The lovely handmade home of Ingrid Jansen

Hello Monday! And what a sunny one you are. Today I've chosen a home to match the mood - light, bright and colorful with inspiration around every corner. It belongs to Dutch business owner Ingrid Jansen. Ingrid started her company a few years ago when she designed her first recycled wooden stool with a crocheted cover for her home. Requests started flooding in and WOOD & WOOL STOOL was born. Ingrid's Holland based home is the perfect backdrop for her colorful handmade, wood and / or crocheted items she creates and sells.

Photography: Ingrid Jansen - WOOD WOOL & STOOL, with kind permission. Post inspired by Style Files. 

What a lovely home. Personal, white with pops of color and a very warm homespun feel. I would love to have some of Ingrid's colorful crocheted items in my home wouldn't you? They look especially great against the white backdrop. 

Other homes I'm turning to for inspiration today include this, this and this one. Bring on the brights! 

Have you got any plans for the week? It's all go in my home - last week we put up these shelves and now I'm starting my bedroom make-over - slightly scary but soooo exciting. Hint: the project involves tins and tins of Strong White by Farrow & Ball and quite possibly some bold swathes of color! Post to follow soon. 

Have a great start to the week!

A fabulous swedish apartment for the weekend

Looking at these pictures you'd think they were fresh out of the pages of a glossy magazine. In fact, it's one of the latest homes for sale through Stadshem. Taking estate agent photography and styling to a whole new level, this stunning space in Gothenburg is decorated in white, light wood, greys and black through out and a mix of designer classics, mid-century and industrial finds. The result is an incredibly calm, modern scandinavian space which I could move into tomorrow. Could you live here?

Stadshem Post inspired by Unfinished Home with thanks

Is there anything that stands out to you?

For me, it's the light wood and grey tones in the hallway. I always think it's important to create a 'wow' entrance as it's the first thing people see when they come through the door and sets the scene for the rest of the home. I'm not there yet with my own home, but I'm working on it (hallway inspiration here)!

I spy the Flos 265 wall light - one of my favorite pieces. 

See more of the space here. 

Other utterly fabulous black and white apartments here, here and here. 

It's the weekend - woo hoo! Up to anything fun? We'll be celebrating my husbands birthday (the girls have been busy cutting, pasting, painting, sticking…all week!). I hope we'll make it for a walk and bbq out in the forest too. 

Have a fab couple of days and see you Monday! 

Duvet day in this calm danish bedroom?

I got up at the crack of dawn this morning and writing this on the train with match sticks holding open my eyes (almost!). Oh how I long to go back to bed, preferably in a beautiful light-filled, airy bedroom like Tine & Jacob's, founders of Tine K Home (did you see the complete home tour  tour on Tuesday?). I love the boho, relaxed vibe and the calm and uncluttered feel - note, no screens! And that connected, walk-in wardrobe?…oh yes!  I could get an extra 40 winks, or simply pad about here all morning, how about you?!

Homeowner: Tine Kjeldsen, Tine K Home (with kind permission). Stylist: Tone Kroken, photographer: Yvonne Wilhelmsen

Many of the items you see in this room can be found at Tine K Home, I especially love the rugs! There's also a fab rug give-away here right now).

Top tips for creating a calm bedroom I try to live by in my room: no screens, open windows regularly for fresh air, add greenery and keep the room cool. Decorate with calm colours. Use black-out blinds or thick curtains to make the room as dark as possible. Choose artwork carefully (imagery can be powerful). Do you have any tips?

Other bedroom tours I love include this, this and this one. Or why not go for a dark, cocoon-like feel like in this bedroom or all out crazy like this one?!  Do you have a favorite?

Fab children's bedroom inspiration here and here (including my girls recently renovated bedroom).

Have a lovely day! 

A small space in Gothenburg in neutrals

Let's visit the Swedish west coast today and this charming space-efficient small apartment in Gothenburg. The home has many of the lovely original 1920's features including wooden floor, serving cabinets and pantry. But I also like the way it's been decorated using neutrals, dusty shades of blue and touches of wood and rattan for a warm feel. I'm a big fan of Gothenburg since it's the gateway to one of my favourite places on earth: the stunning west coast archipelago with its dozens of islands and pretty fishing villages. We love to explore it by sail boat in the summer. But in the winter, I could definitely pad around here, how about you?!

 

Stadshem

Is there anything that stands out to you about this apartment?

I'm a big fan of the brass pendant over the dining table (this one is similar). Rattan is trending right now too- are you a fan? I've got a peacock chair in my bedroom which I love (they're often coming up on Etsy), do you have anything rattan in your home?

More beautiful small space inspiration can be found here. It's amazing what you can do with a little imagination.

Have a lovely day!

A danish home with beautiful objects and sleeping cat

One of the loveliest homes in Denmark has to be that of Tine Kjeldsen & Jacob Fossum, owner of Danish homewares brand Tine K Home, and their three children Klara, Tilde and Konrad.  The 19th century home on the island of Funin reflects Tine's passion for  beautiful objects, lovely memories, different cultures and interesting stories. Handmade pieces and charming objects from the Tine K Home collection can be seen throughout the home and have been combined with a Scandinavian simplicity to create a serene, warm, relaxed home - the perfect place for cat nap (do you spot him?!).

Femina Homeowner: Tine Kjeldsen (with kind permission). Stylist: Tone Kroken, photographer: Yvonne Wilhelmsen

I've actually featured the home here before, but it's constantly updated so when I spotted these lovely images shot by Yvonne Wilhemsen I thought I'd better not keep them all to myself?!

The biggest addition in my eyes are the kilim rugs. I also like the half painted wall in the dining space. 

Is there anything that stands out to you?

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the give-away to win a String Pocket. The winner has now been announced (drum roll....) here!

Have a lovely day!

ARE YOU BENDY ?!! ……….

I like to think that, at the age of 64 { …. only just 64 !! } I'm still quite bendy !

The other night, at a friend's house, we were remembering how we used to jump up off of the floor, without a thought. 

We then idly wondered if we could still do it ….. our friend's husband tried but couldn't do it { ….. and he is one of the fittest men we know, who cycles a zillion miles every weekend ! } My husband didn't even give it a go …… our friend's wife tried and ….. she did it !

Well, that meant that I HAD to do it.  I placed my feet right behind me as my friend had done and started to push up when ….. POP ….. something snapped behind my knee !!!! There was a great deal of pain and much ' you should have warmed up first ' being mumbled !

Obviously, if I'd warmed up first and I hadn't torn something, I would have done it !!!!

Can you get off of the floor without using your hands or knees ? ….. and …..

BE WARNED !!

WARM UP FIRST !!

image 1: via mixmag, image 2: via a beauty feature, image 3: via sam haskins, image 4: via daily mail

Spring is in the air in this lovely Dutch home

I love March, to me it's a sign that the long Scandinavian winter is coming to an end. And what better way to celebrate than with a Dutch home full of the joys of spring?! Photographed by Margriet Hoekstra, this light-filled three-storey apartment in West Amsterdam is the result of a major renovation by Rick and Linsey. After a re-configuration, the pair furnished the space with fab industrial / vintage finds, modern units and plants and flowers in every room. What a perfect place which to kick off the week, don't you think?!

 

VT Wonen. Photography: Margriet Hoekstra (with kind permission) Styling: Barbara Natzijl - BoulevardB.

I love the way Rick and Linsey have used a variety of plants  - from freshly cut spring flowers to year round cactus and big-leafed plants.

For more plant and flower display inspiration I've squirreled away lots of lovely images on my Pinterest board and can recommend this fab book.

Is there anything that stands out to you about this home?

More pics and full article here (in Dutch - google translate, we heart you!).

More Holland based homes full of the joys of spring here, here and here. 

Have a great start to the week! 

PS Don't forget to enter my give-away to win a String Pocket in a colour of your choice. The competition closes tonight (Monday 2nd March 2015) at Midnight GMT! Hurry!