About Me

Guide to Stockholm

A personal guide to Stockholm, written by me,
for you!

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See you Saturday!

Staring at the Sun

This limited edition set of prints by Maria Alexandra Vettese (better known in the blog world as MAV from Port2Port Press) and Christopher David Ryan caught my eye today. I want one! Buy it at A little more like this.

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Photographer Anna G Tufvesson

Fancy some more Swedish summer? Visit photographer Anna G Tufvesson's site.

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Photographer Annika Vannerus

To see what Swedish summers are all about, check out the portfolio of Annika Vannerus.

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My Stockholm Guide 2009

Somehow the Stockholm guide I wrote two summers ago seems to have disappeared. Very strange. I found the post in my archives, and updated it a bit, and now I'm posting it again, and hopefully it will stay put this time! While rereading it, I realized their are a whole bunch of cafés in the guide, but you know how we are, us Swedes with our fika, right?
Ok, here we go again:

First I'd like to recommend Skansen on Djurgården, the oldest open-air museum in the world, with lots of old houses and Scandinavian animals. It is a really nice place, I take my children there several times every year and we never get tired of it. Our favourite part is the tiny town, where there are a bunch of small shops, a café, bakery, glass blowing hut, pharmacy etc. looking just like they did in the old days. All of them are open and fully functioning!

Old style food store at Skansen

To get to Skansen, take a ferry from Slussen, it is a nice way to get to see Stockholm from the water. On the way back, get off at Skeppsholmen for a nice walk into town, and a visit at the Modern Museum. The museum has a great shop with lots of contemporary Swedish design, and a fantastic lunch restaurant that you really shouldn't miss! It has a great view of Stockholm, lovely food, in the weekends they are serving brunch, and on Sundays even a special brunch for the kids.

The restaurant and the museum shop at the Modern Museum

Also on Djurgården is Junibacken, an entertainment park for kids, based on the books by Astrid Lindgren. You can visit the houses of some of her characters (and a few characters from other Swedish childrens books), ride a little train through a fairytale setting, have pancakes in the cute café and of course play, play and play some more.

Junibacken

Speaking of brunch earlier, I just remembered I had one of my greatest brunches ever at restaurant Grill, but the restaurant is also a popular choice for lunch or dinner. Run by Swedish star chef Melker Andersson, the food is always excellent! The restaurant is decorated like a huge livingroom, with different seating options in several styles all over the place. Very nice! Grill is also a good option if you have kids with you, since it is quite a lively place, and no one will mind if your children run among the tables.

Interior of restaurant Grill

And if you have kids you will probably want to do some shopping in Stockholm's coolest kids clothes and toy shops! These are the best ones I know:
Matador, lots of colourful clothes in soft cotton from mostly Danish brands like Molo, Ej sikke lej, Silke og Sus and Katvig.

Matador

Under, handpicked retro clothes and toys from the sixties and seventies, along with brand new stuff from young indie designers.

UNI, unisex clothing in strong colours and cool patterns with inspiration from the seventies. I love their collaboration with Swedish design group De Fyra.

One of the patterns by UNI and De Fyra

Haven, great clothes and small interior details for both you and your baby.

Kalikå, plush animals and real tools and kitchen stuff in miniature versions, free from stuffy old thoughts on gender roles.

If you are visiting in the summer, a swim in the middle of the city is a nice break from the shopping, walking and museum visits. My favourite is Långholmen, a small island between Södermalm and Kungsholmen with a sandy beach and some nice cliffs to jump into the water from.

Take a bath at Långholmen

When you have cooled off, perhaps a coffee and some cake sounds nice? If so, walk a few hundred meters to Lasse i Parken (Lasse is a Swedish men's name, and the rest means "in the park"), a café in a red little house from the 18th century that lies in a small garden, just off the busy streets. Old fashioned, cute and often crowded. You won't find the latest trends in coffee shop culture here, but you can get ordinary coffee, lemonade, little short bread cookies and home made cinnamon rolls.

Lasse i parken café

A short walk from there you will find Strand, a bar, restaurant, concert arena, café and all in all happening place. This is a place where you can play ping pong and flipper while you enjoy the food and/or beer, and park your kids in the kid's corner.

Strand is right by the water, and has a small café which is totally ok, but don't pause here. Instead you should go for a walk by the water, past the marina, the park and the little red cottages, to Café Tubby! This is a very relaxed outdoors café, with reggae music in the loudspeakers, hammocks suspended amongst the trees and blankets and rugs scattered on the grass where people chill out, gaze at the sea, eat blueberry pie and drink lattes. I love the atmosphere here, it feels like I'm on a backpacker's beach in Thailand!

Café Tubby

Another café you shouldn't miss is Vurma (very loosely translated: to have a passion for something). This is my absolute favourite café in Stockholm, and I don't mind travelling all over town just to get a cup of tea here! I love everything about it, the staff are so friendly, the sandwiches are amazing, the cinnamon rolls are enormous and sooo delicious, the interior decoration is totally inspiring (retro flowered cushions, fantastic wallpapers, simple wooden furniture, high ceilings and exotic little details) and the whole mood of the place is just so encouraging and happy! Actuallly there are four Vurmas, they are all equally nice, but I think I like the one on Gästrikegatan just a little bit more.

Vurma's baker, and a statue outside the café

If you like indie shopping and are curious about the latest Swedish trends in fashion, head to the SoFo area on eastern Södermalm. It is crowded with cool little shops like Grandpa, TjallaMalla, Nudie Jeans, Kunigunda, Lisa Larsson Second Hand, Under, Coctail, Acne Jeans, UNI and Nakkna.

Grandpa

My favourite café in the neighbourhood is Svart Kaffe. They have great sandwiches, nice interiors, and always the coolest music in town! Their outdoor seats are a great place to sit and watch the hippest people in Stockholm walking by... Or try café/vintage record shop Louie Louie, just half a block away, for some delicious chocolate cake!

The owners of Louie Louie

If you fancy something more substantial to eat, the area is full of nice restaurants, but one of my favourites is Berlin - Sthlm, where you get to choose from around twenty small dishes to combine your own meal. The waiter will happily help you if you get confused with all the choices, and will also recommend one of their excellent wines to go with the food you have chosen. Other good restaurants in these blocks are Snotty (just across the street from Berlin), Pet Sounds Bar, Matkultur and Mosebacke.

If you would rather buy your own food and cook it yourself, Cajsa Warg is a good choice for organic groceries. They also sell readymade picnicbags that you can take with you to the park Vitabergsparken next to the store.

Cajsa Warg's interior, styled to look like an old village shop

For modern Swedish furniture and decorating details, go to Asplund, they sell products from the greatest designers of the moment. The store is very fresh and cleanlined, and apart from the minimalistic furniture there are some really cute and surprising little things for sale.

Asplund

Other good shops with modern design are Granit, Designtorget, Åhléns, Lagerhaus and Stockhome.

Granit

If you are looking for place to stay, these are the hotels I'd recommend for a sleep in modern Scandinavian style:

Rival, a chic boutique hotel in one of Stockholm's trendiest neighbourhoods on western Södermalm, owned by former ABBA member Benny Andersson. In addition to the hotel they also boast a cinema, bars, a bistro, a cafe and a bakery. All rooms are decorated with an old-fashioned movie print over the bed, and are equipped with a plasma screen tv, egyptian cotton sheets, a selection of different pillows, DVD/CD player with a selection of CDs (movies and video games can be rented in the reception), wireless internet access and bathroom products from Crabtree & Evelyn.

Hotel Rival

Birger Jarl, a hotel in one of Stockholm's most busy areas, took it's name from the City's founder. The hotel is totally decorated by the most talented Swedish designers of today. Exept for one room, the Forgotten Room, looking exactly as it did in 1974. This room, situated at the end of a corridor, was simply forgotten by the builders during the renovation, and is now kept as a reminder of the old days. It is super cool though, with teak furniture all over, black leather chairs and brass wall lights! Some of the sources of inspiration in the renovation process were Sweden's tall, slender birch trees, the traditional copper-red paint of wooden houses and good old-fashioned thoughtfulness and consideration.

Hotel Birger Jarl

Clarion claims to be "Stockholm's art hotel no 1", which means that contemporary Nordic art can be seen in all rooms and in the public areas of the hotel, the two bars and the restaurant. The hotel also arranges live concerts with popular artists. Clarion is built on top of Söderleden, one of the largest freeways into Stockholm, and distinguishes itself with it's spectacular architecture featuring a large expanse of glass. The unifying feature of the hotel's interior - it's light background, dark base and accent colours - continues into the guest rooms, where white contrasts with dark wenge wood.

Clarion Hotel

I hope you will find this guide useful, or perhaps just interesting if you are not planning to come here. I've only mentioned my personal favourites, so of course there is so much more worth writing about, but you will find that stuff in any travel guide... If you have any questions about Stockholm or this guide, just leave a comment or feel free to email me at emmas DOT blogg AT hotmail DOT com.

Welcome to Stockholm!

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Photographer Johnny Miller

Look at his portfolio here while I go to the beach.

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Summer...

You know this thing that happens once a year, and lasts for way too short? It's warm and green and sunny and full of icecream and road trips and kids with grazed knees... Yes, it's summer! And it's going on right now! I'm trying my best to seize it, so computer time is minimized on sunny days like these, and I hope you can forgive me for that. I'll try to post every day, but it might just be one picture, ok?

Here is today's pic, I hope you like it...

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Saturday Sweets

This week was a short week in Sweden as we celebrated Midsummer yesterday, that's why I haven't posted for a couple of days. But now, as I looked at the big bowl of candy on the table beside me, I remembered you all... Of course I had to share some candy with you too! Here you go, some very summery eye candy:

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More pink inspiration

A picture of Svanna of CARPE+ITEM's apartment, decorated for her friend's bacholerette party.

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New designs from Asshoff & Brogård Designstudio

Check out these goodies, from Swedish design studio Asshoff & Brogård.

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Best of Beckmans

These are some of my favourites from the students at Beckmans School of Design this year:

Divan by Karolina Lagerqvist


Turnings by Evelina Johansson


Stools by Daniel Svahn

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Saturday Sweets

Would you like some eye candy, perhaps? Here you go, some drool worthy kids rooms:

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Me in Elle Interiør

I just got the the article emailed to me from the Art Director on Norwegian Elle Interiør, so now I can show it to you! Doesn't it look fab? I'm so happy with the result of the interview!

This was the first time I read this magazine, since oddly enough, it isn't available here in Sweden, and I must tell you that it's a great mag. I'm so impressed! It's almost better than the Swedish version. ;-)

So here it is, first the cover, so you will all recognize it in the store, and then the article itself.

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Pink Inspiration

I know, I know! Pink isn't at all what you would expect to see here, right? But isn't it nice to be surprised once in a while? I know I was surprised when I realised that I actually like these pictures from Swedish paint manufacturer Alcro. Now I'm trying to figure out where I could use this colour... Perhaps in the upstairs bathroom, or the closet? Wouldn't it be kind of great getting to step out of a pink closet every morning, especially for the four guys I will be sharing it with?

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Stylist Jakob Solgren

Don't you wish you could just move straight into this apartment? Such a nice mix between modern design classics, like the copper ceiling light by Tom Dixon, the Marimekko fabric on the wall and the grey glass lamp from Muuto, and more anonymous pieces in neutral colors. It is styled by Jakob Solgren, you can browse his portfolio here.

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Plywood in Paris

Plywood just got interesting, and the Parisian loft below shows plywood at its best. Renovated by architects Karine Chartier and Thomas Corbasson, the old industrial laboratory (check out the building’s original freight elevator below) is transformed by adding a heavy textual and uncanny element – plywood.
Read the full story in LoftLife Magazine here.

In other news, I just got the latest issue of Norwegian Elle Interiör, where my blog is featured alongside Bloesem and Designshimmer. We all got a whole spread each, and I just love the pictures on mine, they absolutely "got" my style! Unfortunately I can't show it to you, since there seems to be something wrong with the bluetooth on my phone, so if anyone would like to send me a picture, I'd be very grateful! I'm so flattered to be featured in this great magazine!

But now for the real story, on the plywood loft:

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Interior design firm Hand Lyon

I saw this amazing apartment, decorated by French interior design firm Hand, on one of my favourite blogs, The Style Files, and just had to share it with you.

Via The Style Files

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Stylist Pernilla Åsberg

I just wanted to show you these two pics from stylist Pernilla Åsberg's portfolio.

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Photographer Roland Bello

First of all, thank you all so much for your congratulations and well wishes!

Today I'd like to show you some of my favourites from photographer Roland Bello. Some of his images quite remind me of The Selby, with it's feeling of real and liveable homes.

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Brikolör, furniture with real sustainability

If you are looking for a more sustainable option than the flat packed mdf furniture from Ikea and the likes, here is something for you. Brikolör has the ambition to manufacture furniture with a guaranteed emotional and technical durability of 300 years!

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Pia's book!

I know I'm late on this, but I have to mention Pia Jane Bijkerk's new book, Paris: Made by hand. Read more here, and order here.

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DosFamily blog

A great blog I discovered during my blogging break is DosFamily. Behind it stands the two excellent ladies Isabelle Halling McAllister and Jenny from Sammy Rose. Check it out, it is awesome!

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Here I am!

Hi everyone! Sorry I was gone for so long! The reason? I'm pregnant. And all you mums out there know that the first few months of pregnancy are just a grey mass of nausea and fatigue, napping and going to bed at 7 pm... So there was just no energy left to go looking for cool design stuff.
I'm feeling much better now though, so my plan is to give you all a huge pile of posts with stuff that has just been waiting around to get posted! They might be a bit sparse on words, because I'm still not back into full swing, but it's better than nothing, right? And my guess is that most of you come here for the pictures anyway, so...

First off is this apartment, styled by Sasa Antic for the Swedish magazine Residence.

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