A delightful home in Finland

Hello Monday! I hope you had a fab weekend? My alarm went off at 5.30am this morning - not ideal but you know what they say about the early bird....and it certainly rings true this morning. This is the beautiful Finnish home of Riika Kantinkoski - photographer, artist, stylist and blogger extraordinaire.  Think light wood floors, soft greys, Scandinavian design pieces and impeccable Finnish style. Oh how I'd love to start my week in this home, how about you?!

Photos: Riika Kantinkoski, with kind permission.

Honestly, Riika's home is like a breath of fresh air...it's just so effortlessly serene!

I love the idea of grouping different shaped vases with flowers from the garden, so simple yet so pretty (more indoor garden ideas here).

Items I know and love (in order of appearance): String shelves, aquarelle print (by Riika), Hay about a chair. SINNERLIG table lamp, macrame wall hanging (by Riika). SINNERLIG stool. Bedside table, Linen bedding.

You can keep up to date with Riika's latest home updates, projects and designs on her beautiful blog Weekday Carnival.

More oh so beautiful Finnish homes here, here and here.

Have a wonderful start to the week!

PS so pleased to be invited to be a part of luxury online home store Amara's 63 beautiful kitchen ideas piece. And thrilled to be nominated for 'Best European Interiors Blog' in the Amara Interior Blog Awards. My voting page is here. Exciting!

A Finnish home in striking charcoal tones

I love it when I receive an exciting e-mail. This time it was from designer Laura Seppänen sending over lovely pics from her latest interior design project. The client brief was to turn a two room apartment in Helsinki into a stylish, monochrome interior with the slightest hint of a hotel vibe. Laura added handmade and designer Finnish design pieces, and some fab prints to make the space come alive. The result is a pretty cool space with charcoal tones softened with warm wood. Let's take a tour..

Photos kindly submitted by Designer: Laura Seppänen, Photographer: Suvi Kesäläinen 

I love the bedroom! Charcoal bedding is such a great way to channel the broody dark grey trend  (as seen in this home)- but without committing to painting walls. This charcoal linen bedding and throw are similar.

To furnish the home Laura has used items from Finnish brands Adea and Valanti. The prints (in order of appearance) are:  RK Design, Blur, Brooklyn Landmarks.If there's anything in particular you're wondering about give me a shout in the comment section below and I'll dig into it!

I love the last home Laura designed too. Two totally different styles, which do you prefer?

You can keep up to date with her latest projects on Intagram and Facebook. 

More fabulous Finnish homes here!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered The Youngsters give-away. I am happy to announce the winner here. Gen is offering everyone 10% off all the fabulous items at The Youngsters with code MSH10 until Sunday 2nd August!

Have a lovely day!

A magnificent brownstone with striking contrasts

This magnificent brownstone in Clinton Hill, New York has the most incredible rich, colour pallette.  It's home (and studio) to event planner, interior designer and stylist Melissa Lee owner of Bespoke Only, and her husband Keye. With the help of Simpson Jacoby they have turned the 100 year old house into an elegant, calm space using striking dual-toned, colour blocked or nuanced lime-washed walls and furnished with a wonderful mix of second-hand, vintage and reclaimed items throughout. I love the way it's been captured by Ty Cole too. Let's take a peek....

Homeowner: Melissa / Bespoke Only. Architect: Simpson Jacoby. Photography: Ty Cole - shared with kind permission. Post inspired by Design Sponge with thanks.

This home has finally tipped the scales for me to give my home a lick of Railings Farrow & Ball. It has to be done. What do you think, could you paint parts of your home in this shade?

I also love the mosaic floor in the entrance way - try Encaustic Tiles for similar.

Other wonderful homes which have gone over to the dark side include this striking dark grey and white home, a fabulous grey australian home and a Swedish home in blue, grey and white.

Have a lovely day!

PS I hope it stops raining soon, this is meant to be our summer. Come on Sweden!

A lovely, calm white and grey Swedish island home

There's a howling gale outside and the rain is lashing against the windows of our summer cottage. It's actually very cosy (slippers at the ready!) - as long as the sun promises to come out tomorrow. Even so, my day has been totally brightened up by this home on the island of Dalarö in the Stockholm archipelago. Beautifully captured by the talented guys at Lovely Life, the home belongs to stylist  Mari Strengheilm,  Christian, a digital strategist and their children Dante (6) and Juno (3).  Looking out over the Baltic sea, the home is decorated in pretty shades of grey and white (love the half/half wall and chequered hall floor) with a slight African touch.  Let's take a tour...

Homeowner: Mari Strengheilm Photography: Amelia Widell.

Oj oj oj (as they say in Sweden) - what a wonderful home, don't you think?!

I'm intrigued by the bed nook in the children's bedroom - it looks incredibly cosy! It reminds me of the one in this pretty Swedish cottage - which has been used to create a private place to sleep on the landing. I also love this modern version of the bed nook. In fact I'm all for nooks in general, so much so that I've dedicated an entire Pinterest board to them! I'm sure if we look hard enough in our own homes we'd find a place to create one.

Is there anything you love in particular about this home?

There are images galore of this lovely space and a full write up /interview with Mari  (in Swedish) here. 

Have a lovely day!

PS More white and grey home interiors here (scroll passed this one).

A beautifully simple, graphical home in Finland

I came across this striking Finnish home on IG the other day and was completely blown away. The space belongs to Maja, an art director and blogger behind Musta Ovi ('black door') - where she shares beautiful interior inspiration (much of which is from her own home) and DIY ideas.  The oh so fabulous, light-filled monochrome space which shares with her partner and baby combines Scandinavian simplicity with loft-style. Soft rugs and touches of light wood add warmth and softness to the otherwise graphical concrete and white canvas.  Be still my beating heart!

Photography: Maja / Musta Ovi shared with kind permission.

This home has certainly blown away any mid-week cobwebs, it's just so fresh don't you think?

In terms of items I know and love...I'm not sure where to start, there are so many! Here goes: sitting room - Tom Dixon Beat lights, Hay lounge chairs, coffee table. Rug. My deer bat dog print. Dining: Artek stools. Kitchen: B print, Flos 265 light, Tivoli radio. Bedroom: white linen bedding, Dreamer print. Office: Alex drawers, Uten.Silo storage unit, wood bead wardrobe snake. Outdoors: black rattan chairs.

Sauna's make up a huge part of Finnish culture, so much so that in a country of five million inhabitants there are over three million saunas!  Maja is no exception, you can check our her lovely sauna here.

I'm such a huge fan of Finnish homes and have showed so many here over the years. They're all squirreled away in an archive here (scroll passed the first one as it will likely be this one), one of my all time favourites being this lovely one.

Have a lovely day!