Those Canadian Bloggers

The finalists in each category for the Made in Blog (MiB)  Best Canadian Blog awards  as determined by reader voting have been announced.  

This is the first year I participated in the  awards process ( Home Design category).   Thanks to everyone who voted  for this blog because you helped Designing Home make it to the top ten.  A panel of judges will now decide the winners in each category.  Stay tuned for that big announcement. 

One of the advantages of my participation was an introduction to other Canadian blogs that I didn't know. Perhaps there's a blog or two in the list that you might like  to check out or follow.   Click  here see the  top ten  list for home design.

 You might also like to check in on  A Pop of Pretty, another St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador  blog that's also in the top ten for home design.

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Kerri  of A Pop of Pretty is currently participating in a Canadian Blogger Christmas Home Tour.  There are loads of close up photos of all her decorating efforts for this year's French Inspired Christmas Theme.  As she says in her blog description she loves all things pretty and there's no doubt that comes through in her space.

 If you'd like to see what other Canadian home owners are doing to get their homes ready for the festive season you can begin with Kerri and then link up to other open houses in blogland right across the country.  The link list is at the bottom of her post. 

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As I followed the links myself,  I found another local blog Adventures of the Uncommon Common Law  from St. John's.  I thoroughly enjoyed  seeing Becki's take on a modern Scandinavian  inspired Christmas. And why wouldn't I?  Her space has lots of neutrals, textures, clean lines, and white- a graphic delight.

 After visiting the homes of all these young energetic bloggers here's me- the grandmother blogger-   ill prepared right now for the festive season.

 I have no home tour to offer, but  I will have a Christmas post or two when I get the hang of my fancy new camera.   My decorating efforts,  as you may know from past posts at Christmas, are  a bit understated and usually consist of recycling and rearranging what I currently have.  I've begun to pull things out, and I'm happy to report my husband made me a lovely trough box (from recycled wood, yet to be painted) for an arrangement.

 I'm feeling nostalgic this year and thought my granddaughters would enjoy seeing my collection of wooden Santas I've painted over the years. Until more exciting things happen here,  I'll leave you to enjoy the links above. Have fun.

Am I the only one who needs to get moving on Christmas?

Give-away: win a Daniel Wellington watch!

This competition is now closed. Congratulations to  Ema Locking, who won a Daniel Wellington watch of her choice.  If you didn't win you may find some comfort in the offer of a 15% discount with the code myscandinavianhome over at Daniel Wellington. Thank you so much for entering. 


To celebrate the start of Advent I've teamed up with fab watch brand Daniel Wellington to offer you the chance to win a classic men or ladies timepiece of your choice. Daniel Wellington prides itself on watches with a preppy, timeless design. Two of my favourites include the classic st. andrews lady (I love the cognac and rose gold combination!) and the Classic York. Find out how to enter to win your own fab Daniel Wellington timepiece below.

How to enter:
1. Visit the Daniel Wellington website and take a look around
2. Add the link of the watch you would most like to win in the comment section below.

This give-away is now closed. 

Daniel Wellington can also be followed on instragram @danielwellingtonwatches.

A touch of Scandinavian Christmas decorating inspiration

I always start putting up a few Christmas decorations around Advent Sunday.  In case you'll be doing the same, here's a little modern Scandinavian Christmas inspiration for advent calendars, candles and a pretty olive branch wreath I'm hoping to make for my front door.  Happy decorating!

Images: 1. Frichic 2. Weekday Carnival DIY 3. Marsipan og Smilifjes 4. Bella Blogit 5. Petra Bindel 6. Does anyone know the credit?  

I'm planning lots more Christmas posts in the month of December. In the meantime you can take a peek through past Christmas posts here (scroll passed the first post which will be the same as this one), or take a look at my Christmas Pinterest board which I'm forever updating.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow to enter a fab advent give-away!

Have a great night!

The home of Swedish stylist Pella Hedeby

Hello, and happy thanks giving to everyone in America! Here in Sweden it's a normal Friday - but hey, that means it's the weekend so I'm happy! Since I'm in a festive mood I'll be publishing two posts today: a home tour and then later, some fab Scandinavian Christmas inspiration. First, the wonderful home of Swedish stylist Pella Hedeby which is up for sale. Pella's graphical signtaure style shines through in every room. I also love the light grey marble, white floors and the cosy bedroom. I'm sure Pella's very sad to be leaving such a great space, but personally, I'm so excited to see what she does in her next home, aren't you?!

 

Home: Pella Hedeby. Fastighetsbyrån

I love the thin shelving in the bedroom, what a great way to display favourite prints.

A couple of items I know and love: I have the same chunky moss knit throw in my bedroom. I also have a smaller version of the 'Je t'aime beaucoup' print by Therese Sennerholt (she also sells this fabulous fashion photography print). I'm a big fan of the Koushi Lampshade by Mark Eden Schooley which Pella has in her sitting room.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

If you like Pella's apartment you'll love some of the Swedish homes she has styled including this one, this one. and this one.

See you a little later for some Scandinavian Christmas inspiration. And don't forget to pop back tomorrow for a very exciting Advent give-away! It's all go on my scandinavian home this weekend!

Choosing a drapery colour

Ah, the dreaded question.  What colour draperies should I have?

Part of being a decorator is making informed decisions about design.  Keeping current with trends  through reading and viewing is a must, but trend knowledge is not enough.  You have to understand what affect your choices will have on a space.

I posted this picture on Designing Home Facebook Page as an example of a style board I create for clients.  I am not one for vivid colour, but I didn't have to live with the colour, a young lady who loves rich colours did.   Should I have argued with her and said you shouldn't have bright draperies. NO!  I have to balance my client's likes with the principles and elements of design.

Vibrant  draperies 

Let's look at what this colour choice  did for this room.

 You can't ignore this window treatment, it's not only the vibrant colour, it's the placement and amount of it. That means a lot of colour jumping forward in the space. The draperies also serve to  frame the artwork and the sofa. The more muted sofa is anchored and held captive, and you need an equally vibrant art work to compete with the windows. When you look at this space blue is primary and everything else is secondary.

The overall effect is focused and the room appears smaller than it actually is.  That's a great tip if you have a large space that you want to appear smaller/cosier.  Go for darker/brighter  window treatments that draw the eye.

 I see this as a lively, energetic scheme that is equally matched to a sparkling, vivacious young lady.


On to number two example....

I removed the vibrant draperies and choose something more in line with my personal taste.  I like my spaces to be expansive, and tone -on tone- window treatments  (keeping the colour of the drapes and the walls very similar) is  one way to achieve that look/feel especially in a smaller space.  

Now the sofa and artwork stand out as they didn't before.  Your eye connects the light colour in the chairs with the draperies and you visually wander the space. 

On to example number three....  

Same window treatments, but I'm tweeking a few other things. Without the blue pillows on the chairs,  and the blue vase on the table, the space is even even more opened up.  The overall effect is fresh and inviting,  reminiscent of a summer garden - always a look I gravitate to.  The wooden tables help that feel too. 

So there is no right answer to the question "What colour draperies  should I have?"  It all depends on how you want your room to look/feel. 

If you wan to find out more about current trends in window treatments check out this post and several others in my side bar. 

What's your preference when buying  window treatments ?  Are you a neutral or a colour lover?

Christmas touches in a Finnish home

When do you start putting up your Christmas decorations? I've already added a few touches to my home including white amaryllis and hyacinths (I love the scent) as well as a few lit candles at breakfast and as soon as it gets dark at 15.30 (yes, I know!). This lovely, warm Finnish home is a perfect example of late November / early December Christmas decorating. It's the Helsinki pad of Kaisa, her partner, and cat Mr Paw (who can be seen making himself at home on the sofa). Kaisa is a dab hand at DIY (as you can see on her blog No Home Without You) and loves Scandinavian interiors and crafts. This is reflected in the way she has decorated her space - I particularly love the fairylights display, plants and bunting. How about you?

No Home Without You with kind permission. 

I love how Kaisa has used a nordic base (white walls and light wood floors), and then added mid-century finds and touches of rustic wood for an extra cosy vibe. The bunting over the table reminds me of this wonderful Christmas space. DIY decorating idea for Thanksgiving or First advent perhaps?

Is there anything you love in particular about Kaisa's home?

Have a lovely day!

PS you can see examples of how I add amaryllis and hyacinths to my home work work place here. 

A relaxed, bohemian space in Stockholm

This relaxed, boho apartment in Stockholm has been furnished with a mix of mid-century, industrial and contemporary Scandinavian.  It's the kind of place i cold see myself instantly feeling at home in. I particularly love the day bed and step ladder as a bed side table. One other thing I noticed was the wiring / cables. Usually homes are styled within an inch of their lives so cables are either hidden or photo-shopped out. In this case they're entirely visible - and I have to say, it's kind of refreshing. Although it hasn't stopped me from providing a few cool cable tips below!

Fantastic Frank - found via Coco Lapine with thanks. 

I love the relaxed, raw vibe of this apartment, how about you?

I see they have the Uten.silo organiser which is a favourite of mine, I've been thinking about adding one to my home work space.  What do you think?

Back to the cables! If like me, your power chords are a bit of a battle, the best thing to do would be to get them chased into the wall by an electrician. But the good news is there are other cool ways with wires. Here's my round-up of fab DIY ideas:

5 fab ways with wires
Turn your cables into wall art.
Go all in with a neon power cord (I also love these colourful cables)
Jazz up a wire with coloured tape
Hide them behind wooden beads
Neaten up extra cable length with cord tacos.

Do you have any of your own tips?

Have a lovely day! 

A relaxed apartment with a touch of blue

I love blue. It's not a colour I've used in my own home but I grew up in a house with blue velvet chesterfield sofas exactly like this one (for a modern update check out the one in this apartment). I particularly love the combination of dark blue and beige or cognac, it looks so smart don't you think? It was the blue sofa (from Funky Furniture) and rattan rug which inspired me to show the San Francisco home of Kate Davison and her partner Jesse today. There's something extremely relaxed and yet very cool about their space over all. I could pad around here today, how about you?

Kate Davison, Craetive at Mashery

I have to say, I love the string lighting in the back garden. My sister recently bought this outdoor string lighting for her garden. probably the nicest I've seen. Although I do love some twinkly fairy lights  at Christmas too (remember my 'dream' party post?!).

You can find out where nearly everything in this is home is from here.

For more blue and beige / cognac / copper inspiration it's well worth taking a look through all of these lovely home tours.

 A big thank you to Kate for sending me the images for today's post, I do love to receive home tour pics in my inbox - please do send me yours too!

Have a lovely day!

PS I'm excited to see Great.ly are offering free-shipping from now until 2nd December. The right time to pick up a cushion or print?!

The perfect black, white and grey apartment

Hello! How was your weekend? We're getting excited here as next weekend is Advent Sunday which means all the stars can go up in the windows and the fairy lights in the trees outside. The days are so short I love the warm glow from these lights. But before all of that - today's home tour. And what a very cool Swedish home it is. For sale through Entrance, the table's all set for a festive feast and the bang on trend monochrome mix of dark grey, black and white is softened by the light wood floor and exposed brick work. Love it, how about you?

Entrance

A couple of things I'm keen to point out. Firstly the vintage black leather sofa. These are so popular right now and look fab with mid-century furniture. I'm still kicking myself as I spotted one at Sopstationen, a recycle station shop in Malmö, a year ago and didn't snap it up. GRR! You can often find them on E-bay, Lauritz and LiveAuctioneers.

The other thing is the front door. There's often wear and tear on the side of a painted door. The people who decorated this home left the side of the door in it's original wood to avoid chips and simultaneously created a lovely relaxed feel.

Anything that stands out to you?

A couple of things I recognise and love: 'City of Champions' print. New York print. IKEA's HECTAR wall lights in the bedroom and HECTAR floor light in the sitting room.  Thonet 214 chairs.

Have a lovely day!