Kamis, 29 Agustus 2013

A relaxed monochrome apartment in Malmö

It's the weekend! Yaaaaay! To celebrate I've chosen an apartment close to home. This space feels so familiar as many of my friends have lived in similar pads in Malmö. There's something beautiful about the high ceilings, original wood flooring and double doors thrown open between each room. I also love the relaxed style and monochrome theme....if you're thinking of moving to Malmö it's for sale here!










Bo-laget
Do you go for black and white or do you prefer flashes of colour? Or perhaps pastels?

Some of my favourite black and white homes to date are this one in Helsinki, this beautiful Copenhagen apartment and this cosy Malmö home. Perfect monochrome inspiration!

Are you up to anything cool this weekend? I'm in Berlin today (such a fantastic city, I've never been before!) and heading home to see my little family in Sweden shortly -can't wait!  Hopefully I'll arrive before my 5 year old loses her first tooth. Hurry!

Have a fantastic weekend and see you Monday!

My home captured by Karin: dressing room

As promised, today I'm introducing the first in a mini weekly series called 'my home captured by Karin'. While we were away recently my photographer friend Karin Björklund (who also took my profile picture) spent the day in our home and took lots of lovely pictures. It's fascinating to see how someone else sees your home. I call this room 'my dressing room' since this is where I have my dressing table, keep all my clothes and like to swan about, wafting perfume, reading magazines and generally acting like the movie star I am not! But the rest of my family call it the guest room or TV room....:)








Karin Björklund for My Scandinavian Home

As a guest room it looks like this (it used to be our bedroom). One day the floor will be white.....

Eeek, what do you think? Do you have a versatile room like this in your home?

Here's a bit of a guide on where things are from: wallpaper - Designers Guild, Around Coffee Table - Muuto,  Finnish hemp textile cushion - Saaana ja Olli, mirror - Graham & Green, perfume and apothecary bottles - vintage, tribal gold necklace -Whistles.

For more sitting room inspiration check out these lovely rooms and for dressing room inspiration you could try my Pinterest board here

PS Merci Beaucoup to Clémence who listed my scandinavian home in your top 5 interior design blogs on Tuesday in Paulette Magazine, such an honour!

Rabu, 28 Agustus 2013

White, cognac and blue in a Swedish apartment

When I look at this apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden I think fresh, relaxed and warm.  I'm also a long term fan of the colour scheme blue, white and cognac and not many do it better than stylists and estate agents Alvhem. I could certainly see my self padding around here and reading a book in one of the pools of light, couldn't you?






Alvhem via 79 ideas

The 'Kakelugn' or tiled fireplace is another element I could imagine having in my dream cottage but it would need to be in addition to the wood burning stove!

For more fabulous Swedish apartment inspiration with a kakelugn try here and here and for an incredible danish one here.

I'm starting to feel I can no longer live without a fireplace, hmmmm what to do?! Perhaps you can help me figure out where to put one from the first part in my mini weekly series 'my home captured by Karin' tomorrow? A little nervous about showing my home, as always!

Have a lovely day!

Selasa, 27 Agustus 2013

A rustic retreat on Sweden's west coast

This converted barn and tower in Korslid, near Bottna, on Sweden's west coast is the country home of writer and journalist Kenneth Kauppi, gardener Catherine Thelander and their family. Recently featured in Lantliv, the family have lovingly renovated the farm buildings over 25 years to create a beautiful rustic open living space and studio. The family love to stay in the summer to relax, swim and kayak in the archipelago, explore the great open spaces that surround the house and generally take some downtime. I can certainly see why!







Photographer Patric Johansson with kind permission. Lantliv.
Such a lovely rustic retreat, I especially like the art work what about you? And there's that indoor swing again....

Senin, 26 Agustus 2013

Do you know the rule of three?



Three  is a very popular number in many aspects of life from religion to fairy tales, and it is extremely  popular and important  in all aspects of  design .  When you understand how to use the rule of three you have a powerful agent for design change in your home.  Often improvements are free because you simply have to move around what you already have.
 
 In design, using threes helps you build interest and drama, as well as  harmony, and it a very effective way to create visual movement in a room . Three works for function e.g., kitchen work triangle, furniture arrangement, sofa and two chairs.  It also is frequently used for colour and fabric schemes and groupings of accessories and vignettes.  Three can effectively establish a focal point. Here's how you can liven up your space and help improve function.




This is a wonderful graphic produced by Adi Edlin that shows the rule of 3 working twice in a vignette. First in the grouping of accessories in sections and then in the overall design of the vignette.  



A simpler version  of the rule of three where you have three bottles mixed with three other objects (2 bunches of flowers and a shell ). 


Art collections always look great in groupings of 3.  This one is perfect because it totally fits the wall space and is in keeping with the graphic nature of the colour scheme. I also love the visual relief the circle provides for all the straight lines.  Circles in a grouping also move the eye effortlessly. They are great pivots.

 VT Interiors

This dramatic space  is further enhanced by the inclusion of the three arched mirrors which provide a focal point ( not an easy task in this space).  Relief from the straight lines in the rest of the room is also provided by the curves. 

Do you see three in this arrangement?  Often you get  furniture with very distinct divisions as in this settee.  Because it visually reads as two with the centre legs it provides the perfect foil for this artwork.


Look carefully at this vignette  because it is masterfully put together in variety and scale . First we have two windows and a mirror mimicking the windows for a total of 3, then there are three hats visible in the mirror and three objects in the vignette (bench, floral arrangement and mirror). The scale of the bench is perfect for the width of the 3 "windows' behind it and the flower arrangement works so well with the weighty bench.


Lots of threes here: colour scheme of yellow, blue and gray; vignette of art, chair and table; and three shelves and three groupings of objects on each shelf.  There are also at least three yellow and blue objects spread throughout the vignette to move the colours around.

Perhaps you can look around your home and see places where the rule of three can be put to use  to refine  how you have arranged things. Don't overdo it ! Remember that any odd number is effective.  I particularly love five mixed with three. Have fun.....

My dream cottage would never be without......

Hi, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend?  Admittedly I spent some of Sunday thinking about how I could go about acquiring a Swedish cottage in the woods! I realised I've nailed two things about this future cottage and how I would renovate it. 1. it will be mostly white inside and 2. it will have a wood burning stove.  Here's my inspiration.






1. Line T Klein. 2. Saaan Olli 3. Johanna Pilfalk 4. Via 

(If you fancy a little more Fireplace inspiration you can always check out my fireplace board on Pinterest).

Yesterday I was eyeing up this Skånegård house near Simrishamn - ooooo how I'd love to put my personal stamp on a home like this...and what about that stunning garden?! Or perhaps you'd prefer a Swedish cottage on it's own private island like this one? I definitely wouldn't say no!

PS On Saturday it was so great to finally meet Peggy of children's design and lifestyle blog Paul & Paula and her fabulous family (as you can imagine, they were wearing the coolest children's clothes, ever!), welcome to Sweden!

Have a lovely day!

Jane Coslick's Cottage on the Green





















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