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!

Tassels!

One Spring trend that I'm loving are the use of fun, playful tassels! They add a bit of whimsy and glamour to almost anything:

HOME DECOR

Via Style Me Pretty

FASHIONABLE MOMENTS:

Earrings here

Dress available here

I need one of these! Available here.

Shoes here

Bag here

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. 

Shelter Loves....

Friday, oh how I love you! I was at a meeting for most of the day but I wanted to end my week with a Shelter Loves post! It just wouldn't feel complete without it. Here is what is on my radar!

1. These fabulous baskets by artist Eliza Gran. She sells them at a number of shops. I love Amber's colorful shop, she has them too!! They would make a fun Easter basket!!
2. So true!! Take risks and dream big!
3. I am adoring the v-back shirts and sweaters trend this spring. Find a similar one here.
4. Navy is a great alternative to black in the spring and summer months. This classic Tod bag would last you a life time.
5. I've created an "if I ever" board on Pinterest. Follow it here...It's filled with "if I ever" moments, such as: If I ever get married again, If I ever get a dog, etc. I think you get the picture. In any case, If I ever get married again (cause who knows, right?)  There are pros and cons to being single and being married!! It is surprising how quickly you (or I did) adjust to not being married any longer.  I do love this table setting and would envision a small, intimate, casual wedding. I would almost be tempted to purchase and ensemble my own flower vases for one big long family style table!
6.  Ahhh, my design office. It's in the works. I plan to share the design board with you next week. The before space is a bit scary and I will share those photos as well. I came across the image shown this week. It got me thinking about how fun it would be to have a remote office set up in a small detached building behind my house!! It is far enough away not to stress me out when I am trying to relax but close enough to walk to work in the am!! ;)
7. How great are these luggage tag neck charms?? There is one available for almost every city in the U.S. and a number of cities abroad. Available from Jet Set Candy.

Cheers, I'm going to pour myself a glass of wine and make tacos!!

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!

Cat Greenleaf for Ace Hardware

Happy Thursday!! I just wanted to take a moment to share my USA Network commercial for Valspar paint with you. It is such a pleasure to work for Ace Hardware! If you tune into USA at all maybe you'll catch my chat with Cat. Ace Hardware has a beautiful selection of Valspar paints!

Here is the link to the commercial.

Here is a peek of Cat and I on her stoop. Her show, Talk Stoop, is great, btw!

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!

Cottage Love #23

You know I have a love for smaller homes that are beautifully finished. They tend to pack a punch but don't take as much time to maintain! California Bungalows are up there as one of my favorites. In fact, I'd most likely move out west if I didn't worship my family here in Massachusetts. (I also can't leave now until my children are 18) Don't get me wrong there are so many things I love about the Boston area but after this winter a longer warm season would be much appreciated!!
This lovely home is that of comedic writer Erin Foster. Her new show, Barely Famous, airs on VH1. I'm loving the light, layered style. It feels fresh, updated and attainable.
I was actually working on a project today with a similar feel! Erin hired designers from the company Spruce. I also have to mention that DOMAINE is one of my favorite online design magazines! They never disappoint! I think I'll be tuning into her show tonight @9:30/8:30Central.