A White Swedish Home With An Intriguing Hanging Plant!

It's Friday - tjho-hooo! I was hoping too slope off early, after all, it's POETS day - but then I remembered I've got to write an entire article for a magazine by 4pm - eeeeeeek! How did I forget about that?!  More details to follow (if I get round to finishing the piece, that is!). No matter how busy (or disorganised) you know I'd never leave you without a beautiful home tour to enjoy over the weekend though. So I'm nipping in to share this beauty with you. The 89 metre square (957 feet square) apartment is located in the heart of Linnéstaden, Gothenburg and it's waiting for one very lucky person to move in! Think period features, white washed walls, she fabulous furniture and one very intriguing hanging plant!

Menu Carrie lamp*, Source beautiful custom made rustic tables and benches like this here*. 

Vertigo pendant light*

Asplund Palais table

Grey linen bedding*, I'm having a total mental block on the lovely table lamp - help! 

What do you think, could you imagine living here?!

I'm fascinated by the plant arrangement over the bed, I think I might have to explore this more over the weekend - how does it work do you think?! Is it actually a living plant, or cuttings? If real, how would you water it? Questions, questions! It does look pretty fab!

I must say, it feels great to end the week with a Swedish home - especially after I was lamenting only yesterday about heading off somewhere warmer (admittedly I am still dreaming about the waterside cabin in Australia!). Sweden, this is proof that I do love you really - rain or shine!

I hope you found this week on My Scandinavian Home as inspiring as I did.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Niki

Photography: Anders Bergstedt, styling Nouvel Interiör for Entrance 

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Dreamy Holiday Let: A Cosy Waterside Eco Cabin In Australia

I try to stay positive, really I do - but the weather in Malmö right now is so dreadful. It's been somewhere between rain and snow for the best part of a fortnight! BAH! So today, I'm dreaming of warmer climes and charming waterside getaways like The Little Black Shack. Located in Great Mackerel Beach, an hour from Sydney, owners Jamie and Ingrid Kwong first discovered the fisherman's shack over 20 years ago during their many boating trips on Pittwater. In 2013 they noticed it had been put up for sale. Despite the poor condition, they were hooked (and who can blame them?!). With the help of an environmentally conscious builder, the pair spent 18 months recycling, repurposing, reusing and rebuilding the shack- transporting materials by boat and carrying them up to the site by hand. Today the shack has been fully restored into a cosy and charming waterside cabin. And the best news? It's available for short term stays / holiday lets! I've got my eye on that spot by the window - how about you?

Race you there?!

Find out more about staying at The Little Black Shack here.

Other dreamy off-the-beaten-track waterside stays in Australia I've got my eye on include Captain's Rest and this cabin on Satellite Island (both in Tasmania). When I finally make my way down under, I feel like I'm in for a treat!

Can you imagine staying in these places too?!

Niki

Photography: Luisa Brimble / @luisabrimble

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7 Gallery Walls For Every Room - And A Fail-Safe Way To Hang Art!

Are you a fan of gallery walls? They've been rocking the interior world for a while now and it looks like they are here to stay! The great news is, as long as you have the wall space, they can go just about anywhere and make a great feature! I've rounded up some of my favourites from around the web for a room by room guide:

In the sitting room
The Danes are masters of gallery walls. The one below has been circulating the web for a while now, but I'll never tire of it! Made up of exhibition posters from Louisiana Museum of Modern Art as well as pieces by other Danish artists, it adds a whole load of personality to the sitting room!

In the dining room
A selection of prints (including Portrait J*)  trail all the way from the ground up in Theo-bert Pot's dining room against a millennial pink backdrop. See the rest of Theo-bert's creative home here!

Theo-bert Pot

In the Stairway
The stairs is an ideal space for art and photography. In Louise's home, a gallery wall adds a wonderful splash of colour to an otherwise white space. Think about mixing up a series of thin frames* to add interest. FYI - Louise's homes is one of my favourites! Hop over to take the full tour!

Louise / Mor till Mernee

In the bedroom
Who says a gallery wall needs to be perfectly aligned? These pictures arranged above a bedside table have been placed at different heights by Avenue Design Studio for a charming and relaxed look.

In the home office / studio
In this creative studio, artist Edith Rewa's own pretty illustrations have been combined with other work for an entire wall of inspiration.  Not an artist? You can always collect  pictures you love from magazines, cards and other places and create a giant moodboard!

Edith Rewa / The Design Files

In the bathroom
Honestly WTF has ditched the frames to create a gallery wall using prints from Society 6 in the downstairs loo!

Honestly WTF

In the entrance / hallway
What to do with a long, narrow entrance way without eating into the space? Add a gallery wall like Johanna Landbo's to brighten up your entry and exit each day (don't miss the full tour of her Danish home along with a few small space hacks here).

Got the art, but not sure where to start? (I'm a poet, but I just didn't know it!). Here's a guide I created a while ago. It's my fail-safe method for picture hanging (ever since my husband went a bit nuts over all the unnecessary holes in the wall!):

1. Take a large roll of paper and draw around each of the pictures you intend to hang. Cut out the template.
2. Stick them on the wall with blu-tac - and play around with the templates until you have a composition you're happy with. Quick tip I learned: artwork looks best if it's around two thirds of the width of the furniture beneath it (of course rules are there to be broken and this is definitely not an instruction - more a guide if you're feeling stuck!).
3. Measure the distance of the hook on the back of the picture (both vertically and horizontally)
4. Mark out the same spot on your template on the wall.
5. Hammer a nail through the marked out spot
6. Tear away the template leaving the nail in place and you're ready to rock!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on gallery walls. Do you have a favourite from the above round-up? Do you have one in your own home?
Have a lovely day friends!

Niki

//affiliate links marked with *

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A Simple, Relaxed, Happy Family Home With Scandinavian Touches

Oj oj oj! Today's home tour is a real goodie! It's full of soul, interesting details and lovely, rich accent colours like 'muddy puddle' (great name for paint in a children's room, don't you think?!), 'rum caramel' and 'soft maplewood'. Although it's located in West Wales, UK, it has a distinct Scandinavian look and feel thanks to the white washed backdrop and delightful Nordic pieces, which of course, makes my heart sing with joy this grey, rainy Tuesday in Malmö! The simple and relaxed space belongs to Cassie Chung, who has amassed quite a following on instagram thanks to daily updates of her interior and fab wardrobe style! Cassie takes inspiration from books, magazines, Pinterest, travel and blogs to evolve her style and create a wonderful family home which she shares with her husband and three children - Lyssia, Emmy & Mio as well a cat and dog (quite the full house!). Enjoy!

Eye Eye print*, This pendant light* is similar, as is this Kawa chair! 

Art: Things Will Work Out*, Linen, Hotel Magique Shell

Beni Ourain rug*, Raised metal plant box, Ferm Living box throw

Paint: Dulux, Rum Caramel*

Lisabo desk and Odger chair - both by Ikea

Bobo Choses Tapestry Bunny (wall hanging), Miniature Funkis dolls house

Paint: Soft Maplewood 3

Lucky Boy Sunday Nulle pillowcase, Brown linen bedding*, Ferm Living basket*, IKEA junior bed, print by Pax and Hart
Paint: Dulux muddy puddle

What a truly lovely home! I love how Cassie has filled it with pieces which she has hunted far and wide making the space truly unique.

It also feels full of soul, and truly lived in.

I was really happy to discover a few of those Dulux colours too - I'm totally into brown tones after decorating my bedroom and office.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

For now you can keep up to date with Cassie's interior updates on instagram @casschung - but soon she'll also be launching an online shop too - watch this space!

Other homes I love today: umber and chestnut accents in a lovely Swedish home, a relaxed boho family home on the edge of a desert and a cosy, boho Swedish family home.

Happy Tuesday friends! We're just preparing for the arrival of two very VIP guests today - my Mother and Father from London - and it's my Father's birthday too! Can't wait!

Have a lovely day!

Niki

Photography: Cassie Chung, shared with kind permission
Affiliate links marked with *

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Before + After: An Attic Becomes A Light + Airy Guest Bedroom

I'm into tricky spaces at the moment - and love seeing how they can be transformed. Today's make-over sees a cramped attic space in an 1800s farmhouse in the Catskills transformed into a lovely, bright and airy guest bedroom. The house is owned by florist turned writer Lisa Przystup and husband Jonathan Linaberry and used as a weekend retreat; a perfect respite from a more hectic life in Brooklyn, New York. The tools? A lick of paint, a selection of charming furniture and some delightful accessories. In other words - completely cosmetic and not costing the earth either! So, if you've got a spot in your home that's currently full of stuff (don't worry, we all have one!) I think you'll find this hands on DIY make-over truly inspiring!

Before

The attic was already in quite good condition when the couple acquired the house and just needed simple updates like clearing out the clobber, a fresh coat paint on the floor and walls and some pretty pieces! 

Honestly - this is nowhere near the amount of stuff we currently have in our attic - in fact, my husband and I would be congratulating ourselves if our storage looked like this! But still, it's not quite guest bedroom ready! 

After

The pair wanted to keep the backdrop monochromatic to fit the look and feel of the rest of the home. They painted the floors in Tricorn Black and the walls in Extra White by Sherwin-Williams. 

A simple belgian linen blind in oatmeal with a black-out lining adds softness to the space while keeping the sunlight out and a pair of pendant lights have been hung from a single power outlet on the ceiling and hooked to either side of the bed to serve as reading lights (I love this idea - Holly Marder did something similar in this bedroom she designed). Magic Linen is a great source for linen bedding* like this! 

Although pared-back, the bedroom has a lot of charm thanks to the blend of old and new - like this chest-of-drawers left behind by the previous owners and a more contemporary leather and brass chair.  The chest-of-drawers is also perfect for guests staying a little longer, my Mother always says "you've never truly arrived somewhere until you've unpacked."

Every guest room needs a little mirror and side table and these fit perfectly against the central pillar. Feathers and other items found in the Catskills serve as a wonderful reminder of the fantastic nature on their doorstep (I was lucky enough to visit the Catskills for my book The Scandinavian Home and I've been wanting to return ever since, it's a magical place!). 

The room is entered via this beautiful reclaimed door which was already in place when they bought the house. They deliberately left it as it was in order to make it a feature. The folding chairs belonged to one of their grandfathers and serve as extra seating when guests come to stay (source similar vintage ones here*). 

Wow! So simple, yet so lovely! 

I'm already wondering if we should finally do something with our attic space - or even somewhere else in the home. 

Are you feeling inspired too?! 

I first spotted this wonderful make-over on Remodelista (read more about the room and see more pictures here).

If you love a before + after as much as I do, you might also like to brighten up your Monday with these:

A dated 1950's Danish house gets a fabulous make-over

A dingy garage becomes a bright guest house

A dated bathroom becomes a cosy, tranquil oasis

Here's to an inspiring week!

Niki

Photography: Sarah Elliott, shared with kind permission. Design Lisa Przystup

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