A fantastic Stockholm apartment with a vintage touch

I could totally imagine myself padding around this beautiful one up one down Stockholm loft. Not only does it have beautiful bones but the owner, Louise, has decorated it impeccably too. It's a fairly small space but it's been cleverly organised to make the most of every inch:  the magazines stacked in the stairwell, the windowsill doubling up as a book shelf and the shower tucked under the stairs. It's actually for sale - I'd move in tomorrow, how about you?!

Fantastic Frank via Husligheter

I love the scissor task lamp in the kitchen, I've been thinking about one of these as a reading lamp in my bedroom or in my sitting room - what do you think? I found a load of fantastic vintage scissor lamps here - but which one to choose?! I also spy the classic white Eames RAR too (15% off with MYSCAN).

Anything you love about this apartment?

I love this and this Stockholm apartment too.

Have a lovely day!

BY INVITATION ….. CHANGE ….. MOVING FORWARD …..

We are now at the beginning of a New Year and, ' By Invitation ' is back again.

To kick off with this year, our subject is 'Change'  - 'Moving On '.

Moving forward may mean ' from now on ', ' in the future ', or even ' now '. It gives a sense of action, purpose and direction that appeals to some. To many of you it may mean a change in career, an ambition fulfilled or maybe a house move.

Every ones future is unpredictable and things aren't always going to go as planned. Much of life is ' groundhog day ' but, interspersed with this are massive moments, proud points in time and touching memories ….. family Christmas mornings, weddings, a hurdle overcome or a poignant gesture.

Because I am pretty happy with my lot and, being older than most of you, I really don't have a need to move on or change in any way so, hopefully for me, there will still be wine ….. 

….. laughter …..

….. cake and chocolate …..

….. there will be friends …..

….. shopping …..

….. there will still be blogging …..

and books.

There will be dining …..

….. and some dreaming.

There will also, inevitably, be thunder and lightening sometimes …..

….. and, rejection …..

….. possibly some sadness …..

but, there is always beauty and …..

….. acts of kindness to balance everything out { although, you may not feel that at the time !! }

There are often a few obstacles to overcome { for some, many } ….. little setbacks to deal with, some huge ones and there will be sparks of darkness in the diamonds …..

….. but, we must move on as there are beautiful memories to be made in 2014 and,

….. there will be change in our family as ….. we will be welcoming another grandchild to the world !

I wish for all of you a bright and beautiful future and that you will change and move on as you wish this year without too many obstacles along the way.

To see how others in our ' By Invitation ' group feel about change and moving on, please pop over to Marsha's blog where she has all of the links.

image 1: via the gifts of life, images 2 & 8: via envers du decor, image 3: via hero.i.am, images 4 & 6: via margadirube, image 5: via la peche fraiche, image 7: via crush cul de sac, image 9: via an exquisite waste of time, image 10: via prettie sweet, image 11: via a touch of delicacy, image 12: via head like an orange, image 13: via heartbeat oz, image 14:  via pinterest, image 15: via bonnard 3, image 16: via ayshfi, image 17: via hqdesktop, image 18: via google images, image 19: via the collage crush, image 20: via zsa zsa bellagio

A fresh, white Stockholm apartment

Hello Tuesday! I think it's time for a fresh white home, we haven't had one yet this year and you know how much we all love white?! This Stockholm apartment is currently for sale in Stockholm. I love the white against the beautiful original wood flooring, how about you?

Fantastic Frank via La Maison D'Anna G

And how cool is that lamp in the bedroom and hallway (any idea where it's from?), it's not something I'd normally go for but it really softens the space don't you think?

Other favourite white homes of mine can all be found here (warning - there's pages of them!). 

One of my pet favourites at the moment is the mix of white and gold. Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to receive a gift from Shlomit Ofir. The beautiful Alma bracelets are part of her Northern Lights jewellery collection which is inspired by Scandinavian design, scenery and lifestyle. My other favourite pieces are the bicycle necklace and Sif earrings (it's so worth taking a look, there are just so many fab pieces!). You can find Shlomit Ofir on Facebook, Pinterest or sign up their newsletter here. 

I hope you have a lovely Tuesday!

Beautiful danish spaces by House Doctor

The more days I go into the new year the more I realise 2014 is going to be great! I feel so inspired by fresh starts at this time of the year. There's also all the new collections starting to appear, and nothing warms my heart more than the first signs of Spring in a home. So today's inspiration comes from the fab danish brand House Doctor and their hot off the press Everyday 2014 collection.

House Doctor via Stil Inspiration

Take home inspiration for me? It's got to be the nautical striped day bench with pale blue cushions. So cute!  How about you?

On Friday I showed a home for those who need a little new year de-clutter inspiration (me). I've become even more inspired by this since reading The Happiness Project (have you read it?) in which de-cluttering the home is seen as the very first step in the path to improved happiness.....pass me the bin bags! Oh and if you need any more prompting  - how about this nautical striped storage bag to match the day bench?!

More Danish inspiration required for a Monday? how about this Danish oasis in Cannes, this home of a Danish stylist or one of the most popular homes I've shown here: A danish home on a hill.

Have a lovely day!

A de-cluttered monochrome Swedish home

If I do one thing this year with my home it's de-clutter. My sister and her family have just stayed and I was so embarrassed every time someone opened a cupboard - something would always come flying out! So my mission is to do a big clear out, but when?! Does anyone else have this problem? Do you feel organised at home? This Swedish apartment can serve as my de-clutter inspiration, it's just so clean, practical and neat.

JM via Feel Inspired

Apart from the neat factor, my favourite thing about this black and white Swedish home are the lamps. The wall lights are such a practical way of getting light to a space where you need to move the light around such as in my sitting room. As you know the Flos 265 has been a favourite of mine since forever. Will this be the year I finally get one?!

Got to love the Eames RAR too - I think this and the DAW look best in black (you can always get 15% off these with code MYSCAN :).

After some more monochrome inspiration? What about this Stockholm home with a mid-century touch and this Malmö home - so fab in their own black and white way.

I received an e-mail yesterday from the clothes designer behind the dress I showed in my 'all that glitters' new year's eve piece. Jeffrey Monteiro designed the fab piece in 2011 for Bill Blass. I would love a party dress like that, wouldn't you? So exciting to hear from the talented designer himself.

Have a lovely weekend and see you Monday!

A bright, white and airy Dutch home

Happy new year! I hope you had a fantastic end to 2013 and have recovered from new year's eve?...nothing cleared out the cobwebs better than a trip to kallbadhus sauna pier yesterday. I feel I'm all ready for the year ahead now and I'm so happy my blog is getting back to normal after the break (I've missed it!). So, as promised, here's the first home tour (of many) for 2014. It's the beautiful Dutch home of Nancy Berendsen photographed by Holly Marder in all it's white and pastel glory. 

Holly Marder

What do you think? I love the tones, it's very pretty and relaxed with just enough colour for my taste.

More pastel home inspiration can be found here and here. And do you remember this other Dutch home and children's room photographed by Holly  - she never fails to find a fab house!

You can see lots more of this beautiful, bright and airy home here.

If you're in need of a 2014 wall calendar don't forget you can always download the My Scandinavian Home one here.

Have a lovely day!