Today you will find me over at the extraordinary blog, The Enchanted Home. Hope to meet you over there!

The author behind the blog is the beautiful Tina, and while she is hardly a new name to my blog friends she might be a new face to my readers. So let me introduce her to you. (I briefly showcased her home a few months ago - and boy did you respond!).

When I first came across her blog, I, like everyone else, almost fell off my chair. She lives in her newly built mega mansion outside of New York. I was convinced a certain attitude would go hand in hand with that gigantic home – how wrong I was.

Tina is incredibly generous, kind, supportive and thoughtful. And behind that bubbly and witty blog personality I have found a very serious, hard working and good hearted person. I adore her.

Tina’s blog is jam packed with good ideas and design information and I find her posts about the materials she is using in her new home very useful. I learn a lot.

 (Don’t you just love the floors she picked for one of her bathrooms!).

Tina will soon open her first on-line store, offering goods she is truly passionate about. I can’t wait to support her new venture. (I will let you know when it goes live). I’m sure she will do so well and deservingly so. (I’m rooting for you Tina!).

Now, hop over to her blog, if you have a moment, where you’ll find a fun little Q&A she did with me. But most importantly say hi to Tina and check out all the amazing things she’s got going in her new home. Visit here.

Hugs to you all.

Images: all images via The Enchanted Home.

On my recent tip trip to Stockholm, I came across this lovely Swedish home in a design magazine.

What really caught my attention was this art piece on the wall.

An abstract piece in ink made by the home owner herself.

You have heard me say MANY times that I can’t draw to save my life, but once in a while and I have that intense craving to make something artistic with my own hands and so far the few pieces I have made have turned out quite ok (if I may say so!).

Like this life statement piece in our bedroom. Down went the pricey & fancy gallery artwork and up went my simple and amateurish canvas. I don’t even care what people say about it. I like it because it is meaningful (to us).

I have some leftover ink from another project and I am going to make my own interpretation of the ink trees (?). I am actually quite looking forward to it!

Now tell me, how many of you let your secret inner artist out once in a while? And what do you enjoy making?

Happy rest of the week, friends!

Images: No. 1-4 via Skona Hem. No. 5 via Splendid Willow.

You would think that I, coming equipped with deep green eyes, would appreciate the color green — not so. Green has been my absolute least favorite color for a very long time. But for the 12 months or so I have slowly started to warm up to the color. And on my last trip to Sweden, I bought not one, but two pairs of green slim fitting jeans (just need to find a way to get into them!).

Now I find myself actually imagining myself looking at a room with greens in it. I don’t look away. I even try to think about how I can incorporate a tiny bit of green in my own house. What a concept! What a change! (And green goes well with gray too, folks).

For all you green lovers out there – I finally get it. I see what you see. I am just a late bloomer.

(In the room below I would only do the green grass cloth wall coverings and skip all the other green accents. I can’t go green all out – yet! But brown and green are so pretty together).

A very pretty dark sage green.

Classy.

Green wallpaper in the powder room. If done right — very nice.

Very mellow green. The room would not even be the same without it!

Perhaps the most blogged about dining room. But what a statement room! And see how green and gray work great together.

Green and gray again. Me like.

This vignette (an old classic) makes me literally green with envy.

Also an oldie. But if it works it works. Green and gold play well together.

Green, linen shades. Pretty, pretty and so friendly.

I saved my favorite to last. Swedish of course. So fresh and soothing. I LOVE that wall paper with simple Lilies of the Valley. Both a classy and a modern room. And my old 18th c. Swedish chairs (like the one in the picture) can now also function as bedside tables!

What about you? A thumb up for green — or not? I am quite curious.

Images: No. 1, 2, 4-6 via House Beautiful, no. 3 via Elle Decor, no. 7+8 via Apartment Therapy, no. 9 via FFFfound, no. 10-12 via Saucyhelp, no. 13 via Skona Hem.

I have a serious crush on anyhing by Ilse Jacobsen. Her high-end fashion items brings so much joy to me personally and it is an honor to represent her designs in my store, Splendid Willow Avenue, (if you recall, it was her products that led me to start this hopping store in the first place). I now carry four of her brand new models.

1) Chic, equestrian rubber boots (I have a lot more equestrian fun to share with you this spring!).2) Edgy rubber and camouflage boots

3) Stylish biker boots – tall

4) Stylish biker boots – mid calf

I am proud to be part of a great Ilse Jacobsen team in Seattle area that makes rain in the US stylish and fun!

I also want to thank these incredibly stylish, friendly and always supportive blog friends whose blogs I follow loyally. Thank you so much for your unexpected & so appreciated shout-outs for my store! (If you, my readers, are not following their blogs — you’d better start now).

Design Chic

Isabella & Max Rooms

Happy new week to you all! And thank you for all your sweet birthday & anniversary wishes! You are all amazing.

Image credit: No. 1 via Solid Frog, no. 4 via Wikipedia. All product images via Ilse Jacobsen.

Valentine’s not so much. My husband knows better than to bring me anything on the official Hearts Day. But our Anniversary is different. That is OUR day. And to me very special. I married a really good, smart and generous man who thinks we should get married again — with our beautiful kids there! His very own words.

Happily married in Stockholm, 12 years ago. (Yikes! Starting to look a little outdated… But what a crazy fun and beautiful day it was!).

My birthday (actually today!) and anniversary will be merged into one royal package this weekend — when it is all about hubby & I. I am quite excited!

For any of you looking for some heartfelt anniversary/love gifts — I think I have found two really good candidates.

1. Enlarging and framing your (or your partner’s) favorite piece of music. Will definitely try. Personal and unique. I like it a lot. (Would also work for a nursery – your favorite nursery rhyme!).

 2. Turning memories into material is also a brilliant idea. Spoonflower lets folks puts anything on fabric — artwork, letters, photos. (For the fabric on the chair a family letter from 1882 was used). Within 10 days you have your personalized fabric at your doorstep! (They also ship internationally). I am thinking I need to try that as well. Perhaps sentimental fabric for an over-sized lamp shade?

Wishing you all a happy rest of the week!

Images: No. 1 via Pinterest, no. 2-3 via Splendid Willow, no. 4 via 1bp blogspot, no. 5 (Scanned via Country Living March 2o12).