In this picture you can really see the different shapes of the glass - a result of the individual glass blowing.

In case you love these lamps as much as I do -  you can pick them up online here. They ship worldwide - yay!

And if you find yourself on the (magical) Danish island of Bornholm why not pop into the Pernille Bülow workshop and watch the daily glass blowing in action? You can also check out their other handcrafted glass items such as glasses, vases and candle-holders in the gallery. 

Have a wonderful weekend - and see you Monday!

Niki

I collaborated with the delightful team of glass blowers at Pernille Bülow for this post, as always all words, photography and styling are my own. 

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A Dingy 1950's Bungalow Gets A Fab Light-Filled Make-Over

Sometimes I am so in awe of what can be achieved with a little vision. When interior designer and decor shop owner Kirstine and husband Steve acquired their 1950's bungalow in a small lakeside town just outside Toronto, Ontario Canada, it was dark and dingy and in desperate need of TLC. The couple completely gutted the space and spent a year transforming it into a wonderful open-plan, light-filled home on a budget for themselves, two cats and dog. I couldn't resist asking Kirstine a little more about the incredible transformation!

Before

// affiliated links marked with *//

 Original layout

What work have you carried out?
We did most of the renovation ourselves. It was a completely closed off layout until we gutted the entire place, drew up some design plans and converted it to an open concept kitchen / dining / living space with a vaulted ceiling.

Sinnerlig Pentant, Bamboo lights from Etsy*

Were you daunted by the sheer level of work?
I am interior designer and worked in the field for 5 years before I started my own business in decor rentals and running a decor shop. Steve used to work in construction, so we both have experience in renovating and we typically know what we'll find behind the walls. Having said that, it was the craziest most intense thing we've ever done - most people get married and have kids, we did this!!

I can imagine! What was your aim?
We loved the idea of the house being as bright as possible, as before it felt small and dark. Adding windows on the back as well as an exterior sliding door made this all possible.

After

How did you come up with the idea for the shelving?
The room divider was actually an idea I had, we have our cold air return vent in the wall and instead of just having a small half wall, or a tall typical 4" wall, I decided to make it a feature and something we could use. That's where the shelf divider came in. 

There were some erm... quite strong colours when you moved in. What was your approach?

I wanted the entire house white, to really bounce around the natural light flow, with splashes of olour like in the bedroom and office.

 IKEA kitchen cabinets painted in Racoon Fur by Benjamin Moore, KitchenAid hood

Where do you shop?

Most items in here are pieces I have come across while at antique stores or flea markets. Larger pieces, like the sofa are some Article.

Sven Charme Article sofa,  for a similar rug try the Kaya* (among others) from Anthropologie.


How would you describe your style?
I wanted a Scandinavian, bohemian vibe because I love a clean but colourful look.

Kirstine picked up the hutch cabinet at a thrift store. 

 The pair added the wood work detail themselves over the space of weekend. It's been painted in 'Malarca' from Home Depot. Source a similar jute rug here* and vintage swivel chairs here*.

What are you most happy with?

The natural light that flows through here is my favourite thing about this house - and the fact that we did it all ourselves! 

The bedroom has been painted in Simply White with an accent behind the bed in Sherwood Forest, both by Benjamin Moore.

Thank you so much for showing us your fab bungalow Kirstine! I can't even begin to imagine the amount of work that's gone into it - but it was certainly worth it. Truly inspiring!

Can I just say, how cute is that dog?! He looks so happy on that rug too! 

If you'd like to see more of Georgina's latest projects check out her IG feed - or enjoy a browse around her lovely online vintage shop!

I've shown a load of Scandinavian-inspired homes in Canada lately. In case you missed them - take a peek at the lovely home of Émilie Desjarlais,  Lauren's former Monteal apartment (and her latest home across the hallway) and Juli Baker's white and wood cabin. What a dreamy bunch of homes, don't you think?!

I'm on my way to Dover, England first thing tomorrow for a Scandinavian cruise. It sounds wonderful, I know, but just in case the man is reading this -  it's definitely not a jolly - I've been asked to hold two talks about Scandinavian Design! Eeeeek! Feeling the nerves!

To keep my mind off the talks, I'd love to hear if you've done any major renovations in your own home and how you found it?

Sadly I realise I won't have time to create a  blog post tomorrow - sorry! I'll definitely be back on Friday though!

Niki

Photographs courtesy of Georgina / kirsten.diane shared with kind permission. 

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