A beautiful German boat house on the baltic

As you may know, I'm a big fan of the ocean. In fact any pool of salty water will do. In the summer I always strive to be on, near (or preferably in) the sea and I love exploring the Swedish islands on both the east or west coast by sail boat. Recently my husband and I have been talking a lot about exploring the German North coast too. And then this home popped into my mail box from the owners. Located in Rugen on the shores of the German Baltic coast, Strandwood House is nestled among boat houses looking out over the harbour. But then there's the inside too - white, grey and minimal allowing the tranquil views over the water do the talking. Forget sailing, I think we'll get the ferry over and rent this space next summer!

Strandwood House

Could you spend a summer holiday here?!

Or perhaps you're lucky enough to live on the Northern German coast yourself? In which case I'd love some tips for next summer! 

For more summer inspiration pour yourself a coffee this lovely sunny morning and scroll through these Scandinavian and international summer cottages. You'll feel like your there! 

Back to my own summer holiday - we're just leaving the beautiful Danish island of Samsoe - what a place?! The island is full of honesty shops where you can leave money for home grown fruit and vegetables, flowers and even bicycle hire. Do you have honesty shops where you live?! We're now heading South to discover other Danish islands.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday. See you in a couple of days! 

A happy Swedish home with bright colours and bold prints

Although not everyone is up for adding bright colour and bold prints to our homes there's no denying that it can add a really playful element to a home. Take this Malmö apartment as an example. The owners have used a white base (floors, walls and ceilings) and added fabulous Svenskt Tenn wallpaper, Ferm Living rugs and brightly coloured furniture and throws to create a lovely, happy family home.

Bjurfors via Nicety blog

Is this your kind of style, or more a space you prefer to admire from a far?

I'm getting bolder and bolder and slowly introducing more colour to my home (although friends may beg  to differ!). Do you have a lot of colours and bold prints in your home or prefer to stick to a monochrome mix?

My family and I are currently touring islands off the coast of Denmark for the second half of our summer holiday and just arrived at Samso. I'm looking forward to heading off on our bicycles to explore now......(tips welcome!)

Have a lovely day, I hope the sun is shining where you are too!

A tranquil holiday home in Corsica

If like me, your idea of the perfect summer holiday is to head to a retreat with your family and get away from it all you'll love this holiday home set in the rocks of Corsica. Designed and built by Carol, Director of Communication at Zadig et Voltaire and Fred, her photographer husband and enjoyed by their children, the tranquil summer house is built over three storeys, each enjoying sea views. The family love to visit from California and spend their summer's relaxing in the tranquil garden by the pool and circumnavigating the island by boat. And who wouldn't? It's simply stunning!

Photography: Karel Balas. Stylist: Isis-Columbe Combréas. MILK Décoration with kind permission

The pool looks divine, doesn't it?!

Last week I stayed at Le Chateau De Saint-Privat-Des-Pres in France for my sister's wedding. It was so beautiful I didn't want to leave. The most interesting thing about the Chateau was that it had an 'eco lake' instead of a traditional swimming pool. It was my first encounter with an eco pool (or 'natural swimming pool') and I was slightly sceptical at first......however, after a few days swimming in the relatively clear, cool waters I became quite accustomed to the odd frog leaping in beside me and pond skates sharing the water. As a result if I were to ever have a home with a pool (hey, it's Friday, a girl's allowed to dream), I would definitely choose an eco pool. Have you ever encountered one?

Other island retreats I love include this one on Mykonos and for stunning garden oasis with a pool, I have always taken inspiration from this space in Montreal. 

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!

PS Since I am still on holiday, I will continue to post every other day for the next two weeks, thank you for your patience! 

A contemporary home with a mid-century touch

 If you've seen the pictures of my sitting room (here and here) you'll know I am a big fan of mid century furniture. This is why the home of Natalie Myers caught my eye for today's post. It was designed by Veneer Designs, a full service interior design studio which brings a modern organic mid-century inspired perspective to contemporary spaces.  I certainly see that here with the beautiful mid-century furniture complimented by kilim rugs and cool art photography. What a great space don't you think?!

Veneer Designs via Plastolux with thanks

I especially love the pale pink Kilim rug in the sitting room - how beautiful is that?! Perhaps something for my sitting room? I also like the Hudson Bay Point blanket on the single bed  - although I'm a little too primary colour shy to have it in my own home, how about you?

I've shown so many mid-century inspired home tours here before, in case you missed them here are a few of my favourites: a unique German space, the stunning home of Natalie Schwer and this monochrome space with a mid-century touch. Oh so cool.

Have a lovely day and see you Friday! 

Beautiful rustic interior inspiration from Claudio

Hello Monday! Sorry for my radio silence since Wednesday. I'm back on wifi, yay! I thought I'd start the week by sharing some oh so stunning interior inspiration from the portfolio of photographer Claudio Tajoli. Based in Milan, Italy Claudio has not only seen some stunning spaces, but captures them with unique angles and beautiful light, preferring to keep his work as natural as possible. As a result he really captures the feeling of a space. Here are a few of my favourite images.

Claudio Tajoli with kind permission. Inspired by Eclectic Trends

Just so beautiful, don't you think? 

You can see more of Claudio Tajoli's interior portfolio here. 

For more rustic inspiration you might want to check out this beautiful rustic home in Skåne (one of my all time favourite home tours!). 

I think I'm feeling particularly inspired by rustic charm just now as my family and I are in the Dordogne in France for our summer holiday and my sister's wedding and we've been staying in the most beautiful rustic chateau. 

Now it's time to start the long drive home to Sweden -sniff sniff! 

Have a wonderful couple of days and see you Wednesday 

Shelly Street's fabulous Cape Town home

Last year I visited Cape Town for the first time for a friend's wedding. I immediately fell in love with the hip style of the restaurants, cafes and shops. Some of the most fabulous homes I've seen are also located in the South African city. This home featured in the August edition of Elle Decoration UK, belongs to interior stylist Shelly Street who has done a fantastic job decorating. I particularly love the rustic touches and neutral tones, just my kind of style...

Photography Greg Cox. Elle Decoration. Via SF Girl By Bay with thanks.

What did you like the most about this home?

I've now arrived in the chateau in the Dordogne where my sister's getting married this weekend. So unbelievably exciting!  I'm definitely going to have to do a post about our time in the Dordogne when I'm back, we've seen some stunning places. In the meantime, unfortunately the wifi at our accommodation's not working at all so creating blog posts is going to be too tricky over the next few days. I really hope you don't mind if I take a writing check and come back with more fabulous home tours next week?

Have a wonderful week and see you Monday.

PS I'll be on Instagram until then (I've just posted a picture of where I'm writing this post right now - don't look if it's raining where you are.....!

Summer greetings...

Dear blog readers,

Have you entered the summer "lull" yet, 

the lazy days,

 the stopping what you are doing long enough to spot the most wonderful of growing inspiration, 

of "Nothing Is Impossible" and two fingers in the air to anyone who says 

poppies cannot grow out of a dry stone wall if they feel like it...

Does you laundry smell wonderfully fresh from spending hours in the light summer breeze, weaving more than fresh air into the thread count of the sheets, storing life and new beginnings in the same...?

Is your home-made elderflower cordial drunk yet, 

drunk with sparkling water to the tune of the ice cubes clinking and clanking in the glass,

drunk till the last drop of golden summer flavours is devoured 

and the longing for next year's harvest has begun...?

Has your vine started producing grapes yet? 

And more importantly... 

- have you stopped to smell the roses?

I confess, I am not quite there yet. 

My work has not gone on holiday, so neither have I.

But occasionally, and eagerly encouraged by my youngest son,

I do stop to smell the roses.

Literally.

My son says:

"Mamma, you have got to come here and smell this one. It smells like lemon."

Although he says it in Swedish. 

"Den luktar citron, mamma!"

"Oh, and come here. This one smells like raspberries!"

So I stop.

And I smell.

And he is right. The yellow rose does smell a little bit like lemon, the red one like raspberries.

So I pick one, put it on the table.

The scent of lemon, summer and sweetness fills the room.

Wraps us all in the arms of summer, despite the boys still having a week left before school finishes and my having more work than I dare to think about...

Lemon. Roses. Raspberries.

Sometimes that is all it takes.

Helena

♥

A cool Copenhagen apartment in unexpected colours

Hello Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. Have you ever been to Copenhagen? It really is the most fantastic city - and I'm not just biased because I live over the bridge, honest! The Danes have such a great sense of style and take great pride in ensuring this comes through in everything they do whether it's decor, cooking or creating. The Copenhagen home of Caroline, Patrik and their three children (photographed by Iben Kaufmann) is a great example of this natural flair although not typical of the usual Danish apartments we've seen on here. It's full of surprise colours which adds a real sense of fun and a relaxed family atmosphere.  Very cool...

Iben Kaufmann with kind permission. Femina. via French by Design

This home makes me want to expirement more and play with colours in my house - how about you?

Before I shoot of and let you enjoy the start of your week....I'd like to introduce a new Danish sponsor which I am so happy to recommend: Silke Bonde. Silke Bonde creates and sells wonderful prints for the home. I particularly love the Racoon poster (I have this one myself and never tire of it!) and cute little chick poster. Oh so Scandinavian cool.

Have a wonderful start to the week and see you Wednesday!