trendey

….from the book True Scandinavian – Contemporary Living with photos by Pia Ulin. Also mentioned a while back; a particularly well-caught illustration of Swedish style. The pic above is one of my favourites, it has such a homely atmosphere and a smooth grannyesque vibe in a Scandinavian setting. Equally Scandinavian is the pic below, from Sköna Hem. A cooler, fresher, an all in all – whiter -  version…

In his new book Let’s Decorate, the intrepid British interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen sets out his recommendations for how to best go about being your own interior designer. The place to start when designing a room, he advises, is with a cold glass of Chardonnay. This – my favourite tip in the book! – is intended to illustrate that it’s important that you are as relaxed and unconstrained as possible as you start to build up a mental picture of what your dream room might look like (if you’re a teetotaler, I’m sure it works equally well with a cup of tea and a sit-down!). Said and done, halfway through a glass of wine (in my case Merlot), the decision was made! As the first project of our new house - the main bedroom – already looks rather Swedish (pine floor, pine windows, pine most things), we decided to go for a modern Scandinavian look (think pale wood floors, grey, white, bright and uncluttered).

So, on to the second step as advised by Laurence – seek inspiration pictures and visualise colours and type of furniture. I was surprised to discover that the photos that best seemed to contain my image of a modern Scandinavian look did not come from Sweden, or even Scandinavia, but from Australia! More precisely from an alpine retreat called “Fjall” in Falls Creek, an Australian ski resort.

I would like to inject a few more bold colours somewhere, go easy on the wood on the walls and add some more quirky touches, but overall here’s some excellent inspiration pics on Scandinavian style courtesy of Australian Fjall! Go figure!

Every now and then, I slip into the subject ‘Prevailing trends in styling and decor in Stockholm’. I find it interesting and therefore we certainly have *quite a few* mentions of “Stockholm-White” and entries on this city’s homogen real estate ads here at Trendey. Then again, we are 50 % Stockholm-based.

A very welcome feature in the Stockholm home style department is Fantastic Frank – a new real estate agent. Fantastic Frank deals with homes with character, in a new way. Fantastic Frank looks at the character of the home or house in question, and takes that as a starting point. Only then you can see who will stay there next. Therefore, their aim in managing property sales is to reach the few who loves the place, rather than to reach the very many who likes it.

Fantastic Frank works with renowned fashion photographer Anders Lindén and stylists in their concept and offers the seller six different themed packages to choose from (i.e. including styling, brochures, ads, etc). Emma’s design blog featured one of these themes the other day, Fantastic Frank’s first object on the market which was Wallstreet – themed: quiet, elitist and designed. Another theme or interior design profile is Scandinavia; below is a few photos from the very first apartment for sale within this theme.

I love the carrots and the dala horse! Other themes are the Newyorkish and sleek The Loft, the traditional and academic Boston, the classic noble Gustaf - think period features and herringbone parquet – and lastly the creative and warm Boheme. Oh, and did I mention Fantastic Frank also has a blog.

Now why is Frank Fantastic? I think these (freely translated) words from Founder and Creative Director Tomas Backman says it all:

I have always admired my grandparents for their careful concerns of their homes. A curtain change to cooling white for the summer, or bright red for Christmas changed the mood of the whole apartment and made the home change character several times a year. A home is more than the size and space between the apartment walls. Our minds are more affected by the light and colours, the sounds and structures, than of a design chair.

We feel good when we are inspired, when we know that there is a purpose with what we surround ourselves with. Once a home has character we can have a relationship to it.

…at the market, right now.

Some coloured walls and details. Still no doubt what the magic colour is..!

| images via Per Jansson Fastighetsförmedling AB |

These lovely images above come from the German online magazine Freunde von Freunden. Freunde von Freunden portray people in their living environment, with unique photos and great attention to detail. This article is about the Swede Malin Elmlind who lives in Berlin. Asked to describe the nature of the Swedes, Malin lifts an aspect that is all-too familiar.

The swedish people are laid back and relaxed, but at the same time one has to deal with a certain “norm” in Sweden. You have to learn to live with that “norm”. People in Sweden always check their surrounding, see how other people behave, how they live and what they wear. The swedish people really take care about their appearance which can be really stressful when you are young. But there is also a positive aspect to that social pressure, because the swedish people take a lot of strength from it and it really helps me in my job today.

Since trendey is a Swedish-British blog I wanted to share with you at the same time some modern Swedishness and some modern Englishness. The last-mentioned is represented by this modern London townhouse.

No English home is complete without a study! (is that right, Henen? That’s my idea of it anyway))) The owner of this house claims he is a total addict of car boot sales. And the interesting old sliding doors below is a flea market bargain. As Britain’s pubs are being eliminated by fine wine bars, there is a lot of old and wasted pub-furnishment around to buy (how cool is this)

Moving along to the kitchen. It feels rustic, country-ish and a bit Provençal. I would have wanted it a bit more spacious (Swedes are space-snobs, I know) and would have added an unframed old painting or two, but I like the style!

The August 2010 edition of Bolig Magasinet features the home of Danish designer Sofie Schnoor. This functionalist villa near Copenhagen is decorated the Danish way; sleek Scandinavian with lots of creativity and charm. One eye-catching decor feature is the meter-high photos of the children standing (not hanging!) here and there. In the hallway, on a cabinet and as a focal point in the dining room. This is a very nice, and trendy, extension of the photowall feature combined with the oh so hot unframed paintings style. Personalized decor at its best!

Super stylish DAY Birger et Mikkelsen never fails to impress. The photos below by the talented photographer Ditte Isager of the DAY Autumn Winter collection 2010 are absolutely stunning. They make me want to buy everything that I see! (minus the girl’s hat – that’s not my cup of tea)

The images are crisp and perfect. The colours of the collection are beautiful. Rich and earthy reds and browns add elements of warmth to the predominantly black and white colour scheme. Soft wood is also in the mix as is the background colour…”blueish gray”? Don’t know what to call it, but surely there’s a better name for this colour? Whatever its name though, I love it. Definitely would go for that on my walls.

Now, from the collection,  if I was twist-my-arm-forced-to pick just three things, I think I would get this black desk with storage…

…a set of these quirky little things…

…and this pretty cushion…

For the full experience and to check out more pictures and products in the A/W 2010 collection, visit the websites of Ditte Isager and DAY.dk. And since we’ve long been fans of DAY here at Trendey, also check out Mia’s earlier posts on DAY.

Oh I know I might sound and seem a bit schizophrenic when I in one breath is sick of white (babbling about that love-hated “Stockholm-white”) and the other continues to post lovely white interiors. Thing is, I really like white interiors when there is a twist to it, an edge. The all-white needs sparkles in one way or another. In the pics below, from the portfolio of Trine Thorsen, the colour splashes are modest (mostly pastels) and other elements are mainly nature and wood. Nonetheless, the important details, and the vibe, that truly enlivens the white, is all there…

From a 5-room apartment for sale in Malmö, Southern Sweden. Very much now, 2010.

| photos: Bo-laget |

Speaking of -far south of Sweden- and the Danish influence in the Scandinavian style, there is also a typical look on the cottages or summer houses in the very south of Sweden. This is a benchmark from the opposite, i.e. north, part of our long narrow country (Burträsk). In the region of Skåne – or Österlen, which is the name of the picturesque and scenic plain land in southeastern Skåne region -  the Danish border, and for that part, Central Europe is only a stone’s throw away. In this part of Sweden there are typical houses called “Skånelänga”. A Skånelänga is built on a half-timber and brick frame, and has plastered (white) facade with visible half-timber. Let me show you two examples, currently for sale with the agent Uppvik & döttrar. This first one is called “Knäbäckshusen”:

Now, look inside for another sweet Swedish ‘Country Danish’ Skånelänga – (more…)

Today, Josef Frank (1885-1967) got his own memorial in the district of Gärdet in Stockholm. His design is now part of the Swedish public sphere! ‘All places where we can feel at home are caused by the coincidences’, he said. That also goes for this site, located opposite the street door of what was architect and designer Josef Frank’s home during most of his life. He was the son of a jewish textile merchant from Vienna who fell in love with a Swedish girl and became – with the words of Ann Wall, former CEO of Svenskt Tenn – World War II’s gift to Sweden.

The symbol of his artistry is a typical Frank-design; anno 1925, two chairs of model 2025 (see bottom left below). The chairs are now stationed on the sidewalk, firmly anchored in the ground. Set in an angle as if they were involved in a conversation, offering bypassers to sit down. However, they are not made of wood and rattan (as the original), but in sand-cast bronze.

Josef Frank’s Place – A public tribute to the father of the Scandinavian (Swedish Modern) interior design style. Installed May 17 th 2010.

This home was featured in a recent issue of the magazine Hus & Hem. Danes living in Sweden! Can’t you tell! :) It’s a mix of two closey related styles or let’s quite simply say: it’s the Scandinavian style. The Danish splashes of colour (foremost bright yellow and blue; colours of the Swedish flag btw) are resting against white walls and treated/painted wooden floors.

Most of the furniture is bought at flea markets in Southern Sweden. The front door is painted in a sunny yellow colour; whether go come or go it will make you happy! I’d say these bold colour touches are the Dane’s gift to Scandinavian home decor: Danes dare more.