DesignTrade Copenhagen: More Highlights

Before I take you on an endless journey to Canada and the USA as of coming week including fabulous design finds and travel tips, I'd like to return the view to the Danish capital once more. As you remember I'd spent a few fabulous days in Copenhagen attending the DesignTrade show and discovered lots of cool brands and designs. I blogged about them HERE. Today I'd like to share five more highlights from Copenhagen, and then we will move on. Promised:-)

1. Froh & Frau
If you love illustrations and funky posters, this will be heaven for you. I am a sucker for good and cool illustrations and fell instantly in love with Froh & Frau, a Danish design studio focused on the production of posters. I was smitten by the brand's name as it is composed of two German words - 'Froh' meaning happy (hello there!!) and 'Frau' meaning woman. I have no idea if that was intentional, but anyway, this is definitely the source for great and fun posters!

2. Place de Bleu
While I was researching products and props for my booth styling at the DesignTrade show, I stumbled upon a brand called Place de Bleu. I was intrigued and after the first glance on their cushions my happy heart was sold. I needed one of their fun round cushions for my booth. I learned that this Danish design brand produces homewares with an ethnic and Scandinavian twist and all their products are produced by immigrant women in Copenhagen. Good and conscious design! Plus their cushions are made of amazing Kvadrat fabrics and are a tactile delight.

3. Brdr. Krüger
During the design show we were invited to the stand of a Danish furniture brand named Brdr. Krüger for drinks. I was pretty happy to go there as I spotted their iconic and beautiful Bølling table at Gerard's booth. The Bølling tray table was designed 1963 by Hans Bølling and has now been updated with a new colour range - my favorite was a deep, ocean blue. Not only had we drinks but we were surprised to meet the designer himself - Hans Bølling was chatting along with us, telling us the design story and some other stories from his cool life. What a great man - this made me love his table even more!

4. Rie Elise Larsen
This Danish design company has been known for quite a while - mostly for their adorable paper products featuring great shapes, colours, patterns. I've known them for quite a while too and it was clear that I have to make a little stop at their stand and get a peek of their new Christmas collection. The collection is so new that some of the exhibited pieces were prototypes - but I got some pics nonetheless:-)

5. Kay Bojesen
The Danish designer Kay Bojesen is renown in the design world. Most people will link his name to the iconic wooden toys like the famous monkey. But did you know that the brand Kay Bojesen also designs high quality cutlery? Well, we were lucky enough to be invited to a breakfast at their showroom in Copenhagen and we not only looked at the sleek cutlery but also ate with it. I love the simplicity of their range with matte brushed steel - definitely a good investment for a stylish tabletop!

I hope you liked my little design highlights from Copenhagen. Which of these would be your personal favorite?

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Hello folks! I am signing in from Berlin where I am based for an entire week. I am working here (as part of my corporate day job) on a trade fair the entire week including weekend but all that is bearable as I am in cool and vibrant Berlin, the weather is amazing and I am meeting some friends for dinner and drinks after work. Moreover, I am still loaded with memories from my recent design trip to Copenhagen where I discovered some favorites such as the above shown 'Georg Collection' by Christina Liljenberg Halstrøm for Danish label Skagerak/Trip Trap. I blogged about it and my other favorites from Copenhagen here.

Have a fabulous weekend wherever you are!

Photography via Trip Trap / Skagerak

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New Milk Lamp & Colour Crush

It is past midnight while I am typing this words and I am unnaturally late with my blogpost writing today. But the reason was quite fancy - I organized a little blogger meet-up for the local Munich blogger community and we had a great evening with food and drinks. So, this intro was necessary as I had two glasses of chilled rosé and hope to be clear and comprehensible in today's post:-) On this happy Friday I chose to share with you a new cutie that  has moved into my apartment: the fabulous 'Milk Lamp' designed by Norm Architects and manufactured and sold by &tradition.

I am in love with this lamp because it is simple and sophisticated at the same time. It is a well designed table lamp that carries the essence of Nordic design in its DNA. The simple lines, the combination of natural materials such as wood in combination with glass, the warmth of its light - all this makes this lamp a design masterpiece. I particularly love the dimmer as you can adjust the light and atmosphere according to your wishes.

I have placed my new Milk Lamp on the sideboard in my bedroom and have created a little vignette around it featuring my current colour crush - blue and grey. I love the two colours in combination and I've added two small ceramic houses by Bloomingville, a vase by House Doctor with some coloured ribbon in it and a lovely watercolour painting by Greek artist Fiona Zakka. 

I am pretty happy with this vignette. What do you think? Do you like it? What about the Milk Lamp?

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Yay, it's weekend my friends! And what a weekend! Here in Munich we are experiencing super high summer temperatures so I need to abandon my tiny rooftop apartment that is reaching the boiling point. As I am expecting that most of you will be out and about as well, I will keep it short and simple today. 

Earlier this week I blogged about the fun blogger event at the new Vitsoe showroom in Munich. The sophisticated design brand produces exclusively the minimalistic shelving system of the designer Dieter Rams. And they showcase the multifaceted use of the modular shelving system in an inspiring video - actually this is a Munich apartment (yep, apparently not everybody lives in tiny shoebox apartments like moi) of a creative couple that has equipped its home with the 606 universal shelving system. After I'd watched it I felt inspired - by the apartment as well as by the lovely story of the couple. I hope you'll enjoy it too (it's in English). Happy weekend, my friends!

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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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From Place To Space: Höst Restaurant In Copenhagen

This Monday, I have to take you back to Copenhagen one more time. Because this experience was too good as not to be shared with you. During my visit to the Danish capital as part of the DesignTrade blogger tour, we were invited by the Danish design brand Menu to dine in the fabulous landmark restaurant 'Höst' in downtown Copenhagen.

The experience was a magical one from the very moment we set our foot into this restaurant: Höst unites the urban and rural feel in a unique way. It feels very 'rurban' I'd say. An inspiring mix of industrial elements, raw concrete and exposed brick walls, black and white furniture and chunky lighting design, large sized plants and manufactured ceramics blended the feeling of a stylish downtown restaurant, a rustic countryside mansion and a raw fabric hall. 

The entire concept was prolonged to the set table and the offered menu. We dined in style off of Norm designed tableware produced by Menu, ate traditional Danish cuisine with an experimental twist and had the most inspiring design chats among us (I was perfectly seated next to Desiree and Emma as you can see in the pic below) in the privacy of the secluded basement dining hall. 

Yet again, I can let the pictures speak for themselves and save my words when telling you: If you ever happen to go to Copenhagen, don't miss this fabulous restaurant. You will love it - for its design, for its food, for its uniqueness. 

Höst Restaurant, Nørre Farimagsgade 41, 1364 Copenhagen

Happy Monday, everybody!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Personal Visual Stories: A Styling Project

Styling: Myself

Last week I presented you my styling for the Danish design brand &tradition in the Norm studio in Copenhagen HERE. I also shared small teasers of my fellow bloggers' works, but today I want to share their works in more detail here as promised. Even though we all styled in the same studio with the same set of products and props, I think that everyone of us created a very personal vignette that tells an individual visual story. Judge for yourself and see the eight styling vignettes in detail here. 

Styling: Nina / Stylizimo

Styling: Gerard / Walnut Grey Design

Styling: Anna / La Maison d'Anna G.

Styling: Agata / I Like Design

Styling: Desiree / Vosges Paris

Styling: Emma / Emmas Designblogg

Styling: Allan / Bungalow5

Which vignette speaks the most to you? Please tell me and I would love to learn WHY this certain vignette speaks to you! I think this 'personal trigger' is the essence of every successful styling job. Thank you for sharing!

P.S. Next Tuesday we are back to the regular 'Why This Room Caught My Eye' series.

Photography by Rune Lundø

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From Place To Space: Design in Copenhagen - Part Three

Ready for the final part of my Scandinavian design adventure in Copenhagen? After part ONE and TWO, here we go with the third and final day of my blog tour in Denmark. Let's roll!

Day 3 kicked-off with a breakfast in the studio of Norm Architects in downtown Copenhagen, where we were invited by &tradition, a Danish design company established in 2010 with the founding principle being tradition tied to innovation. We got a quick insight into the product portfolio including the new 'Catch Chair' by Jaime Hayon. Afterwards we were again challenged: to use the &tradition products and style a corner by ourselves. I blogged about the results HERE.

After the styling fun we visited the production facility of Carl Hansen, a furniture production established in the 19th century and still continuing the tradition of refined craftsmanship. They produce iconic chairs such as the 'Wishbone Chair' by Wegner and more. Funky fact: Within the factory, one of Denmark's last hat makers has its atelier and we peeked into it - great fun! After the factory tour we headed over to the new Carl Hansen flagship store and tested some of Denmark's finest furniture ourselves.

The final stop was a real summer highlight - we set foot on a boat in one of Copenhagen's canals and enjoyed chilled white wine and fresh fruits under the Scandinavian sun while the guys of the label 'Ocean Going' told us more about the 'Talent Street' area on the DesignTrade show. The PR rep of Kay Bojesen mingled with us too, and we all were relieved that leaving Copenhagen will be easy cause we will reunite in late August again. I can't wait!

Happy Monday!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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