5 Happy Inspirations: Nordic Vibe For Your Home

With the hot July days and nights here in Munich, I have started to dream of cool breezes, chilly eves, the shimmering blue hues of the North. I know, summer is perfect and wonderful, it would just be perfect-er if I were on the shores of the sea or somewhere else. But not working in the city. In a hot rooftop apartment. That's why I am daydreaming of a nordic vibe for my home.

I am thinking of a refreshing palette of dusky blues, soft greys, whites and natural materials. Well, it's easier to depict my ideas than to describe it with words so I've curated five inspirations for a nordic vibe in your home. I couldn't pick one single thing, as greedy as I am, I'd take all of them! Do you have a favorite?

Oh, and happy hump day!

1. Bloomingville String light via Tujuh; 2. Bloomingville bench via Car Möbel; 3. Vases by Broste Copenhagen; 4. Blue cushion by Broste Copenhagen; 5. Ish blanket via Tomorrow Licious.

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Why This…Uhm…Photo Caught My Eye

Here we are on a rule-breaking Tuesday. Today's 'Why This Room Caught My Eye' post has gone astray. But it is not all that wrong. It is a colour story today. But let me tell you the background. 

I was really looking for an inspiring room last night, and I was literally roaming the web like for hours. But I couldn't find what I was looking for. I had a too precise idea in my head. I am currently in the middle of a redesigning project of my living room and I am thinking a lot about colour schemes, textures, placement and so forth. Recently, I painted my walls - white and two shades of grey - and in about a week I am expecting my brand new sofa (right now I am sitting on my floor well 'poufed' on a pile of cushions). The sofa itself is in an anthracite hue and even though it is high summer here, I am thinking of a rather autumnal colour palette for my room: I want to work with greys, dusky blues and a fresh injection of yellow. And that's how we get to the above shown lady, the foxy Ursula Andress. I was totally drawn to this picture because it perfectly depicts the colour palette I have in mind (yes, yes, Ursula was a hottie, too). Now I only need to work on a good execution of it. 

What do you think of this colour palette? Have you seen good examples with these colours? If so, please share them with me. I am in need of serious inspiration!

Happy Tuesday my dear friends!

Photography via The Swinging Sixties

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From Place To Space: Stylish Weekend In Hamburg

I know, sometimes I am taking you back and forth to places I've visited, but I often feel that there is too much to tell and show for one single blogpost. So please excuse me if I am annoying you with repetitive visits to some places and spaces. As you might have seen in my blogposts HERE and HERE, I traveled to Hamburg for a design weekend last month. Not only did I enjoy a fun blogger event, but I also had the opportunity to discover a bit more of the maritime German city up in the north and meet up with some of my favorite local bloggers for a great dinner.

Today's blogpost I would really like to focus on two discoveries - the new yet raggedly looking harbour area of Hamburg and a fabulous design hotel - the 25hours Hotel - which is a great choice if you ever happen to travel to Hamburg.

Hamburg is a German city just like Munich where I live but oh so totally different. You can tell that Hamburg is a maritime place, especially when you walk around the harbour area with its brickwork buildings, the breezy waterfront, huge storehouses and numerous cruise liners and cargo ships. You can sort of smell the North Sea and feel the seamen's presence around every other corner. 

And in order to find the super stylish and designy '25hours Hotel' you just have to stay in the new harbour area. Actually, the hotel chain runs two houses in Hamburg, one hotel named 'Number One' in the city's hip Western borough Ottensen, and the second one named 'HafenCity' in the harbour area. I was actually staying in the former, whereas we had a fab blogger dinner in the latter (most of the pics are from the harbour area hotel).

I was quickly drawn to the hotel's design as I spotted many design classics, but I particularly loved the mix of styles and the reference to the location - the lobby features some old signage and containers from cargo ships and local wharves. A little design shop sells international design magazines, books and various home accessories as well as local (cool) souvenirs. To make the experience complete, I was smitten by a wonderful service and delicious cuisine - I am still dreaming of the incredibly good wild herbs salad with creamy goat cheese. If I wasn't munching on my ice cream right now while typing these words, I'd be drooling over my Macbook. But I digress.

If my words haven't convinced you, let the pictures speak for themselves and work the charm. Hamburg is definitely worth a city weekend - you won't be disappointed. And now, I will have to let you go back to your Monday routine - but don't forget to face the new week smiling and happily content!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Phew, it's weekend my friends! And I am desperately in need of it, even though it's going to be a boiling hot one here in Munich. This week has been incredibly busy, chaotic, surprising and cool. But let me just put it down in a few bullet points what has marked this week:

• I painted my entire apartment with a few feature walls in the most amazing grey shades 'Down Pipe' and 'Plummet' from Farrow & Ball. The apartment was a complete mess and I had a whole day of work to clean it up and make it livable again.
• I sold my old Ikea sofa and made space for my new BoConcept sofa which will arrive very soon.
• I guest blogged over on Tastesheriff and Eclectic Trends.
• I went on a photo safari and wrote a travel report on Munich for a fabulous digital magazine.
• I attended a fun (and hot) blogger event at the new showroom of Danish design brand Vitsoe. Soon more on the blog.
• I was named one of the most inspiring interior design blogs by the German publication Wohnidee. Thank you!
• I am working on a cool blogging idea with two inspiring ladies, Judith and Jocelyn.

Well, sounds like enough fun and work for a week. I will now lean back and think of ways how to avoid the 37 degrees Celsius (99 F) outside and the probably 45 degrees Celsius (113 F) in my apartment. Oy!

Happy weekend!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Happily Ever After: Photographer Sivan Askayo

A few days ago I chatted with Sivan Askayo on Twitter and Facebook. We talked about the colour grey and its use in interior design, its excellent feature as a backdrop for other colours, and eventually I told Sivan that I am planning on painting a few feature walls in two grey hues in my home. That is when Sivan told me about her 'happily designed' bedroom with a grey wall and sent me a few snapshots. Yesterday I got my walls painted (what a chaos in my small apartment) and I thought it's a good starting point to share Sivan's pictures here before I prepare my own home story.

Sivan Askayo is an Israeli travel photographer and writer currently based in New York City but soon to  head off to Tel Aviv. I admire her work and loved seeing her collaborate with Sister Magazine. Actually, when I went through her portfolio on her website I wondered what it must be like to be a travel photographer and writer - I mean imagine, your job would be to travel the world, discover the beauties around the globe and report them in words and pictures? I wonder: Is it too late to become a travel photographer?

Happy Friday, friends!

Photography by Sivan Askayo

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Joining The #2Flowergirls - With Garden Roses

There will be two groups of readers today - the ones who know about the #2Flowergirls and the others who don't know anything about this fun monthly blog series. Actually, the two flowergirls are my friends and floral bloggers Elodie and Inga and they joined forces a few months ago and created a monthly series called #2Flowergirls with a changing floral topic. Each month is dedicated to a certain flower and bloggers are invited to join the fun with their interpretation. July is the month of the fragrant garden rose. And it is the first time I am properly joining this series as a 'flowerboy' with a happy interpretation of garden roses.

As usual I am juggling too many projects simultaneously, so when I decided to join in the flower fun I just had to think of ways to raise my efficiency. It was two days ago that I had an invitation to a blogger event here in Munich (I will blog about that soon) and I was asked to bring along some props for shelf styling. Since I was working all day in the office, the only thing I brought along from home was my favorite vase from Paris. On the rush from the office to the event location I stopped at the florist's and spotted the very last bunch of delicate garden roses. It was then when the efficiency thought clicked - bunch bought, styled up with some borrowed props at the blogger event and afterwards I snapped some more pictures for today's post. Voilà - this is not only a floral post, but also an efficiency post:-)

I hope you like my flower interpretation with a French vibe here. Let me know your thoughts! More roses on the #2Flowergirls Pinterest board HERE.

Happy Thursday!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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5 Happy Inspirations & A Giveaway

The weekly hump day mission here on Happy Interior Blog is to provide you, my dear readers, with five selected happy ideas to cheer up your home. Now someone will want to inject some more colour into the home, someone else looks for patterns, others for refined textures or timeless design. Whatever you are craving for, just make it a decision that will make YOU happy! As you can tell from today's selection, I am still under a magic Danish spell from my last design trip to Copenhagen, but judge for yourself!

Oh and I would like to thank you so so much for supporting me at the Pinterest contest by Auping (I blogged about it HERE) - thanks to your likes I can giveaway two sets of lush Auping bedding* to two of you. All you have to do is leave a short comment under this blogpost and you might snuggle up in happy stripes very soon!

Happy hump day!

*One set consists of a quilt cover (size 135 x 200 cm) and a pillowcase (size 80 x 80 cm)

Photography: 1. Copenhagen table and chairs by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for Hay; 2. Unfold Lamp by Muuto via Finnish Design Shop; 3. French ceramic tea pot via Shop Folklore; 4. Brunch Set by Vipp; 5. Bedding by Auping.

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

It is fairly known that I am a colour lover. A pop of colour here and there and I feel the happiness flowing in my home. Even though I must say my home is not entirely colourful but rather sprinkled with colour pops. Speaking of colour pops I've picked this workspace from the latest issue of Adore Home Magazine as the room that caught my eye this week. It is such a happy nook, it seems like any kind of work would be a fun breeze in this workspace. But why is that so? Here are my three eye-catchers:

• Yellow Wishbone Chair: The timeless design classic by Wegner in such a bright and happy yellow? This makes me immediately smile even though I am only gazing at an online pic but yet I can feel the happiness flowing from chair right to my design loving heart.
• Colour Pops: The carefully chosen and placed colour pops tie this entire place together and set the interior vibe. The various colour elements anchor the theme of this workspace and bring joy to any eye laid on this happy place. 
• Fresh Blooms: If you have a workspace at home, add a bunch of fresh blooms on your desk. Nothing is more invigorating than the sight of fresh blooms with a delicate odour to refresh your senses and let your creativity flow.

How do you like this space? Isn't it making you happy, too?

Photography via Adore Home Magazine

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From Place To Space: My Friend's Hamburg Apartment

A few weeks ago I spent a blogger event weekend in the northern German city of Hamburg. I not only looked forward to some blogger fun with fellow bloggers (I wrote about it HERE) but also to meet one of my ex colleagues and friends who recently moved from Munich to Hamburg. She invited me for a brunch on Sunday noon and I used the opportunity to snap a few pics of her new dwelling.

When in Munich, my friend used to live in a tiny apartment just like mine. With all its limitations. Now she's at home in a typical Hamburg 'Altbau' building (historical building) with a big living room and a long row of round-arched windows and an abundance of daylight. Yet again I was amazed how good it is to take pictures in a bigger space with lots of natural light. So I snapped on.

I focused on her living room cause I loved the 'retro meets vintage' vibe there. The vintage dining table found on a local flea market is made of teak wood and looks totally contemporary in the combination with those translucent chairs that remind me of the famous 'Ghost Chair' by Philippe Starck. Perfectly matched for this personal corner is the floor lamp recalling the swinging 1960s. Those large and widely arched chrome floor lamps were used back in the 1960s for lighting 'conversation pits'. 

In the living room area she combines raw, vintage leather furniture with wooden elements and mixes textures such as plain cotton cushions, wool blankets and furry sheepskin. The brown leather and wooden hues are freshened up with feminine zests of purple and pink - an ideal playground for her roomie, little Yoshi. 

As you see I focused on her living room as her moving is not yet finished and this part of the apartment was ready to be caught on camera. Apart from the lovely interior design we enjoyed a good brunch and a great conversation before I headed back to my tiny rooftop apartment in Munich.

Have a fab week, friends!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Today I am just sending a quick and sunny 'happy weekend' all the way from Munich! It is hot today, the city is bustling, the markets are full, the parks packed with sunbathing folks and the city's big attraction, its city surfers, are in best shape on the famous 'Eisbach' (Ice Creek). I've taken the above picture just today afternoon. I love to hang out there and watch the guys do cool tricks on their surfboard in the middle of a city, in the middle of a continent, far away from the shores of the sea. But hey, Munich is cool place. Hope you have a happy weekend, too!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Exclusive & Big News: My First Book Project

It's time to share some big news with you, my friends! And Friday is just a perfect day for it. We are all in a happy weekend anticipation mood, and this news are definitely happy, too. I am beyond happy and proud to be contributing to a book with some of my favorite blogger friends. This is my first book project as a contributor and I was very excited to work closely with the German publisher Callwey here in Munich.

It was back in March when I was first approached by the project coordinator from the publishing house and we worked together on the book outline. Later on, I was asked to suggest some of my favorite bloggers as further contributors and this was more than a pleasure to me. Then it was time to start working - lots of pictures had to be taken, texts to be written, I was interviewed about colours for interior design projects and managed to round up my work just a few weeks ago.

The book will be published in German on September 20th this year with the title 'Wohnideen aus dem wahren Leben - Inspirationen der besten Wohnblogger' and is already announced in the publishing house's catalogue and my excitement grows! Expect a whirlwind of inspirations on 240 pages with 400 photos! Today I am sharing exclusively the cover and a few shots from various contributors and myself from the book.

I hope you are equally excited and will follow me along on this amazing publishing adventure - there will be more news coming and - well of course - I will giveaway a few happy copies to you after it's been published!

Happy Friday, friends!

Blogger photos courtesy of Callwey Publishing

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A New Book & My Urban Garden

Over the past few months I have become fond of greenies in my home. Actually, I've started growing my own little urban garden. Now given the fact that I dwell in a tiny rooftop apartment without balcony, you can imagine that it is not very easy to grow a little jungle. But if it were easy, it would be boring, right? I've carefully selected my plants to fit their new habitat and my lifestyle. This means I've picked green plants that can handle lots of heat (rooftop apartments can get really hot during summer) and which won't miss me too much if I am on one of my numerous trips. Hence, I have lots of succulents, an adorable cactus and robust greenies (even a monstera plant that I rescued from the office garbage - hello good karma!).

I haven't thought consciously of my new 'green thumb' - I grew up in a typical Serbian home with lots and lots of green plants. My mother really had a jungle at home! Thus I thought it's a natural thing to continue it, especially now that greenies in homes are really trending. But when I received the book 'The Balcony Gardener. Creative Ideas for Small Space' by Isabelle Palmer a few weeks ago (I got the German version), I realized I have turned into a little urban gardener. Even though I have no balcony, this book offers a plethora of wonderful ideas to create a green oasis in the even smallest of homes. Whether you like to grow flowers, veggies or herbs - this book is such a great guide to help you along the way.

I really like that the book is well structured and starts with basics such as tools, plant pots, soil types, colour arrangements, plant care, positioning as well as decorative elements. Then it guides you through thematic chapters such as urban oasis, creative recycling, green diary and more. My little favorite: a herb garden in a wine box! Oh my, I might try this actually!

Are you an urban gardener? Do you have a green thumb? Let me know!

Get the English book HERE and the German version HERE.

Thanks to DVA publishing house for the copy!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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