PING PONG

My work recently got ping pong tables installed. It's been a wealth of fun. I am shockingly bad, as is Tonje.

UNDER COVER

Clarence is literally one of the cutest cats of all time, ever. This is one of his favourite positions. Yep, under the cover with his little fluffy head on a pillow! If i'm on a late shift, as soon as Paul leaves for work, Clarence jumps right in.

 

BOMB

Apologies for radio silence!! It has been a busy month, and I was quite enjoying just rolling with the holidays! Taking it back a few weeks to the day I purchased a bath bomb. Also feel like I'm taking it back to the 90's. I used to LOVE these from LUSH. Then I saw my friend using one on her instagram, so I HAD to have one. I had had a really crap day at work and this worked wonders!! All I kept thinking was "PLEASE DON'T STAIN MY BATH!" and it didnt!

WORK

We subscribe to a service called STACK. They send you a different independent magazine each month. It's great for being introduced to magazines you didn't know existed, or to read about subjects you may not normally go for.

This month it's Works That Work, and the focus was extreme environments. It's really interesting to see conditions some people work in, and how as humans we adapt for extreme heat of cold.

A highly recommended read!

EMI

Hello, and welcome to "Your Hjem." Peeking into the homes of people with inspirational interior style. All different styles, from all over the globe.

 

This week I am joined by Emi. She is 28 and lives with her two cats in Friesland, in the Netherlands. She loves photography and interiorstyling, which is how her Instagram was born, by combining these two things.

Hi Emi! Thank you so much for allowing us into your home! First of all, how would you describe you interior style?
 

I would describe my style as modern and Scandinavian, without frills, but cosy. The main colours are white, grey, black and oak wood. By combining this in a right way, using  minimal decoration, the house looks serene. I think that it's important that the house has a united look. Not really just one style, but the colours have to match at least. I also take note of price and quality ratio. My strategy of combining more expensive items with cheap items works quite well I think.

 

Let's start in the living room, what is your favourite thing in here?
 

My favourite spot in the living room is my couch. It arrived just a few weeks ago. I had to wait a few months before it arrived, but it was worth the wait! The couch is a good size, there is enough space for relaxing with a couple of friends. I selected the cushions very carefully. It's a mix of cheap and more expensive brands. It makes sense to me that all items suit well together.

That is a glorious couch, and an ever more glorious cat! Favourite thing in the kitchen?
 

My kitchen is a bit small, and quite basic. Unfortunately I can not change this, because I rent this apartment. I love baking! I bake simple cookies and more complex cakes. I'm happy with my oven, but my Kenwood kitchen machine is my pride! This machine makes it a lot easier to bake cakes.

Sounds great! How about your bedroom?
 

I love sleeping. That is why I decorated my bedroom quite serene. There is no TV. My bed is wonderful. I'm also happy with my nightstand. It has a lot of storage, so you cannot see stuff you don't want to see. I placed two frames on my nightstand. One of them contains the songtext of my favourite Coldplay song, Fix You. There is a wordbanner on the wall with another songtext, it fits perfect over there!

I am a firm believer in no TV in the bedroom also! Bathroom:
 

My bathroom is almost not worth showing. It is very basic. The only thing that I like in my bathroom is the showercurtain I bought at H&M.

What are you inspired by when you shop for your home?
 

Instagram inspires me a lot. I follow accounts in the same style as my style, Dutch and other European accounts as well. I also visit my favourite shops regularly. I don't follow trends without considering them.

 

Any brands you'd like to claim your undying love for, or any new brands you'd like the share?

My favorite brands are Madam Stoltz, Hema and Ikea. I have a lot of items designed by them! I also buy more often items of Hay, Zuiver and Fest Amsterdam. These last two are Dutch brands whose items blend beautiful with the Scandinavian style.

 

Finally: What's on for wish list?

For now I enjoy living here. I do miss a garden. I have a small balcony, but that is not enough. In the next few years I hope to move to a house with a big garden. I don't really have any other interior wishes. Maybe to paint the walls in a different color, but I haven't made a decision about that yet. I am really satisfied with my home now!

 

Thank you so much for joining us on YOUR HJEM! I will leave you all with a few more pics of Emi's aparment!

DAVID, DAVID

Last week was a tough one. Alot of stress, but that's boring to moan about. This is one of the favourite corners of our house. Double David, Lynch and Bowie. They can always make me smile :).

SEQUENCE

It's been quite a full on month, so I took a couple of hours the other evening to sit down, block everything out and work on some sequencing for my yoga course. I have felt so overwhelmed recently, with lots of house related (both purchasing and selling) issues, so it's important to take the time out from it all. Although I don't do it as often as I should probably, as it's easier said than done! But I always feel so much better afterwards.

I'm at the stage now where I've started to prepare playlists for my sequences, and working out what fits and what doesn't. It's much like getting a DJ set ready. This really excites me, as I will be honest, music in most yoga classes is quite predictable, so I'm looking forward to getting yoga to Nick Cave and Massive Attack on the go.

CENTRAL

We ventured to central London recently. And I hate central London shopping at the best of times, (as you can tell by the face) never mind on a weekend in December, the black Friday weekend in December!! But it wasn't as bad as we imagined, and Paul reminds me of one of Fagan's gang sometimes, as he knows every back street and short cut in London. So he took us a much less stressful way around Ox Circus and Covent Garden. He is like a human compass. Very useful. We bought each other's presents and had a good look around Liberty. The Christmas shop is quite disappointing this year...

ANNE

Hello, and welcome to "Your Hjem." Peeking into the homes of people with inspirational interior style. All different styles, from all over the globe.

This week I am joined by the stunning Anne, from Copenhagen. She is a teacher and mother to two, Asta and Wille.  After growing up in the countryside on a farm, she met her husband and moved to the city centre. They now live 10 mintues walk from the main city action, overlooking Copenhagen's ancient fortress, which sounds AMAZING.
 

Welcome to Hjem Anne! I am so excited to have you on the blog with me! Apart from the hair envy- I so wish I could pull off a pixie crop- I love Copenhagen. First of all, how would you describe your interior style?

Our interior style has grown together, with our relationship. When we moved in together after knowing each other for only six months, we didn't quite have the same approach to interior design. Philip hated flea markets, and I couldn't see the beauty in the old leather sofa from the 1960s that he had in his living room. What we discovered, was that we slowly developed a common style, which is a mix of old and new. Classics and IKEA, and indeed it is now Philip that is dragging me and the kids with him to the flea market. Although our style is certainly not the most spectacular, I am proud that it has grown out of us, and how we are together.

I know exactly what you mean, I feel the same with me and Paul. I think it's lovely when you bring two styles together to merge into one, and when it works it's great! Tell us a little about how you selected and acquired your lovely home:

I choose 100% to my taste- if I like what I see (and can afford) I buy it. I get a lot of inspiration from Instagram and magazines, but I choose only objects and furniture if I can imagine them here in our home.

 

Let's start in the living room, what is your favourite thing in here?

 

The living room is very simply furnished. Here is a sofa, a coffee table and an armchair. That's it. But on the back wall hangs 9 bookcases, where we have all our books and records, and it brings a warm atmosphere to the room. The sofa is new, but in a classic look. I really like its wooden legs that lift it up and allows air under the heavy furniture. I also love the big window, and the shelf above the radiator, which is an original feature of the property.

 

 

We also have a large dining room which is used when we are more than we can sit around the table in the kitchen and as an office or just for play. Here we have a large Egon Eierman table with different chairs around, including Series 7 chair by Arne Jacobsen and other Danish designers from the 50s and 60s.

 

I ADORE the natural floorboards!! Favourite thing in the kitchen?

It is in this room we spend most hours. Above the dining table a very dear friend has made ​​a wall tattoo, as I call it . Philip wanted a fishing boat , Asta a superhero and I something round. And then she started just drawing. I look at it every day and it makes me smile .

That is such an original idea, I love that! Your bedroom:

 

The bedroom is the smallest room in the apartment. We have only a bed, a shelf, a mirror and some hooks. It's nice to sleep in here, especially because the bed is surrounded by walls at 3 sides , so no one falls out when the whole family sleeps in here : -)

Baby's bedroom:

Our children are sharing a room. We have tried to divide the room up a bit, so there is common space and individual space for both of them. Right now it works, but in time we'll  have to find another solution, and I imagine something with a half wall with a big old window to distribute the space.

 

 

Bathroom:

 

When the apartment was renovated the plan was to remove the bathtub. But thankfully we stopped them before it was too late. It is when you have small children and in the winters where it is wonderful to sink into a nice hot tub after a long and cold day.

 

What are you inspired by when you shop for your home?

Other homes.

 

Any interiorbrands you'd like to claim your undying love for, or any new brands you'd like to share?

Uhh it's hard , because there are very many. My old Fritz Nagel candlesticks I am very fond of.

 

They are certainly stunning! Finally, what's on your wish list?
 

A Verner Panton Globe lamp to hang over our Egon Eierman table in the dining room.

 

ARGH YES! Glorious! Thank you so much for allowing us to see your amazing home! It's making me want to book a flight and visit Denmark right away! In the mean time, here are a few more photos of this wonderful Copenhagen apartment!!

 



GLAM ROCK KITTY

So I bought these shoes at the weekend as ASOS had 20% off everything! As soon as I opened them Clarence comandeered them! I literally couldn't take them away. Whenever I tried to pick them up, he clung on for dear life! What can I say? He's obviously a glam rock kitty!

EGG

I love this little egg timer. The cats are mesmerised by it, and they like to knock it off the work top and roll it around. So often I will hear the bell go off, and somehow it's managed to end up under the bed, or at the bottom of the stairs...

SOCK

These socks are THE COMFIEST socks I have ever owned. I got them from the American Apparel store in Venice Beach, LA, for a snazzy $5, I think it was a discount store maybe? I insist you all get some. They come in a variety of colours.

DOOR

I adore this door. When we bought the property in a wreck, this door had always remained beautiful. It is the original interior door used in the warner properties, and despite a fair few people telling us to bin it, I was ADAMANT it stayed. We resized it and moved it to the living room, so it floods the hallway with light! I will miss this little door when we leave!

MAJA

Hello and welcome to "Your Hjem." Peeking into the homes of people with inspirational interior style. All different styles, from all over the globe.

This week I am joined by gorgeous Maja, who lives in Croatia. She's Mama of two, wife of one, and runs a wonderful business with her partner called pinch • toys - handmade products for kids, which all makes for one lucky woman!

Maja! Hello and welcome! Thanks for agreeing to let us snoop into your gorgreous home! How would you describe your interior style?

I would say it's minimalistic with homey feeling - a mixture of clean lines, wood and mostly white with touches of black and grey. And lots of diy's!

Let's start in the living room, what is your favourite thing in here?

It has to be few things: the open space with a view of the hallway and stairs, natural light and the big exit to terrace. Although, it's the only room in the house that screams for finishing touches. We miss some details and a sofa, but for now we still love hanging out on the floor with the girls. The room is not very representative at the moment but I have a little corner for my work, so I actually really enjoy spending time here as I use it both to work and play.

Favourite thing in the kitchen?

My favourites here are black chalkboard wall, and the worktops cause I like functional space. The kitchen was very important to me and it was our biggest investment when we were moving in. I find it the most important part of the home and we definitely use it the most because we love to cook. For the color I've chosen white that is fresh, eternal and easy to clean.

 

I love the chalk board paint idea! Your bedroom:

I'm a big sleeper, so the bedroom is definitely my favourite! We don't have a bed but only a mattress  and we love it. Super comfortable! For my side of the bed I use a big box instead of a night stand as I'm crazy for the storage – can't get enough of it! Also I'm a big fan of lamps, so I always use small lighting to create the atmosphere, especially in the bedroom. The things I love the most are diy hanger and the grid board which we just put up recently. It really gave the room a touch of warmth though it's very industrial.

 

The grid is such a cool idea!! I might have to steal that for our next project! Now onto the girls bedrooms:

We have two smaller rooms for the girls on the upper floor. Katja is the older one and next year she will be a primary schooler, so we have already bought her a big table which she adores, and I'm a big fan of her bed with big drawers for storing all the extra bedding. Greta's nursery is really basic. After she was born I really tried to embrace the pink which I added in details in both of their rooms. I've chosen the soft pink and it really goes well with the soft grey half painted walls. My favourite thing about both rooms is the calmness.

 

 

Bathroom:

Here, I love the black glass sliding doors that are mostly decorated with tiny fingerprints! It's a very minimalistic bathroom with the combination of black and off white tiles plus the open shower.

 

What are you inspired by when you shop for your home?

Mostly by Nordic design. When I was little and once dreamed of my home, I used to steal my fathers AD magazines. Now, as a big fan of interiors, I find my inspiration on pinterest and instagram. I could spend hours just watching beautiful homes, especially kids rooms!

Any brands you'd like to claim your undying love for, or any new brands you'd like?

Well, the most of our furniture is Ikea cause of the price, design and availability combination, but I really love and admire Prostoria, Hay, Eames, Hem, Kartell and Muuto.

Finally: What's on for wish list?

As I'm crazy for changing I always have something on the wish list. And then I dream and dream. But I do want new dining chairs. And if certain someone thinks it's too much, he can always buy me a Hay feather duster haha!

Thanks so much for the interview! Your home is absolutely stunning! I will leave you all with some more snaps of Maja's amazing minimalist haven!