A Clean (-lined) and Serene Danish Family Home

We used to have Danish neighbours that had such a spotless house. Even when it was messy, it looked spotless. I spent ages trying to figure out why, and I finally arrived at the conclusion that even though they had three children, they simply didn't have much 'stuff'. Everything they did have was fresh, clean-lined and vibrant. It reminds me a lot of this this beautiful home - which is also Danish. Photographer Camilla Bækvad lives with her young family in a newly renovated house in Copenhagen. It's a calm space where contemporary and mid-century furnishings juxtapose with original period features to create a home that's full of harmony. 

So serene! 

I especially love the kitchen, which I believe is from Reform CPH. 

You can follow Camilla's latest projects over on instagram and take a look at her beautiful photography portfolio here. 

Looking for a little more inspiration today? Why not pull up a seat and take a look through the Danish home archive! 

See you on Wednesday! 

Niki

PS Total non-related side-note!: In 1920, the England Football Association banned women from playing football (that's soccer to American / Canadian friends!) saying it was 'unsuitable' . The ban remained in place for over 50 years. Last night, I was beyond proud to sit beside my daughters and nieces here at my sisters house in Cornwall and watch the England women's football team play their way to victory in front of a packed crowd and millions more on TV. Such an incredibly important night for women's football and truly inspiring and empowering for girls up and down the country. Sending love to Germany who's players worked hard and did a fantastic job throughout the tournament, I can imagine you are beyond proud too! 

#itscomehome. 

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Our Little Cabin Bathroom Reveal + Get The Look

GSI Ceramica and CRISTINA Rubinetterie kindly partnered on our project. 

Hej kompisar! We've been spending some days up out our little cabin and I finally had a chance to snap some pictures of the bathroom! You might remember, back in December I shared the plans. With a room measuring 3.66 m2 / 38 f2, we didn't have a lot to play with. Even so, I was keen to create a beautiful and serene, spa-like space that also worked well with the main cabin living space. It was exciting to see it all come together little by little. And today, I'm excited to share the final result with you! But first let me provide a quick recap of the floorplan and design. 

Floorplan

The bathroom is located in the corner of the cabin underneath the sleep loft. It has a door out to the garden and one into the main living area. 

 

Design

GSI Ceramica helped draw up this plan / design which felt perfect for the space! 

Entrance

When we first announced that the main cabin entrance is through the bathroom everyone looked at us like we were completely nuts - and even we had a few doubts! However, it's actually worked out brilliantly for three reasons: the bathroom has tiled floors, making it a perfect entrance in all weather, the hooks can double up for towels and coats, and finally, the shower is ideal for washing off sandy feet! 

Once in the cabin you can then open up all the other doors and windows and use those to enter and exit.

The reveal! 

I was eager to create a timeless bathroom with high quality fittings. I have to say, the calm tones, matt surfaces and stone floor create such a wonderful sense of serenity and it feels way more airy than the 3.66 m2! 

Here's the low down on all the details in case you're interested: 

Sink and cabinet

The floating Kube X Washbasin (60 x 47) and Prisma Unit cabinet are both from GSI Ceramica (available through Cosani in Scandinavia) who offer really high quality, well thought out units. I love that the sink has plenty of space at the back for soap / toothbrushes etc and the cabinet is really spacious (perfect when you have teenagers at home!). 

Loo

The wall-hung loo (WC Kube) is also from GSI Ceramica. At first, we were concerned about eating into the wall space - you need to move the wall out by around 20 cm to create space for a cistern (in this case we went with Geberit). But actually, it created a wonderful shelf which has proven to be invaluable! 

The best thing about the loo is the soft closing lid and Swirlflush technology - known for being the quietest flushing system in the world - which is absolutely ideal when you live in close quarters! I love the matt finish on the ceramic (inside the bowl it's glossy to guarantee maximum hygiene). 

Taps

As you know from the various kitchens I've designed (including our cabin kitchen and cottage kitchen), I am a firm believer that a high quality tap can add SO MUCH to the overall experience. We chose a wall mounted tap (CRIT257) and shower (CRIT486) from the Tricolore Verde collection by CRISTINA Rubinetterie - in brushed old brass which has a raw look and lovely rich patina and feel beautiful to use! 

I especially like the addition of the hand shower, it's so well, handy! 

Shower door

 Thank you to everyone who offered tips and advice on the shower door, it was so helpful. Based on your input, I went with one glass shower wall which is 800 mm (the shower measures 800 mm deep and 700 mm wide) with bronze fittings and no door (it works great without a door). It's very sleek and barely noticeable. I'll need to add a cross bar across the top to secure it (it came with one so it's just to put it up). 

The mirror

For years at the cottage we've been using a mirror that's so mottled you can barely see your face. This time, we went for a modern Four Season Mirror with LED (60 cm) which is really practical!  

The walls 

The walls have been painted in Kalk from the Jotun Lady Aqua range which is certified specifically for use in bathrooms. 

The matt white tiles are from Stone Factory and have a beautiful hand cut feel. We used white grouting for a more minimalist feel. 

We really splashed (sorry!) out on the Tumbled Turtle tiles from Stiltje. I fell in love with the matt natural stone with its rich patina - it brings a sense of the rugged coastline into the bathroom. We used leftover floor tiles for the shelf above the sink and a corner shelf in the shower.

The hooks

I bought the simple wooden peg rail from Norrgavel. I might add another row at some point but for now, this will do nicely! 

Blinds

And finally, another great discussion was what to do about the glass door since there's no way you'd feel comfortable showering and worst still, sitting on the loo if people can see in! Thank you so much for all your input, in the end we chose this special Plissé blind that fixes to the door and moves with it when you open and close it. It can be pulled up from the bottom of the window and also pulled down from the top so you can basically move the blind to wherever you need it and still see the lovely nature outside!  

I hope you like tour bathroom as much as we do! I have to say, it's an absolute joy to use and well worth all the extra effort! 

I hope it may have given you some ideas if you're also planning a small bathroom renovation. If you have any questions, please do give me a shout below! 

Would you like to see more of our little cabin? Check out the kitchen, dining area and bedroom. 

Have a wonderful weekend friends. See you Monday! 

Niki

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A Lovely Open-Plan Home in Stockholm, Sweden

Hi there campers! Stopping by on this sunny Swedish summer's day to share a beautiful two-bedroom apartment in Södermalm, central Stockholm! Measuring 76 m2 / 817 f2 the living space is fairly compact and features a lovely open-plan living space which spills out onto a balcony. But what really caught my eye were the details - including he beautiful marble worktop with a sunken in sink, the old wooden coffee table and the sauna in the bathroom. Ready to feel inspired? 

Such a lovely space. I love that there is greenery around every corner. 

Would you like to have a sauna in your bathroom? 

I have to say, after my visit to the Stockholm archipelago last week, I'm very tempted to move to Stockholm,it's such a beautiful part of the world! If you're tempted too, you can read more about this apartment over at Historiska Hem. 

Take a peek inside more lovely Swedish apartments here! 

Happy Lillördag ('little Saturday'). 

Niki

PS Don't forget to enter my giveaway too win a stay at Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden hotel this August! 

Photography: Sylwan Styling: Staaf for Historiska Hem

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Scandi Travel: Our Family Stay in the Beautiful Stockholm Archipelago

Kindly sponsored by Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden

You might recall that Per and I stayed at Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden in the Stockholm archipelago back in February, and we loved our stay so much, we decided to go back with the girls last week! It's such a beautiful part of the world with so much to do. Here are a few snapshots from our four-day trip - I hope it might inspire you to visit this part of Sweden and enjoy day trips to Stockholm, kayaking, bike rides, the serenity of the islands and generally splashing about in the Baltic! 

Vår Gård

Second time round and Vår Gård Saltsjöbaden its starting to feel like a true home from home! The 128-room hotel is centred around a beautiful old manor house, overlooking the Baltic Sea. Located in beautiful Saltsjöbaden, it's an easy 40-minute train ride from Stockholm making it a perfect base to explore the excitement of Sweden's capital city as well as the tranquillity of the archipelago. A perfect balance! 

The rooms are located in u-shaped modern blocks around a central square with an outdoor gym (which the girls loved!). Our family of four stayed in a Junior Suite which had two connecting rooms. The hotel has a design focus (which of course, I love!) and every room is kitted out with beautiful wallpaper, designer lamps, soft linen covers, beautiful coffee table books and board games. 

Day 1 Stockholm

At the start of the summer, the girls had one wish - to visit Gröna Lund - a theme park by the water in central Stockholm. So, we headed into the capital for the day. 

 

I've been to Stockholm many times over the years. It's such a great city with so much to see and do. If you haven't been, leave plenty of time to enjoy the museums, galleries, historical sites and waterside restaurants and bars! This time, we kept it simple and wandered the picturesque cobbled lanes of Gamla Stan (old town) before heading along the waterfront to Gröna Lund.  

Per and I quickly found ourselves screaming our lungs out on Monster, Jetline and Twister - the theme-parks biggest and craziest rollercoasters before somehow being duped into going on the free-fall (did I tell you I'm  afraid of heights?). We all had so much fun, but admittedly I was grateful to be back on safe ground and making our way back to Vår Gård at the end of the day...

...for a refreshing evening dip! 

In the evening we tucked into fresh seafood (you can't visit the archipelagos and not enjoy the catch of the day / prawns / oysters etc) at the in-house restaurant! I also had the most delicious green tomato gazpacho (I have since found a recipe here in case you'd like to try it this summer!). 

Day 2 Cycle ride and SUP

I started each day with a coffee and breakfast overlooking the water. It was a perfect moment of calm before all the adventure! 

We borrowed the hotel e-bikes (they also have pretty classic bikes but since it was a hot day with plenty of hills we decided to go for the speedy variety!) and followed the coastal path around the bay (passing many incredible villas in Solsidan along the way - not to be missed for some 'life goals' dreaming!).  

We made our way to Tattby nature reserve (even spotting a couple of snakes along the way- in Sweden they have adders and grass snakes which are a rare sighting so it's quite incredible to see one, let alone two!) and a picnic and swim at Erstaviksbadet.  

We then peddled back to Vår Gård to enjoy some Stand Up Paddle boarding.   

It's hard to imagine the sea was partly frozen when we visited in February (the sauna offered a wonderful respite from the cold and we even caught a glimpse of the Northern Lights!) - on this trip the Baltic Sea sparkling in the sun and a lovely 20 degrees! 

Even so, Per went out on one of the hotel SUP boards in all his clothes - so confident that he wouldn't fall in. As you can imagine we were all watching from the bank hoping he might just lose his balance (what are families for otherwise?). 

Day 3 Kayaking around the islands 

Action packed holidays are perfect for families with tweens and teenagers (Liv is nearly 14 and Allie is 11) and there was so much to choose from. On day 3 we bought freshly made rolls from the in-house bakery, rented kayaks and paddled off to explore the surrounding islands.

 

We even found our very own island for a picnic and swimming! 

The rest of the day was spent hanging out by the water's edge... some more active than others! 

Spot the different tempo? 

There was ice cream involved too! 

The girls were excited to discover a cupboard full of lawn games, and every evening we rounded off with  'Kubb' - a classic Swedish game allegedly deriving from the Viking times involving wooden pegs you have to knock down. I'm pretty sure every Swedish family has their own rules, in ours, Per insists that you can only win if you throw the final pins between your legs. As you can imagine, it can take a while! 

Do you have a similar game on your country? 

All in all, such a lovely, relaxing few days simply being together as a family - I wish I could do it all over again. 

Could you imagine spending time here? If so, exciting news, I'm offering the chance to win a stay at Vår Gård this August! It's super quick to enter the prize draw over on my instagram (going live in the next few hours) and open to all. 

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Now that I'm back at my desk, I'm looking forward to sharing some beautiful Scandi interior inspiration with you on Wednesday. And then on Friday - I can finally share our new cabin bathroom! I hope you'll like it as much as we do! See you then! 

Niki

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