So that's what they're called!

I've been looking for something for a while, but when you don't know the name of something it's difficult to know what to search for.. I was searching for Bridge Balcony Planters.. ! I saw them whilst driving past some apartments and I set off searching for them.  I'm really glad I found them as I think they're a great solution and they look cool too! I couldn't find them in any of the shops around here, so I ended up ordering them online. 

We don't have any outside space, so it was really nice to find these planters. I like clever design and this really is. The planters sit on the railing itself, so there's no need to buy anything extra to secure them. It's all very neat and tidy. 

It makes it a bit more cheerful in the kitchen and it also looks great from the outside. This is now a nice space where you can open the double doors, sit down and have a little tea break (with an interior design magazine of course! I don't think I have ever bought a magazine that wasn't about interior design!! I don't even look at anything else.. That's what you call dedication, isn't it?!)

Really hope the sun will stay out for the weekend.. 

Happy Friday!!!

hx 

Nordic Inspired

You might have noticed that I like Nordic design... I like white walls, lots of light and uncluttered decor. This kind of design comes across very orderly and tidy. Nothing is out of place here. 

What makes it look even better is when you add some green plants. It makes it look so fresh and even healthy! Do you have green plants in your home? I can't get enough at the moment. I guess it's because we live in a flat and don't have any outside space. 

photos by Fantastic Frank

I don't think you have to spend a fortune for your home to look great. 
I'm always looking for alternatives to designer items and today I've found some really nice things in the Homebase Homeware Collection. My selection is of couse Nordic inspired and I think these items would look great in our home.

Just imagine, these items, white walls, wooden floors, green plants...  Very Nordic indeed!

hx

Tuesday Tips - Trend Alert Swing-arm Lamps

Have you noticed? There's something trending.. Before we saw oversized pendant lamps and chandeliers and now we're seeing wall-mounted swing-arms lamps. They look great, don't they? 

photo by J. Ingerstedt

We see swing-arm lamps above dining tables and in the living room,

1. by Line Klein 2. by AD Espana

photo by Freunde von Freunden

photo by Matthieu Ponchel

in the bedroom

photo by Bodie and Fou

and even in the kitchen!

photo Romain Ricard

There are both top end and good value lamps on offer. You can even make your own.

I'll be back with another Tuesday Tip next week. 

hx

Workspace - DIY painted plywood

I while back I bought a large sheet of plywood and placed it behind my desk.  It looked ok, but it didn't really inspire me, so I decided to make a quick change. 

With some leftover paint from our bedroom wall, I painted a square light grey. The lines have to be really straight, so I used masking tape and also a set square.  It's really very simple, but it gives a nice effect with a bit of colour on the plywood. 

Do you like my black pineapple?! I used a real one and some matt black spray paint. The 

pineapple project cost me £1.75 and some strange looks from the neighbours.. 

(A man walked past and said - that looks really cool!)

I found the cool white lamp for £9 in B&Q. Bargain! The triangle used to be a part of a game we played as children. I found it in my old things when I was in Norway. I gave it a quick new look with some black paint. The string lights are from Granit. 

The grey moodboard will be perfect for hanging inspiring messages and pictures on. I'm a lot more comfortable with these "colours"... 

hx

Ideal Home Show Scotland

This weekend I visited the Ideal Home Show Scotland. #ihss I've put some photos on Instagram, so you can have a look there too. In amongst all the glam and glitter, I found some really nice companies to watch.

I was very impressed with the young Scottish designers. You can discover all their work at the Scottish Furniture Makers Association. There's a lot of talent in Scotland and a great attention to detail in the design. To mention some designers to watch Colin Parker, Namon Gaston, Jo Black and Hugh Parson.

I also loved the BoConcept stand. It's one of my favourite Danish companies. Sadly photos from exhibitions don't come out that well, so instead I've taken some inspiration from their beautiful catalogue and hung it on my wall. 

I really hope you'll go and visit the designers' web sites. I'm pretty sure you'll be impressed! 

hx

Blogger styling competition in Copenhagen

This was so much fun! Twelve design bloggers took part in a styling competition at the VIPP store in Copenhagen on Monday. Bodie and Fou had a pop-up store there for the launch of the new Bodie and Fou / Vipp collaboration. The limited edition bin. Bodie and Fou also have a new poster collection. It was a great chance to meet all the bloggers and shop owners and to see the fantastic products in real life. 

We had 40 minutes to style a kitchen, a table and a bathroom. In my team I had Gudy from Eclectic Trends and Zsuzsi from Panyizsuzsi. We had a great time and this is what we came up with! 

photos by Gudy and Zsuzsi

photos by Zsuzsi and myself

photos by me

photo by Zsuzsi

photo by me

It's also been really nice to get to know the story behind VIPP. It's a real family business and started back in 1939. Vipp Bodie and Fou have that in common - they are both family businesses. 

Thank you so much for letting me take part in this! I had such a great time! Sorry for all the mess we made! Thank you also to Gudy and Zsuzsi! I think we made a great team! 

Please like our photos on Instagram and Facebook as this is actually a competition where the winner is the one with the most likes! #bodieandfouvipp

hx

Coral - a happy colour

I know I keep talking about black and white all the time, but today I'm introducing a tiny bit of colour. Coral - I think it's a happy colour! I found this jewellery box half price at Habitat. It's a part of the Taoka collection and I really like it. This box has got a mat coral finish on the inside and the edging. (I think this is a cool DIY tips too. Paint the inside of a box. Then paint round the edges and the back of the lid.)

The reason I like the box is because it is a bit different. I'm not using the it for jewellery though, but as a little storage box on my desk. 

I've also got a new poster from Bodie and Fou's new collection - Be Happy. Photo and diamond cement pins from Etsy shop Pasinga and mug from Vipp. The strange card is called Tvilling (twins) and is by Lisa Bengtsson. I picked it up in Sweden a while back. 

Did you know you can follow me on Instagram now?! Yes, since yesterday! I'm probably the last person to join.. Anyway, here's my name hegeinfrance. 

hx

Tuesday Tips - Comfort Zone

Today's tips is not a physical thing, but about stepping out of your comfort zone. As a blogger it's easy to hide behind your screen, but now and again it's actually a good idea to get out and meet people. I'm just back from The HIVE in Copenhagen. I met some really nice bloggers and I've also learned a lot! #hive14

I was able to take something from all the speakers and workshops and now I'm going to try to put it all into practice. There are things I'm doing wrong, things I can easily improve on, but thankfully also some things I'm doing right. 

It's interesting to know that quite often we have the same questions and also problems, so this weekend has been great. We've been able to share things and network. I've got a pile of business cards to go through and lots of new blogs to follow. 

We visited the Muuto show room in Copenhagen and if I had to work in an office again, this is where I would love to work. Below you can see where they have their lunch.. not bad, is it?!

Today's tips doesn't just apply to blogging of course! It applies to everything! I've just myself realised how important it is, so I'm going to stop hiding from behind my screen. 

Here I am in my element styling at the Vipp store in Copenhagen at the Bodie and Fou pop-up store. Gudy from Eclectic Trends took the photo. :) I'll show you more later! 

By Copenhagen! I'm hoping to come back one day very soon! 

I thought I would be able to blog from Denmark, but there were far to many things happening, so I wasn't able to. Hope you're all well!! If you're new to Tuesday Tips there are lots of tips to choose from here. 

hx

The HIVE - Copenhagen

Tomorrow I'm leaving for The HIVE - Copenhagen. I can't wait! For me, it's my first blog conference, so it's both exciting and a bit scary.. I'll be meeting so many bloggers I admire. Some of the speakers include April & May, Gudy from Eclectic Trends, Bungalow5, and  Pinterest. Isn't that a great line up? That's only some of the speakers!

I'll also finally be meeting lovely Mia from Design Pill. We've been working together for a while now and have kept it a secret.. We'll soon be launching a new blog together and I can't wait to tell you more about it!  

Copenhagen candle from shop Culture Nordic

The Hive starts tomorrow night with a visit to the Muuto store! 

I'll also be taking part in a styling competition with Bodie & Fou at Vipp! 

It's going to be so much fun!

photo by Bodie and Fou

I'll keep you updated, while I'm away.

 hx

Tuesday Tips - IKEA hack by Elv's

Today's Tuesday Tips brings us to Scandinavian design lover Elv's. Her home is mostly white, black and grey, so when she saw the colourful PS collection by IKEA it wasn't quite for her. Saying that, she loved the shapes of this collection by Mathias Hahn. So in true DIY fashion, Elvera got busy with some spray paint. She chose her favourite "colours" and completely transformed the vases and jars. They look like they were meant to live in this beautiful home. They fit in perfectly. What a great idea and a fantastic result! 

photos by Elv's

photo by IKEA

It just goes to show that if something isn't the coulour you would like it to be, it shouldn't put you off. There are ways of getting what you want and it isn't always that difficult to change things. Is there an #ikeahacker in you? 

hx

50 Shades of Grey – bathroom inspiration

I've been asked by C.P.Hart to make a moodboard of my perfect "50 shades of grey" bathroom. Easy I thought, but it actually wasn't. There are so many things to choose from and so many things to include. 

We've seen fancy mirrors, chandeliers, candles and accessories in bathrooms for a long time. Recently I've noticecd a change. We now treat our bathrooms more like rooms, if that makes sense. 

What's trending - copper, concrete, marble, round mirrors, plants, wooden stools, patterned tiles, fancy soaps and even ART! 

photo by me

A perfect bathroom can be so many things. It can be classy, but very trendy at the same time like the bathroom I showed you by Katty Schiebeck. 

Most of us don't have the luxury of having such huge bathroom, so I'm going to keep my "50 shades of grey" bathroom slightly more realistic. 

Normally I would go for a roll top bath, but when I saw this round bath well that was it for me. Is that the coolest shower head you've ever seen?! Quite possibly. 

moodboard by me images by  C. P. Hart

As much as I like having a bath, my perfect bathroom wouldn't be perfect without a shower. 

When it comes to the color grey I happened to have a grey bathroom in France and loved it. I think it's a great colour for a bathroom. Both really light shades of grey and darker ones can work. Moody bathrooms like these ones look quite appealing. 

photo AT Casa

I think I would choose a white suite, but keep my walls and accessories in grey tones. That way it's easy to change wall colours and accessories when the time comes.

My perfect bathroom wouldn't be perfect without an old fashioned radiator. I've always loved them. I would also like a round mirror with a leather strap. 

1. photo by Nicole & Beauté 2. photo by Sharyn Cairns design by Whiting Architects 
3. photo by Emelie Bédard and 4. Desire to inspire

photo by Sharyn Cairns design by Whiting Architects 

photo by Toast

I have of course been busy on Pinterest too if you would like more grey bathroom inspiration and you can also check out #cphart50shades. To explore these stunning designs for real, C.P. Hart has a number of showrooms throughout the UK.

If you’re an interior designer or professional, then C.P. Hart has a beautiful trade collection available here.  

Back to reality or should we keep dreaming?!

hx

This post was written in collaboration with C.P.Hart.

Passeig de Gràcia by Katty Schiebeck

I've written about Katty Schiebeck before (here and here). What I find exciting is that every apartment she designs is completely different and all out of this world.

I've got major floor envy. What am I talking about.. I mean apartment envy!

Katty Schiebeck has been really nice to us and let us know some details of this project. 

This is not just an apartment, but an apartment in the luxury turist area Passeig de Gràcia, Barcelona that you can by the way rent for holidays. 

"We focused on furniture design and artistic works for a sophisticated place with personality. We wanted to create a singular and different space that differs from the common holiday rental properties."

In the living room  an image from Klein was chosen as the central axis, the couch is from Piero Lissoni and the lamp Jean Prouvé. 

Above the mirror dresser we can find works of Blanca don, and Ken White, a lamp Fog & Morup Jo Hammerborg Slow.

Wood and marble was used in the kitchen to get both a sophisticated and warm cuisine, the lamp is from Michael Anastassiades and the photograph is from Nacho Alegre.

"The kitchen is an extension of the dining room so we worked with a marble structure. What we needed was to get the interiors were impressive as the purpose of the reform was to capture the widest possible audience. Customers would choose these apartments for rent through images and hence the importance of getting the project stand out visually. We chose to use concrete slabs on the walls and floor, this was a gamble since it is a cold and unwelcoming finish for housing, but very sophisticated to enjoy a few days in the city. The amount of light we had with that large windows allowed us to use this resource."

"This defined the rest of the project, we continue with dark colors to get a sophisticated atmosphere. On the other hand we used elements in wood and carpets to counter and bring warmth to the whole picture. It was easy to work on a such strength material because the furniture was so visible thats why we opted for pieces with character, like the mirror and the screen in the bathroom or wood bedside table in the bedroom. The photographic portraits convey closeness and warmth to spaces."

"About the bed we worked out here to create something more idyllic. A piece which really reflects peace, rest, disconnection. We wanted to make everyone to forget the bed as just an object and remind them the feeling of rest, that forgotten feeling we need to recover when we are in the middle of our holidays. The white colour used for the walls and its height create a feeling of spaciousness. Its pure lines, metallic structure, the light reflected over the white linen sheets, the whole picture with the Serge Mouille lamps. "

"We decided to highlight the bath as the most important element and we created a grade to highlight both elements even more, the bath and the Andreas Nicolas Fischer painting."

All photos by Ruben Ortiz

Thank you so much to Katty for telling us more about this wonderful project!

hx