EMMAS DESIGNBLOGG

Design and style from a Scandinavian perspective

Best of 2010 part 4

This is the last part of my summary of 2010 and I would like to take a moment to thank you all. Thank you for reading and commenting, this blog wouldn't be anything without you! And thanks for voting for me so that I could win Stora Bloggpriset in February and become Sweden's most visited design blog! Now that I have achieved that goal I'm setting new goals for my blogging, and I am planning some great things for 2011, so I hope you will all stay here with me to see what I have in store for you...

Now back to October. I made a very popular post about living with white with a link to an interview with Line Dammen from Elle Interiør.

 

I also posted about this amazing Stockholm apartment for sale:

 

Some nice home offices from RUM:

 

I started November with a post about this super cozy Norwegian cabin that was featured in Sköna Hem:

 

And then I started giving you inspiration for your christmas decorations! The pictures below are styled by Icelandic stylist Ólöf Jakobína.


 

More white christmas inspirations, this time from vt wonen.

 

I don't think we need a recap of December, do you? I mean, you all probably still remember the posts you liked here from the last month, right? How about you all comment about which was your favorite post from December? I'm very curious!

Best of 2010 part 3

Here comes July! Starting with a DIY project from 101 Woonideeën:

 

And then this wonderful summer house, owned by stylist Katarina Grundströmer:

 

Some great bathroom shots from RUM:

 

And then came August with some reports from the big fair in Milan. These shots are from Sköna Hem where they interpreted some of the trends. Wood and paper shown here, not very surprising right? But very beautiful!

 

August was also the month of my 5 year blogoversary! I made five posts showing my favorites from each of the past years, and you could clearly see the development of my tastes. The access to nice pictures is so much bigger now than when I started, and hopefully that has improved the quality of the blog as well. Back then there were very few online sources for pictures other than product shots from different brands and stores, but now all magazines, stylists and photographers have huge amounts of beautiful photos available for immediate download and sharing!

After that I gave you some shots from Norwegian stylists Kråkvik & D'Orazio:

 

I got an email from Katie at the design studio Candy Black where she told me about their new office, and I just had to share that! This post was very popular and I can see why...

 

In September I started a Facebook page for the blog and that was a big hit! It got over a thousand followers in just a few weeks, and the numbers are still growing. If you haven't seen it yet I recommend you check it out as I post lots of stuff there that will never be on the blog. Because as you know I don't post about products here so I collect all the good stuff I see over on Facebook instead. And there is other things on there as well, like photos and links to great posts on other blogs.

I also posted a little series of shots styled by one of my new favourite stylists, Emma Persson Lagerberg. Unfortunately she doesn't have a homepage, but these were shot by Petra Bindel so I found them over at her site.

 

September was also the month when stylist Lotta Agaton took the step from Residence to Elle Interiör. This was her first feature for Elle.

 

I worked with Lotta on a campaign for Ikea, and stayed at Berns Hotel for a night. It was a great stay, both the interiors, location, service and food was excellent and I can honestly say it's one of the best hotels I've tried so I can't recommend it enough! This is from one of the suites there:

 

The final part of 2010 is coming in a few hours.

Best of 2010 part 2

In April, I found the stylist/photographer duo Mindre, who made these pics:

 

I also introduced real estate agent Bolaget to the blogosphere, and now their photos are everywhere!

 

I wrote a post about Dutch photographer Marjon Hoogervorst...

 

In May... well let's just say a was very stressed in May, trying to sell the house and showing it every week (with no success) and at the same time looking for a new place to live. I did however manage to blog a little bit, like a post with pictures showing how to live with vintage items, from RUM.

 

And some work by photographer Per Gunnarsson:


Another post was about the bloggers over at Kitka's livingroom:

 

In June I showed the work of stylist Gitte Kjær:

 

I discovered the wonderful home of Johanna of Highway Design:

 

I also posted these pictures from Hus & Hem which have spread like a wildfire since then, but you saw them here first:


More recaps later...

Best of 2010 part 1

Now that 2010 is coming to an end I'd like to sum it up by collecting my own personal favourites from the year on the blog. So here it is, the best of emmas designblogg 2010, enjoy!

Ps. If you think I deserve a weekend in New York (I've never been there) you can vote for me to be blog of the year on Facebook. Just click here, type "emmas" in the search box, click on my icon and then click the left button below that starts with the word "Rösta". And that's it! Thanks in advance to everyone who votes!

In january, I posted photos from this amazing house, found on Yatzer.

 

The Gallery kitchen from Marbodal, shot by Helen Pé, is still on my wishlist.

 

I showed some great shots from interior stylist Stella Nicolaisen's portfolio.

 

In February I found South African agency Frank Features.

 

Another find was photographer Paul Barbera.

 

And this summerhouse over at the Dos Family blog:

 

March was all about white for me and I posted this almost all white house in Denmark, styled by Katrine Martensen-Larsen.

 

These shots by Mikkel Adsbøl:

 

And this cool series of pictures styled by Tina Hellberg for Elle Interiör (who by the way just had a complete makeover of their site).

I will continue with the next months soon...

At home with Imps & Elfs

Do you know the Dutch childrens wear brand Imps & Elfs? I love their clothes, they have great colors and a lot of nice details. This is the home of the brand's owner, a big house in Amsterdam. I found myself quite lost for words... Look at those windows. And the ceilings! And well... everything! This is the stuff that dreams are made of. At least decorating dreams.
Via Milk

Kids rooms by Milk Deco

I browsed the preview of Milk Deco and found these lovely kids rooms for you!

The Holidays are here!

I will be taking a short blogging break to spend some time with my family, but I'll be back in a few days. Until then, enjoy these pictures from Sköna Hem's "Style Compass" for next year! Happy Holidays to you all!

Two architects' home in Denmark

Are you curious to see what it might look like inside the house of two Danish architects? Take a look at these pictures from the home of the owners of Rode+Ryborg Arkitekter and tell me if it was what you expected. Personally, I didn't expect it to be quite so relaxed, but it sure is just as stylish as I thought it would be.
Via FRI Photos: Frederikke Heiberg

Christmas at Desirée's house

I just saw this post over at Desirée's blog Vosges Paris and felt I had to show it here too! I know I said there wouldn't be any more xmas pics here, but then you all said I should keep them coming, so here you go! And don't forget to click over to Vosges Paris for more pics, both from this room and the rest of Desirée's beautiful home!

Saturday Sweets

Ok, I promise, this is the last bit of Christmas inspiration I'm giving you this year, as I know some of you are getting tired of it. Next week's bag of sweets will be completely free of baubles. I can't promise you there won't be fairy lights or twigs though...

Desk space

Stylist Camilla Krishnaswamy

As I was browsing the portfolio of Swedish stylist Camilla Krishnaswamy in search of inspiration for a coming styling job I found these photos I'd never seen before. They've probably been there for quite a while, I've just missed them somehow, perhaps you have too? This is a job she did for Sköna Hem, and I think you will find some really unexpected details here... I like the mix of accessories that takes this home from classic to playful, like the paper pompoms and colourful vases.

Inspired by Ikea

IKEA published a whole bunch of great holiday inspiration on their blog Livet Hemma, and I wanted to share some with you here. I'm going to copy them and use cut-out paper stars as coasters for my christmas dinner, and I'm sure my sons will help me make them. Anything that can keep their minds occupied on something else than the coming gifts for a few minutes is a great thing in my book!
I am also thinking of wrapping my dad's gift in a nice fabric, as I always buy something edible for him and I think he has enough baskets to last him a lifetime now...

Stylist Cia Wedin

Swedish design journalist and interior stylist Cia Wedin's work has been seen in Elle Interiör for several years now, but if you don't have access to the magazine, you can now visit her website where you can browse some of her work. Cia has also been published in RUM, international issues of Elle Decoration, Residence, Marie Claire Maison and Selvedge, and has worked with many of Sweden's top photographers like Stellan Herner, Anna Kern and Patric Johansson, so she is by no means a newbie in the area, it's just that she hasn't had very much of an online presence before, so hopefully I can show you some pics you haven't already seen before. Enjoy!

Photo: Anna Kern

Photo: Mathias Nero

Photo: Patric Johansson

Photo: Stellan Herner (left) and Anna Kern (right)

 

Saturday Sweets

Saturday Sweets, The Christmas edition! If you haven't finished your xmas decorating yet, I hope you will find some ideas here!

Christmas according to Cervera

Cervera is a Swedish high street chain selling tableware and other household items, and not of the most exciting kind either. That is why I was a little suprised when I saw this stylish campaign for the company, shot by Patric Johansson. I don't know who the stylist is, but he or she deserves a big bucket of cred! The ad agency is a very small one called Mikaela&Helena, but it doesn't say on their site who the stylist is. Does anyone know?
Update!
I just got the word from Anna over at Agent Bauer that the stylist is Lo Bjurulf! Of course, it had to be one of the big names with a styling this good!

DIY tips from vtwonen

I'd like to start the weekend with two super simple diy projects from Dutch magazine vtwonen. Have a nice weekend!

A Danish Christmas house

I found this Danish home, all decked up for Christmas, in Boligmagasinet. The owner Trine has used wooden trees throughout the house instead of traditional christmas trees for a more modern touch. The colours are kept in natural hues with splashes of red and purple for warmth, only the childrens rooms are more colourful. And the small wooden mushrooms in the window are lovely, don't you think?

April and May, a Dutch Deco blog

Through Victoria over at sfgirlbybay, I found a new (to me) blog which really appealed to me, called April and May. It is written by Jantine who works as an interior stylist, and she posts both her own and other peoples pictures in a great and stylish mix. Below are some photos from her own home, which is both serene and simple but at the same time warm and welcoming. She has lots of Ikea furniture (like the black table with spindle legs, her desk and the white floor lamp) but mixes them with big statement pieces for a personal look.
The site for April and May, Jantine's own styling business, will soon be up, and I can't wait to see more of her work!

Elle Interiör vs Elle Interiør

I subscribe to both the Swedish Elle Interiör and the Norwegian Elle Interiør. They are very different, the Swedish one is much more about expensive furniture and upper class homes, where the Norwegian edition is more relaxed and showing more achievable looks, but still amazingly beautiful. I like the fact that the Swedish Elle Interiör has a great website with lots of big pictures and blogs that are updated often, but the Norwegian edition totally makes up for that with the quality of their magazine.
This month both editions landed simultanously in my mailbox, so they ended up next to eachother on my table. And the differences were so obvious it was almost a joke. First of all the Swedish edition had totally skipped the fact that Christmas is coming up, my guess is that they somehow want to "stand above" that. Their headlines are: Be first with the latest trends, party with a gold lining and the best of Nordic design. And their cover was a shot from their stall at the Hem 2010 fair that took place a few months ago, a dark (it looks much brighter on the computer screen) and messy picture full of super expensive furniture. It looks cool, but not inviting at all. The fact that the first thing you see is the back of a sofa doesn't help either, neither does the curtain coming in from the right side. The photo makes you feel shut out; uninvited, like you are supposed to stand outside and look in on all the cool stuff they have, wishing you could be there.
Then I took a look at the cover of the Norwegian edition. A light and simple photo with a mix of homemade and vintage things, cheap Ikea shelves and more expensive designer furniture like the Eames chair and cushions from Hay. The picture looks like a real home to me, especially with the piles of magazines stacked under the shelves. The headlines announces a competition, wish-lists from the staff at the magazine and holiday decorating tips, which should appeal to a lot of people and feels quite inviting. The big photo below is the cover without text as I couldn't find a bigger photo of the finished cover online. I found a tiny pic which I put above the big one, but it's hard to see what it really looks like there. Now that is the big problem with Norwegian Elle, they aren't exactly generous with big bloggable pictures.
Update! The lovely folks over at Elle Interiør read this and sent me a bigger version so we could do a proper comparison.
Now don't get me wrong, I really like both magazines. It's just that I wish they could take some inspiration from each other! Also, I'm a bit cranky today as I was offered to renew my subscription for Swedish Elle Interiör, and the offer they had on their website aimed towards new subscribers was much better than the one I got... Shouldn't loyal readers be encouraged in some way?
Please tell me your thoughts on these covers, which magazine appeals most to you?

Bo Bedre Norway

There are two different editions (but equally nice) of the magazine Bo Bedre, one Danish and one Norwegian, these shots are from the later one. The couple living here are both writers, so I am a little surprised to see so few books here, it seems their bookshelf is mostly filled with lexicons and encyclopedias...

Norwegian deco mag Design Interiør

I have been receiving copies of the Norwegian magazine Design Interiør for review for some time now, and the more I read it, the more I like it. It just gets better and better with every issue! Design Interiør is full of Scandinavian homes in different styles, and there is always at least one feature that is totally amazing in each issue. However, their website isn't that extensive so I have had a hard time finding pictures to show you. But now I finally found these shots from photographer Heidi Lerkenfeldt's home (shot by Heidi herself of course), and I hope you like them!

Ps. Design Interiør has an Advent calendar where you can win Scandinavian designer products every day up until Christmas Eve, you can find it here.

 

 

Marie Claire Maison Mix

I found a whole bunch of beautiful and inspiring pictures over at Marie Claire Maison, and thought they would be a nice way to start the week. Enjoy!

Saturday Sweets

Are you finished with your holiday shopping yet? I'm not quite finished, but when I am I will take an evening for myself and shut myself in the basement and wrap all the gifts, which for me is one of the best things about christmas. I just love wrapping gifts! Some years ago I worked at a department store just before christmas, and they were famous for their beautifully wrapped packages, so I learned quite a few tricks there which I still use sometimes. But I get new ideas every year, and often match all the gifts so they will look good under the tree. Do you do that too? What theme will you have for your packages this year? I'm thinking newspapers, brown craft paper, white paint, white and black ribbon...
Photography Anders Schønnemann, via Decor8

New from Guts

I found some new photos in the portfolio of Guts, and I just thought I'd share them with you!
Have a nice weekend!

Photographer Magnus Mårding

Magnus Mårding is one of Sweden´s best established international photographers, with the entire globe as his market. He made his international breakthrough in the mid and late nineties, with iconic editorials for magazines such as Stockholm New, GQ and Condé Nast Traveler. Ever since, he's been working with major international advertising campaigns and editorials. Magnus is the one who shot the pictures for Alcro's latest campaign which I posted here.

Christmas at Kjersti's house

Today's Christmas inspiration comes from the home of blogger Kjersti, owner of the popular Norwegian blog Kjerstis Lykke. Kjersti's home is simple and bright, modern mixed with country and industrial touches, and looks very cosy! The top photo shows the advent calendar she made for her son, it's a very simple project, and although it's a few days too late for you to make it this year, you could still save the idea for next Christmas.

Industrial chic in Copenhagen

This Danish home is balancing right on the edge of being too "shabby chic" for my tastes, but I think they managed to keep it on the right side. I like the colours, the industrial details and the wooden floors. And the kitchen with it's square drawers looks great!

Source: Rom 1-2-3