trendey

Above are details from some lovely rooms featured in Danish magazine RUM June 2010 issue. To the left, pillows made out of ponchos from Peru and rugs from Iran and Yemen create an inviting and homely ethnic/folk traditional look. To the right, a startlingly interesting space (a circus wagon in fact) is made even more interesting by the pretty and colourful folk art textiles. I’m warming up to this style, which is all about handcrafted textiles and furniture, patterns and multi- colours.

Some shopping inspiration below:

[Top left: Suzani bedspread from Yurdan, approx. 200-700 USD; Top right: Chair from Niki Jones 250 GBP; Bottom left: Plant pots from Graham & Green 39.50 GBP; Bottom right: Cushions from Niki Jones 38-60 GBP]

New season! Well I know it’s only mid-July…but we are early birds. Interior design trends are veeery interesting so we always keep our trend-eyes widely open. Let’s start off this section with a tricky one. Will the AW2010 leopard print trend find its way into home decor? Chairs might be the ‘new’ bearer. I actually like these |source unknown|

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.

Love the vibe. | pic: LivingEtc |

Aren’t chairs and stools the funniest decor pieces of them all?! I think so. In our kitchen we have a table by the window for fast breakfasting chews whilst watching the traffic on the bridge outside. To sit on, we got 2 IKEA Bosse stools. Bosse is small and handy, seat has a hole makes it easy to move. Here’s what I chose for personalizing our Bosse’s: the cool pale-blue hue havsbris (“sea-breeze”) and the warm light sand-yellowish hue strå (“straw”) from the Alcro Design Collection. Painted with a twist.

I’m not influenced by the Olympics and the roar popular hat, I promise..!! But I recognize the colours are hot these days (at least in my home country :)) There’s plenty of inspiration around, I got mine from images of browsing past. Think I fell for the light yellow colour on the cover of the book Cheap Chic (an excellent book btw) and various funny stool and chair ideas blogged, such as paint company Beckers’ inspirational photo via the blog Husligheter and Chair Personality Socks from Charles & Marie via High Fashion Home Blog. And not to mention the lovely Wood & Wool Stools. Imagination is the only limit when it comes to chairs and stools!

From time to time I amuse myself by looking at the current real estate ads. It’s one of few ways to see how people really decor their spaces. Or at least, decor it for selling.  One thing I found spring-fresh and inspiring in today’s sneak is the use of colurful chairs. Strong and light pink, and mustard/yellow – in otherwise white-ish interiors. The pink and grey combination is super nice I think.

| pics: Lagerlings, Erik Olsson and Alexander & Co |

In its report about this Autumn’s hottest trends, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter picks up 5 strong trends: Recycling, Eco, Colourful, Clean Wood and Neoclassical. Pics of all 5 trends display a chair. Here’s my top 3, (I left out the colourful and the eco).

The Recycling trend is pretty obvious. And pretty cool. I haven’t yet started my own DIY Odd China Lamp project, but in time I will! As for chairs – it’s all about paint. Old chairs, not least pin chairs, are easily enlivened with some strokes of paint. Seat cushions can be created from old clothes, yarns, cloths, curtains, scarves, anything. All one needs to immortalize old goods is a creative mind and a skillfull hand. =)

The Clean Wood trend, in Sweden, speaks of Nordic blonde wood like birch, ash and oak. Birch bark is a personal favourite in this compartment. Like this lamp, that recently was for sale on an auction site (auction closed due to lack of interest). Birch bark handicrafts are common in Northern Sweden, and can be found at flea markets, like in this example from the blog Kurbits. A fav light-wood chair is the previously metioned mushroom-ish IKEA CARLJOHAN stool.

The Neoclassical trend asks us to dust off old family portraits and bring down those leather-bound hardcovers from the attic. Soft upholstered furniture is the key for seating, as watchwords in this trend are elegant, timeless, cozy and recognition of roots. For my new home, I’ve decided on at least one Louis Ghost Chair by Philippe Starck for Kartell. (And of course, my heart still beats for the velvet DAY sofa and what if one had place for a Chesterfield as well =))

One overriding, long-lived, chair trend that I am definitely bringing in to my new home is the odd chair mix. Examples of this pick-and-mix feature are numerous in interior design magazines and blogs. This photo is from Sköna hem:

Now speaking of chairs, make sure to visit London Design Museum’s online exhibition A Century of Chairs. The exhibition shows chairs from the late 1800s ’til today:
“Few objects tell the history of modern design as eloquently as the chair. Aesthetics trends, the emergence of new technologies, ergonomics, social and cultural developments are all reflected in the evolution of chair design.”

The patriotic trend in interior decorating is still going strong and many furniture and design stores are stocking lots of trendey items with Union Jack motifs at the moment (at least in the UK they are, not sure whether this trend has reached beyond the British borders! =)). Anyway, check out these lovely cushions and throw from Graham and Green, the stylish cake tins from John Lewis, the rather special chair from Jane Hornby and the pretty cushion from Cox and Cox. Aren’t they great!

My favourite Union Jack item is this rug below designed by Vivienne Westwood though (visit the Rug Company for details). However, since I’m not rich as a troll (as the Swedish saying goes) and since the Westwood rug costs around £2,000, I wonder if I could make the rug on the right from Cox and Cox (@ £135, kid not included) look like Westwood’s with a bit of abuse?