Show me the books – and I will tell you who you are! You have heard me saying over and over again that seeing no books in a house makes me somehwat nervous! Please, tell me that you read books. Please tell me that you are curious about the world and everything beyond. Don’t be afraid to show your books (even if they all fit on one tiny shelf) and who you are! (Not to impress, not to be liked – just to share the true you and what makes you tick. And for that you will be admired).

Here are some lovely areas where books take the center stage.

I love that over-sized architectural print. I am thinking I might need to copy that idea!

I have a serious crush on that ladder!

And I am still waiting for an old bust to move in with us!

Happy reading & Happy rest of the week, dear friends!

I am so incredibly happy to have met you all.

Image 1. via We Heart It, image 2. via  We heart it, all other images from Rum

The old Italian secretarie and I never got along that great (not my style – or so I thought). But when I put it all together, I really started to appreciate the writing desk and have now decided it will not be in hiding anymore!  I am not even convinced that I will paint the cubby shelf gray anymore (but that remains to be seen…).

Do you see the green pottery egg? It was made by the well known Swedish ceramist Hans Hedberg. Hedberg was known for his outsized fruit and egg ceramic sculptures. He passed away in Cannes, France, in 2007 at the age of 89. He used to swap pottery tips with Picasso, taught Chagall, and was highly successful as an artist in his own right. I have always been drawn to the egg shape. It is such a wonderous and magical shape connected with new beginnings!

A really large egg  by Hans Hedberg is something to dream about. But I am perfectly happy with my little green one!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend and that you are re-energized for a new week. Happy Monday, dears!

As a home for my cups, I envision something vintage with some edge. Maybe something industrial gray. (I don’t want glass, I know that). I see cubbies. I like things organized. And lately I have been googling for everything from vintage mail cubbies to industrial storage, but so far I have come up with zip, nada. (Or do you have any other display ideas up your sleeve?)

And then today I opened the new Pottery Barn catalog and out of a page jumps a brand new product – a cubby organizer. I started to hyper ventilate. Could this be it? I love the look and the dimensions are perfect. I like the hand written numbers. There are 25 cubbies in total. I only have 12 cups which means I need to collect more – and I really like that! The price is very low. But folks really, a mass produced shelf for my collectible cups that I so adore?

Have any of you seen an unique, vintage display cubby organizer similar to this, anywhere? I will give you a nice reward if you find the perfect one! Or should I settle for this??? What do you think? Help!!

I know that we are all pleased that the Holiday season is behind us – for now. But this wall display could also get a different look for next winter holiday. (All the Christmas knick-knacks collected in one spot). I know the kiddos would love it!

Have a lovely rest of the week, friends! You are always on my mind.

This weekend I attended a community event where I had been asked to represent my home county Sweden. I dragged my girls with me (dressed up as Pippi Longstocking and Lucia) and decorated my area with lovely things from Sweden. (Think everything from 18th c. chairs and gray linen to salty black licorice and pop music). I got to meet a lot of people and certainly did my share of PR for the country. And then a couple of well dressed ladies walked up and we chatted up a storm about Swedish design until one of them asked what I thought of Belgian interior design. Ehhh…

An oil painting by Belgian artist Nele Cornelis is a focal point in the foyer.

And then from nowhere information started to pour out of me. And I tell you, most of what I know is because of my talented blog friend who is no stranger to so many of my close blog friends. But if you have not yet met her, huddle over and say hello!

Her name is Greet Lefèvre. She lives in Belgium and is behind The Belgian Pearls. She is someone Belgium’s Cultural Ministry should view as a national treasure .

Here are some lovely interiors from her home where she lives with her family. (Yep, I know!!!)

On her blog you will find images like these. (Yes, go ahead and drool!)

Together with her brother she runs a succesful wood carving company – Lefèvre Interiors. Had I lived closer I would not have hesitated for one second to have my next dining table designed by them.

And what did I actually tell the ladies? Well, I told them that there are many similarities between Swedish and Belgian Design. Both styles include simple, uncomplicated pieces. They both cherish organic, natural materials, textures and colors. We use a lot of gray and white in Sweden and I believe that the further south you go in Europe – the warmer colors. So, I see more of a warmer beige used in the Belgian interiors or rather “Greige” – a mix between gray and beige. Belgian style might also be a tad more relaxed in my opinion and the furniture seems more grand in size. And I think that both styles are against too much color and clutter! Both represent peaceful and serene rooms.

Now, some people in the industry will claim that Belgian style is the “new Swedish”.  Of course I will not agree with that! But the style is very attractive indeed. And I am convinced that we are just going to see more and more of it. 

There are also a number of blogs outside of Belgium who I follow and who include Belgian style in their reportings. I highly recommend Cote De Texas,  Willow Decor, Trouvais and Velvet & Linen. They are all lovely! (And I am sure there are other great ones both in and out of Belgium waiting for me to discover).

A new week, friends! Let it be a good one!

I just received a Kreativ Award from the talented and lovely Trish over at Trouvais.  I met Trish months ago and I was immediately drawn to her exquisite images and her always interesting blog posts about antiques and French Interiors & Gardens. I learn a lot from her. And she always ends her personal comments with “Merci”!. I like that too! So dear Trish, Merci! It is an honor to get your lovely recogniton!

Here are some images from her blog. Lovely, n’est-ce pas?!

Here I am supposed to say 7 things about myself. But this time I am not going to tire you with more facts about me. Instead I refer to an earlier post here.

I enjoy every single blog I follow, they are all special and very close to my heart. This time I have decided to pass this award forward to 7 creative blogs that I just recently started to get to know (or know better!) . They are all lovely,  they all cover different areas (which I like – I love to learn new things!) and they are all genuine & friendly!

Dandelion & Grey

EMD Design Journal

Beadboard UpCountry

The Clueless Crafter

The Design File

Sogni e Sorrisi

Lilla Huset på Prärien

Happy Kreativ Blog Award to you! Share 7 things about yourselves (that we all should know) and pass on the baton to 7 other blogs that you like!

Images via the lovely Lotta Agaton

All that’s left is to figure out what paint to use (safe on glass without being permanent as well as Windex tolerant, which has alcohol in it) and what the actual quote would be!

I am personally not a super fan of mass produced wall decals but the ones from the French company, Harmonie-Intérieure, are an exception. Their decals are really classy and beautiful and look like they were tailor made and hand painted.

Happy rest of the week, wonderful friends!

Happy new week to you all! I hope you all are off to a good start! Sending you warm thoughts and good energy. Hug, Monika.

Image from the always lovely Belle Vivir.

I am so going to try to make my own Pavlovas (discs of meringue layered with organic whipped cream and fresh strawberries) this weekend.

I found the recipe (and these images,  from an old magazine) in Oprah At Home. Does this look heavenly or what? Here is the recipe.

And a little bit of history, folks:

Pavlova is a named after the Russian ballet dancer Ánna Pávlova. Colloquially referred to as “pav“, it is a cake of meringue with a crispy crust and soft, light inner. The dessert is believed to have been created to honour the dancer during or after one of her tours to Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s. Where it was created and the nationality of its creator has been a source of argument between the two nations for many years, but research indicates New Zealand as the source.

I don’t blame them – I would fight hard for that dessert too!

Happy rest of the week, friends!

Image via Flickr

Happy Tuesday to you wonderful friends! (I took Monday off due to President’s day. All we did was to enjoy the sun - which is not always out in lovely Seattle!).

I don’t know about you, but in these times of economic down turn, we are paying more attention to our budget than ever before. No unneccesary purchases. I am so tired of things anyway. I want less – not more. I want to surround myself with good quality objects and things I really LOVE. And for the first time I am so ready to take on some Do-It-Yourself projects not only for budget reasons but also to bring even more personality and heart into my home.

There are 3 things that I would love to start and hopefully also get finished in March. (Am I too ambitious?). And this is where I was going to show you a close-up image of my $37 (!) consignment wing back chair before it will get a makeover (and I know it is going to look fabulous once its done! Maybe like below).

Wherever I look – I see fabulous wingback chairs….

Image via House Beautiful

Image via Coco &  Kelly

I was also going to show you a fabulous mirror (found at the same store) that I am going to paint. But you see, Prince William (2.5 years) took off with the camera on Valentine’s day - and it is nowhere to be found! I have turned the whole house upside down. Zip, nix, nada. Camera is in hiding.

So here is a 1 year old image of the chair and me (with the criminal!). You can’t see much but at least it will give you an idea. (I will bring you more pics as soon as the camera has resurfaced! The chair has wonderful bones and is so comfortable. It is just in need of some love and a good upholstery makeover.

Camera thief – Prince William!

Here is another project that I saw over at A Perfect Gray. And now I want this in my home too! The talented home owner/blogger (yes, that is her lovely living room!) put together those wall panels with mirrors. Hello!! She had two of these lovely antique French panels. And on them she attached vintage  Sunburt mirrors. (I might visit my local antique restorer and have him make a pair of panels for me). How lovely! How personal! How Splendid! (And her white wingback chair looks like mine – pre-makeover.)

Any DIY projects you are extra proud of and would like to share with us? Please step forward, friends! We all want to learn some new tricks!

Image via Flickr

I am constantly fixing, re-doing and moving things around in my house. But sometimes I get stuck in my own thought processes and the creativity well is running mighty low. Thank goodness for the blog world, that’s all I can say! There are some ultra mega talented & creative people out there to learn from and get inspired by. Just look at these rooms with  updates/makeovers we all can do in our own homes without starting from scratch and bringing in the big sledge hammer.

First some images from blogger extraordinarie Brooke Giannetti over at Velvet & Linen. Her dining room went through some styling for a recent photo shoot. (And I hope she keeps the new look!)

The dining room went from this sweet and more traditional room.

To this. A much more clean and current look. A mix between traditional and modern – e.g transitional. I love how she incorparated a zinc industrial dining table and mixed chairs (she kept Grandma’s in the middle!). (People, furniture sets of any kinds are just, shall we say, not very personal). Her leather covered chairs are beautiful (really like the color and nailheads) and I love her new simple lantern and the Merida rug. (Brooke gets an extra star in my book because of her love for and knowledge about Swedish antiques!)

Another absolutely wonderful blogger Janell Beals, with Isabella & Max Rooms, based in my neighboring state Oregon, has me all hooked and drooling over some of her inspirational rooms. This was Janell’s family room before she decided to give her room a light facelift. Oh come on, we have all seen this look!

And here it is now. The fireplace mantel she felt was not in proportion to the built-ins (and she was right). So, a new mantel was built and then everything in dark wood was painted in a soft tan. With her color choice and updated furniture, this room went from ok to fabulous! You absolutely rock, girl!

Here are a few other room makeovers, via DesignSponge, that made me stop in my tracks.

A little bit more extensive work here (but handy people can most definitely pull this off themselves). A custom vanity was built and stained in a light blue-gray. The old mirror was reused (with a new frame) and a light was hung above a new sink and faucet from Lowes. The rubber floors were replaced with marble tile from a local stone shop, and the marble theme continued on the walls with inexpensive tiles which were cut in half and placed in a brick pattern. For more on this project go here.

Now to this kitchen re-do that is beyond lovely and created by rockstar designer/blogger Lauren over at the fabulous Pure Style Home.

They started by ripping down the upper cabinets and  putting up beadboard & shelving. They replaced the kitchen floors, painted the cabinets themselves and added inexpensive nickel drawer pulls and knobs. They painted their dishwasher in the same color as the cabinets (did not even prep for it.)  And the best of all, they had the fridge PAINTED in chalkboard paint. My yaw just dropped! If this is not getting your creative juices flowing, then I do not know what will!. For more on this project go here.

And not so much a room makeover but rather a chandelier makeover that dear blog friend Erin recently wrote about on her lovely blog This Lovely City. I just couldn’t resist!

How cute is that! In time for Valentine’s Erin hung some antique (poetry perhaps?) pages in her chandelier. And the whole room gets a unique and personal lift! You know you already have a loyal fan here, Erin!

I feel I need to take a serious look at my own dining room, my cabinets (although I have had the family room entertainment center and fireplace mantel professionally spray painted in a darker gray/green (“Equestrian Gray” by Benjamin Moore) and it looks fantastic).  But please do not paint yourself if you are not an expert. You don’t want to ruin the look and see brush strokes all over!).

This is exactly the inspiration kick I was in need of. Thank you all creative people out there! I hope that I gave you some new ideas as well. Happy rest of the week lovely readers. You are the best!