An American Home Gets a Scandinavian Makeover

You may want to bring your hard hat to today's tour! My name's Valentina and Niki invited me to jump in while she is away (hopefully soaking up the sun and eating tons of tapas in Spain!). As I'm writing this, there is massive power sawing going on in the background as my new windows go into the kitchen, so we welcome you in the House of Valentina, even if it is under a cloud of dust!

 

You might remember me from the last time Niki and I were together. We spent the day running around Malmö and shot a Guide to the City and then only weeks later our family packed what little we hadn't sold and moved. 

We lived in Copenhagen for 6 years (one of the many versions of that house was featured here back in 2015!). But our time in Copenhagen had come to a close and we found ourselves heading back to the US. We bought a house close to all the family we had been away from for the last 12 years we had spent abroad and have been renovating it ever since. You can see the before photos here. 

Leaving Scandinavia was so hard for us! We absolutely loved living there and tried to bring back as many things as we could. Even now, while our house is undergoing a major renovation, we find a
peace and happiness that really is indescribable as bring Scandinavian style into our American home.

In the next few weeks we will finish up the first floor with reclaimed pine flooring and a brand new Scandinavian style kitchen. We can't wait! We've certainly learned throughout the process of renovating that aiming for perfection is unrealistic and when you know you are about to empty the house to put in new floors, buying tons of furniture probably isn't smart.

In the meantime, though, we are so delighted to share a few favourite corners of our home even with their imperfections because Scandis are pros at making a bed on the floor look amazing or a living room that is half empty look like a million bucks.

As we attempt to channel a little of that Scandi chic, we hope you will come and visit us and chime in with your advice about colours, furniture, and so much more because even though I work in design making my own decision is awful... and it's way more fun with friends anyways! 

Find us on YouTube, Instagram and our blog, House of Valentina. 

Some of my featured brands; Mobel og rum

Some of my featured colours*:

Family room and master bathroom: Sonic Silver

Fireplace: Nightclub

Master bedroom: Euro Gray

Boy's bedroom: Granite Boulder

Sunroom: Polar Bear

Studio: Hematite

Jack's office: NYPD 

*I use the Behr Marquee paint because it comes with a primer in it. 

Some of my go-to sources for Scandinavian style in the US:

DWR 

Cb2 

West Elm 

Project 62 at Target.

Valentina

PS Niki will be back blogging again on Monday, have a great weekend!

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Guest post: The Stylish Room of Ninon, 5

Welcome to Ninon's room, a stylish space that embraces childhood, with pretend play sets and colourful details. 

Ninon, lives in Trèves, a little village in the Lyon area. Adeline and Florent, Ninon’s parents, cleverly used recycled pieces, such as repurposed crib mattresses to create reading and napping areas, or wooden crates as toy dividers and storage.

It’s no surprise Ninon’s room breathes style and simplicity. Adeline and Florent chose a slow life in the country side after a stressful city life in Lyon — Florent is an organic farmer, and Adeline is a graphic designer and stylist. The family favors repurposing and recycling the old, over mass-produced items, so Adeline naturally used her eye for design to create a fun and playful space for Ninon, filled with repurposed objects. This room literally makes me want to get back into childhood!

If you like Adeline's style, be sure to follow her on Instagram, as she regularly shares updates of her beautiful home.

Si

A note on the wonderful guest contributor, Siham Mazouz:

Siham Mazouz is a French photographer and blogger. She lives with her husband, their two daughters, and Daisy, the family's Golden Retriever, in San Francisco, CA. 

Siham launched French By Design in 2010, and inspires readers to approach their decor, style and life in general with a modern French flair and a "less house, more home" philosophy. Her work and photography has been featured in Elle Decor, In Style, House Beautiful, Lonny or Travel & Leisure. 

To learn more about Siham, visit her at frenchbydesignblog.com or connect with her on Instagram : @FrenchByDesign.”

Photography Siham Mazouz for How the French Live, Gibbs Smith, 2018

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A Charming German Home Full of Vintage Finds and 3 Very Mischievous Cats!

Hola! My family and I are currently spending a few days in Spain over half-term. Loving the change of scenery (apparently, it snowed in Malmö yesterday - eeeek!) and I can't get enough of the tapas! Even when I'm not travelling, I love how the blog takes us on virtual journeys to new places in the name of design. And today, we're off to Cuxhaven, a seaside town on Germany’s North Sea coast where brightly coloured shelters dot the sandy beach. The port is the gateway to the nearby tidal island of Neuwerk and the small Heligoland archipelago (sounds like we need to add it to our travel list!) - as well as home to creatives Sandra and Tom. The duo run online shops MiMaMeise, selling handmade jewellery and MiMaMeiseVintage, offering a treasure trove of vintage finds from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Their charming home is peppered with vintage finds, plants and interesting details - all of which are enjoyed by three very playful cats: Molle, Jenne and Bibi-Mischka. 

Solar System Globe*

Zappy Lighting by Schneid Studio

How's this for a 'winter garden'? I can practically feel the warm rays of sunlight on my skin! 

What a brilliant action shot! That cat!

I've seen this wonderful portrait before in a previous home tour. We're currently in a car driving up the Costa Brava coastline with the worst wifi connection, but when I get back to our apartment later I'll take a look through and come back with the details. If you can help, please do add them to the comment section - muchas gracias!

I loved this home tour - the relaxed, warm atmosphere really shines through in the pictures!

Those cats!

Is there anything that you love in particular about Sandra and Tom's home? 

See more pics from their home here and other fab German homes here. 

I'm taking it a little easier this week to enjoy some downtime with my family - but I've lined up two wonderful guest posts on Wednesday and Friday - so do pop back to take a peek! They're by two creative ladies I find super inspiring! 

Adios amigos!

Niki

Photography: Tom & Sandra / MiMaMeise

Affiliated links marked with *

This post might contain spelling mistakes (especially my attempts to write in Spanish!) - sorry in advance!

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A Striking Blue and White Swedish Home Full of Contrast

This beauty of a home oozes elegance. So, when I found out the owners, Felicia Alm and her partner Viktor are in their early to mid-twenties, I couldn't believe it! When I was 24, I lived with a flat mate (Beth) in a tiny flat in Earls Court. It was a massively fun time, but our accommodation was nowhere near as sophisticated and mature as this beautiful space (to put it into perspective, we were once burgled and didn't notice for days!!). Located just up the coast in Landskrona, this 72 m2 (775 foot square) apartment is in a building dating back to 1890 and blessed with 'spegeldörr' (traditional panel doors), a tiled masonry stove, herringbone floors and stucco ceilings. I chatted to Felicia to find out more about the renovation, her sustainable mindset and shopping for secondhand finds.

Galaxy ceiling light

 

The side cabinet was sourced at an antique shop in Rydebäck (a great tip for locals!)

Do you and Viktor work in the design world?
I have a bachelor degree in architecture and visual communication and at the moment dream about working with interior design full time. As a hobby, I also create posters and offer freelance graphic design. Viktor works for his family business in the healthcare sector - but we both have a great interest in architecture and real estate. 

 

 

Hay Polygon quilt, blue velvet cushion*

Is this the first time you have carried out a renovation project?
Over the past 3 years we have lived in three different apartments that we bought, renovated and then sold. Now it feels like we have found home, or at least for the moment haha! You can either call us two restless souls or real estate lovers.

 
Did the apartment need an extensive amount of work?
When we moved into our current apartment in April 2017, it was in need of a total renovation. So we spent the whole summer of 2017 renovating it. We tried to do as much as we could ourselves. We felt it was important to try to keep the different spatial features of the apartment while making it modern and personal.

 

What do you love most about your apartment?
Our blue bedroom is my favorite room in the apartment. In my opinion, the blue colour contributes to a calm, relaxing and harmonious vibe. The colour is Kvällshimmel (evening sky) from Jotun LADY. I really love to decorate with color and contrast.

Felicia picked up the fabulous chaise longue secondhand on Blocket.

 

How do you approach home decorating?
I have always had a great passion for architecture, interior design and graphic design. My interior style is quite varied and I like to mix old and new. I am someone who likes things to happen in my environment, therefore our home is constantly changing. When it comes to my home, I can be kind of impulsive. So, if I get a good idea I will probably execute it the next day, haha!

 

Where do you buy items for your home?
Because I like to change and refresh our home regularly, I think it's important to think sustainably. I therefore try to shop at Blocket (Sweden's version of Ebay) or antique stores - which are also cheaper. You can find really unique things out there. 

The sitting room / dining area is painted in Silverpil 10 by Alcro - and picture shelves from IKEA have been painted in the same tone.

 

What are your go-to interior shops?
Blocket, H&M Home and Ellos.

IKEA Sevedal kitchen cabinets with Eneryda handles.

Thank you so much for inviting us into your beautiful home Felicia!

Did you spy her cute dog Ester? She's kind of hard to spot but looks so at home!

See more of Felicia's elegant apartment over on her blog and instagram - or if you're now in the mood for blue - take a scroll through these fabulous spaces!

It's the Swedish half-term next week and we're heading off to Spain (you're so welcome to follow along on Instagram stories!). Since I'm the worse screen time offender in the family (I blame it on my job!) - I'm going to try to set a good example and step away my phone / computer as much as possible. This means a reduced number of posts. However, if you can always pop into my Home Viewing Exhibition over at the Swedish Design Museum where I'm constantly adding new Swedish homes - including a summer cottage on its very own island and a 'funkis' bungalow!

I hope you have a FABULOUS weekend!

Niki


Credits: Felicia Alm

Affiliate links marked with *

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