An idyllic Swedish cottage with outdoor kitchen and shower

Hello! How are you this Monday? The schools break up in Sweden later this week and I'm starting to get that summer feeling; think bare feet, dips in the sea, fishing, cooking and eating alfresco and showers under the open sky. At least that's what would happen if I were to spend the summer in this idyllic Swedish summer cottage. Like many Scandinavian holiday homes, it's been designed to make the most of the outdoors. And for rainy days, the interior has been decorated with traditional rag rugs, summer quilts in a basket, antique and vintage Swedish furniture and wicker chairs for enjoying the summer read. Oh yes! Could you spend your summer here?

 

 

Photography: Clive Tompsett (shared with kind permission). Sköna Hem

I'm such a big fan of holiday homes with a black exterior (see also this and this cottage!).

And I've always been a fan of bathing and showering outdoors (do you remember this post?!). Not only is there something special about washing under the open sky but they're also perfect for rinsing little feet after a day at the beach. Do you have an outdoor shower?

And move over barbecues - this summer I've got my eye on an entire outdoor kitchen (more inspiration can be taken from this Finnish cabin - so wonderful?!). 
More fabulous Swedish summer cottage inspiration here.

Thank you to everyone who entered the Houseology give-away this weekend. The winner has now been announced here..(oh how I wish I'd won!). 

Have a great start to the week!

A dreamy Finnish lake-side cabin with a twist

When it comes to creating a cabin, it seems your imagination is the only limit. This incredible Finnish summer cottage has been built using four ship containers, yes really! Looking at the 60 metres square space you'd never guess, would you?! And when the owners aren't sitting out on the terrace enjoying the forest and interrupted views over lake Hartola,  they're relaxing in the beautiful, personal interior, decorated using simple monochromes and a touch of vintage industrial.  I could wile away a summer here, how about you?!

 

 

 

Photos by Krista Keltanen (shared with kind permission)

Oh to whisk myself away here! I do love the simple life, don't you?

It's difficult to pin down exactly what I like the most about this house - I love everything! But if I have to say one thing it would be the mix of textures - hard industrial metals against white washed brick walls and soft linens and lace.

Is there anything that stands out to you?

You can see more photos of this house beautifully captured by Krista Keltanen on her lovely blog here or a full article here (in Finnish). More dreamy Finnish cabin inspiration here, here and here.

Have a lovely day!

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!

The rustic Norwegian cabin hide-away

It's the weekend! Yay! Any great plans? We'll be at home this weekend but what I'd really like to be doing is escaping to this rustic cabin high up on the cliffs of Western Norway.  Imagine taking a walk in the blustery north wind followed by a hot drink next to the roaring fire? That's a part of every day life for Norwegian couple Elin and Rune. As lovers of the great outdoors, the duo are firm believers in the saying 'there's no bad weather, only bad clothing' and wanted to live somewhere they could enjoy Storfjorden and the surrounding mountain range. The cabin developed stage by stage, and although basic, it has everything they need  to observe the changing weather and delight in the uninterrupted views of the nature that surrounds them.

 Photo: Carina Olander with kind permission 

Photo: Carina Olander with kind permission

Photo: Carina Olander with kind permission

Photo: Carina Olander with kind permission

Photo: Carina Olander with kind permission

Could you spend your weekend here?!

There's something so romantic about this retreat, don't you think?

I've spoken before about my dreams of walking one of the 'hytte to hytte' trails in Western Norway. I even asked my Mum for hiking boots for Christmas. Yes, really! But seriously, couldn't you walk 20 km just to spend a night in a 'hytte' like this?!

For more rustic log cabin inspiration (it's got to be done right?!) I love this Norwegian cabin by the sea, a Norwegian hide-away, and a pared-back Finnish retreat. Why do I do this to myself?!!

Have a truly fab weekend!

PS images found via House of C with thanks. 

A pared-back Australian beach house with a retro vibe

Spring is in the air...at least in the home tours this week (and outside here in southern sweden, yay!). This pared-back Australian beach house certainly adds to the vibe.  Located in the coastal town of Merrick, Victoria, it's decorated with pretty pops of colour, retro floral prints (my grandparents had curtains just like these in their sitting room, they had fab style), and freshly cut branches from a cherry tree. The owners have completed their holiday home with a mix of vintage, industrial and modern furniture as well as homespun textiles for a relaxed, bohemian feel. An Australian take on the Danish home we saw yesterday? Just lovely! I could wile away a summer here, how about you?!

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Photography: Brooke Holm (kind permission). Styling: Marsha Golemac for interior designer Shareen Joel. via Share Design.

Anything in particular you love about this holiday home (or everything perhaps?!)?

 Items I know and love: Try Etsy for retro floral print curtains, Tivoli radio, Moka coffee maker. Wood wool stool sells crocheted items.

I dream of having an outdoor shower, there's something very cool about them and instantly conjure up days of long summer days at the beach. Here are some of my favourites.

The other thing I noticed are the shelves across the window - what a great idea?!

See more pictures and a full write up of the house here.

Other holiday homes in which I could wile away a boho summer include: this tranquil space in Corsica, a white and wood villa on Mykonos, a Norwegian cabin by the sea, and a Scandinavian style cottage in Oregon.

Roll on summer!

Have a lovely day!

An idyllic Finnish cottage with an outdoor summer kitchen

As January comes to a close and the short, snowy days continue,  I find myself dreaming of the summer sun more and more. And when it arrives - I'm going to be outdoors along with the rest of Scandinavia. That's why I thought I'd share the latest developments of one of my favourite summer cottages - an oh so idyllic family retreat on an island in the Finnish archipelego. The ongoing renovation project is driven by owner Minna Jones of Time of The Aquarius and her partner and has been well documented here on My Scandinavian Home (here and here plus her year round home here). To me, the residence epitomises the essence of the Scandinavian summer - life at a cabin with a beautiful, yet basic interior and maximised to ensure time outside enjoying the long awaited summer days. Last season the owners added an outdoor kitchen to the mix. And the good news? It's easily replicated.  Here are a few new snaps of Minna's home and her fab new outdoor kitchen.

Minna Jones, Time of the Aquarius

To get a similar outdoor kitchen: try painting an IKEA trestle table,  the water can with tap and lights are from Granit, buy a camping stove here. Finnish birch basket. Rattan furniture is set to be big this spring / summer - I'm a big fan of the uber comfy BYHOLMA chair.

Other items I know and love: Bertoia chairs, Butterfly chair and String shelves. IKEA PS 2012 chest of drawers and FÖRHÖJA kitchen trolley.

To get a full picture of the summer cottage and for more images of the plan, interior, grounds, surrounding nature and family life at the cottage you can wile away a few hours on Minna's dreamy blog.

I also absolutely love this Finnish log cabin with a sauna.

Summer in Finland anyone?!

And because it's still January (just): I loved how Scandinavisk summarises the 'Sense of Scandinavia' in Thursday's piece. And this beautiful video by Volvo featuring Amanda Begman's song 'Vintersaga' (winter tale) perfectly sums up the coldest season in Sweden- I was particularly excited to see it even features the beach by my house here in the South! Thank you AMM blog for the tip!

Have a lovely day!

PS Thank you so much to Ana of Blog Milk Shop for all your amazing technical help with my blog lately! Ana is not only my tech saviour but she also creates the most stunning blog templates available to buy here.