Hello friends. No words needed here. I am going to be almost quiet and let you wander in this lovely summer home of Terry John Woods. What an eye for beautiful things. What incredible ability to put together simple and gorgeous rooms he has. Many of the treasures are flea market finds. Take serious notes friends.  For those of you who prefers a more modern look, envision some of these rooms with a just a few added contemporary pieces and accents. That is the beauty of an old style with simple lines and neutral colors. They can be easily mixed.

Against the wall in Terry’s living room rests this old, green door with a window louver attached to the top. Terry uses it to display art. Beautiful. (Donna, my friend, I think of you when I see this).

This is why I love Terry and his design approach:

“I love old prints and having water damage or stains have never stopped me from bringing them forward to be enjoyed. This print I found in Maine for a song and a waltz and it is one of my favorite to date. Perfect things are so boring. Who wants to be perfect. Not me”.

Layered ironstone plates.

I love this room. It feels very old Swedish to me. Look at the washed painter cloth slip covers. Terry painted the mural himself. He wanted a tiny bit of color and a reminder of where he likes to be, by the sea.

I am slightly envious of this metal cupboard. He says it is handmade and comes from a naval ship yard. It was most likely used to store tools.

Terry, you are lucky to be living on the other side of the coast! Because if you lived anly closer to Seattle I would have been stalking you on a regular basis and trying to tag along on your shopping trips, hoping to learn a lot more about design and styling. You are brilliant.

Happy Wedneday to you all!

Happy new week to you all! We are enjoying our summer to the fullest here in Seattle and I am happy as a clam! My life is good. And how easy to be happy when I am constantly meeting new wonderful & interesting people in addition to the many beautiful people I already have in my life. When it comes to close friends & family, I consider myself one really, really lucky girl.

Most of you know that I am very passionate about art. I don’t know what is going on with Universe, but just in the last few weeks I have been given so many unexpected art related gifts. Frankly, I am a little bit overwhelmed but so grateful. A big thank you is in order to all these creative and generous friends!

First up is the lovely and so inspirational Julie from Being Ruby. I won her photo art giveaway! (My first blog win ever!). She took these stunning photographs in Venice, Italy.

This Australia based girl is so talented with her camera (and her words) and I keep pushing and pushing for her to take her talent to the next level. I have asked her (two times but she keeps ignoring me!) if I could buy the piece below from her. Isn’t it gorgeous? (Note: the texts on the photos are only for virtual trademark).

No, I am not looking for another gift, I want to be the first customer! (I have had my own business and I know that wonderful feeling when your sell your very first item). I will keep pushing & supporting you, my friend! (And put a price tag on that photograph, will you!)

The second is from my dear friend Sarah with Haute Design.

I could not believe my luck when I found out that I had also won her giveaway - this fantastic art glass vase by 18K (the off-white model between the to vases with flowers). Sarah personally bought it at her favorite store in Vancouver, Montage, which makes it so much more special! I can’t wait for it to arrive. It will be the most gorgeous vase in my house!

Sarah’s blog is simply a stunning and I find so much inspiration there that it makes my head spin. If your style and taste are all about quality and high-end and only the best will do when it comes to elegant design & living then Haute Design is an absolute must read! I adore Sarah and her blog. And I consider her a close friend.

Then we have Elena with EMD Design Journal.

Elena says that she has hardly any time to dedicate to her blog and that she is not sure that blogging is her way of communication (she works as a style consultant and freelance writer for shelter and lifestyle magazines).

I find EMD Design Journal to be a very sophisticated blog. Elena is very knowledgeable in art, architecture and design and she is an accomplished writer. And on top of that she is a genuine and kind person. I find her posts so interesting and meaningful (it is like reading a good article in the New Yorker). A few weeks ago I found the newly released magazine “Connecticut” in my mail box. Elena had sent me the magazine with a terrific article written by her about the sculptur Cornelia Kubler Kavanagh.

That gesture made my day! Elena, I will try very hard to keep you in the blog word! (Your last post was in April, time for the next post I think!)

Another surprise in my mailbox! Beautiful Lori (Who I met through my very dear friend Ingrid), who I have not seen for months, out of the blue, sent me this wonderful art piece that she made herself! She took a picture of an old city water main cover when walking the streets in good, old Stockholm. She later mounted it on a piece of wood and prepared the surface in a way so it almost looks and feels like concrete. I absolutely love it! And I love you & your family!

This past weekend we actually went to visit with Lori and her family at their vacation spot on Whidbey island outside of Seattle. Lori took me to to see her very talented artist friend Anne, and the two of them would not let me leave Anne’s house before I had taken a little something of her so called art “rejects”. Rejects?!! I could not believe it! All her pieces are beautiful! I did not dare to point at anything but Lori pushed me into a corner hard and insisted that “I must”, and I walked away with this darling art piece in wax (in gray of course) that is now hanging in my bed room! Thank you Lori and Anne for a very fun afternoon!

And isn’t the title appropriate! “A circle of friends”!

Also a big thank you to the very friendly, generous and creative ladies, Kristi with Lovely Velo and Reese with Rambles with Reese.

Both of them asked me to help me with guest posts when they were/are globe trotting! (And Reese I still hope to meet, since she is right now hanging out in Vancouver, only 2.5 hours away from Seattle. Come on, Reese!). You can read the posts by clicking here and here. Hop over and say hi – and make some new friends!

As I said, (two times now!), there are so many creative and generous people out there. And I am one lucky girl to keep meeting the best.

Each and every one of you in my real and in my virtual life makes my corner of the world so much richer.

Thank you. And thank you again.

Images: 1. via Flickr, 2. via weheartit, all other images via respective blogger mentioned.

Hello friends all over the world. Hope your week is going great. Thank you so much for all the lovely messages and the understanding for my slower-summer-blogging-plan. You are one incredibly supportive and generous crowd!

Peter and I went to a really fun 4th of July party (actually a couple of them) and met some very lovely and interesting people. One of them was Alex, Bianca’s architect. He is in charge of rebuilding her new home. It turns out that Alex is also the head architect for the new quaint “European feeling village” my town is putting in as the heart of  our community and within walking distance from my home. (I am so excited! But more about that some other time).

Alex and his lovely fiancee are in the process of buying a super sleek, modern 65 foot sailboat to take trips around the world in. They want to spend some serious time sailing in the waters around Sweden which off course got me all talking about the island where I spent nineteen beautiful summers and where I was baptized – Gotland. To me, Gotland is the most stunning island in the world.

Right in between Finland and Sweden, in the Baltic sea, is this old Viking island with its rural and most spectacular scenery. I have so many great memories from this piece of paradise and I can’t wait to bring my own family there one day. I hear the name, Gotland – and my entire body just lights up!

Alex & Christina, when you head for Gotland, you will most likely sail into to the harbor of Visby - Gotland’s main city. It is referred to as the city of roses and it is the most quaint little town with so much still intact from the Viking period some one thousand years ago! Ruins and a serious fortress wall protecting the city are just some of the stunning monuments from that age. St. Mary’s Cathedral, with its 3 black towers was built by means collected from trade by the Germans in the 12th century.

Gotland is not very large. Only 1,225 sq mi. But everywhere you go and turn you are met by beauty and a truly unique warmth.

Alex, I told you about a very different hotel that you might want to check out (especially in light of our conversation about putting tall industrial looking book shelves with a ladder in Bianca’s house. Yes, that is going to happen! (: The hotel is called Fabriken (Factory) Furillen and is built in an abandoned limestone quarry. The hotel has largely kept elements from its mining days but inside the rooms, guests can find the latest and most upscale modern desing. Pretty different!

Below is the hotel lobby.

At Furillen, like so many places all oll over the island, you will find these very typcial, gorgeous pelts from Gotland sheep. These sheep are world renowned for their shiny and silky coats and, with a few exceptions, you will find them only on Gotland. Swedes love these often gray pelts, and put them on floors (nice to land on when you roll out of bed), on furniture and in strollers to keep young ones warm.

Oh, Gotland! You have played  a major role in some of the best summers in my life. (Including the summer when I got to experince my very first kiss! Yep!). One day I will share a more extensive post on Gotland. Hopefully this gives Alex and Christina and the rest of you a good taste and wanting more!

Images 1 via here, 2 unknown, 6-10 & 18 via Flickr, 3 via here, 4 via here, 5 via here, 11 unknown, 12 via here, 13 + 14 via here 15 via here, 16 via here, 17 via here

Hello friends! Summer is in full swing here but I have to admit that I find it very hard to sit in front of the computer with my back turned to my 3 young, sweet kids. (That is not how I want them to remember their summer!). I am going to try my hardest to make both my family and my readers happy but you will see me taking longer blog breaks than usual. I hope you don’t mind.

On Sunday we are celebrating 4th of July here in the US. Our independence day. Complete with social activities, BBQ and patriotic themes.

We will be celebrating with our dear friends Bianca and Clemens who are so good at throwing really fun & lively parties for friends and family. They just moved into a gigantic house up on lush green hill were it is absolutely peaceful and quiet and yet, this is the view from their living room! You can almost touch the city of Bellevue through their living room panorama windows! A prime spot for fire works!

I don’t know how creative I will be with dishes and decorations for the party but here are some things that even I can pull off in my lazy summer state of mind!

The only decoration I am fiercely loyal to and do every year at my own house is to hang these handmade patriotic paper lanterns by Bethany Lowe in our old chandelier. It does not get much easier than that!

Happy weekend to all my readers! And Happy Fourth to my US friends!

Hope the sun is shining bright on all of you!

Images: 1, 3 5, 8 and 9 via Flickr, 2, 10-14 via Martha Stewart Living, 4 and 6 via Allt om Mat, 7, 15 and 16 via Splendid Willow.