A new hotel – a luxury and homey guesthouse – is soon to be opened in Stockholm. It’s called Ett Hem (a home) and is situated in the fancy area Lärkstaden in a posh townhouse built in the year 1910. It’s been quite a controversy about this hotel, because the neighbours didn’t want this house to transform into a hotel. But it’s launched, by a venture capitalist, and decorated by the British design star Ilse Crawford. Room rates per night starts at $565/€420 (up to $1 500/€1 100/night), so when this hotel opens in May it might not become the top-chioce for many of us – so this is far from a recommendation – but the interesting part is: the hotel is designed to look and feel like a home. It wants to provide a sense of living at home, rather than at a (ordinary) hotel. And how does Home Is Where the Heart Is – Ilse Crawford do this? Considering how she made a home out of this historic buildning in Somerset, my expectations are huge. The first pics of a room can be glanced at Icon magazine. This is, I think, the best pic:

Very well, home-like for sure! Love the curtains. Many hotels are actually very nice & homey these days so I’m not overwhelmed. But maybe when it’s ready in its 12 versions, it knocks me off the chair. Speaking of interior designer Ilse Crawford, here’s 4 of her best advices for homey decor:

• Consider how your life looks like. Don’t start from functions, consider instead what it is that you really, really enjoy doing. If you love to cook together with your friends, make sure that your kitchen has room for it.

• Home is a place to socialize with friends, family, relatives and children. A home that requires that every single thing is in its right place is a nightmare, so decorate to make it look ok even if it is a bit messy. Messy is OK – it’s part of life!

• It is not enough that the couch has the right price, size and appearance. Are you sure you really want to sit in it?  There are modern sofas with low backs that are so uncomfortable that those who bought them rather sit in bed.

• Opt for safe cards that provide a homely feel: some old or inherited things, curvy furniture, rocking chairs, table lamps, rugs, sheepskins and soft fabrics like velvet or wool. Choose things that feel good, not only look good.

Or Nomad – Bringing Your Travels Home is the title of Sibella Court’s latest book. It’s a photographic collection of travel shots and styled spaces. She has globetrotted and treasure-hunted to Japan, Italy, India, Syria and Mexico. Each place make a flavour with colour palettes and misc. stories. Room settings are inspired by ideas, photos and mementos, showing that any decorative background can be restyled with travel touches.

I realized I haven’t written a review about Sibella Court’s book Etcetera, but in comparison, Nomad is (imho) much more interesting. While Etcetera represents what I regard as typical Sibella Court-style – the glass jars, treasures from the bottom of the ocean, and ethnic-eclectic on smokey white vintage backdrops – Nomad takes a global step forward and delivers insprition from all over the world, still Sibella Court-ish and very likeable. My personal favourite among the exotic interior travels in the book is, at least after a first glance, Mexico!

Decorating a home is – like many other things in life -  a journey. But one needs not go travelling all around the globe in order to embrace the globetrotter approach to interior style. No tickets needed, just open this book and indulge! Or any other book, or movie or people’s home or nature or whatever inspires you. It is actually, in Sibella Court’s words, a matter of seeing things in a new way. And bringing it home. Sibella’s decor philosophy is about adding and subtracting, rearranging and recycling, transforming and rethinking a space to reflect your personality, lifestyle and adventures. The ideas can be as simple as painting a wall or creating a new ‘art wall’ or layering different textiles on your bed or hanging a new piece of fabric over your window. What the book Nomad wants to do, and does, is help open your eyes and fuel your imagination. After all, decor is all about stories and things reflecting you and your life. After reading Nomad, I feel the need for a touch of Mexico in my home.

And I’ve updated my top 5 of places I’d like to travel to:

1. New Orleans, Nashville & Memphis (by a big American car, listening to Townes Van Zandt and June Carter)
2. Clearwater Beach, Florida (for a loooong sunny vacation)
3. Paris (been there once, 20 years ago; must go back and stroll along the bridges nighttime)
4. Sri Lanka (the land of my brother-in-law)
5. Buenos Aires (to exercise the Argentine tango)

Where would you love to travel? And would you bring it home? :)

Just a quick note about the brand new British online interiors magazine Heart Home. Great stuff! This is my favourite pic from the 1st issue. Love the style, the philosophy and the fact that the table is set for fika.

Some time ago, I pondered whether there’s a correlation between people’s tastes in music and – not only clothes they wear, but also – interior design styles and home decor choices. And yes, I figure it may very well be so. All are expressions of personal preferences and surely they can be more or less consistent but it boils down to the same core. As for myself – a lover of alt.country and music with storytelling/folk roots – I’m not really sure how this translates to my interiors, but I have traced some signs :) Defining a song or a music style for each room is indeed an exciting project! Try it. I can’t stop doing it now that I started… Anyhow, I found a song by Swedish singer-songwriter Annis Brander that – if we downsize the cabaret influences – offers great eclectic-boho inspiration. There’s a country base, with folk tunes, elements of clean Swedishness, boho-charm-gypsy as well as my much-loved circus-theme and old glamour. Perfectly missmatched.

…so begins the editor’s column in Living Etc’s June 2011 issue. And why is this new (and yet old and always existing) home decor paradigm so great? Because personal style is inclusive, manifold and rule-free. No one can say that someone else’s personal style is wrong. Ugly, possibly, but then again we all know taste differs; there are different strokes for different folks. In decorating freely, personally, creativity is truly a locomotive. When I feel uninspired and dull, creative pictures & persons are the very best stimulus. I enjoy house tours, and most often, I’ve noticed, the ones that deals with variations of “style on a budget”, like this luxury home on a budget or like this one below via Hus & Hem:

Often these tours comes with some thoughts. People explaining their choices and sharing their views. As much as I respect the knowhow and downright brain physics of decorating guides like Decorate, people’s own thoughts always tend to make more sense. Here’s some thoughts from the habitants/decorators of the lovely homey home above:

t hey collect things they are fond of. Basically their theme is a desire to mix anything and everything – and let the odd piece stand out. It is about daring to combine freely.

t hey haven’t bought everything in one store. By shopping at flea markets, second-hand stores, online auctions, etcetera it gets inevitably personal – and the interiors may emerge gradually. In addition, you must not use everything you buy or own at once. These people have in their attic storage a stock of furniture and stuff, of which they can pick when the urge takes them there.

t heir mix of different styles was not carefully planned, layed-out and calculated, but there are some thoughts behind it. For example, that the old and worn comes out better if allowed to stand in contrast to something new. Therefore, they combined the second-hand sofas with a brand new minimalist coffee table.

Tada! That was nice, I think :P In the last 24 hours I’ve actually done two pretty creative and very budget-friendly decor projects. I’ve fantasized on how to spice up grandma’s old kitchen sofa, which I have already painted, by replacing the seat cover. I cut and pasted different fabrics together (on the computer) and ordered a bunch of cloths. Design: ready (and as always: result very unpredictable :)) Secondly, I got stuck swooning over some lovely bedroom designs at design-vox and suddenly got the idea I should remove the legs from my bed (!) Or our bed, Mike was actually already lying in it, not asleep, mind you! although it was passed midnight he helped me lift it up and a few minutes later the traditional IKEA-style bed (or mattress with legs) looked like a japanese design dream…The whole room swayed and the atmosphere was one step more relaxed.:) Pics later!

And hey, check out estate agent Fantastic Frank‘s creative styling – new house out today! Happy Friday!

…is the motto and new priorities for this French couple moving from Paris to Nîmes – and that’s clearly reflected in the atmosphere of their home. There’s really no better words to describe their personal style – and overall, I think it’s hard to find better guiding principles than exactly: freedom from rules, joy & fun and of course your own creativity. The result will always be personal and close to heart. Now thank you all so much for sharing your views in the decorate/undecorate discussion. Let’s keep the discussion alive! Happy Easter!

| via marie claire maison mai-juin 2011 |