Happy Holidays, Friends!

Here it is - the long awaited holiday weekend! Three days of leisurely time for you, your family, your friends. No matter what the weather says outside (here it sounds a bit like 'Jingle Bells' if you know what I mean, don't get fooled by the pic above, that was taken last week in sunny Greece - more about that next week on the blog), make the best out of it and have a great and happy time. If you celebrate Easter this weekend, I am wishing you a very festive and happy weekend. If you are celebrating anything else or right about nothing, have a happy time no less! Oh and if you have a bit of extra time, why don't you redecorate a corner of your home? Reshuffle some of your furniture pieces? Finally hang those art prints and pictures? Bring in a dash of spring into your happy home? You know what I mean. Hugs all around & smiles on your faces! See you next week!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Ikea's New Stockholm 2013 Collection

Elegant, a contemporary mix of mid-century designs and nature inspired hues, a grown-up look for stylish urban homes - voilà, that's what comes to my mind when I look at the brand new Stockholm 2013 collection by Ikea which will hit the stores as of April. My second thought is: perfect timing as I am planning a little living room redo this spring.

Design, materials and colours for grown-ups
The new collection is the upscale line in Ikea's broad assortment of furniture and home accessories and has a strong design angle - every piece seems consciously designed and aimed at a grown-up clientele. Refined materials such as velvet, shagreen, nut wood and bone china underline the collection's sophisticated approach and please the the visual as well as tactile senses. The colour range transmits a timeless idea of interior design with cues from nature such as green, various brown hues like cognac, chocolate, mud and others, but also yellow, mustard, black.

Paying due respect to its name and Ikea origin, this collection is strongly influenced by classic Scandinavian design and makes reference to the stylish 50s and 60s of the past century. The Stockholm 2013 collection focuses on the living room, dining room and bedroom and is accomplished by selected decoration items.

Personal Favorites
My personal highlights are the soft green sofa, the round mirror with nut wood framing, the green vase and bright yellow cabinet - now I only need to decide what to pick for my living room redo. I sort of have an idea already…

What do you think of the new Stockholm 2013 collection by Ikea?

Photography by Ikea

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Book Review: German 'Decorate Workshop'

Happy Interior Blog is reaching slowly its 1.5 years - let's call it baby maturity. One of the things I vividly remember from my early blogging days (sounds like it's been centuries ago) was the first time meeting with one of the leading interiors and decorating blogger celebrities Holly Becker. I met Holly at her first book's presentation in Munich and wrote about it HERE.

Now after almost 1.5 years I am flipping through her second book 'Decorate Workshop' or - as entitled in German - 'Wunderbare Wohnideen', published by Callwey. Holly's second book is aimed to be a practical day-to-day guide for interior design and decoration projects. With the easy step-by-step approach the reader learns how to embark on an interior design project and how to let go the fears and concerns. Compared to Decorate, this is a more practical work manual rather than a coffee table book. However, the easy to read guide is beautifully visualized by the photography of Debi Treloar.

Instead of snapping a few pics of the inspiring pages, I've opted for two quick Vine videos to give you a rough idea of the book's structure and content. Many of you might have it in their book shelves already. And for those who don't - reconsider! It might come in very handy for your next design project!

Photography & videos by Igor Josifovic

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5 Happy Inspirations: Refresh Your Interiors

Hello my friends! I'm back after a little getaway to sunny Greece and a fabulous design hotel. Soon more here on the blog. But for the time being let us indulge in a new '5 Happy Inspirations' post. 

Some of you might know that I am one of those indecisive persons when it comes to interior design, styling and decoration. I love colourful details, I like natural styles with lots of wood, I adore rich textures and patterns with an ethnic vibe. Chaotic? Maybe. But one could also say eclectic, right? It's all about how you mix and interpret the pieces.

So this week's five happy finds have also one thing in common - the happiness they bring into a home. But let us have a closer look at those goodies:

1. My German fellow blogger Kai of Stilsucht has launched his first product in collaboration with the designer Thomas Schmitz. The hook named 'Cliffhanger' has its natural habitat in primarily - but not exclusively - typical German 'Altbau' (old buildings) high ceilinged, raw, pre war buildings, since two parallel water pipes are necessary to utilize the clever helper which is simply clipped between them.

2. Add a dash of summer with the 'Palm Trays' by Smart Living Objects. Made of rubber wood and coated with summery hues they are perfect to make you smile, even with the current weather!

3. I 'luuuuv' me some copper! How about this sleek pendant light with polished copper and a textile cable by the Dutch design team Ontwerpduo with Vij5? Yes, iconic Dutch design!

4. Cushions are my soft spot. And this one with a calming natural look is my 'coup de coeur' - the 'Sea Grass Cushion' by Nordic Elements is on my wish list!

5. The 'Lock' bamboo dinner table by the Dutch design label Plankton is an eye-catcher due to its spectacular base. Moreover, it's made of sustainably grown bamboo thus good for your home and for our environment!

Happy hump day, folks!

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A Design Walk In London

The British Week on Happy Interior Blog continues. Today I'd like to make you feel the 'design pulse' of one of London's super popular neighbourhoods, Notting Hill. During the 'Meet the Blogger' conference in London I was very happy to join the fabulous design walk organised by the impeccable London coinnesseur Tina Bernstein.

Above all I want to thank Tina for the decent starting time - 1 p.m. was just about acceptable for a morning grouch like moi. Just in time we flocked around our style sheppard in the Tom Dixon store at the Docks and followed her along like a little chicken family all the way through Notting Hill and Portobello district.

Our next stop over were the vintage stores Phoenix on Golborne and Les Couilles du Chien - realy treasure troves for vintage loving hearts. We wandered along, passed by the cool and urban Pizza East restaurant with its weathered blue Tolix chairs (snap, snap) and arrived at the fabulous and colourful Pedlars boutique. Free coffee to warm our hands and bodies, a healthy dose of vibrant colours to please our eye and super friendly staff who introduced us to the store's concept and product lines. We loved it!

Warmed up and already loaded with shopping bags, we continued our design tour to yet another highlight, Ceramica Blue. If you love ceramics then this is the place to stop and shop! The shop owner was super friendly and offered an extra 15 % discount so I couldn't help it but add yet another shopping bag to my lugagge.

SCP was our next stop - the big and bright streetside store with lots of design classics was another visual highlight. Fibreglass Eames chairs in retro colours, soft and fluffy sofas in green and blue, Donna Wilson cushions and String wall units made us think about travelling back home with bulky lugagge. Yet another presentation of the store's philosophy, concept and product range gave us valuable insights into SCP. Chapeau!

Last but not least, we visited the headquarters of made.com. Their showroom on the 9th floor revealed stunning sights everywhere - the London skyline all around and fabulous sofas, coffee tables, chairs in the showroom itself. A young and dynamic team welcomed us with bubbles and snacks and a little tour made me almost click on the order button on my iPad - but alas, they do not deliver to Germany. Yet. I'll stay tuned.

With this post I am signing off till next Wednesday my friends. I am off to a little design & holiday trip. You know, I need more content for my upcoming 'From Place To Space' post so stay tuned. If you want to see where I am heading to later today, follow me on Instagram for on-the-go snaps in a new metropolis.

Big hugs to everyone!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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5 Happy Inspirations: Etsy UK Picks

We continue with our 'British Week' on Happy Interior Blog. All eyes on the Brits and their creativity! Ever since I attended last year's London Design Festival I am convinced that the UK is a leading design nation full of creativity. But it's not only professional design that sets the tone. The Brits rock it all the way - from handmade goodies to refined interior design. For today's '5 Happy Inspirations' lets have a closer look at some great picks from the Etsy UK shops. Drum roll, please:

1. Nobody does retro as the Brits do. How about this retro inspired rain print by Eloise Renouf? At least it reminds us that there are no rainy days in a happy home!
2. Speaking of retro - the mid-century day bed sofa by Hopper & Space is a flirty fellow and a 'coup de coeur' for colour lovers.
3. The view of the calm sea is soothing and balancing - and incredibly stylish above a sofa in the living room or above your bed. Seen at Ribbon Squirrel.
4. The handpulled Scandinavian fish screen is in fact - British! Handmade by the fab British artist Jane Foster. 
5. Playful, cute and oh so trendy. The linen tote bag with neon knitted bottom is an eye-catcher for your next home decoration shopping spree. Guaranteed! Seen at Memake.

Which one would you give the Brit Award to?

Photography via Etsy UK

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

Yesterday I took you to London to join in the fun I had while attending the 'Meet the Blogger' conference. Later this week I will take you on our 'design tour' through Portobello and Notting Hill, that was part of the blogger conference, too. Hence, I've decided to make this a UK week on Happy Interior Blog. The 'Happy Brits Awards' if you want so. 

We won't move to far thus - we will stay in London and I want to draw your attention to the highlights that caught my eye in the living room of the British designer Harriet Anstruther. The mid-19th century house in London has lots to offer (more HERE) but the living room really caught my eye. Here is why:

• Fiery, pink velvet sofa: One accent piece of furniture can set the entire tone of a room. In this case, the fiery, pink velvet sofa has a strong visual power and speaks of the creative minds living in this home. Its colour is reflected in the cushion on the other sofa and caught up by the large scale art above it.
• Large scale art: This is the next highlight. A grand room calls for grand art. Here, the colourful painting adds interest and drama to the room and creates a sort of 'colourful cell' with the sofa.
• Bay Window: For someone living in Germany, bay windows are a sheer highlight to me. They are not common at all here and every time I'm in the UK, I like to peek through the bay windows in the happy homes of the Brits.

Happy Tuesday, folks!

Photography via T Magazine

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Meet The Blogger In London

Two weekends ago I attended the 'Meet The Blogger' conference in London. 'Nomen est omen' in this case - meeting bloggers was the essence of this conference and I loved meeting some good old friends, meeting other fellow bloggers for the very first time and thus making many new friends. I can't even start naming them, there are too many and I am afraid of forgetting a name or two. Apart from schmoozing with my favorite blogging folks, we also had the opportunity to learn something and refine a few blogger skills. 

The keynote was spoken by the 'Queen of Pastels' and super successful Yvonne Eijkenduijn of Yvestown who also hosted an on situ styling workshop. My blogging brother Will of Bright Bazaar revealed some of his Photoshop skills and later I attended a photography workshop with the talented interiors photographer Paul Craig and a design terminology lesson with the charming Ana Aguilar.

The intense all day conference was later on rounded-up by a great burger dinner at the über-cool restaurant Byron in the West End. Around midnight I had to go to bed - I've networked, talked, learned, laughed so much that day, that I was absolutely happily tired. Moreover, I knew that Sunday will bring more fun at the 'Design Walk' through Notting Hill so a good night's sleep was more than needed. That's it for today, I will share my 'Design Walk' impressions with you later this week. So stay tuned. Oh, and happy Monday!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Yeah, weekend time!!! And yes, I am off again - back to visit my family in Austria. Plus I am so excited cause I am going to work on my interior styling abilities in April! How? What? Well, let me tell you one thing (if you don't know it already): One of my highly admired blogger friends and designer and stylist, Justina Blakeney, has decided to host an online interior styling workshop. She has partnered with Skillshare to teach her first ever online course called 'Interior Styling - The Fundamentals to style your space like a pro'. Video tutorials, great online resources and styling homework to do at home will be part of the online course. And the best ever: The queen of jungalow herself will give helpful feedback and advise about our styling projects. I am pretty excited, just like the little kids before the very first day at school! The course starts April 1st and lasts till April 12th. If you want to be my classmate, sign up HERE. Happy weekend, friends!

Photography by Justina Blakeney

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Interior Styling: Folk Art + Giveaway

I've mentioned a few times that I have a really hard time to commit to one single interior style. I have corners in my apartment with a Scandinavian vibe, I have my funky vintage finds, I have some ethnic slash folksy accessories. And it is weird as everything has a certain appeal to me. On the other hand, I like that cause it always challenges my eye to juggle things together in a somewhat aesthetic way. If I succeed or not, that is a whole new question.

Speaking of folksy art for interior styling I got myself playing on my laptop. I juggled a few online finds into a sort of inspiration board for a folk art styled living room. I've put a few things together: A vintage leather sofa for the tactile and natural feel (No. 2, by Avandeo), a framed Frida Kahlo portrait to set the tone on the wall (No. 1, by AllPosters.de), hand-embroidered cushions with folksy colours to embellish your sofa (No. 3, by Heidi Merrick), a leafy fiddle fig tree for a dash of jungle fever (No. 4, seen on House Tweaking), a hand-woven African basket for storage (No. 5, by Dioum African Art) and finally, a vintage kilim rug to tie the colourful blast together (No. 6, via Ebay). 

If you like a bit of folksy art for your happy home, here is an excellent kick-off: The cool folks at AllPosters.de, the German outlet of Art.com, is one of the leading online retailer for wall art. Their portfolio bursts of abundance and if you are looking for a great way to personalize your walls, that's the address to search for. But for one of you this search will have a shortcut - AllPosters.de offers the shown framed Frida Kahlo portrait (retail value 150 Euros) as a giveaway to one of you! All you have to do is leave a comment under this post and tell me where you'd hang it. The giveaway is open internationally and will close next Friday at midnight CET. Good luck my stylish friends!

This post is kindly sponsored by AllPosters.de

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Blogs & Coffee Munich: Design Fun Part Two

Ten days ago I invited 30 German lifestyle bloggers to Munich for a weekend full of fun, design, shopping and networking. Last week I covered the first part of our 'Blogs & Coffee' weekend HERE, today I want to share the rest of our discoveries with you.

As one of three hosts it was my duty to scout nice and cool locations in Munich in order to present the Bavarian capital as a thriving design hub in southern Germany. But let me take you step by step on our blogger tour. 

Saturday afternoon was reserved for discovering some of my favorite interior design stores and cafés in the lively Glockenbach quarter. First, I took my blogger friends to my favorite boutique 'Ladoug'. This is a real gem in downtown Munich. Small, intimate, full of beautifully curated homewares, mostly vintage and handcrafted, scouted by the charming owner Andrea Douglas. Not only will you dive into a dreamy world when entering the boutique, but the owner will also tell you one or two anecdotes from her trips around the globe in order to find these fine home decoration goodies. My secret favorite: the vintage Moroccan wedding cushions.

Later on we continued to a kooky store bursting with industrial and vintage finds called 'Delikatessen'. This is the place to head to if you look for one-of-a-kind vintage furniture pieces, local designs, fine ceramics, industrial pendants. We literally fell in like a horde into the store and snapped our way along. 

A short coffee and cake break was squeezed in at the beautiful organic 'Kranz Café' before we headed to a new concept store in the Schwabing area called 'Weissglut'. Weissglut means 'incandecence' in German and you will reach a state of glowing when you roam through the super stylish concept store with carefully selected homeware pieces, home textiles and fashion in the basement. The owner is a friendly chap and will tell you about the idea if asked. So head to this cool store if you happen to be in Munich. Dinner was organized in the über-cool restaurant 'Theresa'. Since it was too dark for nice pics, see my blog post about the restaurant HERE to have an idea of how stylish it is (and yummy by the way). 

Sunday morning marked our farewell breakfast in the dreamy-white café 'White Rabbit's Room'. Easy to decode, the theme is based on the world famous Alice in Wonderland story. A white washed interior, exposed bulbs, wooden furniture, colourful tableware and yummy food - all good reasons to stop by and have a break in the Haidhausen area. Plus, a little store completes the café for those who fall in love with the accessories and tableware.

So, isn't this all super enticing? Don't you want to jump to Munich for a quick visit? 

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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5 Happy Inspirations: Bodie And Fou

Hello friends! After a few days without blogging I am back and full with new inspirations and ideas for more happiness at home. Some of you might know that I spent the last weekend in London attending the 'Meet The Blogger' conference. I had the great honour to finally meet one of my favorite stylists and shop owners in person, Karine Candice Kong of the sublime 'Bodie and Fou' online store. We laughed along, chatted along and I can say - we really clicked! 

For quite a while I was actually flirting with the exquisite linen beddings from 'Bodie and Fou'. The new colour range finally made me give in - I've order the blue linen bedding for more morning happiness in my bed! So I thought it might be a cool idea to share my five favorite finds from the new spring/summer 2013 range of 'Bodie and Fou'. So here they are. Oh, and don't forget to tell me what is your favorite?

1. Natural Basket; 2. Blue linen bedding; 3. Wooden chopping boards; 4. Orange wire pendant light; 5. Turquoise industrial stool 'Have a Seat'.

Happy hump day!

Photography via Bodie and Fou

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

How many things can you pack into one weekend? Meet friends, make new friends, learn something, discover new places, travel, get some creative work done, eat out, party. Well, I am in the middle of all this - here in London! I am so lucky to be attending the 'Meet the Blogger' event in London. A fab keynote speaker, interesting workshops, a cool design walk and lots of fun with fellow bloggers - I can't complain, right? And as usual, I will share all my discoveries and experiences with you my friends - soon here on the blog and in real time on Instagram, Twitter and Vine.

Have a wonderfully colourful weekend, wherever you are! I will see you back on Wednesday here on the blog!

P.S. Don't forget to join my little giveaway on Instagram - win a 'Happy Blogger' tote bag!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Happily Ever After: Caitlin Shearer

A few weeks ago I stumbled over the beautiful work of Australian illustrator Caitlin Shearer. I discovered her blog and her Etsy shop. It took me about 10 minutes before my index finger hit order. A few weeks later it arrived all the way from Down Under - my beautiful illustration by Caitlin Shearer. I was drawn to her work due to her enchanting style - the soft hues and a charming lightness of her brush's stroke. Moreover, her portraits have something mystical - the museful looks, the dainty beauty...

As soon as the charming illustration arrived, I framed it and started a project I've envisaged for so long: a little gallery wall. I've decided to start with four prints for the time being, I have a fifth one waiting to be framed and hung. My approach is to let the gallery wall grow slowly. For now, I love how the new Caitlin Shearer illustration looks on my wall. Don't miss to check out her wonderful work HERE and HERE.

What do you think of her work? Happy Friday!

Photography by Igor Josifovic, last three images by Caitlin Shearer

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