Happy Interior Blog Recommends...

A few weeks ago I read an interesting story about the life and work of the French novelist Marguerite Duras. Ever since I feel the urge to read one of her most successful novels entitled 'The Lover' (L'Amant). It is an autobiographical story and placed in what nowadays is Vietnam. This might seem like a far flung intro, but this story came back to my mind when I saw the work of Chinese illustrator Oamul on my friend Anya's blog a few days ago. The above shown animated illustration is my favorite and makes me think of a happy life somewhere in southeast Asia. But I digress.

Maybe the whole Asian touch has influenced a tiny little bit this week's recommendations. Or I would rather say an inspiration drawn from nature. That's why I opted for one of the lovely baby zebra prints from 'The Animal Print Shop' (1), the fantastic Botan vases and watering cans by Scandinavian designer Kristina Stark (2), the simple and beautiful tea pot with bamboo base by Bredemeijer (3) and the wonderfully sleek Aiken lounge chair by Furnie (4). 

Well, what would you choose for your home? I could go with all of these. As usual.

Happy hump day!

Tweet

Why This Room Caught My Eye

Ok, when I saw this room on Pinterest I had an instant smile on my face. I'd say this room immediately passed the interior happiness exam, right? Of course the lovely dog might have played a major role, but I will keep the cute dog out of my further examination as I don't want to consider him as a styling factor. 

Well where to start? The entire composition of this room is incredibly coherent, inviting and cosy. The colour scheme is calm and inspired by nature, the few pops of colour stand out vividly, a small selection of carefully curated décor objects enhances the entire styling. But let me break it down into three main eye-catching factors:

• Photography & Art: The first thing that caught my eye were the large scale photography hanging on the wall and the painted portrait of a man. Both strike with a calm and balanced colour range and seem to set the tone for the entire room as they perfectly tie in with the sand coloured sofa.
• Vibrant Cushions: The next eye-catcher are the vibrantly coloured and patterned throw cushions on the left side. They add a fabulous colour injection and seem to connect the hair colour of the man's portrait as well as the dip-dyed mug on the coffee table.
• Nature Inspiration: The combination of the large photography wall art, the sofa and its colour, the use of wood - all this creates the immediate imagination of nature and how it has inspired this home. I imagine that this home is somewhere on the coast. But maybe it is just an idea I got from the nature inspired interior styling of this beautiful living room.

Would this room catch your eye too? And if so, what is the most outstanding factor for you?

Photography via Pinterest / Design*Sponge

Tweet

Wallpaper Love: Carl Collection By Sandberg

Wallpaper is one of those elements in interior design that I really like but never had in any of my apartments so far. Probably because I never lived in a large space that could easily be used for wallpaper. However, the new Carl collection by Swedish manufacturer Sandberg is one of those that really makes me want to rethink my stance on wallpaper in small spaces.

The striped wallpaper collection was launched mid-January and is inspired by the changing seasons in Sweden. From the early morning sunrise with an abundance of nuances over frozen lakes surrounded by sparkling hoarfrost to the hues of endless wooded hills - this collection is deeply inspired by the cool Swedish nature and exemplifies the heritage of Sandberg's timeless patterns. 

The Carl collection contains seven striped patterns but I've chosen my favorite four for this blogpost. To achieve the large, magical views that nature exhibits, Sandberg has opted for digital technology in two of the patterns (my favorites by the way) to depict dawn and dusk. These two patterns look almost like painted with watercolors. I love them!

How do you like this dreamy wallpaper collection?

Happy weekend my friends!

Photography via Sandberg

Tweet

From Place To Space: Escape To The Mountains

A little novelty on my blog: These words I am typing in a hotel room in Berlin. But I will tell you more about my design blogger tour in Berlin soon. Today I am daydreaming myself away - into the nature. And I hope you will follow along just for the sake of a refreshing Monday thought before we kick off the long and busy week. Last Monday I invited you over to the seaside and gave you an idea why the seaside inspires me so much and even has an effect on my own interior styling at home. Today I want to take you to another favorite spot in nature - to a little escape to the mountains.

When I traveled the Pacific Northwest in September and October this year, I couldn't help but take in all those precious moments in the mountains and emerald forests. The evergreens seem to underline the meaning of their name on every step I took - green from the mountain slopes to the Pacific shore. During my time in the Pacific Northwest I decided to visit three landmark peeks in the region: Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood and Mount Rainier.

First on my stop was the famous volcano Mount St. Helens in southern Washington State. Mount St. Helens gained a worldwide reputation after its enormous eruption in 1980. The area has since recovered and is a vast, mostly uninhabited national park with endless views of evergreen forests and a wild mountain river. 

Mount Hood is the landmark mountain of Portland, Oregon. On clear days you can see his hood-like and snow-capped peek from the city of Portland - a wonderful and inspiring city by the way, I blogged about it HERE. When I drove up to Mount Hood it was a pretty cloudy day and it hid his peek in heavy clouds and fog was moving in and out in minutes. It was amazing and very cold - however I took a little hike up on its slopes and enjoyed the views of wild blueberries, other forest berries and all kinds of ferns and evergreens. To warm up I went to the widely known Timberline Lodge for a little gourmet break with a plate of local cheeses and a hot coffee to round things up - do you recognize the lodge? It used to be the scary 'Overlook Hotel' from the iconic movie 'The Shining' where Jack Nicholson went mad - but I can reassure you, it is not creepy at all. Ok maybe just a bit when the fog moves in. And no, there is no labyrinth in front of the hotel:-)

Last but not least I went up to Mount Rainier, another volcano and probably the most known mountain peek in Washington State with an altitude of almost 4.400 meters. The Mount Rainier national park is a good hour drive away from Seattle and covers a vast area of wild nature beauty including 26 glaciers, a museum, lodges and hiking trails. Here again I was hiking up the trails to take in all the wild and thriving nature and feel the endless power and inspiring forces of the nature surrounding us.

Does nature inspire you and your home? I brought lots of clear mountain crystals back home from the volcanic peeks of the Pacific Northwest and felt inspired to add more greens to my home. I hope it does inspire you at least a bit, too. I wish you a great start to a hopefully very happy week! Hugs all around!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

Tweet

Botanical Prints By Pernille Møller Folcarelli

It is no secret that I am an enthusiastic urban jungle blogger and that I love greens in homes. On the other hand, I absolutely understand and accept that plants in homes is not everybody's cup of tea. But what about bringing the botanicals on your walls? How about the eternal beauty of immortalized, delicate leafs, twigs or feathers as unique, handmade art prints? Sounds interesting? Then take a look at the sublime work of the Danish artist Pernille Møller Folcarelli.

Pernille has always been fascinated by the botanical universe of plants and trees. For her latest series of graphic prints she is using natural materials such as leafs, twigs and feathers collected directly from her garden in Denmark. She works with a graphic press in her studio and uses the natural materials directly in the printing process thus creating unique, handmade prints that reflect the individuality of every piece of nature immortalized in her work.

The colour palette of the botanical prints is predominately black and white with hues inspired by Nordic nature. To me, these prints look like a perfect detail to Scandinavian inspired interiors. My personal favorite is the prints with three fig leaves. All her prints are available through her website for purchase. 

What do you think of Pernille's work?

Photography via Pernille Møller Folcarelli

Tweet