EMMAS DESIGNBLOGG

Design and style from a Scandinavian perspective

Happy Easter!

Just popping in quickly to wish you all a Happy Easter! Don't forget to eat lots of eggs candy, get some rest, and enter the competition below. I will check out from the blog for a few days to spend time with my family, but keep your eyes open over at Facebook, because there will be a nice surprise there soon...
 
 

Giveaway: Ball Chairs from Smart Living Objects

Update! This giveaway is closed and a winner will be announced soon.
 
Let's have a giveaway to celebrate Easter! Two of these Ball chairs, designed by Finn Stone and made of recycled ABS, are offered up for grabs by online interior shop Smart Living Objects. Available in any color in the rainbow, in two different sizes, and suitable for both indoor and outdoor use, I'm sure you can find one that suits you. One lucky winner can walk away with two of these chairs, in a colour and size of his/her choice, with a total worth of up to € 340! (PU-leather versions not included in the giveaway)
 
 
To participate in the competition, just answer these two questions in the comments below, or on the blog's Facebook page:
1. How many colours does the Ball Chair come in? (PU-leather versions excluded)
2. Where would you put your chairs? Inside or outside? What would you pair them with? Let me know how you would style them.
 
The competition is open for one week, until April 4. Good luck!
 


 

Architect Nicolas Schuybroek

If you are on Pinterest you might have already seen some of these photos because they have been floating around there for the last week, but I still wanted to show them here because I think they are so good. These interiors are designed by Belgian architect Nicolas Schuybroek. 
 






 

All white, all fresh

Every year around this time I get a strong urge to refresh my home. Paint it all white, fill it with green plants and let as much light in as possible. I think that is why these photos really struck a chord with me. So white and fresh, I would love to live like this! I am going to try to convince our landlord to let us paint the floors white, wish me luck!
 
Photos: Bemz, via Elv's with thanks
 
 


 
 

Elisa Ossino Studio

Interior styling and set design studio Elisa Ossino never cease to amaze me. Their work has some special kind of magic to it, whether they are designing a super sleak and modern kitchen setting, or a mysterious setting in an old and worn building.
 
 






 
 

DesignMarch Iceland

As I mentioned, I spent last week in Reykjavik, Iceland, at their annual design festival called DesignMarch. I have to say I was a bit surprised that such a small country had so much cool design going on! And also by the fact that everyone was super engaged in the festival, from the mayor and the president to shop and restaurant owners, they all took part in different ways and made sure that the whole town was buzzing with design. I would love to take you through the whole experience, but that would take forever as there were so many events and exhibitions, so I'm just going to give you the highlights here.
The pictures below shows my favorites, and it's a mix of my own images and press photos as the lighting (and the crowded spaces) sometimes made it very hard to get good photos.
 
Lastly, I have to give a huge thanks to Sari at Iceland Design Centre for inviting me and helping me arrange the small blog meet-up we had on Saturday, and also a big thanks and warm hugs to Svana, Halla Bára and Gunnar who were all super sweet and helpful through my entire stay there, and drove me around, introduced me to a billion wonderful people, showed me all the best places and all in all made my trip into the great experience that it was.
 
 
 
Something Fishy, fishbone model making kit by Róshildur Jónsdóttir, sold at SPARK, a design gallery/shop that you really shouldn't miss when in Reykjavik. I bought this for my kids and I'm sure we will have so much fun with it!
 
 

 
I had a wonderful experience at the amazing midcentury house of Nobel prize winning author Halldór Laxness, where I got to try floating. We wore these caps and knee pads, and became almost weightless in his LA inspired outdoor swimmingpool, surrounded by the snowy mountains, horses and an abundance of sunshine.
 
 
 
Above, super cool taxidermy bird sculptures, Metamorphosis, by Svana Lovísa.
 
 
 
Fell head over heels in love with these aluminium LED lamps by designer Tinna Gunnarsdottir.
 
 

 
Reykjavik Trading Co. making beautiful handmade items like this lamp, but also cutting boards, Icelandic wool and lamb leather iPad covers and cute airplant bulbs. These were shown at an exhibition at Epal, Reykjavik's biggest design store selling lots of Scandinavian brands, and the pictures below are from there.
 
 


 
 
Also at the Epal exhibition, marble tables by Olöf Jakobina, below.
 
 
 
Another cool space was the Reykjavik Art Museum, located in an old harbor warehouse.
 



 
And last but not least, the only shopping I did for myself during the trip. Icelandic designer Andrea Maack's newest perfume Coal. I love everything about it, from the scent and the inspiration behind it, to the packaging. This is what Maack says about it: "Coal as the name suggests is based on my coal drawings created in my studio. When working on these drawings it seemed so obvious to me seeing and smelling the black powder everywhere. I wanted to capture this moment, the coal breaking on the crisp white page, the mazing black powder it creates, the smudge on my fingersand the feeling of the actual drawing I had made. The opening of Coal is very charcoaly and deepens as it meets the paper note. The base is a mix of woods and leather that adds to the intensity and gives it that pure mineral ounch I was looking for".
 
 

Kex Hostel, Reykjavik

I am back home after a wonderful few days in Reykjavik, Iceland, with a head full of new impressions and a camera full of pictures from DesignMarch (Iceland's annual design festival) that I can't wait to share with you! But first out is a tip on where to go for a great brunch or drinks in Reykjavik, or if you are a budget traveller to stay over night. It's a place filled with cool vintage furniture, shipped over from the US, and the relaxed atmosphere will make you feel right at home. The name of the place is Kex, because it's located in an old biscuit (=kex) factory in downtown Reykjavik. I love the industrial vintage style that can be seen throughout the entire hostel, and would have loved to stay for a barbeque at their cosy heated patio since I've heard that the restaurant was recently taken over by one of the best restaurateurs in the city.
 
 
 
All photos by me, shot with a Canon EOS M
 
 

Photographer Marjon Hoogervorst

If you have been following blogs for a while, I'm sure you have heard of Dutch photographer Marjon Hoogervorst. She works a lot with interior stylist Anouk B, but also shoots for Bloesem and Est magazine, and of course for print magazines. Marjon just published a newsletter with pictures from her features for sale, so if you are a magazine looking for content, just check it out here. What you perhaps didn't know is that she recently opened a  webshop, selling her own graphic prints. I think they are fab!
 
Below is a selection of images from the newsletter, the first and last are styled by Anouk B, and the others are home visits. What I love about all of these pictures is the relaxed feel, a little imperfection teamed with simplicity and honest materials really does it for me. How about you?
 
 



 
 
 

Great home styling, no longer an exclusivity

It seems more and more real estate agents in Sweden are catching up with Alvhem, Bolaget and Fantastic Frank in regards of home styling. What used to be a very homogenous landscape of home stagings, where everything looked the same, and everyone used the same Marimekko wall hangings, fruit bowls and Ikea sofas, is now a great source of inspiration for anyone looking to decorate their home in a fresh and inventive way. The pictures below could just as well be taken from a feature in a stylish interior magazine, but they are actually from an ad for a home for sale through Ekenstam.
If you are looking for more real estate inspiration, just have a look at Hemnet Inspiration, which is Sweden's largest site for home sales, where they have gathered lots of nice pictures in one big section, just for eye candy.
 
Via Stil Inspiration with thanks
 





 

Classic style, the Pella way

Super talented interior stylist and decorator Pella Hedeby just got her first feature published in Residence magazine, and she got the cover too! Congrats Pella! I know we are going to see more from her in the future, and I can't wait for that, but until then, let's enjoy these wonderful pictures. (To see more, go to Pella's blog; Stil Inspiration.)
The setting here is a very classic Stockholm apartment, with big windows, high ceilings and white walls to emphasize the light. Many of the original details have been saved in the renovations bringing a beautiful contrast to the modern furnishings. The outcome is, as always with Pella's work, graphic and quite minimalist, but still far from sterile thanks to the herringbone parquet flooring and vintage wood details.
 
 







 

Saša Antić lives here!

Don't you love getting to peek inside the homes of your favorite interior stylists? I do, and I think it's very interesting to see what they choose to surround themselves with, if there is any difference in style compared to the work they produce, and how and where they choose to live. The pictures below are from the Stockholm home of Saša Antić, and shows his personal style. Very masculine with the stone surfaces matched with geometric prints and leather details, but slightly softened by the pastel hues and vintage furniture. Don't miss his clever mirror tricks, making the kitchen look twice as long, the room twice as big, and bouncing light around the small apartment.
 
Photo: Jonas Ingerstedt









 
 
 

Nybrogatan 57, a house with hotel luxury

While we are on the subject of 3D, I want to show you this Swedish project from Oscar Properties. It's an old functionalist style building named Nybrogatan 57, which is planned to become luxury homes with hotel services like room service, cleaning, fresh bedlinen and towels weekly, and every apartment comes with its own wine cellar.
I pinned the bedroom picture here a couple of days ago, and it quickly became my most repinned pic ever, which I interpret as evidence that the 3D artists have really succeeded! These picture don't have quite the same quality in textures and lighting as the previous ones I blogged, but they sure are very alluring anyway...
 
 



 
 

Stylist: Thomas Lingsell

I have been following real estate agency Fantastic Frank for so long now that I have learnt to see the difference in style between their interior stylists, and I have to say that Thomas Lingsell wins the race in my book. He always manages to create that cosy, lived-in feeling that makes it so easy to imagine yourself living in the apartments he stages. The slightly flat pillows, wrinkled table cloth and casually placed accessories makes it look like real people are living there. Very stylish people of course, but stylish and relaxed at the same time is the ultimate goal for a home, right?
Below is one of his latest styling projects, for sale here.