Growing A Home With Love & Reflection

It's almost three years ago that I started Happy Interior Blog. And it all started because of my love and passion for interiors but more than that because of my love for personal homes with a soul and character. Homes that mirror the owner's personality. Homes that grow over time. With its dwellers. Even though I have not moved from my apartment ever since I started blogging, it has grown over time, it has changed, shaped and has gotten more mature, more reflective, it has become a tad more serene. And what is even more important - it is far from reaching a point of perfection. Just like myself. That's why I want to encourage you to love your home, to grow it and to be comfortable and content with the home you are shaping yourself.

Home has a peculiar meaning to me. As a kid belonging to the so-called second generation of foreigners living in Austria, I grew up being at home in Austria with my parents, but everyone kept telling me that our real home was back there what then was Yugoslavia. I grew up in a feeling of not belonging here nor there. Or belonging here and there. I've developed a feeling of being at home wherever I found myself at any point in my life - be it in Austria, Greece, Germany or France.

Growing a home takes time. Like growing anything in life: partnerships, kids, or simply plants. It requires time and attention. And lots of reflection. This applies to homes too. Let your home flow and go with your life. Bring things in, take things out. Just like in your mundane life. Stick to things, cherish them and don't part with them. Again, just like in your everyday life. Make your home not only a safe haven, but also a reason to be happy. Let it make you smile, let it make you unwind, ponder, and feel at ease. After all, it's your home, it's you. It's where you belong. Wherever that may be.

Happy weekend, friends!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Quiet Moments At Home

Sometimes we all need a time-out. And if we don't allow ourselves a time-out, our body will claim it by itself. That happened to me last weekend when I was knocked out by a mean cold and forced to rest. And to finally take in some quite moments at home. After all the traveling and working, it was time to think of myself. After gallons of hot tea and honey and lots of sleep, I felt I was getting over my cold. And the moment I found myself rearranging things in my apartment, I knew I was ready to get back to work.

Quiet moments at home are precious. Sensing your home and shaping it to your tastes is important for your inner happiness. Think of your home as your safe haven, as your returning point where you enter a personal sanctuary. You leave all the hassle, the noise and the craziness of the daily life outside and refocus on yourself, your loved one, your family. Cherishing those moments is essential. It is my daily dose of personal balance to not go berserk in this fast paced life. 

Do you grant yourself with quiet moments at home?

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Design Chair Crush: Leya By 'Freifrau'

Design chairs are something like 'hot stuff' for interior design aficionados. You know, just name dropping like Eames chair, Wishbone chair, Egg chair, the CH07 or 'Smiling chair' by Wegner - just to mention a few. Design lovers get big eyes and phrases of awe and praise cascade out of their mouths. Very normal! But as many things in life, the story has another side too. Most of those highly appraised chairs have a price tag that requires either a hereditary fortune or several years of saving - and then we've gotten to one chair! Moreover, some of those amazing chairs (not all of course) seem to lack one important feature - a comfy seating. Good for the eye, not so good for your back. Many aspects to consider!

And then I met Leya. A chair with an exotic name like a beauty from the shores of an unknown country. However, Leya is German, yup, she's literally my neighbor. Better yet: she is my new roomie!

Leya is the dulcet name of a beautiful chair from the German manufacturer 'Freifrau' and designed by Birgit Hoffmann. The design label 'Freifrau' was founded in 2012 and is specialized in the design and production of top-notch chairs. Leya is one of their flagship chairs: It is the chair of contrasts, it combines warm and cold materials, hard and soft surfaces, a masculine and feminine touch. The wired base has an industrial touch whereas the soft leather upholstery recalls a lounge feeling. Plus it comes at a very affordable price tag for a design chair. But the best is yet to come!

Visually, this chair is definitely appealing to my eye. But the moment of revelation occurs once you take a seat. So far, this is the comfiest chair I have ever sat on. It is solid yet soft, stable yet puffy. Ever since it moved in with me it has become my favorite chair to read and work. My apartment is too small for a dedicated home office, so this chairs takes the position of a home office slash reading nook. And in fact, I can't wait for the day when I move into a bigger apartment and have a proper desk. Guess which chair will be accompanying my desk then? Yup, her name is Leya. And I like her very much.

Photography by Bridgee Melling & Igor Josifovic

This blog post has been brought to you in collaboration with 'Freifrau'

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Bed & Breakfast...And A Good Book

The weekend is just ahead of us and it's been now a week that I am back home. No matter how good and great the vacations are, there is no feeling like coming back home. No hotel, no airbnb, no bed & breakfast can replace the own home and the own bed. So I decided to celebrate my comeback with a little breakfast in my very own bed. 

For that occasion I have dressed up my bed with new sheets from the Swedish brand Beach House Company. When they approached me and told me how fabulous their jersey bedding is, I was interested to that point that I always love good bedlinen. I love linen sheets and I was intrigued to try the jersey version too. After one night I was already convinced - the bedlinen are super soft, comfy and feel like your favorite T-Shirt. To complete the perfection I treated myself to a relaxed breakfast in bed.

As if a good bed, fine bedlinen and a yummy breakfast were not enough, I had to top everything off with a new and good book: 'Das Grosse Wohnbuch' (The Big Interior Book) published by Callwey is a great compilation of inspiring interiors and practical interior design tips curated by Germany's leading interior magazine 'Schöner Wohnen'. 

Enough talking - now it's your turn to treat yourself this weekend. So who is up for a bed & breakfast experience this weekend?

P.S.: If you want to sleep in such wonderful bedding from the Swedish laben 'Beach House Company', you can find their products for sale HERE or HERE.

Photography by Igor Josifovic

This post has been brought to you in cooperation with Beach House Company

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Happy Interior Blog Recommends: Westwing

Today I want to share my latest acquisitions with you: An incredibly soft blanket with soft yellow and grey triangles, an industrial stool and a glass cloche with ceramic base. I found all these goodies on Westwing, a shopping club that some of you might know already. I have teamed up with Westwing as a sponsor to do a little styling vignette with their products and this is the result of some quick additions to my rather neutrally coloured home.

I've been a Westwing customer for years now. I registered as a member even before I started blogging so I was pretty happy when they approached me and suggested this collaboration. If you don't know Westwing yet, here's the idea in a nutshell: As a shopping club, Westwing offers daily new sales that are limited to a few days and available while stocks last. So sometimes it is smart to be quick when you spot good deals. The best way to stay up to date is their app - I am using it on my iPhone and I never miss their new sales and potential bargains. And the best thing: Westwing is available in ten countries!

For this project I'd sourced the products over a few weeks - I liked the powdery yellow and grey triangle pattern on the soft blanket (it perfectly matches the blue hues of my cushions), I fell in love with the industrial stool which serves as an extra seating when I have guests over and otherwise as a lovely base for my aloe plant, and the cloche with a white porcelain base. I use it for different objects like the candle, but sometimes I also place a little cactus inside. It is perfect for changing vignettes on your sideboard.

So if you like what you see then you might want to register as a Westwing customer HERE. I also recommend to download their app on your smartphone. You won't regret it once you've found what you like!

Happy shopping & happy hump day!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

This blog post has been brought to you in collaboration with Westwing

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Welcoming Spring With Anemones

I can't believe myself that I am writing about welcoming spring on February 27th! But it's not my fault - it's the sunny and super mild weather that makes me think of spring. Trees are burgeoning, snowdrops and crocuses are popping up on every green patch and the markets are awash with colorful blooms. Plus it came in pretty handy that the famous #2flowergirls Elodie and Inga were back this month with a floral topic - anemones.

This said, I rushed to the local farmers market and bought a small bunch of anemones. I think they are so beautiful themselves that I didn't feel any need to do additional styling around them. I've just put them in my concrete vase from Bolia and voilà, spring has not only sprung but also moved into my apartment.

To see all the floral inspiration of the #2flowergirls check out their wonderful Pinterest board. And why not join them too?

Happy Thursday everyone!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Dreaming Into The Weekend: Home Inspiration

Nothing is quite as refreshing as dreaming of new home ideas - my inspiration source number one is Pinterest. I always happen to be inspired to redo a corner in my home after seeing beautiful interiors from around the globe. To start off the weekend in style, I am sharing three favorite recent interior design inspirations: a living room, a kitchen and a bedroom. 

Do these rooms inspire you too? Happy weekend, friends!

Photography: Living room via Ohhh...Mhhh, kitchen via Hallonsemla, bedroom via Fantastic Frank

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Home Update: A New Rug Adding Pattern

With every new year I feel invigorated to add a new accent to my home. Many of you know that I am living in a tiny rooftop apartment with 32 square meters. Last weekend my food blogger Sophie friend told me this fun thing: Being an interior design blogger and living on 32 square meters, that must feel like being a food blogger who is constantly on a diet. Fun fact, right? 

I thought about it and maybe there is some truth to it - the constant challenge not to clutter the small space (vs. the constant challenge of not eating certain things as a foodie on diet), inventing new things within the given constraints, opting for the light alternatives. Well, speaking of light alternatives: I have replaced my colorful Moroccan Boucherouite vintage rug with a very light, graphic rug by Bloomingville. 

I have found the cute rug on Tujuh.de and thought it would be a good idea to repeat some given patterns in my home - some black and white strips and graphic patterns. My pendant in the living room, the zigzag rug, the grey and white walls and now - this little rug, too.

What do you think of my new little rug? I really like it in my home. 

Photography by Igor Josifovic

This post has been brought to you in cooperation with Tujuh.de

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