The beautiful apartment of a Swedish interior designer

Hej du! I'm blogging from further up the coast today in Höganäs (home to Lily & Oscar (remember this beautiful cottage?) and Magasin 36 which I fully intend on visiting!). But before I do I had to share this incredible home with you which is currently for sale. It's owned by Swedish interior designer Elin Kickén (and I've heard Instagram extroadinaire (@elinkicken) and teeming with fabulous pieces. Take a peek....

Elin Kicken, Vastenhem via Husligheter and Stil Inspiration with thanks. 

I love her style, how about you?

I spy (where to start?!!) - well you could do well to start at Lotta Agaton's pop-up shop where many of the accessories can be found including the black and white prints, the Hay wall calendar and diamond light bulbs. For other items: Muuto The Dots Coat Hanger, Tom Dixon Copper Shade light and etch tea light (Nest). The Eames DAW, Eames RAR, Thonet 209, Thonet 214, (Design Collectors: 15% discount with code MYSCAN).  Kubus bowl By Lassen. Linen bedding from The Linen Works (I love the Cassis colour). Long-haired sheepskin chair cushions from here. What have I missed?

Feel like looking at a few other monochrome spaces? Try this, this and this one!

Oh and don't forget to enter the give-away if you haven't already :)

Have a lovely day and happy halloween Mwah, ha ha haaaa!

A Dutch artist's atelier and home

From stormy Southern Sweden to a calm oasis in Laren, Holland. This artists atelier was built in 1913 and  has been converted into a beautiful apartment by owners Pam and artist André Wiegel (much of whose work you can see on the wall today). The large windows and North facing facade create the perfect light to work in. The dark wood floors and white walls are complimented by warm Turkish textiles and wooden furniture, books and vignettes. Such a lovely, homely space.

Styling Frans Uyterlinde. Photography: James Stokes with kind permission. VT Wonen 2012

I could live and work here, could you?

The rug in this home is so beautiful I can't help think a long weekend in Istanbul is on the cards...

Other beautiful items? The dining chairs are awesome. The Tom Dixon pendant light always a favourite. I also like the touch of linen in the bathroom. How about you?

See other beautiful ateliers here.

Don't forget to enter the exciting give-away to win a Ferm Living Candleholder, still a few days left!

Have a lovely day!

A Swedish west coast retreat, family home and studio

Hello Monday! A storm is brewing here in Southern Sweden, and although I don't want to be out in it, I'm looking forward to the prospect of batoning down the hatches, getting out the blankets and lighting a few candles. This definitely calls for a cosy home exposed to the perils of nature. This Swedish retreat by the sea in Frilesas, Halland (not far from here) was originally designed and built by owner Fred, a carpenter. He was looking for a weekend bolthole and decided to keep it small, open-plan, simple and modern. But when he met his partner Lina, a designer, they decided to extend it to create a family home and a studio from which Lina could work. Now Lina and Fred  live here with their 6 month old son Stig and it's undeniably cosy, warm and welcoming. A perfect haven from a storm raging outside!

Lantliv by  Maria Delice  Karlsson with kind permission.

Could you ride out a storm in here?! 

Read more about it here (in Swedish). Or check out other cosy Swedish retreat's here (romantic log cabin anyone?!) and here.

In the last image I spy a sheepskin rug - which leads me to my latest news - I'm very excited to welcome my new sponsor BLACK SHEEP (WHITE LIGHT) purveyor of eco-friendly icelandic sheepskins and other select natural design products. I have my eye on this one in particular! They also ship worldwide - perfect! Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this blog possible.

PS Oh and the other piece of exciting news is that my home is featured in the November edition of IKEA Family Live! I'm a big fan of IKEA as you know, so it's an honour to be included!

I hope you had a lovely weekend!

GIVE-AWAY: Win a Ferm Living Candleholder from Nest

I am so excited to announce today's give-away offering you the chance to win a Ferm Living Candleholder String from the fab online interior shop Nest.co.uk. 

The Danish designed Candleholder String comes in beech wood with a leather string and place for four candles. You decide how it all goes together. As the day's get darker with the clocks going back this weekend (here at least!) and Christmas approaching (did I just mention the c word?!) it's the perfect way to light up your home the Scandinavian way - using cosy candlelight. 

For your chance to win a Candleholder String from Nest.co.uk all you need to do is:

1. Visit Nest.co.uk and choose your favourite item. In the comment section below briefly state which one you've chosen and why. 

2. Sign up for the Nest.co.uk newsletter here (bottom left of page).

This give-away is open to everyone worldwide. Be sure to enter latest midnight GMT Sunday, 3rd November. The winner will be announced on Monday, 4th November through My Scandinavian Home blog, Twitter and Facebook, don't forget to leave a way to be contacted too!

Good luck!

A beautifully renovated Helsingborg home

Hello! I thought we'd head to my husband's home town of Helsingborg, Sweden today and this beautiful home. The house was built in 1928 and was bought from an old lady who'd lived their for 60 years. Josefin and her husband Christian lovingly renovated the house from scratch just in time for the birth of their little baby boy Melker this Summer. And with fantastic results! I love the huge double doors, the touches of mid-century, and the way bold fabrics and textiles add to an otherwise all white room. Oh and spot the flamingo! 

AliceAugusta with kind permission

The house is now for sale as the family are moving to the beautiful island of Öland off Sweden's east coast (next door to Gotland as per yesterday's house tour) to be nearer to Josefin's family. They would love to take their wonderful house with them and I can't blame them but will definitely look for a new renovation project. I can't wait to see what they do next! How about you?

I also love this summer cottage, this rustic hotel and this converted brewery on Gotland (just to give you a flavour of the area!). 

Don't miss tomorrow's give-away, I think you're going to like it....

PS Thank you for the tip on today's home tour Mette x

A Gotland retreat

If there's one place on my wish list it's the island of Gotland on the East coast of Sweden, it's supposed to be stunning. This summer cottage is situated on a little island called Furillen just off Gotland (even better!). According to Anna of blog La Maison D'Anna G, the space was formerly used as army storage and has been carefully renovated using raw materials as well relics from the original building. The blue accent and sheepskin rugs add a warm element to the cold industrial feel of the concrete and pared-back space. Very original and beautiful. 

Photography: Pia Ulin, Styling Cilla Ramnek for Residence magazine. Via La Maison D'Anna G with thanks

I like the way they have 'opened up' the Hay industrial light - it adds a cool twist, perhaps I should do the same with mine in my bedroom....I see they have the Muuto Wood Table Lamp, one of my favourites! I am also a big fan of sheepskin rugs over chairs - as you can see from my dining room (it actually makes them so comfy too!).

Anything about this home you love?

PS Don't miss my very exciting give-away this Friday just in time for the clocks to go forward  (open worldwide).......Ooooo what could it be?!

The beautiful on trend sitting room

Morning! Reporing from a very grey London this morning. But if anything can brighten up my day this stunning sitting room created by Danish designer Mette Helena Rasmussen can. The space encompasses the current rose / gold trend perfectly by matching a vintage rose coloured accent wall with a polished brass Tom Dixon Etch Light - how very cool and pretty. Oh and they've added my favourite reading light too the Flos 265 wall light - could this be an option for my sitting room? I spy other bang up to date trends too such as the light grey marble table with pastel legs. What a treat for a grey Tuesday!

Photography: Tia Borgsmidt (with kind permission) for Boligliv via Ministry of Deco with thanks

What do you think? Are you channeling the gold / light grey marble and rose trend?

I've had a few questions about long-haired sheepskin rugs lately - this is a great source!

Oh and you might be interested to know that Mette owns an online shop called Retro Villa which sells the most beautiful items.....could be dangerous!

Have a lovely day!

child friendly holiday homes in Copenhagen

How was your weekend? Oh how it rained here in Southern Sweden!  It got me thinking about holidays. If you have small children you'll know what a difference it makes to find accommodation that's not only beautiful but caters to your children's needs too. When Kid and Coe contacted me about their wonderful new website offering child friendly holiday homes I was on it. Cue hours of searching through beautiful homes under the disguise of 'vacation planning'! Here are a few pictures taken from the two Copenhagen spaces on the site.

Kid and Coe

Some of my other favourite home tours are this one in Bude, Cornwall and this one in Highgate, London. Thank you also to Gemma who wrote to me with the tip!

Thank you so much for all your comments on Friday both on the post of my sitting room and over at Facebook. You've definitely persuaded me not to paint the stairs white - which also saves me a lot of time and money too - PHEW!! Thanks for all your other tips too, so appreciated.

Happy Monday!