A relaxed, atmospheric family home in Malmö

I'm so proud of my adopted home town of Malmö. Having moved to Sweden from London ten years ago, I've seen it grow into a thriving hub with a flourishing creative community. Yesterday's post of my girls' bedroom was the result of a collaboration with two talented Malmö girls and today's fabulous home tour is also here in Malmö. The relaxed family space belongs to former model Malin Persson, blogger for Elle Decoration and self-confessed creative multi-tasker, her husband Damiano and children Tiago, Milo and Cleo. The family recently moved back to Sweden after a period in Rome, Italy. The two worlds have come together in the form of this beautiful, unique space, decorated with a mix of  fabulous vintage and antique finds and atmospheric colours.

Home: Malin Persson (with kind permission). Photography: Linda Alfvegren. Inspired by The Way We Play. 

What a beautiful, relaxed family home, don't you think? 

I love that children's toys can be seen through out the house (more pictures here). I also like the dark colours - especially in the cute little girls bedroom. A similar colour scheme has been used in this and this home.

Another thing that stands out to me is the use of clothing as decoration. A negligée hung in the window of the bathroom softens the feel of the room and adds a romantic touch, as does the lovely dress hanging on the mirror in the bedroom.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Today the sun will set at 3.25 pm - but really, it's never truly going to get light. This is why I'm eating my way through a packet of chocolate hob nobs. The good news? It's Saint Lucia here tomorrow, a festival of light in which a girl wearing a crown of candles will lead a procession who will then sing, and we'll enjoy a feast of Pepparkaka, saffron buns and glögg (mulled wine). It's one of my favoruite Swedish traditions.

I hope you have a lovely weekend too!

Shades of grey in the perfect Swedish apartment

I love December. Dark days are brightened by twinkling fairy lights and lit candles. And chairs made comfy by big sheepskin throws. So cosy! Grey is the colour du jour this December and it's been warmly embraced by this Gothenburg apartment. The apartment itself is so spacious and has beautiful bones which lends itself to a multitude of fab decorating ideas.  You can catch a glimmer of the festive season through the mini Christmas tree and hyacinths. I could pad about here for the day, how about you?! 

Stadshem

Where to start?! The beautiful wood floor? the angled walls? The extended open clothes rail in the bedroom? This apartment is like a master class in creating the perfect space!

A few items I know and love: Z1 cotton lamp, striped basket (free shipping today), HAY tray table, Eames DSR chair, Panton chair. The golden bell light and grey blanket are similar. The cluster glass ball light is by House Doctor, it's so great isn't it? I'm seeing it more and more in scandinavian inspired homes.

A little note to mention today is the last day to receive free shipping on all items from Great.ly - so if you're after pretty Christmas decorations, or presents (a cute clutch for a friend or a print for yourself) today's the day!

Have a fab day and see you tomorrow! 

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!

A Swedish apartment with a cosy bed and glossy grey floor

Oh Monday morning, I wish I could like you.  Maybe if I could wake up in this bed, and have a lazy morning padding around the apartment I might feel differently. My favourite room has to be the bedroom- that over-sized chunky knit throw is too cosy for words don't you think?! I love the glossy light grey floor throughout the apartment too, it really sets the calm tone of the space. What do you love about this Gothenburg apartment?

Stadshem. Via Coco Lapine with thanks. 

Could you be tempted to paint your floors in a glossy grey?

Items I know and love: Svenskt Tenn elephant cushion, HAY dot cushion, find a similar chunky knit blanket and pouf here. I'm a big fan of the Butterfly chair in cognac leather.  Lucky boy sunday fancy finger cushion and a simialar dotted and striped cushion. Eames DSW chairs. Sheepskin throws.

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the  Løv Organic weekend give-away. The competition is now closed and the three winners will be contacted today. All is not lost, you can still receive 15% off all teas and infusions with the code SCANDINAVIAN until 1st December.

Have a fab start to the week! 

A cool vintage inspired space in Stockholm

There's something strange...in the neighbourhood. Well actually, just on this blog. The night fairy (aka Ana at Blog Milk) has been in while we were asleep and moved things around a little. Even I got a shock this morning and I was the one that instigated it! Do you think you can get used to the change? I hope so! Something that's not strange though is this fantastic apartment in Stockholm. The open plan living area with it's array of vintage items is incredibly cool. I love the graphical style and mix of light grey and wood.  How about you?

Fastighetsbyrån

Pretty cool don't you think?

I love the way the shoes are stored on open shelving in the hallway. Although I know this is not everyone's cup of tea - what's your verdict? Do you remember this and this post showing ways to use your shoes to decorate your home (or there's even displaying shoes up the stairs on on picture frames?!) If ever there was an excuse to buy a fabulous pair of heels.

Something I'm starting to see creep into homes is the floral sofa like in the sitting room here - a throw back to the eighties and nineties. A big trend for 2015?

A few items I see and love: the pendant light over the dining table looks similar to the Louis Poulsen in white. The dining chairs are similar to the 209 Thonet chair. Source vintage items such as the bar stools on Etsy. 

Have a lovely day! 

One Swedish apartment, two different ways of doing grey

Swedish estate agents Fastighetsbyrån took one apartment and asked three talented Swedish stylists to decorate it (cue: blog frenzy!). The results are incredible and give real insight into how to transform a home. My favourite two are by Tina Hellberg and Hans Blomquist who took the colour of the moment: grey, and made the apartment their own. Which look do you prefer?!

Hans Blomquist: 

Tina Hellberg:

All photos: Fastighetsbyrån

So fascinating don't you think? Hans has gone all out charcoal grey for a 'cocoon' like feel, where as Tina has kept the space white with grey accent colours. I love the striking nature of Hans' styling but perhaps find Tina's more livable in as I like a lot of light.

Which would you go for?

As mentioned, there's a third look too, created by Mikael Beckman. Mikael went for whites, greens and brass. You can see the final look here.

New sponsor alert and so very excited about this one. Please provide a warm welcome to new Australian online shop Room To Decorate. Founder Dianne was always receiving compliments on her own home and as a result opened Room to Decorate to provide Australians and New Zealanders with oh so cool Scandinavian inspired home-ware (my favourits include this light, cushion and cup and saucer), We like! You can also find Room To Decorate on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and blog. Thank you for supporting my wonderful sponsors who make this blog happen!

Have a lovely day!

PS Thank you so much for entering the weekend give-away. The competition is now closed and I will contact the winner today via e-mail. Look out for the next one in two weeks time!