A cottage in the Stockholm archipelagos

A cottage in the Stockholm archipelagos

Holiday homes rural retreats Summer cottage swedish cottage swedish home

I don't know what the weather's like where you are but here it's starting to feel....er.....dare I say it....Autumnal. So today I thought I'd add a little sunshine here on the blog instead. And if I close my eyes this rainy, windy Tuesday morning I can dream I'm at on this beautiful waterside cottage. It's the fabulous home of one of Sköna Hem blogger Åsa Myrberg of @mycasa on Ekerö in the Stockholm archipelagos. If the beautiful, light filled and relaxed interior doesn't do it for you, the setting certainly will. Summer anyone?

Sköna Hem, Pernilla Hed. 

Sköna Hem. Pernilla Hed.

Sköna Hem. Pernilla Hed.

Sköna Hem. Pernilla Hed.

Sköna Hem. Pernilla Hed.

Sköna Hem. Pernilla Hed.

Sköna Hem. Pernilla Hed.

What an incredible place to spend long summer days?! The Stockholm archipelagos really are fantastic too.

For more Scandinavian summer cottage dreaming click here - warning, you'll need to pour yourself a cup of tea first - there are hundreds of them! (the home above might come up first, if so, scroll past it).

I'm off to The Conference in Malmö today - anyone else going? Last year's was so inspiring!

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

The bohemian summer home of a Swedish fashion photographer

The bohemian summer home of a Swedish fashion photographer

Holiday homes rural retreats Summer cottage swedish cottage swedish home

Many Swedes choose to spend their summers on the beautiful east coast island of Gotland and I can totally understand why. One such person is fashion photographer Peter Gerhke (who has shot for H&M among many other brands) and his family. The family's relaxed, bohemian style stone country house is radically different from their permanent residence in Stockholm which is decorated with a far more contemporary feel. The family spend their time at the summer cottage bare foot, enjoying the grape vines and fig trees in the garden, cooking using home grown vegatables and herbs or fishing and swimming in the clear waters of the Baltic sea. Now that's a way to spend a summer!

Photography: Martin Löf. MILK Decoration with kind permission. 

I love the idea of hanging out bare-foot and care-free don't you?!

My favourite room, has to be the bathroom. I love free standing baths in the middle of the room, and just look at that beautiful original wood floor!

For more inspriation from Gotland you might want to check out this former light house keeper's cottage, the idyllic summer home of the blogger behind a Beautiful Living, and a beautiful Swedish summer retreat. Summer on Gotland 2015 anyone?!

It's Friday - woohoo! Any great plans for the weekend? Whatever you do I hope you have a fantastic couple of days. See you Monday!

Perfect blend: rustic/ industrial/ contemporary

Perfect blend: rustic/ industrial/ contemporary

Holiday homes International homes rural retreats

After 8 years in Sweden I thought I knew how to deal with the long winter; leave the country when the snow arrives! If you travel to the Canary Islands or Thailand around early spring you're bound to be surrounded by tanned Swedes stocking up on some much needed sun! But this Autumn I noticed something new-  everyone's heading off now too. A holiday in September presumably to soften the blow of the end of the summer. Since I have missed the boat (litereally) I'm mentally transporting myself  to this stunning home in Spain by architects / property developers Abaton (via 79 ideas) instead. It has just the right mix of Spanish rustic, industrial and modern designer elements to really soften the blow of the impending winter.

Abaton via 79 ideas

I spy Tom Dixon again in the form of the Beat Lights (just goes tp show how versatile Tom Dixon lights are - yesterday the Copper Shade Pendant looked at home in a retro style home, today the Beat Lights look fab in a contemporary minimalist home. The Wegner Wishbone Chairs also blend in beautifully. I could certainly see myself celebrating the end of summer here, could you?

Do you have any winter survival tips?!

A back-to-basics scandinavian feel summer cottage

A back-to-basics scandinavian feel summer cottage

rural retreats Summer cottage

Over the weekend I kept hearing about the beautiful weather everyone was getting across Europe. And then suddenly it arrived here in Sweden - one balmy day. And then it disappeared as quickly as it arrived. But still it was here long enough to remind us that the summer isn't over yet. So today's post is dedicated to the last days of the fading Scandinavian summer and to Oregon based interior designer Jessica Helgerson who has chosen to spend everyday like it was summer with her family in this beautiful rurual retreat on Sauvie Island.

Interior Design by Jessica Helgerson Photography by Lincoln Barber via Remodelista

I love the back to basics nature of this home, it's just as it should be. A place where a family can be together and enjoy the outdoors. Beautiful!

Do you have a summer cottage or a retreat anywhere you love to go to just get away from it all?

My man's family have a cottage by the sea on the West coast of Sweden which his Grandfather built. It's still furnished the way it was then and has a wonderful feel to it. I love spending time there with my little family. x

Bjorn Agertved's Danish retreat

Bjorn Agertved's Danish retreat

Mid century Danish rural retreats Summer cottage

A while ago I featured a post on the Danish artist Bjorn Agertved's stunning Copenhagen apartment. So you can imagine how excited I was when I spotted his family summer cottage over at Decordots today!  Featured in Femina, Bjorn's weekend retreat is full of treasured mid century designer items such as the Butterfly Chair (or BKF chair) and Borge Mogensen chairs as well as some wonderful vintage industrial lighting.

 

Photos: Pernille Kaalund for Femina via Decordots

This is turning into a bit of a Danish interior design week, and why not? The Danes really know what they're doing when it comes to fabulous home styling don't you think?

PS Thank you for all your encouragement with painting my kitchen wall with blackboard paint - just what I needed! I'll post some pics on it once I'm done!

A renovated Farmer's cottage

A renovated Farmer's cottage

Holiday homes International homes rural retreats Summer cottage White and grey homes White home

Well, well, well! Architects Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown certainly knew what they were doing when they renovated this former farmer's cottage in upstate New York. If I could own a weekend retreat, this would be it. I've heard of people moving houses....
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Photographs by Richard Powers for Homelife via Charlotte Minty

I think the thing I love the most about this retreat is all of the interesting objects and artifacts displayed. So many beautiful wooden pieces too. Fabulous home, what do you reckon?

A little piece of Scandinavia in Toronto

A little piece of Scandinavia in Toronto

Holiday homes International homes rural retreats scandinavian design furniture Summer cottage

Because the summer's not over yet - here is a beautiful Scandinavian styled guest house in Toronto, Canada owned by John and Juli Baker of Mjolk, an online shop selling items by Scandinavian and Japanese designers (it's starting to become a bit of dangerous week!).

Remodelista

 For more info on where to find some of the fab items in the home check out the Remodelista's article....perfect!

Enjoy the sun!

Glamping, Cornwall style

Glamping, Cornwall style

Holiday homes rural retreats

Hi campers! I'm back, and what a week! Anyone in England and Sweden will tell you that the weather last month was attrocious - so we packed for rain and more rain. And guess what? The weather was hot, hot, HOT! Perfect for breakfast al fresco and surfing on Cornwall's finest beaches! Here are a few pics from the wonderful Polgreen Glamping complete with beautiful fields, Rosie the sheep, pigs, chicken, a nature trail and a wonderful little honesty shop stocked with produce from the local farms. Thank you Sarah and Simon for a wonderful stay!

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All photos: Polgreen Glamping or My Scandinavian Home as specified

I can warmly recommend this wonderful 'glamping' site, especially if you would like to get back to basics but with an added touch of luxury - double bed with a duvet in a tent anyone?

At the weekend I managed to catch the Olympic men's cycling in Richmond Park, London - which was so exciting! Now I'm totally into the Olympics, which is why i'm writing this post so late (I couldn't tear myself away!!).

It feels good to be back in sunny Sweden though and I'll be blogging daily again with lots of interior design inspiration, so pop back tomorrow!

It's always good to be home!