Follow Hege in France on Bloglovin'

If you haven't already heard the news, Google Reader is shutting down on July 1st. If you use Google Reader to follow me, consider switching over to Bloglovin'. You can also follow on Facebook or Pinterest, but it's not quite the same. 

Here's a home tour worth checking out

Photo by: Jessica Haye and Clark Hsiao on DWELL

and here's another one. I love them both. Very different and personalized. I do love that turquoise floor. What turquoise floor?! You'll have to click across to see the photos as I'm not allowed to borrow them. It's worth it. Trust me. I found this lovely home in the latest edition of "Le journal de la Maison". I don't keep magazines.. (I was told years ago that I had to figure something out as I had too many HOME magazines laying around.) So, instead of keeping magazines I tear out what I might need in the future. The home tour with the turquoise floor is coming with us to Scotland. 

hx

Walls with history

One of my friends has just bought the (very old) house next door and will be extending their house into this one. When I saw these walls.. well to say that I like them would be an understatement. Today I had fun playing with some of my French treasures that I've picked up at local markets, before the walls are changed forever. Buu huu! I keep saying they should keep the walls the way they are and they think I'm mad. You agree with me, right?!

Happy Weekend! 

hx

June favourites

I'm completely hooked on bi-folding doors, green plants, black and gold. 

A gold sofa.. How cool is that?!

1. Raw Design 2. Norm Architects 3. Made 4. Vitra Tip Ton Chair John Lewis

Happy Friday!! 

hx

Blank canvas

Wouldn't it be fun to start with a blank canvas... What would you do?! Would you add lots of colours or leave it all white?!  

I'm so in love with these windows. 

photo Light Locations

Wouldn't it be great to start again with a completely blank canvas?! We'll of course be doing that in a few weeks time (when we move to Scotland), but as we'll be renting I won't be able to paint walls etc. It's funny as I've never even seen the apartment we'll be renting (not even photos), so it's impossible to even visualize what it will be like. 

There are of course things you can do instead of painting walls. I've written about large panels before and I'm thinking this is the way to go here. 

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but we've now more or less sold ALL our furniture. No joke! Transporting the contents of a whole house from France to Scotland is so expensive that we decided to sell most things. We've only kept our Wedding presents, so when I talked about starting all over again I meant it. It's starting to look a bit empty here.. or should I call it a blank canvas for somebody else to play with.. 

hx

My latest obsession...

Hairpin legs!

Tarafirma

A beautiful mess

Home made modern

Etsy

Ideal Surroundings

1. Context 2. Mandra Design

At first I was thinking hairpin legs would be really difficult to get hold of then looked on ebay and there are loads for sale and prices are not to bad..  What an easy DIY! You can basically make whatever you like. 

The sun is finally shining here after what seems like months of rain. We were hoping for a nice summer before leaving for Scotland, but instead we got Scottish weather in France.. so already used to the rain by now. Not saying I like it.. 

Have a great day! 

hx

Tuesday Tips - Shelves

I've written a Tuesday Tips post about shelves before, but this is slightly different. This post is about shelves in front of windows. Yes, it's possible! I had never thought of this before, but as you can see from these photos it can look great. Of course it would be best if the windows opened out and not in, so I won't be trying this in our home then.. 

Modern Kitchen by Toronto Interior Designers & Decorators Shirley Meisels from Houzz

Modern Kitchen by New York Interior Designers & Decorators Amy Lau Design from Houzz

Spröjs House

Petra Bindel

Norm Architects

Hope you enjoyed this weeks Tuesday Tips.
It's nice to be back blogging again. 
Have a lovely day!
hx

Holiday snaps

We're back from our trip to Lacanau-Ocean and it was great. We had never been there before and didn't even know it was a surfers paradise just outside Bordeaux. We rented a mobile home and I know that doesn't sound that exciting, but it was actually brand new and really modern. 

Thanks so much to my guest bloggers Design Pill, White Punch and Eclectic Trends!!!

Have a nice new week! 

hx

29sqm

For an apartment of only 29sqm I think this looks spacious and frankly stunning. 

photos by S.Zajaczkowski architect Ewa Czerny

Isn't it amazing what you can do when space is limited?

I could move straight in. Could you?!

Happy Weekend to you all!

hx

Tuesday Tips - Trend ALERT Nordic Exotic

Hi there, my name is Kari Anne.  I am the founder of a new UK lifestyle store called White Punch and also the girl behind the White Punch Blog. I am so delighted that Hege would let me guest post here on her fabulous blog. Like Hege, I am a Norwegian living abroad and for the last 15 years I have been living in and around London, UK.

Today I would like to talk about the ways of mixing ethnic interior items into Scandinavian style homes.

Via 

I absolutely love a Nordic exotic theme in a home. You can really notice this trend in the big Scandinavian brands like House Doctor, Bloomingville, By Nord and especially Tine K Home. When you read interviews with the people behind the brands and what influences them and their design, then their travels and experiences while travelling always tops their list. Travelling is definitely something the Scandinavians are passionate about. I read an article the other day that Norwegians are the most travelled nation in the world and that their travelling tends to now take them much further away than before. Far away exotic places like  Mexico, Morocco, Bali and Thailand are top destination for many Scandinavians and we can really see it reflected in their interior. The simple and clean lines of Scandinavian interiors are the perfect canvas for adding items with a more ethnical feel and here are some suggestion on how to do so.

WALLS

Plain walls can be decorated with strong bold ethnical prints or add some texture with glorious JuJu hats, which Hege wrote about earlier here.

Via and Via

OCCATIONAL FURNITURE

Stools,  poufs and baskets with an ethnical feel are both practical and versatile. Mix and match for great effect.

Via 

Via and Via

Via 

RUGS

Moroccan Rugs really adds character to a home. Dare to be bold or go for more subtle colour like this handmade cream and black rug.

Via and Via 

NATURAL ELEMENTS

I love the way the natural colour of wood and straw can bring warmth to a room. Hang up your hats and baskets.

Via and Via 

PLANTS

Bring the outside in with tropical and interesting plants.

Via

YOUR SPECIAL FINDS

Include your special finds from your travels into your interiors, seen here done by the very talented stylist and photographer Hannah Lemholt. 

Via 

CREATE THE LOOK

Here are some products from White Punch that can create that Nordic exotic look.

Bamboo Light, JuJu Hat wall decoration,  Denim Pouf,   Decorative Houses and  

Hammoc 

Till next time, -take care.

Kari Anne xx

For more Tuesday Tips click HERE. 

Cables

I love the way you don't have to hide cables any more.. 

photo Fantastic Frank

photo Lily

photo Mackapär

We once found ourselves in a remote part of China called Longsheng, where the Yao Minority (or so-called Longhair Tribe) grow rice on terraced hillsides. I overheard somebody asking an English guy "Why aren't you taking photos?!" The guy answered "There are too many (electricity) cables for my liking.." How rude! Surely these poor Chinese rice farmers are entitled to electricity.. The place is stunning and always will be - with or without cables. Surely us tourists don't get to say things like that.. 

Exposed or hidden cables?! What do you prefer?!

hx

The terracotta trend

Hi there, it’s Gudy from Eclectic Trends and covering a day of Hege’s short summer leave is just the perfect moment to pop in and say “Hello”. And since we are hopefully all already in a summer mood, let me talk about the terracotta trend. I spotted this new colour first in February at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, got the confirmation in Milan at the Salone del Mobile and now you just have to travel to Pinterest.

Terracotta is, and that is the interesting thing, not just a colour trend but the same material is being used for different products such as small furniture or lifestyle accessories. Even the frowned upon flower pots are having a real come back!

Ben Medansky’s ceramics are uniquely hand crafted with simple form, practical design and eternal materials and the styling on the pics really helps to understand that terracotta has always been timeless.

Tomas Kral is the designer behind those terracotta lamps. Produced in Extremadura, the region in which the classic Spanish ceramic drinking jug was invented, this collection of lamps again draws a connection between the centuries-old tradition of our craftsmen and Tomas Kral’s design skills.

Aren’t those terracotta pouff and tables just fantastic? They call it a seating and table system at Italian label Flai. You can when lifting the top, use them for storing stuff too.

And how about these cool desk accessories inspired by bricks? It is called Adobe and consists of 5 pieces. You decide the use, it could be nice for a bath room too. What do you think?

But these are my favourite pieces, the more weathered they are, the more beautiful! It’s all about simplicity. Very much en vogue these days and feeling so good.

1 | 2 | 3

Let`s finish up with a very inspiring interior pic too. Those plant nursery shelves and pot steps from Kekkilä are just too cool!

Hope you have enjoyed this little red soil journey and would love to know what your terracotta plans are?

Warmly, Gudy

Tuesday Tips - Nature

This is a great time of year to decorate your home with flowers and green leaves. It's such a simple thing to do, but it makes a huge difference. 

photo Iitalia

photo Daniella Witte

photo Fantastic Frank

Here are some free, nice and easy geometric decorations made from found sticks. Aren't they great?! Let's make some!

photos by Line Shape Colour

Happy Tuesday! 

hx