Why This Room Caught My Eye

Today's post is a great example to showcase that it doesn't take loads of furniture, numerous design pieces and an impeccably styled interior to catch my eye - and hopefully your eye too. The latest house tour over on Apartment Therapy is a couple's home in Portland, Oregon, and it stands out because it is full with character: with the owner's obvious love for nature and greens and a liking of mid-century design and a easy-going interior style.

I've consciously picked a shot of their home that is rather unspectacular in the sense that it doesn't clearly show a specific room - it is just a peek-through through a door into a room which seems to be the bedroom. And yet it captures my attention with a few simple elements:

• House Plants: The selection of robust, easy-to-care house plants like the monstera deliciosa and the rubber plant is a great way to add visual interest to a room. They look very sculptural and cause the least plant care. Plus they are smartly places - one to the left-hand side leading the eye to the rear of the room with the wild monstera cascading down from a closet.
• Kilim Rug: You must admit - a colorful kilim rug always catches the eye's attention. Place a long, rectangular vintage kilim rug as seen here to give visual guidance and invite the eye into the room.
• Wooden Floor: This 'basic' is a safe eye-catcher - wooden floors always get my attention as they create an instant homey and warm feeling. After many years in an apartment with real wooden parquet, I can not imagine myself in a home with laminate or other synthetic flooring. I just can't. 

Are you the 'simple interior' kind of person or do you prefer a more styled home? I am curious!

Photography by Jaclyn Campanaro via Apartment Therapy

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From Place To Space: Asplund In Stockholm

I assume I have stretched your patience to the max with my Scandinavian posts, haven't I? Well, you must forgive me for one more - promised last - time. During my design bloggers tour at the Stockholm Design Week I had the pleasure to discover one more fantastic Swedish interiors brand that I didn't know up to then - much to my shame I have to say! The introduction to Asplund was a 'first sight - first win' kind of situation. We went to their inspiring showroom and store in downtown Stockholm where we were welcomed by Sandra Asplund, creative director at Asplund, and a group of designers who worked on the latest collection. They prepared a relaxed Mediterranean dinner in the showroom for us and we had the unique opportunity to chat with them and get to know more about the brand and its latest collection. I was taken away. Why? Well see for yourself!

First and foremost: Asplund is a leading Swedish design and interior company and has been founded back in 1989 by the brothers Thomas and Michael Asplund and the company is deeply rooted in its Swedish heritage. Their wide range of furniture and home accessories are designed in collaboration with celebrated Swedish and international designers. That's the case with the brand new Asplund Collection 2014 named 'Captured by Nature'. 

The new collection celebrates the grace of nature's great materials and the pride of supreme handicraft. The use of natural materials, the focus on sustainability and a cutting-edge design approach are the main features of the new collection - with the nature being the main inspiration. One of the hottest pieces was a first prototype of the new 'Besson Series' cabinet featuring a thin shell made of different materials such as brass, glass, wood and frames various volumes that can serve for many purposes - in a living room, in a dining room or in a (home) office. I also loved the new 'Nati Tati' nightstand with marble top and many other beautiful pieces. But before I bore you with details, have a look at the pictures and get more details on Asplund's website! Plus, if you are in a shopping mood now, be aware that Asplund has an online store, too.

Hope you enjoyed this little (and last for a while) excursion to Stockholm. Happy new week everybody!

Photography by Riikka Kantinkoski and Igor Josifovic

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New Outdoor Collection By Rowen & Wren

With improving weather conditions and my soft spot for urban gardens, I was more than smitten by the new outdoor collection of one of my favorite UK based homewares brand and online shop, Rowen & Wren. As part of the spring/summer 2014 collection, the new outdoor goodies will be soon available in their webshop.

Rowen & Wren managed to magically capture the outdoor collection through beautiful photography. Every image carries the promise of happiness in your own garden - be it an outdoor garden, a little balcony garden or even a small, urban indoor garden (which would be my case for example). The collection reflects all aspects of modern living and highlight the importance of living with the nature in our dwellings as part of a healthy and happy lifestyle.

As an Urban Jungle Blogger I feel inspired to add more greens this spring. And I think I might need one or two plant pots from Rowen & Wren's great outdoor collection. I particularly love the weathered looking plant pots and the glass domes.

Are you planning on adding greens to your home this spring? And what do you think of the collection? Let me know!

Happy weekend, friends!

Photography by Rowen & Wren

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Style Up Your Ikea Furniture With Bemz

Not long ago it was deep wintertime and I was roaming the streets of Stockholm with eight design blogger friends. It was one Stockholm evening that we were invited to the beautiful Bemz showroom in the Swedish capital. We were welcomed by a super friendly crew and the Bemz founder Lesley Pennington. Naturally, we made ourselves comfortable on colorful sofas with Bemz covers and enjoyed tidbits and drinks while we were introduced to the success story of the company and asked to accept a little design challenge: we had to create our own cushion cover.

The design challenge was really fun although I was totally out of space and had no idea where to start from and then I had too many ideas so that the end result was pretty chaotic to say the best. But I didn't mind because I was surrounded by beautiful fabrics, swatches and colours. Thanks again for a fun evening, Bemz!

Bemz is a fantastic way to freshen up the most popular Ikea sofas and chairs and style up your cushions. The custom covers for Ikea furniture come in all kind of colours, patterns and fabrics - it is up to you to choose and define your personal lifestyle. This idea really speaks to me - it gives you the freedom to decide what you want for your home and it enables you to update your furniture without being forced to buy new pieces and spend a lot of money. 

Do you own an Ikea sofa or chair at home? And what about the cover? Would you consider changing your cover any time soon?

Photography by Igor Josifovic and via Bemz

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Happy Interior Blog Recommends...

Today it's over - I mean the crazy carnival time here in Germany. And some more quite days towards spring lie ahead of us. And the nature's awakening - you know, the snowdrops in your garden, the first fresh pops of green in the park, budding trees. And the nature is a major inspiration for interiors - I can sort of feel the green vibe moving into my home, too. For me it will rather be a small piece like the fun H&M cushion or the emerald green espresso maker. But I've got more ideas if you want to go bolder - from a cool shelf for green decor items to a velvety sofa. Today's recommendations include:

1. Atoll Shelf by Atoll
2. Green watercolor painting by 'Outside in Art Studio'
3. Green cushion by H&M Home
4. Emerald green espresso maker by Howkapow
5. Palm green mug by Le Creuset
6. Green velvet sofa by Crate & Barrel

Will you add something green into your home this season?

Happy hump day, friends!

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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

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From Place To Space: Mikser House In Belgrade, Serbia

The first week in March I want to kick off with an inspiring creative space in the Serbian capital Belgrade. Some of you already know that I have Serbian roots but I thought it would be also interesting to share this place as few people know Belgrade and its creative spaces.

The Mikser House has been born out of the Mikser platform, a multidisciplinary and multicultural platform that aims to affirm the region's cultural industry and organize the largest festival of creativity and design in the Balkans region. The recently opened Mikser House is basically a multifunctional space for educational, cultural, entertaining and commercial activities in a converted industrial faculty. It is located in the up and coming creative Savamala district of Belgrade which booms with galleries, bars, creative spaces. 

The super inspiring Mikser House not only provides open spaces for all kind of creative activities, but also hosts a fab Balkan Design Store and a restaurant, the so-called Mikser Kantina. Later this spring, from May 28th to June 2nd, the Mikser Festival will transform the entire city of Belgrade into the creative center of the Balkans with lots of local design and design talents. Probably a good idea for little city weekend escape!

If you ever consider a weekend city escape to Belgrade, you might want to check my blog post about the Serbian capital with my personal discoveries HERE. And of course you can always drop me an email with questions. I am here to help!

I hope you feel inspired and invigorated to kick off the new week! I wish you a creative one!

Photography by Nemanja Maraš for Mikser 

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