When I need to declutter my mind and find some peace in & harmony I often gravitate towards my old home country. Swedish interiors can at times be considered cold but when done right and with some heart, I find those rooms calm, serene and easy to breathe in. They are often filled with less stuff but instead things with a purpose. Let me introduce you to such a home in beautiful Sweden.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Anna-Malin is a friend who I have met in wonderful blog land. We have been sharing e-mails cross the Atlantic about  life issues and thoughts on design. Not only is Anna-Malin a wonderful person but she is also highly creative and talented. Her home is so inspiring and so is her Swedish blog Helt Enkelt. Take a deep breath – this is not staged, this is how she actually lives. Lovely or what?

Anna-Malin loves mixing Scandinavian design classics with heirloom pieces and vintage finds. She is an expert at taking flea market finds and turning them into must-have objects.

Just take a look at this vintage chair (Anna-Malin is well aware that I have a very serious crush on that particular chair!). She found the chair at a Swedish flea market, nobody wanted it (where was I!!), she paid about $40 dollars and voila. Hello?! Can a chair get much lovelier?

And now that chair lives here. In her kitchen. With sheep skins and everything. Oh no, that was 2 weeks ago! Anna-Malin changes furniture around on a daily basis and the kitchen of the week now looks like this!

                                                                                                                                                                                     She constantly moves things around and prefers to try new ideas before she would even consider going out and buying anything new.

As with most Swedes, Anna-Malin finds inspiration from nature. She is drawn to simple lines, organic materials and neutral colors. And she like to be good to mother nature by reusing things. She says: ” Being from the very North of Sweden, I get good energy from white and cripsy snow, complete quiet and branches from simple, wispy trees”.

Who said you need a whole roll of wall paper to make an impact? Just a little piece will take you a  long way!

My friend is a resourceful lady who is not afraid to use a hammer and nail on any given day. This sofa table is one of Anna-Malins own creations, put together on a weekend. (Maybe Hubby was involved in that project too, I can’t remember).

Another dining/work area in the family room.

All over the house you will find cozy and calm areas to relax and just be.

The rooms of her two boys are no exceptions.

I hope this gave you some good food for thought. Just writing this post got me so inspired that I am heading to a nearby consignment store – today! Thank you Anna-Malin for your friendship and all your wonderful ideas & inspiration! Happy Monday blog friends!

All images, curtesy of Anna-Malin @ Helt Enkelt.

Before and after pictures are always so fun to look at! Don’t you think? Hope you find some inspiration here.

A wonderful move-in-ready living room without the stuff. A blank canvas to work with.

This homeower kept the traditional bones and the neutral color scheme but actually made some serious changes like adding all new Herringbone high glossed hardwood floors, crown mouldings, elegant mesh built-ins and a wonderful window seat with built in cubbies for the firewood.  (I would have added a rug though, to warm it up a little). Love the chairs!

This room gets my favorite makeover. Here is a fabulous room that with its hand-me-down furniture and neglected style needs some love.

Much cozier and more interesting!  The tall white bookcases with the bold accent color behind the sofa and the carefully handpicked furnishings really pull the room together. I don’t think that I would dare to go with that green wall color myself- but it works!

Here you have a white, stark dining room that I think would at least make my guests  nervous! Nice furniture but no warmth & personality.

The guests will not leave now! The same furniture but with a lot more texture and color. Love the new settee! The vintage dining chairs got new slipcovers and the window new coverings. I really like  how they took wall paper panels  and attached them to the wall. An easy & inexpensive way to add some color and interest to a room.

For being a guest room, this room feels pretty impersonal and not very welcoming.

A much cheerier  room and definitely more of a retreat. The striped rug gives the room a much needed punch and I like the 2 rug effect. Note how they wallpapered the ceiling.

Images via House & Home

Happy New Year to my wonderful blog friends! I hope you created some fun memories this winter holdiay. I sure have missed you! I am very exited about this year. 2010. I feel it’s going to be a good one – for all of us!

I am starting the new year with one image that has kept me occupied for the last couple of weeks. Seriously, I can’t get it off my mind. I am drooling and drooling and thinking about this picture that I picked up at the oh-so-lovely blog Delight for Design.

To me this it the ultimate way of displaying treasured family photos – and because of it I have now decided to repaint my bedroom all white and adopt the concept myself on one of the walls!

Why I am so obsessed? Because of the large cluster of photos collected in one spot. (I like things organized. And I don’t like things skimpy). The monochromatic all white walls, ledges and frames make a quiet but stunning statement. I like the smaller frame sizes in different constellations. Reminds me of an art gallery. (And everything is hung in perfect eye level postion). I also love that there is no fighting for attention in the room. I would die for a room with just the artsy display and a cocktail table. What a hit! Nothing else is needed.

Yep, this I am so trying! And 2010 is off to a good start!

The sitting areas from that same home are also wonderful. The owner obviously has a great eye for art too.