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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Urban Jungle Bloggers: A Community Garden In Vancouver

For the second post of our monthly 'Urban Jungle Bloggers' series we chose the topic of green neighbourhoods. Since a real urban gardener loves interior gardens as much as exterior ones, we opted for this topic. Moreover, the various posts written by all participating bloggers such as Judith or Jocelyn will show us the variety of green spaces in urban areas. 

Now, some of you know that I am just back from a three-weeks trip to Canada and the USA and I thought I'll give you an idea what I had discovered in the Canadian West Coast metropolis Vancouver: the Davie Village Community Garden in the city's West End district.

If it wasn't for my little shopping spree on Davie Street, I would have never discovered this garden. I passed by and was amazed by the idea of a community garden with plots growing flowers, fruits, vegetables right in the middle of the city. Even though this garden looked a bit wild in some of its corners, I loved the idea of gardening in the city. This is a concept that is hardly known in Europe - I have not seen anything similar here in Munich so far nor have I encountered such an urban garden in Paris or any other city I traveled to. 

I admit, I would probably rent a plot in such an urban community garden if we had one here. I mean imagine the wonderful, soothing power of gardening after a busy day at work. Plus you grow your own veggies right in the city. Fun! 

On my trip through Canada and the USA I have seen very similar community gardens in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco. Plus I have noticed many buildings with rooftop gardens, many of which also had beehives to produce honey that would then be sold in local cafés and restaurant. 

All these encounters convinced me that urban gardening is growing beyond a trend. That it is rather a shift in our perception of everyday living, of what we expect of our lives. We love our urban lives but want more of nature in it, we prefer organic food over processed food, we buy local produce instead of imported stuff. We cherish both, our urban lifestyle and the desire to be surrounded by green spaces. Hence the urban gardens. What do you think of such a community garden? Are there such gardens in your city? I am curious, let me know!


Urban Jungle Bloggers is a monthly series by 3 bloggers: Igor (Happy Interior Blog), Jocelyn (The Little Room of Style) and Judith (JOELIX.com). Every month we share ideas to create an urban jungle through styling ideas, DIYs and green tips & tricks. You can find additional inspiration on our Urban Jungle Bloggers Pinterest board. Want to join? Use #urbanjungle on Twitter and Instagram. Or let us know and we'll share the badge and upcoming topics with you. Let's bring some green into your homes and blogs!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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5 Happy Inspirations: An Autumn Shopping List

Autumn has stroke Munich - the mornings are misty, the days overcast, and the evenings foggy and cold. The changing of seasons always triggers a desire to change a few little things in my home, too. Today's five home accessories mirror my autumn feeling for the home - it is rustic, slightly industrial vibe counteracted by warm, fluffy textures in neutral hues and dusky blues. 

So my shopping wishlist for autumn has the following goodies on it:

1. House Doctor desk lamp via Design Vintage. 2. Copper pots by H. Skjalm P. 3. Fluffy cushion by milanari.com. 4. Vacuum jug in ocean blue by Stelton. 5. Botanical print by Wallography.

What's your pick for this autumn season? Happy autumn/fall!

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

When it comes to interior design I find myself almost undetermined - I like sleek, clean rooms with a dominance of neutral hues as much as I like colourful rooms with lot of patterns and textures. Today's room of choice belongs to the latter. It is the happy living room of Finnish design blogger Kaisa of 'No Home Without You'. She decorated her home for a party and I was smitten by the happy styling. Why exactly? Well, here we go:

• Pops of Colour: Blue, pink, orange, copper - this room plays with the effect of color pop by accenting certain areas/corners of the room with a colourful piece of home decoration.
• Pattern Mix: Stripes, triangles, circles, zigzags - the playfulness with the pattern mix creates visual interest and leads the eye all over the place. 
• Changing Textures: Have a close look - do you see the various textures of the home textiles? Do you notice the changing feels and surfaces of the wood in this room? All this adds to a great tactile feel when being in this room. 

If you said to someone to mix colours, patterns and textures, this could turn out totally wrong and overdone. But here we have a great example how you can go crazy with all mentioned interior design elements and yet create a cosy and visually appealing room. 

Is this room catching your eye, too?

Photography via 'No Home Without You'

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Hello Back!

After three weeks of blogging absence here comes a big and happy hello to all of you my dear readers! Some of you accompanied me on my three weeks long road trip through Canada and the USA and oh do I have lots to tell and show you! You will forgive me if I keep telling you about all my American discoveries and adventures over the coming weeks. Oh and I still have to tell and show you so much more from Copenhagen, too! You remember the trip before my American trip? Yeah you're right, I am on the go non stop. But now I will calm down a bit and settle so that I can be back in full blogging force as of tomorrow! Here are just three quick snapshots from America and I will see you back tomorrow! And thanks again to my six happy guest bloggers over the past three weeks and to your support and comments over this time! À demain!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

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Happy Guest: Design Shopping In Cologne

Hallo liebe Happy Interior Blogger, ich freu mich das ich heute hier bei Igor zu Gast sein darf! Wir kennen uns ja inzwischen schon ein bisschen länger und haben uns in diesem Jahr unter anderem im Januar auf der Möbelmesse in Köln gesehen - doch leider waren wir so viel auf der Messe unterwegs, dass ich gar keine Gelegenheit hatte Igor meine Stadt einmal zu zeigen! Ach ja, ich bin übrigens Ricarda, komme aus Köln und schreibe auf meinem Blog 23qm Stil über alles was die eigenen Quadratmeter schöner macht, über Stil, Design, Reisen und Köln.

Hi there Happy Interior Blog readers, I am happy to be guest blogging on Igor’s blog today. We’ve known each other for quite a while now and met in January at the imm design fair in Cologne alas we were so busy that I had no time to show him around in Cologne. Oh yes, my name is Ricarda, I live in Cologne and I blog at 23qm Stil about everything that makes your own home a more beautiful place like style, design, travels and Cologne.

Aber vielleicht kommt er ja noch mal wieder und dann stöbern wir zusammen durch die tollsten Läden Kölns. Und bis es soweit ist, zeig ich sie Euch heute hier schon mal auf dem Happy Interior Blog.

Well maybe he’ll be back to Cologne soon and we will be thrifting around together. But until then, I will show you some of my favorite stores in Cologne here on Happy Interior Blog.

Einer meiner Lieblingsläden im wunderschönen Agnesviertel ist Agnes & Wulfhilde. Inhaberin Elke war früher in Hamburg zu Hause und hat dort für viele Wohnredaktionen gearbeitet. Das Leben und die Liebe haben sie nach Köln verschlagen und nun findet sie für Agnes & Wulfhilde, dem Laden schöner Dinge, Möbel und Wohnaccessoires und setzt sie wirkungsvoll in Szene.

One of my favorite shops in the quaint Agnes Quarter is Agnes & Wulfhilde. Owner Elke used to live in Hamburg and worked for various interiors publications. Life and love have steered her to Cologne where she sources beautiful products, furniture and homewares for her store.

agnes & wulfhilde | Laden schöner Dinge | Schillingstraße 14, 50670 Köln

Weiter geht es ins Belgische Viertel. Hier ist DROOM zu Hause. DROOM steht für Design your Room und hier bekommt Ihr Möbel, Leuchten und Raumgestaltungselemente, die Ihr selber gestalten könnt. Dafür halten Katja und Ann, die diese tolle Idee hatten, unzählige Muster bereit. Auf dem Bild seht Ihr zum Beispiel unterschiedliche Leuchten mit den tollsten Mustern. Die Quahl der Wahl, aber eine unglaublich tolle Idee! Das ganze geht übrigens auch online, falls Ihr für Köln keine Zeit habt!

Next stop is the Belgian Quarter. That’s the home base of DROOM. DROOM stands for ‘design your room’ and features furniture, lighting, and interior design elements that can be individually designed by the purchaser. The picture shows a selection of colourful pendants with various patterns – a real agony of choice but so fun! All this is available online too if you can’t make it to Cologne.

DROOM / DESIGN YOUR ROOM | Brüsseler Str. 79 | 50672 Köln

Köln hat viele schöne Veedel, also Stadtviertel, aber in Ehrenfeld findet man besonders viele tolle Läden rund ums Wohnen. Einer davon ist Exquisit. In einer alten Lagerhalle verkauft Marcel Möbel mit Charakter und Geschichte, die er in Holland, Belgien, Frankreich und Deutschland kauft und liebevoll aufarbeitet. Ständig verändert sich etwas, altes verschwindet und Neues konnt hinzu - einer meiner absoluten Lieblingsläden!

Cologne is compiled of many beautiful ‚Veedel‘ meaning quarters, but Ehrenfeld is the best spot for interior stores. One of those stores is Exquisit. Marcel sells vintage furniture with character and history in the halls of an old factory. He sources the products in Holland, Belgium, France and Germany and refurbishes them on his own. The store is in constant change, pieces are sold and new come in – one of my absolute favorites!

                         Exquisit | Inneneinrichtung & mehr | Fröbelplatz 13 |50823 Köln

Euch ist nicht nach Shopping, sondern eher nach Kultur? Dann solltet Ihr unbedingt das Museum für angewandte Kunst, das MAKK, ganz in der Nähe des Kölner Doms besuchen.

Besonders interessant ist die Ausstellung Kunst + Design im Dialog. In der Design Abteilung trefft Ihr auf Design-Klassiker und (Kunst) Ikonen des 20. Jahrhunderts.

You’re not so much into shopping but rather you fancy culture? Then head to the museum for applied arts, the MAKK, close to the Dome of Cologne. Especially interesting is the exhibit ‘Kunst + Design im Dialog’. The design section features design classics and iconic art of the 20^th century.

MAKK | An der Rechtschule | 50667 Köln

Müde und hungrig nach der langen Shoppingtour? Dann kann ich Euch Metzgerei und Salon Schmitz auf der Aachener Straße empfehlen. Vintage Möbel, sehen und gesehen werden und leckerstes Essen - hier trifft sich Köln den ganzen Tag und besonders Abends!

Tired and hungry after the shopping spree? Then I can recommend the restaurants Metzgerei and Salon Schmitz on the Aachener Street. Vintage furniture, see and be seen and delicious food – this is the favorite meeting point for Cologne locals, day and night!

                         Metzgerei & Salon Schmitz | Aachener Straße 28 | 50674 Köln

Ich hoffe die kleine Köln Tour hat Euch gefallen! Und falls Ihr mal hier seid, twitter mich gerne an @23qmstil! Dann treffen wir uns im Salon Schmitz auf einen Kaffee!

I hope you enjoyed the little Cologne tour. And if you happen to visit the city, send me a tweet to @23qmstil and we’ll have a coffee in Salon Schmitz!

Tschö (wie man in Köln sagt/the local version of ‚bye‘),

Ricarda

Photography by Ricarda Nieswandt

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Happy Guest: A Happy Home In France

Hi everyone! It's Judith from JOELIX.com. While Igor is on a happy adventure in the wild, wild west, I'm honored to guestblog here today.

As some of you may know, I live in a very happy home in France, just north from Paris. It's a former factory that we transformed into a spacious, bright and colorful home. After almost 9 years, it's still not entirely finished (will it ever?) and next on our list is building a new beautiful bathroom. Hopefully it will look something like my Pinterest board…

One of the few rules I try to live by is: "Whenever you buy something for your home, make sure it's the most beautiful version of that thing that you can afford." For me, this helps to declutter and be more conscious of what to bring into our home. Below you'll find a selection of home goodies that are currently on my wishlist. I hope they'll make you happy too!

1. Couch Confluences by Ligne Roset 2. Modular shelves by adónde? 3. Circle mug by Stelton 4. Rubber stamp by Hunters Hideaway 5. Mirror Ki Ko Koi by Y'a pas le feu au lac 6. Bed linen by Scholten & Baijings for HAY 7. Sticky notes by HAY

Merci beaucoup Igor, fellow Urban Jungle Blogger, for having me! I hope that you're having a wonderful time i Canada and the US, and will bring home lots of fresh inspiration to keep your blog a happy place for all of us ;) 

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