March 8!

Some Mimosa to all of you ladies reading this today - March 8, 2012
Have a great day, everyone!
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New book: The Natural Home - very Wabi Sabi

If I had to pick a favorite interior stylist, I would be..... well, there are so many good ones, but this month it is Hans Blomquist. What I like most about him, is that he masters sooooo many different styles. He doesn't have one signature style (I don't think), but he knows what style works best in each situation. May it be Baroque, Romantic French, hard edge Black & white, Colorful & playful, Raw Industrial or natural Wabi Sabi, he masters them all!

Much of the latter is presented in his upcoming book The Natural Home, which will be released by Ryland, Peters and Small in April. The publishers haven't posted many photographs yet, but I found the ones below over at the great blog French by Design. Awesome photos by Debi Treloar. As usual.
The Natural Home is a place where natural materials and motifs are the key elements of home decorating. The book celebrates perfectly imperfect objects in homes that have grown with time and are photographed un-staged. Could it be more Wabi Sabi? 
Hans Blomquist starts off by exploring the essence of the natural style: 

  • In Texture, he revels in the textures and patinas of natural materials. 
  • Still Life reveals Hans' passion for creating displays that showcase treasured pieces, while 
  • Plants and Flowers celebrates the beauty of nature and the cycles of the natural world. 
  • Colour presents his favourite earthy, natural colour palette, which provides the perfect backdrop for hits of brighter natural hues. 
  • The second part of the book, Homes,  presents a series houses and apartments that showcase the beautiful simplicity and elegance of the natural look.  

The Natural Home will fit perfectly in my bookcase, in between all my Wabi Sabi books (among them Axel Vervoordts book Wabi Inspirations) and other books celebrating the used & imperfect, like Emily Chalmers book Flea Market Style, Christiane Lemieux's UnDecorate and Ramnek/Ulin's book Nesting.  

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Contemporary photographs with a vintage feel

This Saturday I give you a set of pictures, though mostly modern, have a feeling of times past. A wee bit on the romantic side, perhaps? Well, spring is in the air, so why not? Enjoy. 
Photograph by

 Photograph via




Photograph by Sibylle Bergemann

Photograph by Kamil Vojnary
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Feathers all over the place

First, I'd like to thank beautiful & talented Susanne, the editor behind the blog Me and Alice for mentioning this blog as her favorite, when interviewed by the Brazilian Magazine Casa e Jardim (House & Garden). I am very humbled and flattered! Head over to her blog, filled with beautiful pictures of her country home, up in the north of Sweden. 
This was a great surprise - and a lovely start of my weekend. I'm looking forward to working in my garden the next couple of days. Lots to do. Soon enough Easter is here. Below are some feathery pictures I've collected on Pinterest to help me get into an Easter mode. Enjoy your weekend!









Pictures from the top: www.emiliehalpern.com, parisapartment.wordpress.com, www.louiseroe.dk, flickr.com/photos/nationaalarchief, and of course tumblr (without source).
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Your secret hideaway by the lake

The other day I blogged about a stunning weekend house by the lake, here. That house sleeps 10 people. This house (actually a garden shed/greenhouse) is a wee bit smaller - sleeps 2, I guess. Both have big windows overlooking the lake. Which house do you prefer? 
This greenhouse - garden shed - guest house is designed by the Finnish firm Avanto Architects
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Vote for Best Home Design Blog 2012


How nice. This blog is nominated for Best Home Design Blog 2012. It's a VERY long list of nominees, but if you want to cast a vote for me, CLICK HERE TO VOTE. Voting ends March 2. 
UPDATE: We ended up on 175 place (or there about) among 462 nominated blogs. Thanks friends for your votes. It was an honor to be among the nominated, and great fun discovering new blogs from this long list. Head over to see for yourself.  

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Raw elegance in New York City. En renoverad dröm!

This classic New York city apartment was recently renovated by Olson Kundig Architects. They transformed the space from a traditional pre-war, partitioned layout into a simple open plan. The project included reclaiming some of the building’s original features, such as two cast iron riveted columns and the original masonry walls.
To open up the old apartment, Olson Kundig Architects raised the ceilings, and removed many interior walls. The windows were enlarged to allow daylight to penetrate deep into the space. Seemed to have worked well. I'm delighted to see an apartment with such restrained decoration... a few classics but no (short lived) trendy items of the kind that quickly dates a place. Well done!  
All the aged materials give the flat a Wabi Sabi feel, don't you think?  Love the white ceiling and sheetrock walls, the exposed masonry, the black steel and the reclaimed oak floors. All images via.  
Like the work of the architect firm? Here is another example - a stunning getaway by the lakeside. More on Jim Olson's ideas on architecture in his book Houses


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Weekend Wabi Sabi

How about some simple and uncluttered images? Really inspiring for me this weekend, when I'm spring cleaning & sorting stuff to give- or throw away. 

 Via

 Via

 Via


 Picture right via. All other images via tumblr without source
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Slow Wood

This could be Scandinavian Design, but is made by the dutch company Slow Wood
Slow Wood's furniture is handmade by dutch craftsmen in Friesland, made to last. The philosophy behind the design is to create furniture with a raw natural elegance and a low impact on our planet. Each piece is made of iron and/or solid wood, with 100% natural finishes and mineral paint. Just love it! 

More info on the MUN Collection on the website, where I found these pics. 
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