An Artist's Cottage, Atelier and Gallery by the Sea in Cornwall

Usually we go to visit family in England at Easter, but this time sadly we didn't have the time. Often when we go, we pay a trip to Cornwall in the southwest, where some of my ancestors are from and my sister has a beautiful house (they rent it out too - more details here, in case you're a budding surfer or simply love beach life and coastal walks!). 

The rugged coastal nature and quality of the light has been a draw for artists since the early 19th century.  

And it must be with a very heavy heart that the landscape painter has decided to sell her home (found via Nordroom today!), atelier and gallery in nearby Padstow. You can tell that so much love has gone into the decor - with it's white washed walls, pillars and beams, arched doorways and lovely antique furniture. And the stepped garden is lovely too! A perfect coastal sanctuary in which to inspire creativity. 

The coastal vibe is accentuated with subtle details such as a pendant light made from a ships horn!

A wood burning stove in the centre of the room is made from a repurposed spun steel trawler net bobbin.  

Shells and other beach combing finds have been displayed in bell jars. Art decorates the walls in every room.

The  reclaimed doors have gothic and Georgian elements. 

Notice how treasures have been displayed in a glass cabinet built into the side of the stairs. I love this idea! 

Books shelves are laden with white tomes. Look closely and you'll see they are all labelled. I am wondering if they could be catalogues from galleries? My mum has a ton of these too. It could also be that the owner has taken time to cover the books to preserve the original jacket, before labelling them. Or a blend of the two. 

Upstairs, a subtle blue wall helps to connect the home with it's coastal location. 

An atelier on the top floor serves as a perfect place to sit and paint in quiet. 

The garden has views over the camel estuary, and this seat offers an ideal perch to sit and watch the town go about it's business along with passing gulls. I see it's already occupied! 

The front of the house is perfectly positioned to be a shop or gallery. 

What an amazing opportunity to fulfil a dream of living in Cornwall and start a gallery! More details here in case you're feeling inspired! 

My Mother would love this house - I must send her the link straight away. She used to work in the art world and wherever we go, she pops into galleries looking for paintings. Needless to say, Cornwall is one of her favourite haunts! 

If you're planning on visiting England - do try to visit the Southwest. It's full of pretty coastal villages like this one. Last summer my family and I went on a day trip to St Ives - home of the Tate and Barbara Hepworth museum and sculpture garden, which I absolutely loved! 

Would you like to see other homes by the sea today? 

A pretty white cottage by the sea

Past meets present in a captains cottage dating back to the 1760s

15 coastal living ideas to steal from a Danish home

Maria's house by the sea on Sweden's breathtaking high coast

11 ways to bring nature into your home, Danish style

And so many more in the coastal archive! 

Altogether now: 'Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside, Oh I do like to be beside the seaaaaaa!'

On a final note, I seem to have got a little out of sink with my posting days - the next post will be on Friday and after that, I'll be back to my usual Mon - Wed - Fri routine! Thank you so much for following along! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of Inigo with thanks. 

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A Traditional Skånegård in the Southern Swedish Countryside

Hello friends! I hope you had a lovely break over Easter. We nipped away to my father-in-law's house in Kullaberg (I once wrote a guide to that beautiful part of Sweden here - it's well worth a visit!). 

Our summer cottage is on the next peninsula North - which brings me to today's home tour in Öllov, not far from where we are on the Bjärehalvön! 

I once had the pleasure of capturing and writing about a 'Skånegård' - a traditional Scanian farmhouse resting around a cobbled inner courtyard -  just up the road for my first book 'Modern pastoral' (later updated to Relaxed Rustic) and this tour took me straight back to that wonderful spring day! 

With parts of the thatched house dating back to 1870, the pretty Skånegård has been newly renovated to maintain the traditional charm of the property (think solid stone walls, exposed beams and painted wood ceiling) but brought up to date to ensure year-round comfort. And now, it's looking for a new owner to take care of it and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Bjärehalvön. Could that be you? 

If you hop over to the real estate page, you'll also see that there's a barn begging to be done up for a Midsummer party! And who are we to argue? 

I can just imagine a Sunday here - the fire going, a roast in the oven, music playing....  that's the beauty of an open-plan space, you can all be in the same room with a million different activities happening all at once. 

Would you like to see a few other Swedish country homes today? Feel inspired by: 

An idyllic red and white Swedish farmhouse

A cosy country home in rural north Sweden

Jessica's idyllic Swedish croft from 1700

It's so nice to be back on the blog again after a mini break. Thank you for stopping by today! 

Kram! 

Niki

Photography: Liz-Marie Johansson for Skeppsholmen. 

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8 Pretty Easter Decorating ideas from Minimalist to Maximalist!

Easter in Sweden is a big event. Although the country is largely secular, the holiday offers a perfect excuse for families to gather in the spring sunshine (hopefully), eat some herring, egg based delicies and of course sing songs while downing akvavit! Afterwards, egg rolling is likely to take place in the village and if the children are lucky - the 'Påskhare' (Easter bunny) might just pay a visit and hide large paper eggs filled with sweets. 

But let's rewind. Before the big event, there's decorating to be done! The leaves haven't yet unfurled in Sweden, instead birch twigs are decorated with brightly coloured feathers or hung with decorative eggs. You might also see a witch on her broomstick in the window (Swedish legend has it that witches fly off to Blåkulla on Good Friday before returning on Påskafton (Easter Eve). And on Maundy Thursday, you might just receive a visit from a little witch with rosy cheeks and freckles, asking for sweets. You've been warned! 

Whether you believe in witches or not, why not decorate your home and the table with some pretty Scandinavian inspired Easter touches. Here are eight display ideas - from minimalist to maximalist! 

1 & 2. This pretty display above by Nordic stories mixes flowers with eggs for a delicate table setting (first picture and above). 

3. Swedish paper eggs don't need to be simple - as Ingrid Wenell shows with her dried flower and ribbon DIY idea on Lovely Life. 

4. Don't forget to stock up on carrots, in case the easter bunny shows up! I love this edible display idea created by Céleste Bouchayer and captued by Louis Gaillard for Marie Claire.  

5. Feeling dextrous? Cracked eggs filled with delicate spring flowers look so pretty hung from branches. 

6. Paper honeycombe eggs also look lovely hung from a branch as seen in this pictures via My Life From Home. I've seen similar eggs in H&M Home. 

7. In the mood for some serious DIY decorating? This flower and egg display from Metro Mode is beautiful! See the step by step guide here. 

8. or why not go all out with eggs, flowers, paper decor and anything else you can find like Miss Kitten Heart - for a centrepiece that will put a smile on everyone's face! 

So pretty! I particularly love the edible carrot idea and the flowers in eggs. Is there anything you might try this year? Looking at these pictures, do you feel like a decorating minimalist or maximalist? 

And do you have any unusual easter traditions in your country? If so, please share as I'd love to hear about them. 

If you'd like to see more decorating ideas, check out: 

My big easter DIY edit

6 beautiful easter craft ideas from scandinavia

Swedish easter traditions and inspiration 

A danish home with easter touches

Easter touches in a charming Swedish home

I'll be taking a short break over the easter holiday and back Tuesday 2nd April. I hope you have a relaxing week! 

Niki 

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Our New Foldable Outdoor Furniture at the Cabin

Sponsored by Carl Hansen & Søn, all words are my own and only work with companies I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the wonderful brands that make My Scandinavian Home possible. 

Hej! In Sweden, the Easter week serves as an ideal opportunity to re-open the summer cottage after a long winter. Hearths are swept, cobwebs banished and now that the snow has thawed, furniture can be lifted outside once again. What a great moment! 

Having completed our tiny cabin in 2022, our attention has turned to the garden and one of the biggest steps was to choose a garden table. For someone who struggles to make decisions (ahem understatement!), this was no easy feat. Especially as I had criteria to fill such as it needing to be lightweight and easy to store away in winter as well as small enough to fit on the cabin decking (or moved around at whim!). And of course it needed to look beautiful too!  

In the end I settled on the beautiful Danish BM630 dining table from Carl Hansen & Søn. Designed by Børge Mogensen in the late 1960s, it's part of the Deck Chair Series and the table is made from solid teak. I fell in love with the slatted lines - and how practical it is as it folds completely flat!  

I love this view of the church. Every Saturday at 6pm the bell rings for the best part of five minutes (driving Per insane in the process!!). It is a tradition called 'helgmålsringning' that stems back to olden times to signify the start of weekend mass and the weekend as whole. 

I selected the BM4570 dining chairs to go with the table - also designed by Børge Mogensen and part of the same Deck Chair Series. They're made from solid teak with a suspended seat in water resistant Sunbrella fabric so we don't need to worry about a little rain here and there (important in this part of the world!). Best of all, they fold neatly away and can even be hung on the wall when not in use! 

And finally, since I was looking for a few versatile pieces, I chose the BM5768 deck chair footstool which doubles up as seating and a little teak BM5868 side table from the same collection. They're so nifty as they can be moved with you as you follow the sun! 

I hope you like our new outdoor table and chairs set! Now all we need is some sunshine. Roll on summer, we're ready for you!

In case you're on the look out, Carl Hansen & Søn has lots of other beautiful outdoor furniture too - the new collection in particular looks beautiful! 

Have you started preparing your garden for the summer yet? If so, you might like to check out these posts for some outdoor inspiration: 

8 ways to pep up your outdoor space, scandi style

A Swedish house with an outdoor kitchen and sofa area

7 boho ideas for outdoor areas (big and small)

10 ways to maximise your balcony or tiny outdoor area

Or perhaps you live in the southern hemisphere and winding down for the season? If so, do you do like the Swedes and store your furniture indoors or cover it up for protection? I'd love to know what's the norm around the world! 

I'll be back tomorrow with a final post before the holidays, hopefully see you then! 

Stor kram' from Sweden! 

Niki

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Plants, Art and Design in a Beautiful Berlin Apartment

Why, hello there! While last week's posts were very much about the Swedish country home, I thought I'd kick off the week with a city dwelling. After all, we can all dream about a romantic home in the countryside like Beata's or Maria's - tbut he majority of us are likely to live more urban! So, let's head to Berlin today and take a tour of Igor Josif's wonderful flat! 

Igor is a dear friend of mine (we've met at many events over the years and even once went on a tour to Transylvania together!). I have always admired his talent and eye for design and have both of his lovely books on my shelf - Urban Jungle and Plant Tribe. I've also featured his past home on My Scandinavian Home, so you might well recognise the name! 

Igor recently moved into this beautiful flat in Berlin with his husband and the space has become the perfect haven for his studying (Igor recently returned to university to study Classical Archaeology and Art History. And of course, in true Igor style,  it's packed with plants, cool art, fab lighting and design! 

Let's dive in! 

Beautiful! And so unique. 

There are so many beautiful items in Igor's flat. If you'd like to know the source, head on over to Igor's instagram - he often tags the brands which is really helpful! 

Don't miss the tour of Igor's previous apartment too - you can really see how his style (and trends) have evolved over the last six years! 

Is there anything that stood out to you? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts as always. 

Happy Monday friends! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of @igorjosif with kind permission. 

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