A bright and cheerful Dutch family home

Oh do I have a refreshingly bright, cheerful family home to share with you today. Located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Lenneke and Joey's charming townhouse is like a little ray of sunshine (much needed on a grey morning in Southerm Sweden I must say!). The pair decorated the home from scratch using several bucket loads of white paint, cheerful second hand pieces and a lorry load of love and patience. The result is a lovely, warm home with a unique signature style.

Photography: Jansje Klazinga, Styling: Emmy van Dantzig.  Shared with kind permission.

Such a lovely space don't you think? I always think The Dutch have a wonderful knack for injecting colour into a home, and this family has proved it once again!

Items in Lenneke and Joey's home I know and love: Dining - Eames chairs, gold / kilim cushions, Tripp Trapp children's chair. Sitting room - Beni ourain rug, this beautiful black vintage scissor lamp is similar, pick up a vintage industrial stool here. Hallway - rustic bench, panama hat, Swedish Kånken rucksack, little yellow and white children's boots. Bedroom - pink linen bedding, lovely throw with pom poms (also seen in this fab bedroom).

You can see more pics of this charming home over at VT Wonen here.

Jansje came to photograph my home a few years ago and it was such a fun, memorable day! Here are some more homes she's captured and I've featured: Valentina Fussell's lovely Copenhagen home, a Dutch home in a former kindergaten, and a home in The Netherlands with red floors (you'll be pleasantly surprised!).

A few other links I love today:

Five ways to add character to a kids room.

Sitting room storage by String (and a new way to add plants to the home). 

How to make drawer pulls from just about anything (our bathroom cabinet hasn't had door handles for several months now - looks like some craft DIY is in order!).

And finally - black bedding? Why not! (This set is on sale.... just saying!).

How to get Scandi-style for your interior by Amara (including a quote from yours truly....:).

Have a wonderful day!

PS Thank you so much to My Warehouse Home for a great review of my book (I'm going to have to pick-up your latest edition, it looks fab!). 

A dreamy cottage (to rent!) in South East England

Do you have any plans for Easter? We've just booked to go to London for the weekend to visit my parents and sister, so excited! This time last year we were in t-shirts (yes, I know this is perfectly normal for some of you (lucky people!), but for us that was kind of a big deal!). But when the sun shines there's no place I'd rather be. If you're tempted to try your luck with the British weather, how about staying at The White Cabin in the ancient village of Winchelsea in East Sussex, South East England? I'm loving the bright, open A-frame ceiling and rustic / industrial touches. Such a perfect base for long walks, pub lunches and paddles at Winchelsea beach? And if the rain comes down, you've the perfect excuse to stay indoors too!

The White Cabin, Big Cottage Company. Found via Style Files with thanks.

Lovely! I think my favourite touch is the reclaimed kitchen cabinet doors. The look reminds me of one of the Hudson Farmhouse in my book. The interior decorator had bought a disused barn and used some of the wood to create cladding and handmade furniture for the house. So fab!

How about you?

Get the look: source industrial pendant lights here, Black scissor wall light. Try your local flee market for a decorator's ladder. Buy linen by the yard.

I've featured several homes like this in the past. If this is your kind of style you might just want to take a tour of a white home packed with antiques and a beautiful cottage by the sea (also available for rent). Or to make a morning of it - how about my 'summer cottage' and 'swedish cottage' archives?!

I've got a bit of a busy day ahead, but before I rush off  I wanted to leave you with this short video clip - *smile*.

Have a lovely day! 

The dreamy white Swedish home of Kristin Sundberg

After a wonderful safari at Udawalawe national park, we're now in the beautiful hill country town of Ella (here on holiday in Sri Lanka). Hardly Scandi I know but you must check out 98 acres resort! We trekked passed it on our way up little Adam's peak and I was pretty much walking up backwards. Next time I come I know where I'm staying. Could you imagine?! Anyhow, back down to earth and time to crack on with today's home tour. This lovely, fresh Swedish home belongs to fashion and lifestyle blogger Kristin Sundberg. It's white, white, white with touches of black. Natural materials in the form of ceramic pots, sheepskin throws and seagrass baskets add warmth (love the rustic dining table). Let's take a look around....

Photography / styling: Kristin Sundberg, shared with kind permission. Found via Only Deco Love.

How about padding around here this weekend?!

Items I know and love: the Koushi knot lamp is similar,  Vintage 1970's Bertoia chairs, Le sac paper basket, 'My Guide to Paris' print, Girl print, Scarlett Johanson print, this (fab) vintage industrial task lamp is similar - if sold check out this page for others, Eames chairs, sheepskin throw, natural seagrass belly basket, charcoal washed linen bedding.

As you can imagine I've shown quite a few lovely monochrome / black and white homes here over the years. It must be one of my favourite looks!

Other Thursday finds:

This is where I'll be shopping for items for my home this weekend (in love with the vinyl record holder)!

How great are these shelves?

I'll be pinning these most stylish nooks of 2015 onto my nooks and daybed board!

While 2015 was all about the black leather sofa, 2016 is going vintage cognac (better snap up an original Danish one like this quickly!).

Have a lovely day!

PS The strangest thing happened yesterday - my Stolp farm post disappeared into thin air (thanks to everyone who alerted me to this!). Thankfully I managed to find it and re-post but I still have no idea what happened! Hope you enjoy it! 

A calm white and blue 'oasis' in Malmö, Sweden

Hello! I had such a wonderful evening last night to celebrate the launch of my book (feeling it a little today though I have to admit!). I'm nipping in to share a super fresh home here in Malmö,  which is currently for sale through Bjurfors, one of Sweden's largest and oldest estate agents. Bjurfors sold our first flat here in Malmö, and I have to say, they were amazing, I can highly recommend their services! The space has been decorated throughout in fresh white and touches of blue and looks so calm and relaxed. I'd love to be padding around here, I think it'd clear my head in an instant, don't you?!

Bjurfors

It's actually located high up in the eaves above one of Malmö's lovely main shopping streets - a little oasis of calm amongst the hustle and bustle. Perfect!

Could you see yourself padding around here?

A few items I know and love:  Smeg fridge, Beni ourain rug, these beautiful peacock blue velvet cushions are similar.

More white and blue themed homes include this wonderful danish apartment with industrial touches and a pretty white, blue and cognac Swedish space.

Have a lovely day!

PS thank you so much to Lou at Little Green Shed for this lovely post about Modern Pastoral. 

A Finnish / Danish style blend in a Helsinki home

Good morning, London calling! (how much do I love saying that? It's so great to be home for a couple of days!). Earlier this week I got a lovely surprise in my mail box courtesy of Finnish interior designer/ stylist Laura Seppänen - with details of her latest styling project - a 52 metre square, two room apartment in the heart of Helsinki. The apartment is lovely and fresh thanks to it's predominantly white scheme and has been inspired by Danish design. The furnishings include a mix of Scandinavian design, vintage items and soft textiles for a warm and cosy feel. Look out for the pretty hints of blue too!

Interior stylist: Laura Seppänen. Photographer: Pauliina Salonen

What a lovely space - clean and fresh yet warm and homely.

Get the look: Cove print, Kitchen - Kvik, coffee tables - Zuiver, Brass wall lamp - Menu, Carpets by Anno, Marshall speakers, M print, source vintage chopping boards here. This solid marble mortar and pestle is similar.  Le sac papier.

I've featured a few of Laura's fab projects here in the passed, including this Finnish home in charcoals and a Helsinki penthouse (absolutely love this one).

You can also keep up to date with Laura's latest projects on Facebook and Instagram. Photographer Pauliina also captured these nude and white interior images for Asun magazine. What a talented creative duo!

I'm off to meet my sister and two month old niece this afternoon (and their labradoodle)...what a treat, so excited! But the main reason I'm here is to meet my book publisher tomorrow. So.much.to.do. I'll try to stop by with a post tomorrow, but I apologise in advance if I run out of time! 

Have a lovely day!