Snapshots From Home

June has commenced and I am wishing you all a happy new month! This month will be a very busy one and packed with travels. I will be off to Paris on Wednesday to attend the presentation of the new Habitat collection and discover a few new spots in the French capital. Next weekend I will be off to London with my Urban Jungle Bloggers partner-in-crime Judith to speak at Blogtacular about our green and thriving community. Then I am off to Amsterdam, Austria and back to Paris. In such busy times I love to save some rare but precious moments at home and unwind. Oh well, and enjoy some new little additions bien sûr!

I will not bore you with my future trips now, I will do that after the trip, ha! But for now I just want to  share some little snapshots of my home with you (yes, still the same small shoebox apartment). I have added a few new 'tchotchkes' to my home which I really like! Recently I've been e-thrifting and managed to score a few goodies like two vintage ceramic vases (mid-century German pottery) and a cute brass crane figurine - all found on eBay. I have also potted my new mini plants from Bordeaux (you remember from HERE) and the Sedum plant is now in my 'evil eye' planter, handmade by the potter Leandro Marcelino of 'Hey Camel Bazaar' in Vietnam.

For the scent of a comfy home I have opened the brand new KOTO scent diffuser which is perfect for summer as I tend to reduce my candle burning during the hot season. The diffuser is perfect as it scents the apartment gently and it looks pretty stylish. For candle lovers there is now a small KOTO candle too, all available through Skandinavisk.

Maybe you remember the motto I preach for small home dwelling: One in - one out. With all the recent additions it's time to restore the good balance which I will do by donating a huge pile of home goodies for free to a local flea market that will be organized on June 13th in Munich and all earnings will then be donated for earthquake relief in Nepal. That makes me double happy!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Welcome To At{Mine}

If you are a regular reader of my blog or you follow me on one of my social media accounts, you will know that I am an eager user and fan of the new London based online interiors community at{mine}. In fact I've been a beta member from the very beginning and blogged about it back then (read it HERE). Not only do I love to share pictures of my home on at{mine}, I also love to peek into other creative homes and discover how people live in their homes. By now, many of my friends and leading interior bloggers have joined the beta community. And right now, at{mine} has launched its brand new site with many new features and a fantastic new look & feel - both on desktop and mobile.

The interiors community at{mine} is all about real homes. It showcases peeks into real people's homes as well as inspiring brands and their stylings. Users can also tag certain items in their homes and thus help others to find furniture and home decor pieces they like. But above all it inspires you to create and recreate your home and share it with likeminded people who respond and feedback.

The new sites features great functionalities like a search option to look for certain users or categories, the explore section gives you a fantastic overview of all available categories and lets you thus delve into inspiration hunting according to your needs. You can like and comment on pictures and add items that you like to your wish list.

The new at{mine} community is still in beta phase but will launch officially very soon. However, as my dear Happy Interior Blog readers you are very welcome to join me and many other inspiring people on at{mine} right now by using THIS INVITE.

See you at{mine}!

Photography via at{mine}, living room image with dog at{Carolina V}, 

sofa image at{Rebecca Guss}

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New Shelf Unit At Home

Sometimes I feel that I am pretty continuous for an interior design blogger. I mean I have furniture in my home that's been around for seven years now. On the very same spot. Imagine that! Whenever I read of those creative interior bloggers who shuffle their furniture weekly and exchange their furnishing on a regular basis, I feel like an idle conservative. So I made a decision to change my shelf unit for once. And here it is. 

Previously I had a somewhat quirky shelf unit that was irregular in its shape and with closed sides. Now I have opted for a lighter, airier version in order to keep it light and bright in my small space. This shelf unit has open sides which is perfect to display cascading plants like my ivy as they are free to grow and get enough sunlight even if the shelf unit is not placed close to a window. Moreover I liked the Nordic vibe of the shelf unit using oak wood and a white finishing.

I found my shelf unit named 'Farringdon' at Habitat during one of my visits in their Paris store. I liked it instantly and a few weeks later it arrived in my Munich home. I also like the fact that it offers a lot of space for ever changing stylings and decor vignettes. After all it seems I am not that idle. Nor am I a conservative. Here's to fun shelf stylings!

Farringdon shelf unit by Habitat, Vida floor lamp by Urbanara

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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French Cuteness For Your Home: Hartô

Lucien, Gaston, Honoré, Colette - no, I am not referring to some of my French friends but to furniture. Yes, furniture from France obviously. How cute is it if your table was named Céleste for example? Hartô is a French designer brand of home furniture and objects with a playful twist and a dash of French finesse. They are based in Paris and probably the brand with the cutest furniture names ever. Voilà!

Hartô is perfect for urban dwellers who love design with a wink. Unexpected details, playful colours and simple yet refined lines define their furniture pieces and objects. I particularly love their desks that seem to be the perfect environment for creative flows. Plus they think of small dwelling too - as a brand based in Paris with many small apartments, Hartô offers solutions for minuscule spaces like the Gaston wall desk - smart, cute, practical.

So, with whom would you move in? Elise, Josette, Lou or Jacques?

Photography via Hartô

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Which Decor Type Are You?

via Est Magazine

I bought a new book shelf and finally set it up in my living room. Now it's like an empty canvas ready to be decorated. But how will it look like? What decor vignettes shall I create? Questions over questions. Maybe I have to consult my own decor persona. But who is my decor persona? And which decor type are you?

I assume there are as many decor personae as individuals out there, in a nutshell: countless! But here are eight self-defined decor types I sort of feel and like.

The Creative Reader
You love books but they always seem to look like a nerve-wracking clutter and seem to be only stuffy and chaotic? Here is a simple yet beautiful styling vignette putting some favorite books into scene - add a few props like framed art, a plant, a desk lamp and some more details up on the wall and voilà - your vignette is ready!

via Joshua Pettinato

The Refined Ceramicist
You love ceramics and your vase and bowls collection is taking over the reign in your room? Try to highlight one or two pieces at a time by placing them on a shelf, sideboard or sidetable. Add some twigs or leafy branches into them and sip your coffee the way you like it - as a refined ceramicist.

via Design*Sponge

The Breezy Sailor
Who says you have to live coastal to be a breezy sailor. Feel the sea breeze in your hair and enjoy the splashing waves by grouping together your favorite decor items with a nautical theme. Make one item the statement piece - like in this case the paiting - and group a few thematic props together adding various textures to the styling. Combine blue hues and natural tones and there you go - can you hear the foghorn hooting, you breezy sailor?

via Kara Rosenlund

The Rustic Minimalist
You love a dash of rustic style but you don't want to be mistaken as a Rosamunde Pilcher fanatic? Minimize the scale of your rustic home decor and keep it airy and natural. Play along with nature inspired colours, prefer natural materials like wood and group a few pieces together adding some greens for that rustic vibe. Here we go, you rustic minimalist!

via Rose & Fitzgerald

The Eclectic Artist
You are creative, you are chaotic, you see the things others don't see, you reflect and interpret - in a nutshell: you are an artist. You have this artsy approach in your home decor too - handmade pieces, treasures brought home from numberless voyages, your sketches, art, plants, bric-à-brac - again in a nutshell: you're eclectic. Here it's all about the composition of your eclectic collection. Think colours, sizes, textures, play around, shuffle and reshuffle - here it is, the work of a true eclectic artist!

via The Design Files

The Natural Bohemian
You are a child of nature, you love weekends in the green, exploring the mountains, traveling in your trailor. You love the local farmers' market, you are connected to the elements and the world is your oyster - you are clearly a natural bohemian. Work those earthy hues and natural materials on your shelves too. Add plants, linen and practical items from your daily life like those shopping baskets and totes and you are ready to go, you natural bohemian!

via Urban Outfitters

The Talented Scientist
You are cool, sleek, you like order, graphic lines, you are a purist and approach new projects with a scientific accuracy - I declare you are a talented scientist! And yes, this rubs off to your home decor as well! You like clean lines, monochromatic vignettes, you like typography and sophisticated arrangements. Downsize your decor, group black and white pieces together, add wood for warmth and texture, let it breathe and ponder your next scientific decor endeavour - you are the born talented scientist after all!

via Annixen

The Glamorous Aesthete
Beauty is encoded in your DNA, aesthetics is a dogma you will not fail and you do not have to hide it - you have a glamorous side too. Your styling vignettes speak of your personality - they are beautifully put together, they brim with style, they showcase you're design aesthetics and they have that highly visible smidge of glamour with shiny pieces made of brass. Oh you just know we all admire you, you glamorous aesthete!

via SF Girl By Bay

So one question remains: Which decor type are you? If you're not sure, look around your home or better yet start a tiny vignette project and get styling - what is the result? What is your decor persona after all?

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Happy New Year & Peace In 2015!

Happy New Year, my friends! May 2015 bring happiness, health and peace to all of us - I wish nothing more than that! I hope you all kicked off 2015 with your beloved ones and let us all work on a fantastic and good year to be proud of!

This January starts with a lovely home story for Happy Interior Blog. I am very honored to be the cover story of the January issue of Heart Home Magazine. A little home tour and story about my rooftop apartment in Munich is now available to all interested readers HERE.

I truly believe that happiness needs to be the strong fundaments of our homes. If we are happy and content, we will spread this happiness and share it with the world. Even the slightest dash of happiness will brighten our world that is so often darkened by crazy, incomprehensible attacks against a human and peaceful world. I am still under the oppression of the recent attacks in Paris, France, the city I call my second home. One sentence needs to unify all of us today: Je suis Charlie!

Let us remember that happiness and peace are the bond between all of us, that it is the essence for a better world and a better life. Let us all work on that in 2015!

Have a great one, my friends!

Photos by Igor Josifovic via Heart Home Magazine

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Swinging Into Weekend With House Doctor

Friday is my second favorite day - it is the gate to the close-by weekend and usually I am in a super good mood on Fridays (then again I am pretty always in a super good mood). And there is little that gets me as excited as a swiftly approaching weekend. Ok, maybe a few other things, like nice interior styling and home decor products. 

The popular and successful Danish homewares brand House Doctor has launched their new collection and whenever House Doctor announces new products and shares new pictures, you can be reassured that your interior loving Pinterest account will be flooded and you will be drooling over wonderful new home accessories for your interiors (just as I did). 

There is little left to be said when looking at those amazing stylings. House Doctor has proofed again that it belongs to the big players on the interiors market. And now you have the entire weekend in front of you - it is up to you to decide if you will only drool over those images or grant yourself a little Christmas present. Oh and if you feel the urge to buy ME a present, please pick that amazing table lamp with brass base and glass lampshade. Have I mentioned I am drooling? Anyway, happy weekend friends!

Photography via House Doctor

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