Old Meets New In a Fabulous House By The Sea

Mandy Hart describes herself as a 'wife, mama to two cuties, stylist and vintage rug hoarder' (she and I are going to make great friends!). Mandy, her husband and two children moved to Australia from the UK six years ago in search of sun and a house by the sea (and no doubt a little sunshine!). They found their dream home on the coast of New South Wales - "which even came with its own little boat!" Their beautiful home is a perfect blend of old and new. White floors and walls serve as a gallery-style backdrop for a collection of vintage Persian rugs (which Mandy's Mother started collecting over 30 years ago), items picked up on their travels, lush plants and contemporary finds while an injection of timber and rattan also add to the relaxed vibe. Let's take a peek inside!

Clifton Indoor saddler stool (try Etsy* for similar)

Natural Suar Wood Stump, sofa from Vast Furniture, this large woven basket* is similar 

Cabinet from Ikea, Plant pot from Target Australia

"I love to combine vintage and modern, high and low and my staple is always my Persian rugs, which come with us everywhere and instantly make any house we live in a home."

Aside from the decor - I absolutely love the architecture, isn't it striking?!

Is there anything that stood out to you?

You can see more of Mandy's home over on her popular instagram feed @by_hart_ and take a peek at other fabulous Australian homes:

A relaxed beach home in neutral, earthy tones
Rent this relaxed eco-cabin by the sea
A charming cottage in Australia

Wishing you a wonderful start to the week.

Niki

PS My thoughts are with the people of New Zealand today, I was desperately saddened to hear about the atrocious events that unfolded over the weekend. 

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My Gallery Wall Updated In Blues + 15% Off At Posterlounge!

Sponsored* - Last Friday I chatted to the Danish girls behind kunstsalonen - curating public art exhibitions in private homes. One of their best tips for arranging art is to choose pieces you love and group them according to colour. I took this to heart this week when I updated the wall behind my sofa with four prints from Posterlounge. Inspired by this Norwegian home in beautiful shades of blue, my new gallery wall combines art inspired by nature (Mountains and Flow) as well as a beautiful illustration by Sophie Schultz and abstract art resembling glass architect. My daughters' faces lit up when she came home from school to discover the transformation! I hope you like the update too!

I love using art to update my home (as you know!) and Posterlounge has an absolutely huge collection of around 80,000 artworks in different sizes. You can also choose which material to print on!

Great news too - they're offering My Scandinavian Home readers 15% off with the code MYSCANDI15 until 31st March, 2019.

In case you're curious about the ones I picked, here's a little more information:

1. Mountains
2. Flow by Laura Marshall
3. Standing by Sophie Schultz
4. Construction (glass architecture) by László Moholy-Nagy

Do you have a favourite?

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Niki

*This post is sponsored by Posterlounge, however all words and photos are my own and I only ever work with brands I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the wonderful businesses that make My Scandinavian Home blog possible.

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An Inviting Family Home With Warm Pools Of Sunlight

Last week I mentioned that it had been raining a lot lately in Malmö, and guess what? It's still raining! Bah! But fear not if you're in the same boat (pun intended) - I have a beautifully sunny home tour to share with you today. Niina (of @lillalivetandme) and her husband started to build their house in a small village in North Germany over ten years ago. Although still not quite finished ("somehow I am not sure it ever will be," she laughs), the house provides a warm and inviting environment for their two children and two cats - and allows the family to enjoy the quietness of the nearby forest, fields and lakes which drew them to the area.  Niina's delightful interior pictures regularly feature warm pools of sunlight which make you want to crawl in and savour the moment with a cup of tea and a biscuit! Enjoy the tour!

Stockholm 2017 cabinet, spotted vase by Elin Frodig

Ljungby vase*

"Our home is constantly evolving. We all spend a lot of time here, so I really want to ensure it's warm and welcoming for the whole family. It is important for me to include their wishes in terms of colour and material. I value their opinions and they influence the outcome of the interior."

Rustic stool*

Bird by Architectmade*

"It's difficult to describe my style in words. It is inspired by Scandinavia - my Mother is from Finland and my heart definitely beats northwards! Perhaps my style could be referred to as 'all the things I like!'"

 Eduard bag

"I like our home to feel calm, neutral and natural. Our home is more simple than flamboyant. I don't like complicated things, I like to keep things simple. A home doesn't need much to make you feel good. The most decorative things to me are daylight and music!"

"Eliisa's room has been decorated in 'Rosegarden' wallpaper from Rebel Walls. It was stunning to see how the feeling in the room transformed. Although it's a lot of wallpaper and the room isn't that big, it doesn't feel oppressive at all - it's a really snuggly space! We love to lay in the bed looking out of the window, pretending to nap in a garden of roses."

What a charming home! It looks so warm and inviting too, don't you think?

If you'd like to see more snapshots of Niina's pretty home, hop on over to her beautiful instagram account here!

Well, that's it for me this weekend. I hope you've got some fun plans for the weekend? We're starting a very exciting renovation project tomorrow (I can't wait to share it with you soon...)  - I'm in desperate need of a lie in too though, so I'll see which will win!

Have a wonderful couple of days and see you Monday!

Niki

Photography: Niina @lillalivetandme
Affiliate links marked with * 

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A Stunning Norwegian Home In Many Shades of Blue

This has been a really inspiring week on the blog, I hope you've felt the same! On Monday I was dreaming about buying this holiday cabin on the Swedish island of Gotland complete with sea view and sauna. Yesterday I felt the urge to pack up all my belongings and move to a tiny cabin in the woods and pursue a career in pottery and today, I'm thinking I might just stay put after all and paint my home in shades of blue! When you see the interior of this stunning Norwegian home you'll understand why! Former owner Jan Thoresen and his wife (the apartment was sold last year) hired Tone Kroken to design their beautiful home in Oslo, which she decorated using a range of blue shades, veering from a soft grey-blue in the sitting room and a vibrant middle blue-grey in the hallway to a deep blue in the bedroom. Cognac accents, contemporary art and piles of books also add to the wonderful, unique feel of the space. Så flott!

TIP: To achieve the same rich patina seen in the bedroom and hallway try a minerals based paint like Pure & Original (which was used to paint this home) Jotun Lady Minerals (seen in the first two Norwegian bedroom shots in this post) or Kalklitir powder based paint (which the girls from Our Food Stories used to paint their beautiful studio and home) - the latter ships worldwide. You can also add Roll-A-Tex to normal paint like I did with my dining area (although be warned, this last option is soooo messy!!). Notice how the skirting boards and architraves have been painted in a slightly different blue accent adding interest and depth.

My eyes on that hallway. BE STILL MY BEATING HEART! Anything with piles of books and I'm in (I know I'm not alone either, the open shelving in Katarina Mattson's home is still my number one most popular instagram post E.V.E.R!) - but in combination with the 'mineral walls' - simple amazing!

Is there anything that caught your eye?!

Kudos to photographer extraordinaire Yvonne Wilhelmsen who took these wonderful pictures and interior architect Tone Kroken, the latter of whom who I had the pleasure of meeting when we captured her former home on an tiny car-free island outside Oslo for my second book The Scandinavian Home. It was such a magical day! Check out their interior book here and see more pics of this beautiful home on their website here.

More blue interiors to drool over today: feeling the blue in a Swedish home, a striking dark blue Stockholm pad, the wonderful home of a Swedish food blogger and how to add colour the Danish way.

I hope you're also singing the blues after all this Scandinavian inspiration today!

Niki

Photography: Yvonne Wilhelmsen  Styling: Tone Kroken

PS We've been beavering away on all your new room designs - so fun, thank you so much for signing up! If you'd also like to give my new room design service a whirl, I'm offering a special kick-off discount of 20% off with code MYNEWROOM. Get started here, or read more about the service here! 

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