scandinavian

Homes I Love: Black & White Simplicity

This house. Oh, this house. It makes me love my favorite color combination more than ever. I talk a good game about black and white but I just can’t stick to it without throwing in some other color. But these homeowners? They’re committed. And I’m so impressed.

It’s just so tranquil and all the little Moroccan accessories keep it from being too sterile. The black and white makes the perfect backdrop for just about anything so you could put any other color in there and it would work. But I’d leave well enough alone!

(Photos: Lantliv, January 2012)

More Swedish Christmas Decor

Hi, everyone, how was your weekend? I spent most of it in bed (Still sick! Ugh!) so I still haven’t been able to decorate and I’m just chomping at the bit. So for now I just have to settle for looking at everyone else’s decorations. I found this in a French magazine (Journal de la Maison) but it’s another Swedish house. I never tire of them, as you know.

Like the last two Scandinavian homes, I love the simplicity of the decor here and how effortless it looks.

Where are you in your holiday preparations?

*Thank you to everyone who has left a comment on my “Creating an Entertaining Space” Ideabook at Houzz. If you haven’t had a chance, I would really appreciate your vote! Each comment is a vote for me and if I win, you could win a $250 gift certificate to any online retailer of your choice. (Some of you have said you had trouble registering. I’m told it could be a problem with user names so you can either try a different name or please email support@houzz.com and they will get you logged in.) Thank you!*

(Photos: Journal de la Maison, Nov/Dec 2010)

On My Radar: Gray Gotland Pelts/Sheepskin

I love sheepskin as rugs and seat cushions in the colder months and have had some of those Ikea ones that everyone has for a few years now. Ever since last winter though, I’ve been dying for some of these gorgeous gray Gotland pelts.

As luck would have it, Monika is carrying these in her shop, Splendid Willow Avenue ($340 each). Here’s what she has to say about them:

Considered by many to be the most desirable sheep skins, are the smooth silky, gray curly and gorgeous skins from the old viking sheep on Gotland (a small, Swedish viking island in the Baltic sea). Gotland pelts are world-renowned for their superior quality. They are strong, durable and very high luster with an array of rich gray shades.

I’m going to place an order as soon as I decide on how many. I would love six for the chairs in my kitchen like in the first photo but that seems extravagant since we only use two of the chairs most of the time. So I may opt for just a couple for the couch in the family room.

It seems they are also on Ikea’s radar. When I was there last week, I spotted a gray version of their popular Ludde sheepskin ($39):

Keep in mind these are not Gotland pelts and you definitely get what you pay for but if the real thing isn’t in your budget, it’s not a bad alternative.

So what do you think? How would you use these pelts in your home?

(Photos: 1-3.Skona Hem 4.via Niceroom.tumblr 5-6.Splendid Willow Avenue 7.Ikea)

***Don’t miss the Hygge & West wallpaper giveaway open to readers worldwide!***

Kicking Off Swedish Week With Josef Frank

You already know that French and Swedish/Scandinavian styles are my top two favorites and that my home is a pretty even mix of the two. But sometimes I heavily favor one over the other, depending on my mood. And these days, I’m all about Scandinavian, especially Swedish.

So I’m declaring this week Swedish Week at FTRB. What does this mean? Here’s what you can expect:

Tuesday – A Stockholm apartment that you will flip over. I sure did.

Wednesday – Swedish-inspired styling of the mantel in my family room. (Yes, I’ve finally taken some photos around the house!)

Thursday – Another Swedish hotel with more inspiring design ideas than you can imagine.

Friday – An amazing, fantastic, stupendous Swedish/Scandinavian giveaway. It’s something I’ve been coveting forever and just ordered myself.

As for today, I’m kicking off the week with another look at Josef Frank’s beautiful designs. Here are some truly inspirational photos from Svenskt Tenn, the interior design shop in Stockholm where its founder Estrid Ericson and Josef Frank created those iconic patterns.

I’m so excited about Swedish Week, it’s ridiculous. I hope you enjoy it!

(Photos: Svenskt Tenn)

Another Swedish Home I Love

Oh my, once again, I am speechless. This house is sheer perfection. I don’t often post entire houses but every once in a while I come across one where I love everything. Like this one. Look at that window and that view outside!

Lots of white . . .

with pops of orange.

Oh, hello, Wegner wishbone chairs:

Did you notice the bits of Josef Frank here and there too? I think you all know how I feel about him.

Like I said, perfection.

For more homes I love, you can look under um, the “homes I love” tag.

(Photos: Skona Hem)

Another Swedish Home I Love

Oh. My.

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I found this apartment for sale in Sweden on Alvhem through Apartment Therapy and I just had to share it because I actually gasped when I saw this image.

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That terrace would be enough to sell me on this place but the interior is adorable, too.

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I think the owners have great style. You can tell they chose to invest their money in a few places with the rest of the furnishings being from Ikea. With that, they were able to really make the apartment their own and that’s always a good thing.

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Cute, right?

If you missed them before, here are two more Swedish homes that I flipped for.

I Want to Live in Stockholm, in this House

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Every once in a while I see a house where I like absolutely everything. This Stockholm house recently featured in Skona Hem (of course) is one such house.

It had me at the window seat. Oh, that view!

Love the rolled arm sofa, the Josef Frank pattern on the other, and the tray coffee table here:

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the wallpaper, the gray door frame, and the all-white bed here:

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the bedding, lantern and wallpaper here:

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the sleek cabinetry, fixtures, and Missoni towels here:

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and last but not least, the mill work, arches, chandelier, weathered black chest, kilim, giant lantern, and black/white/red palette here:

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To me, this house is pretty much perfect and it further fuels my obsession with Scandinavian homes. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

We Go Way Back

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This Swedish cabin has been seen around the blogosphere a lot lately and I just had to chime in.  You see, this house and I have a history. Sort of.

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I first spotted this cabin in the magazine Ville & Casali in 2006 when I was in Italy. I couldn’t stop looking at it. It was most definitely love at first sight. I brought the magazine home, tore out my favorite photo and put it on a wall in my studio. When we moved into our current house, the same page went up in my studio again:

dsc_89611(my inspiration wall)

Then in the past few months – three years into my obsession – the house seems to be popping up everywhere I turn and I confess to feeling a little territorial about it. Like it’s “my” house. If the real owners were reading this, I’m sure they would find that very creepy(!)

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Anyway, my desire for a weekend house all started with this one house. Seeing it around so much makes me think it may have that effect on some other people, too.

And look, it even fits in with my black & white stripe theme this week:

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So that’s the story of this house and me. It’s an ongoing one and I’m hoping for a happy ending – that I’ll find something like it in the near future.

This post is part of the Hooked on Houses blog party today. Have a great weekend!

(Photos: Martin Lof)

I Want White Floors

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So most of you know how much I adore white interiors. One of the things that I’ve always loved but never thought I could have were white floors. On the ground level we have concrete floors and I love them and don’t want to muck around with them. But upstairs, we have wooden floors and the other day, it hit me: why don’t I paint them white? I can think of a lot of reasons, including:

1. It would be a huge pain;

2. I’m not a very good painter so it would probably turn out horribly – all uneven with all kinds of things stuck in it;

3. It seems sacrilege to paint pristine wood floors; and

4. I’m too lazy for this big an undertaking.

But white rooms with white floors just take my breath away.

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Every time I see one of those fantastic Scandinavian interiors, it always has a white floor.

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So that’s my crazy idea for the week. I don’t think I have the guts to actually do it but it’s kind of fun to play around with the idea. Would you ever paint your floors?

(Photos: 1. Livingetc. 2. Apartment Therapy 3. Skona Hem)

Cabin Ideas: White Kitchens

This is what I have in mind for our cabin’s kitchen:

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(skonahem.com)

kitchen4(jasonloucas.com)

barn-wood-kitchen-cabinet-htours1005-de(countryliving.com)

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I already have the French cafe chairs and a round wooden table so all I need now is the kitchen . . .

Why I Want a Cabin (Part 2)

fjord(fjordtravel.no)

Another reason I’ve come around to the idea of having a weekend cabin is that I’m in love with everything Scandinavian right now.  Fjords, painted cottages, hygge, cool design, fika, Gustavian furniture, . . .  I could go on and on. 

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Then  when we moved to the Pacific Northwest and began exploring the area, I saw how similar the landscape is to Scandinavia – pine forests, alpine lakes, snowcapped mountains . . . and it dawned on me that I could actually have a bit of that lifestyle right here in the U.S.  And the search began.