The lovely home and atelier of an artist

This Friday I'm part of the  'Makers Spaces' blog tour, a new book by Emily Quinton. And it got me thinking about the wonderful creative spaces people live and work in. Johanna Bradford  and Kristin Lagerqvist shot this simply beautiful home and atelier in Varberg on Sweden's West coast a while back. With a sea-view on one side and forests on the other, it's the perfect place for Lisa Burenius to paint and enjoy life with her family - Petter and Eddie. The artist describes her interior style as 1930's with a personal twist, and loves to surround herself with personal objects, books and ceramics. Her advice is to 'listen to the house and trust your instinct. A home should be personal and warm, it should tell a story about who you are'. I feel her home is a perfect example of this, don't you?

 

Stylist: Johanna Bradford (with kind permission). Photographer: Kristin Lagerqvist

It's wonderful to see an entirely unique home where the personality shines through. It's got soul.

Lisa has some great ideas too - I love the way the books have been arranged so that some are facing outwards and piled high. I also like the simplicity of the fern leaves in jam jars and the retro set of garden furniture outside. All in all, a truly inspiring home.

What do you love most about this space?

You can see more pictures here if you'd like. 

It's well worth checking out Lisa's website  too- I love the video showing her at work in the atelier.  Her work is available here.

I often dip into the art studio archive for ideas. And my office Pinterest board has oodles of work space inspiration. Hey, if we've gotta work we might as well make it pretty, don't you think?

Have a lovely day!

PS do you have a wonderful maker's space I can share on the blog this week? If so, drop me a mail!

Using mirrors to solve decorating problems

Sometimes I have to remind myself of the power of mirrors to solve common decorating problems.   Here are seven  fantastic uses of mirrors that might not be on your radar.

1. To reflect light

This is one great space for a number of reasons, but the mirrors make it in my opinion.  Not only do they break up a dark wall and provide height to match the window, they reflect light in what might otherwise be a blah room.

2. To create a window in a windowless room 

There are often sections of a space that are dark and windowless.  Mirrors can give the illusion of a window and light without having to make architectural changes.  In both rooms above the mirrors also add dramatic focal points.

3. Add drama to an open space

This high ceilinged space demands a large scale treatment.  This mirror fills the bill when it comes to matching the scale of the space.  The choice of a lucite table ensures that the lines of the mirror remain dominant.

4. To replace art

 Sometimes a mirror when used well can replace art over a bed or mantle.  In this space the sculptural light is reflected in the mirror,  providing an interesting visual focus.

5. To highlight art/collections

6. To create impact 

 One of the best ways to create impact is through repetition.  Imagine the scene above if you just has three or four mirrors.

7. To balance large windows 

I love how the mirror is large scale, soft with its rounded top, and the height relates well to the window.  The gold relates to the lamps and the table which also mimics the rounded top of the mirror.

I am definitely interested in any solution that helps balance heights/scale  in a room.  One of the best things about this mirror treatment is how it relates to the window next to it and the furniture in the space.   You read the fireplace and mirrors as one unit. The fireplace alone is small and delicate.  Keeping the mirror frame lighter and gold helps it to relate to the other furnishings in the space.

Seven reasons why you should have a mirror in your home apart from the obvious.  Who knew? Are you a mirror lover?  I'm sad to say my mirror choices are purely functional.  What about yours?

Please find links to photos on my Pinterest board Mirrors.

Calm white and grey in a Swedish apartment

Hello week, how quickly you came around again?! Wouldn't you love just one more day of long breakfasts, tinkering and generally taking it easy? I'm going to dream for a minute that I'm in this lovely Gothenburg pad and it's actually Sunday, I've just woken up, the coffee's brewing.... *ahhhh* so nice! I do love the Stadshem style, and this particular space in white and grey is particularly lovely, don't you think?

Stadshem

What do you say? The perfect place from which to start a week?

I spy so many pieces I know and love: Kitchen: Muuto E27 light, Menu afteroom chair. Sitting room: House Doctor DIY01 light (I also love this one), traditional Kakelugn, IKEA RANARP floor lamp. Bedroom: Linen bedding, IKEA Aröd lamp, DLM side table. Etch tea light holder.

Interestingly I discovered this apartment in the same block with a totally different look and feel, which style do you prefer? 

Although this specific home doesn't have any hanging plants, they really are taking Spring 2015 by storm (as seen in this, this and this home). I discovered a great guide on how to create a hanging garden the other day. Do you have any hanging plants in your home?

Have a lovely day!

Win a Sticky9 wall frame

Thanks to everyone who entered the Sticky9 give-away, the winner of the magnet wall frame is Alex (Freebird). And the winners of the two sets of nine magnets are Sabrina M and Laia Torrente, congratulations! Please send me a mail so that we can supply you with your code to claim your prizes.


Thanks to my new found love of Instagram, I've teamed up with Sticky9 to offer you the chance to win a magnet wall frame handcrafted in London containing nine of your favourite pictures, or one of three runners up prizes of nine magnets. It's super quick and easy to enter, find out how below.

How to enter:

1. Leave your name in the comment section below.
2. Let us know which Instagram picture you'd like to turn into a magnet by using the hashtag #Sticky9MSH beneath it on Instagram (see the photo I'd turn into a magnet here).

And that's it! The competition is open to everyone until Sunday, 29th March 2015, Midnight GMT. The winner will be announced on this post on Monday 30th March 2015 so make sure you pop by to see if it's you!

Terms & Conditions

You must be age of majority in your country of residence. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur. Only 1 entry per person. 

This post is sponsored by Stick9. 

A pared-back forest cabin in Holland

I do love a pared-back rural retreat. Every Friday I dream about packing my weekend bag and zooming off to the countryside. There's something wonderful about the back-to-basics, fuss-free life-style, don't you think? This lovely cabin is located in a forest in The Netherlands. The owners (with the help of stylist Kim Timmerman) have brought in hints of the great outdoors - including a bird garland, animal motif cushions and bedding, and a branch used as a clothes rail and kept everything else very simple. Oh, how I could unwind here, how about you?!

Stylist: Kim Timmerman   Photography: Rene Gonkel

Lovely! 

And there's good news too. It's available for rent here (oh yes! I've packed my bags I'm ready to go....).

I'm bsolutely loving all these Scandinavian inspired country cottages / cosy cabins too

My sister has just arrived from London *so great to see her*! We're heading off in a minute for lunch and a day of shopping in Copenhagen - I've been looking forward to this day for so long! 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

PS  If you're planning on doing any shopping, don't forget the 10% discount on all items from Blackthumb with the code MyScandi10 until 31st March. 

PPS Great weekend give-away coming up so stop by tomorrow if you have the time!

The lovely serene home of a Swedish singer

After a crazy week on shoots, I'm finally enjoying a morning at home, just me, my tea and my computer (oh and an entire production crew shooting my home around me, but I'm still taking it easy! has your week been crazy too? Today I'd like to share a calm, pared-back space to slow things down a bit and get us in the weekend mood!  This apartment belongs to Cardigans singer Nina Persson and is currently for sale here in Malmö (come and join the Malmö massive!). I love the high ceilings, checkered painted floor and the entire bathroom. What a lovely, serene space, don't you think?

Bo-laget

Could you live here? I'd move in tomorrow!

The checkered floor is absolutely lovely and a very classic Swedish country look, it's fab to see it in the city too. One of my friends recently created her own using plenty of measuring sticks, tape and paint (potential DIY project?!).

I also love the sheer curtains in the bedroom -they add a soft, romantic feel. I've got white linen curtains in my bedroom and absolutely love them. I have snuck in some black out blinds though - as let's face it, they don't block out much light when it comes to that all important shut eye!

Is there anything that you love in particular about this space?

More stunning Malmö homes here, here and here.

Oh and the speakers list is now live for The Hive 2015 blog conference in Berlin - there's no turning back now - eeeeeee (scary mary!).  Will you be going? I went for the first time last year and had such a blast, met lots of people and learnt a ton about blogging too. You can read more about it / sign-up here. It would be great to see some friendly faces in the crowd!

Have a lovely day!

A lovely light-filled Swedish family home

This is the oh so lovely light-filled Swedish family home of photographer, stylist, blogger and owner of the fab shop Little Cute Mokkasin, Sofia Jansson, musician Kristo Jansson and their children. All the floors and walls have been painted a serene white save for pretty floral accent walls and vintage wallpaper which bounce around the light flooding in through the large windows and make the home feel bright even on the darkest of days. The relaxed family home has been furnished using a mix of old and new. I particularly love the industrial spotlights and the vintage black board (great alternative to a painted chalkboard wall) in the kitchen, and the mid-century and incredible glass fronted storage cabinet in other parts of the house (what a great place to store creative items?). Such a lovely, relaxed home.

Photography / stylist: Sofia Jansson (shared with kind permission). Via Design Sponge with thanks. 

So lovely right?

There's something very homely about seeing a piano in a room, don't you think? One of my friends Liz bought a second hand piano recently (she's a bit of a music genius) and it got me thinking about how nice it would be to have a piano in my own home. Do you have any musical instruments in your home?

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Yesterday I worked as a stylist on a shoot at an incredible farmhouse in Skåne. It was so much fun. I thought I'd share some of the lessons learned in case you're interested.

Tips for interior styling (on a shoot):
- Bring tools- blu tac, gaffer tape, scissors, wire, clips
- For props it's worth taking along plants and flowers which match the style of the space. Think of the type of activity you would like to show in the kitchen / dining area to bring it to life  (for example you might want to buy buns or a cake for afternoon tea, bread, jams etc for breakfas. If you've seen the space beforehand or have an idea of the look you're going for, you can strengthen it with the props you bring.
- When styling the room think about what the photo is for - if it's to show how someone lives try not to make the space look too perfect. I would also recommend not taking away too many personal items or you'll lose the character of the space.
- Look closely at the details of the shot in a laptop - is there a rogue bright red car hiding under the bed, an unsightly cable or even dust on the floor / surface? Remove anything that will save time in re-touch.

And now for day two.

Have a lovely day!