A Swedish Home In Soothing Neutrals

Men hejsan! I hope you've had a lovely, relaxing time over Easter? It's our last day in London today (we're flying back to Malmö this afternoon) and I'm writing this post surrounded by cousins chasing each other around the house with Badminton rackets (where are my noise cancelling headphones when I need them?!). As great as it is to see them happy,  I'd very much like to crawl into the sofa in this Swedish apartment, put my feet up and have a cup of tea right now! Although staged for sale (and I know we all prefer a real 'lived-in' home) - I do love the effortless nature of this space, and I felt it might offer inspiration in terms of working with a subtle colour palette, how to inject natural materials (I spy wood, marble, jute, wool, clay etc) and how to creating a calming oasis! Välkommen!

Menu table light*, Muuto table*, Karlstad sofa (source a beautiful linen cover for it over at Bemz*), light blue velvet cushion*

 Such a pretty radiator cover! 

Although small, this reading corner has everything you might need: books, flowers, a blanket and no doubt, noise levels under 85 decibels! 

I absolutely love this bedroom with its bench, linen curtains (clever how they've used both nature linen and white linen - source similar made-to-measure here*), dark grey linen bedding and jute rug. Oh, and there's a balcony leading off it too - perfection! Could you imagine waking up here?! I certainly could!

And relax! 

Did you find any ideas to steal? I really love the dual shade curtains in the bedroom. I was trying to see if there was a black-out blind above the window too (does it look like there's one to you?). 

If you'd like to escape for a while longer and take a peek inside more Swedish homes today, you could always take a leisurely scroll through this archive! 

And guess what? The kids have moved outside and are actually playing badminton rather than just chasing each other with the rackets. I might just be able to have that cup of tea in quiet after all! 

Vi ses imorgen! 

Niki

Photographs courtesy of Alvhem (through whom this home is currently for sale). 

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Spreading A Little Easter Bunny Love!

As we pack our bags for London, I thought I'd spread a little Easter bunny love with my simple DIY bunny ear napkin creation I made for last year's table. It's super quick to create too (find out how here).

Wishing you a very happy and relaxed Easter / Spring break!

See you Tuesday!

Niki

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10 Ways To Style The Iconic Snoopy!

And I'm not talking 'Woodstock' Snoopy (although that would also make a fun post - did anyone else have 'Bella' as well as snoopy?!!). I'm talking the iconic Snoopy lamp* designed by Achille & Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos in 1967.  Recognised by its unique dome top and white Carrara marble base - the lamp celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 and has since re-emerged as one of the must-have task lights right now. Whether you're a black and white type of person - or prefer a pop of colour (it's also available in a very cool green and a fabulous orange) - the lamp looks equally great in the kitchen, sitting room or home office and even in a children's bedroom. Here are ten of my favourite looks! 

Could you imagine having a Snoopy lamp* in your home? If so, what colour would you go for?

I'd love to say the orange one - but we all know I'd freak out at the last minute and opt for the black version! All the same, I'm very tempted, it really is a stunning light! 

There's a load more fabulous lighting inspiration to be found in this archive! 

I hope the sun is shining where you are too!

Niki

Credits: 1. Uprise Art 2. Unknown 3. Gieves Anderson Photography 4. Lovisa Häger 5. Celine Hallas 6. Mohv Bromma 7. The Apartment DK 8. Henrik Nero 9. Anna Cecilia 10. Jotun

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The Beautiful Swedish Home of a Visual Merchandiser

What does your forever home look like? Is it OK to have a forever city home and a forever weekend country retreat?! A girl can dream, right?! If permitted, my forever city home would have bones just like this beautiful Swedish one. Think sky-high ceilings, stunning architraves, double 'spegel' doors and original parquet floors. Aren't they lovely?! Swedish visual merchandiser and design student Cajsa Berndtsdotter has worked with the colour and furnishings to make sure that they positively shine too. 

The plant in the window of the dining room has been placed on a plinth to make it even taller and work with the height of the window.

Marshall speaker*, IKEA cabinet, Bistro chairs*

Tall upper cabinets use the full height of the room (which work fine if you store little-used items higher up).

One of the beauty of high ceilings is having the space for statement lighting (like this Pholc light*) which lower ceilings don't allow for.

 AJ floor lamp*, leather butterfly chair*

A low almost invisible shelf painted in the same colour as the wall is ideal for magazines, plants speakers etc.

Painting walls a darker shade (these are 'neutral grey 6000) helps a room with high ceilings to feel cosier and also allow the cornicing to pop. I also love how Cajsa has used curtains in the same colour as the wall. Curtains really are a home's best friend - they help to dampen sound, reduce drafts and make the space look cosy (and they can hide a multitude of sins!) - total winner! 

Source made-to-measure linen curtains online here*. The bench is from IKEA. 

Barely there IVAR cabinets from IKEA have been painted in the same colour as the wall for a cleaner look and feel while the beautiful original door has been painted in a contrasting white for a spotlight affect. 

Such an inspiring home! And although we might not have features like this to play with, there are still so many wonderful ideas to take away, don't you think?

Is there anything that stood out to you?

See more of Cajsa's home here.

I'm in a bit of a rush today as we're in the middle of a renovation (I'm sitting here amidst complete chaos and can barely breath for dust, plus I can only feel three of my fingers as we had to turn the heating off! But I haven't missed a weekday blog post since 2011 and not about to because of a little dirt, cold and chaos!). Oh and I need to pack for London  - eeeeek! Hurry!

Have a lovely day friends, hope you're a little more comfy than I am today!

Niki

Photography: Cajsa Berndtsdotter

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