McQueen moved in…

I am quickly checking in this morning to share my new Steve McQueen photo I hung up in our dining room. I have been wanting to move some pictures and art around, switch things up a bit in the house…easy fix to make rooms look new and updated.

I thought one of my latest S. McQueen additions would look good in here – all on its own (well, along with the million elephants around him of course…)

My dear Elephants, I put up some +6 years ago – and even though the wallpaper steals a lot of attention – I still like it + its not something you see every day here in Seattle either. The fact that its elephants makes it a bit childish- it adds a sense of humor, and takes away the very formal’ dining room feel. You can find it here.

Only a few minutes from our house, there used to be a Bambu farm garden place – and yesterday someone had trimmed down the trees along the street, as always I was quick to grab a couple of left over branches and place in vases around the house.  Adding greens’ is a must for me, it not only adds color but really makes any room come alive.

In here, we also have my husbands home-made dining table he built some 8-9 years ago. He specifically made it to fit 4 of our wishbone chairs in a row. The table recently got painted in gray, so looking new again. Underneath is the good old’ Ikea rug.

I will admit, we have been bad at using this room lately. Most of the times, we end up eating by our table in the kitchen. Its closer, more convenient and practical. I really do not like when a room is not being used properly. I want to get away from the formal dining thingy’, so I need to be better at setting the table in here.

A ton of nice natural light comes through the big window. We have an identical window on the opposite side (in our living room) as well which feels extra nice during the darker months of the year and when you are really craving for light! However, I feel in order to make the room more cozy and wanting to spend time in here, it needs something, it needs warmth in some way which could be fabric or for ex adding a warmer material in here somewhere…. I have thought about adding long thin curtains in here to soften it up more. However, I forget to remind myself to look in to that, -does that make sense?

I believe I have already revealed my love for our Carl Hansen’s “Wishbone chairs” – as they are called. We’ve had them for years and they are still in great shape. The kind of classic chairs that age beautifully.  The cool, slim ceiling lighting I found in Canada as I was reading an interior magazine – Lambert et Fils.

I will show you the other McQueen photo I bought next time.

Have a great rest of the week.
Hugs P

 

 

Finding those unique pieces…

Those who follow me, know I’m a little of an auction addict. I probably check my sites every other week. Of course, I do not need anything but you know – it doesn’t stop me from looking…you never know, maybe I just don´t know what I need :).

I have a few favorite auction sites I keep extra eyes on, in the search for that unique, fun piece. The sites I follow are good quality ones where you find really old European pieces from 17th or 18th century, as well as the modern European classics I also crave for. Just a perfect mix if you ask me. Its become hard to make those really ”Good” deals but I try…

Another thing I love with the auctions is the idea behind re-using furniture – passing them along, making – old history come alive in another home. We really need to get away from the cheaper production, copies, less quality, buy & throw mentality ´not good for the environment and usually not the piece you end up loving anyway.

Today, I thought I would share pictures and thoughts of my AUCTION experiences. Pictures from things I have “won” on Auctions, lost or am bidding on right now…

Quick background for those who are still not addicted as I am… you register to the sites, and place bids on the items you want. You can chose to enter the highest price you are willing to pay right away and the site will place the bids for you as the auctions goes on and if you are the highest bidder at the end = > you “win” :). In other cases where I am not really sure, I follow it towards the end and place my bets then. Its easy to get carried away, my advice is to decide your max prize ahead of time. The auction for each item usually runs over 10 days or so…

I try to stay away from buying fabric/upholstery furniture. Old beds or mattresses is a big NO NO for me. BUT I did participate in the auction for the sofa above (fabric from Joseph Frank) but someone ended up having a bigger wallet – so its sitting somewhere else…  Can’t win them all, right?

Now, rattan is close to my heart and something I just cannot get enough of. I already have a few sets *more than I can use… but it doesn’t stop me from bidding when I see something nice and unique. A summer house without a ton of rattan is just not a summer house to me at least….I just Love the material (prefer light color).

 

These 2 chairs above for example, are one’s that I am really bummed I let go. I could really see them in our Mölle house..oh well… ´c´est la vie….

Chairs, chairs chairs – you can never have too many. Also, go for different ones, skip the set thing and in particular go for some modern classics. Some of them are actually good investments…

 

 

Stools are fun, easy to use for different things – easy to move around as you feel and need – so have got a few of those…

Below, a combination I love = my all time favorite Danish Arne J chair together with an old desk like this. Big crush on that!

 

Every now and then (like now) there are a few of my fav´ Tolemeo lamps up and running on the sites. I am more in the look out for the floor lamp right now, so will pass on these table’s – just wanted to share what pops up…

Tin is actually something I keep an eye on, think its a pretty good thing to invest in right now and I have always like adding it here and there.. Tempted to place bids on these plates but not sure >>> ??

Musselmalet from Royal Copenhagen is a porcelain series I love and especially for a summer house. I am mostly all for just white porcelain but blue details goes with the summer look and this series in particular is extra spot on when you mix it with something cool – again, creating that mix of styles is key. The Musselmalet is pretty pricey (even second hand), so I can only buy a few pieces at a time every now and then…

 

Old tables is really easy to find and in my view way more fun than going to lets say…Ikea…*sorry Ikea – after all, I am Swedish an all but its just not as fun and long’ lasting.

Our homes in the US vs our home in Sweden are different so I am sort of in the look outs for different things but for some reason its way more fun getting the summer house in tip top shape… its all new and special….

Above you see an image from our summer place where a lot of the things come from auctions in the last 20 years. For ex, that bench, the rattan chair you see, the office table with marble top, green chair, as well as that poster and the rugs as well….

 

Here is one of my latest “wins” – this doctors surgery table that at the moment is my nightstand table in Mölle. In my view, unique and a more fun story behind it…

When you win an auction item, you get an email saying …: – Yay, Congratulations You Won!!!! Its a trick (ha ha) cause you know you have to pay …. you won by playing the highest bid – yay I am paying the most!  I always get so excited, competitive as I am. My husband then reminds me…- ”you know you didnt actually WIN anything right”???

Ok this beautiful coffee table is out there now and for those who haven´t seen it before or know the brand – its a real modern classic and just so darn cool. Here is an ex, a picture from a popular Swedish blogger who has it – just to show you a perfect setting..

@houseofphilia.elsaentourage.se  +++++ How beautiful isnt this room and interior?

 

Here are a few shelves and storage pieces I have tried to get my hands on…only, the larger baskets are in our summer house – the rest went else where …haha..

Again, cushions is not something I really buy but these were new – however, I chickened out at the end and stop bidding… regretted it the first day after -oh well, its just pillows, – not the end of the world!

Here is my absolute latest auction deal – a little snack table I imagined in front of our kitchen bench/ sofa in Mölle…. hope it will fit!

My last recommendation is keeping an extra eye on the sites during holidays – cause people tend to be there less, competition is less which helps avoiding prizes going up as much…

Ok my friends, that was me sharing some auction findings… now, I need to get my beauty sleep. I have an early tennis practice in the morning.  Enjoy your Sunday.

Hugs P

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A cool house outside of L.A

Diane Keaton – besides being a super famous and wonderful actress, also has a passion and interest for architect and design.  I have seen a few of her previous homes in magazines before but here is one of her latest, outside of L.A. Most images found at Architectural Design (AD). Perhaps you have already seen it, its pretty amazing.

People and delivery companies for ex, think its a winery or something…not a private home.. not ever guessing Diane herself lives behinds these walls. Apparently extra focus on making it safe against fires and, or potential earthquakes.

Diane loves repeating her colors – and like me, her fav” colors are white, black and gray! We MUST be related :).

She initially had plans to paint all the brick in white, like in one of the images above but decided to keep parts of it in its original color.  Good choice if you ask me.

Here you have her in person, the one & only – Diane herself!

The kitchen is super spacious and has that farmy modern look.

We also, almost have the same idea with the big industrial lamps over our eating area.

Looks like its 5pm there… – time to start preparing dinner! I find both the island and the thickness of the countertops super impressive.

Love this view….the black windows/doors. Nothing wrong with the floors either :).

Diane’s choice to stick with her “colors – helps connect it all together. Also, mixing the warm wood, the antique pieces as well as the metal makes it all come to life and not feel cold. It sure turned into a cool industrial farmy house with NY -style and touch.  Love it, and especially the exterior of the home, is gorgeous.

Overall, her home is super relaxed and has a nice vibe- she makes it look so easy but I can only imagine how much work is behind this project and house, all the different picks and choices – to make it look like this!

That’s it for today my friends. Everyone – enjoy your week!

Hugs P

Images from AD – (love this site – so much inspiration!)
Picks – Lisa Romerein

 

 

Social hang area…

You have already seen pictures from the kitchen, so let me share another space. Keep in mind, we recently got the keys and on top of that we only spent 2 weeks there over the Holidays – not enough time to get it ready and especially not -Instagram/puffy -blog ready! There is still a ton I want to add and details to take care of.

For my new followers, this new ‘summer’ house of ours has an open floor plan on the main floor. We focused on giving the kitchen a big portion of that and then left the rest for the rest, so to speak…

The kitchen really turned out above and beyond expectations! Right next to it we have our eating space, followed by a social, hang area and then a TV room off to the left… Our furniture comes from our old summer place, which has been in storage for a year. A lot of it we have inherited or found on different auction sites throughout the years. The mix of old goes well with all the white and new but I would love to add a few new and modern pieces just to break things up a bit and give it a cooler look.

Here is our little social corner, off our eating are and opposite kitchen. A spot you move over to after dinner or where you grab that book during the day. Eventually, I imagine this space with a few more comfy seating chairs, but for now – this is it. I added some black details in here, my old rug from DAY and then of course my big old cabinet that I got from my parents when I turned 35.

I have glass doors to this cabinet as well, one is slightly damaged and needs to be fixed – I just haven’t gotten to it so for now it’s open shelves…

As I mentioned, I think this space needs new modern lighting to make it more interesting. Here are a few of my picks

 

I love these old pillows/bag – goes well with the rug and my second hand table I bought for some 15$….quite a catch.

A view from the TV room…

Below 2 new chairs I found on one of my online auction sites just before the Holidays *best time to buy, people are just not as much online then… I got them cheap and my dear mom was kind enough to repaint them and I just switched out the fabric to this nice neutral one I had from Sandbergs Tyger.

…and voila – way better! That’s all for today my dear friends…

Hugs P

Loving my kitchen

I know I have said it before, our new summer house turned out way better than I could have imagined – and the kitchen in particular. After having spent weeks there during the Holidays – we really got to test it, does it work to prepare big dinners and have a lot of friends come over? And yes, it MORE than works. Such a luxury, cannot believe it!

Before I show some of the new pictures, for fun – let’s look back at the one’s that actually inspired me from the start as I was planning everything.

This white kitchen caught my attention early and a big part of it was the bench – which is a “holy’ thing for our family and friends. We use it a ton.  A kitchen can easily turn out too modern, stiff or kitchen like :), adding a bench is super useful and breaks it up, brings it to life, + give’s it a warmer feel and turns it into a room. Also, this kitchen had the right look and feel that I wanted for our summer house but perhaps I was aiming for a tiny bit more modern..as always, finding that perfect balance…

This grey kitchen was also a big inspo for me – I loved seeing the dark grey after decades and decades of all the white kitchens. This felt new and modern. It had that mix of modern, classic and bistro -which I strive for.

When it came to choosing colors, I did not dare to go this dark grey (I thought long and hard about it but no…) Instead I sort of copied the island with open shelves and got the idea to hide the fridge/freezer and pantry..

Above the sketch I worked out with Åraslöv Kök.

Here is one new picture from our kitchen. I just completely and utterly LOVE it! Such a joy to be in here!  It is more spacious than I expected but most importantly – I am so happy we chose custom-built kitchen cabinets in solid wood! What a difference it makes! Looking at it, I feel I manage to give it that classic look but yet with a touch of modern, what do you think?

There are 2 things I am still contemplating – one if I should ad glas cabinet doors to the open shelves to the left. Its a easy fix if I decide to. Also one small ‘miss’  is the big fan to the right came in the same color as the cabinets and I had asked for white to blend in more with the wall …also easy fix to re-spray …. if I decide to.

 

I contemplated regarding kitchen lighting, having cool wall scones. I am not a fan of the traditional ceiling spotlights and since we have 2 very large dominant lamps hanging above our eating area I felt I needed more discrete lighting in the kitchen.  Now seeing it all come together, I am glad we just chose Örsjö rail copper lighting.

One of Åraslöv kitchen’s signature is this drawer unit. Love it and love the solid wood on the inside.

I will admit that I do not have great pictures of our counter top but the Silestone Lagoon we chose is really practical, resistent and on top – looks fantastic with the cabinet color and concrete floor. We got ours from Helsingborgs Sten. Its worth upgrading from the Carrera marble if you can…

Here is our little kitchen bench and it might not look a lot to the world here – but its a must for us. All of us have taken wonderful naps on it already – and everybody uses it to stay connected while things are being prepared in the kitchen – its really the social hang! Now – the only thing I need to add is a small table that I can easily bring out and have here. The kitchen island is open on that side so great place to store that little table when you do not want it out. The great thing is that its very spacious so we can place a table there with no problem… Here are a few suggestions I have found so far, but not convinced yet.

Here is the view from the bench looking out to the rest of the room….

Having the shelves open like this, makes it easy to grab a glas and my concern is that glas cabinet doors would give it too much of a formal look?….

Here is a view from the eating area – sorry for the pics qualities but I am not an expert on my daughters new camera  – just yet.

I have to log-ff now – but promise to show you the rest of the kitchen, the stove, fan etc ..next time. I need to get out and get some fresh air now! Take care my friends!

Hugs P

 

 

 

 

As you walk in

The entrance and hallway is the first thing you walk in to. Its that first impression. Like so many others, I wanted to create an inviting and interesting first impression. Thought it would be nice if the focus point was the large windows straight ahead and our so called ‘American stairs – opening in the ceiling to be an eye catcher. Turns out the American lamps are pretty dominant as well….>)

I am really happy how everything has come together after just one week. Obviously it helps having most furniture – nothing we really ‘need’ (more things I would love to add or switch out with time…).

One little concern I had building this new summer house was if it would look and feel too new. Would we be able to create a warm and summer feel?  I do think our kitchen, stairs and floor picks made a difference but our more older’ furniture makes all the difference. Mixing those pieces of furniture with all the other new things just creates that good vibe and feel.

I have mentioned it before but one little detail I am a tiny disappointed at – was that this double doors only had the framing on the outside. On the inside, its all flat – no inner door framing which makes it look more modern in my view and obviously not what I wanted here…oh well, believe I will live!

Some details you cannot see here is that immediately to the right as you walk-in, there is a smaller hallway for hanging your coats.  Also, we have our downstairs bathroom in there to the right. I am very glad its all off to the side, so we don’t have to see it from the eating and social area. For some reason, original floorplan had the bathroom door/ entrance somewhere where we have now have this table of ours. I did not really get that, and preferred a bit more privacy.  Oh and yes – we also created storage under the stairs.

I was not sure if this old butchers table was going to fit, afraid it would be too big. My dad bought this on an auction many years ago and claims that when he bought it – it was in terrible condition (meaning not ever been cleaned after all years of being a butchers table….I am not going to spell it out but it apparently needed professional cleaning! Now look at it – perfect for this space and not a trace of buthcer!

Here is a nice view from upstairs. I like how it opens it all up and connects the 2 floors.

My dear friends, that is all I have time for today – I need to start prepping our first New Year’s Eve in this new ‘summer’ place of ours.  Happy New Year, thank you for following me during this project and process. We are over the moon happy that everything was done in time and turned out better than expected. It is really ‘pinch-me’ – can’t believe it feeling!

Next time we will talk –  will be in 2018! Yay – A New Year, how exciting!

Hugs P

House key in my hand…

I started this blog exactly one year ago – after we bought that lot jungle of ours and we signed the contract with our house builder, Fiskarhedenvillan.  We were told it would take around one year to complete it all (that is if all permits were handed in and approved in time). So – of course – naturally we decided to aim for Christmas in Mölle 2017.  Turned out to be a great plan!

Now, here we are – one year has passed and our dream home in Sweden is all done! All according to plan! We are over the moooon happy! Best Christmas present ever!!!!!

For those of you still have not been to Mölle, I can tell you that most homes are white – so our home fits in just fine.

We had our inspection the morning after we touched down from Seattle, which passed with only a few minor details to take care of.  Most importantly,  we got the keys and were able to move in!  I was confident and booked the movers to arrive only 2h after inspection. Here we are waiting for them to show up….

There is so much I love about this house and I promise to tell you all about it – and more, but I have just been busy unpacking, working at the same time and on top of that trying to enjoy it and be with family. So just not enough time to blogg as well… but bare with me, promise to show it all as soon as I get back to more “normal….

We have moved so many times, that we have become quite the experts in getting things up and running pretty fast. Obviously, I had already planned where most things where going – which made it easier.  Another good thing – is that we have a big garage where we can store the things I am uncertain of and or don’t think will fit in the new house. After all, I am being pretty picky and only want the nice things to move in!

The kitchen is really spacious and wonderful. I am happy how it turned out, and that bench,  — turned out to be perfect for the afternoon naps I have been taking.

The next morning, my dear hubby went and found this beautiful tree. I had brought new ornaments with me from Seattle – so our tree was done in no time. Love it!

I know you want to see pictures from the house – and you will as soon as I have it all more ‘ready’. I have added a few pictures on my Instagram in case you want to peak there. In the mean time here on the blog, I thought I would share views from our little  fishing village – from the other morning. As you can see – not much of a white Xmas here…

I really love this little village, even off-season…

I am sorry that I need to keep it short today – especially since there is soo much to show and tell but will be back soon soon with more!

Hugs  P

 

 

Island in place…

Soo so much to tell, but no time to tell – cause I am TOO busy packing our bags for Mölle. I just CANNOT believe we have reached that magical week/date – we have all been waiting for. We kept asking ourselves, -do we dare to buy flight tickets for us all 5 this fall, do we know for sure the house will be done when they say it will…?

… and yes, it all worked out!

I apologies for not keeping you all up to date the last weeks but we did have a pre-inspection, which went well. It resulted in a list of small things, no show-stoppers, just touch-ups here and there. As you know we are building this 2nd home from a distance and last time I saw it – it was basically just a foundation – but I just got to say, in our view this has been a great experience and project and we do hope its mutual, that the builder and vendors think they same of us as customers :).

I promise to write a FULL summary of our project and experience, where I share the good and the things I would perhaps like to have done differently or better…. All that coming but for now – I am leaving it with the song lyrics:  -“it feels good”…..

Just wanted to share the pics sent to me yesterday – an island has now moved in to our darling kitchen. Oh dear – I cannot wait to walk in here….

Funny, my dear mother already sneaked in and placed some Christmas candles in there apparently … so like her, love it!

Below some other “teasers” for now – but A MILLION new pics to come in the next few days of course. Stay tuned!

Hugs P

 

Counter tops on top!

I forgot to mention, our counter tops arrived last week and I just realized I still have not shown you the pictures. Well, to be honest, I was waiting for better (blog quality 🙂 ones but its been a week without getting any so I’m showing you what I got. We are in this together…haha

For the counter tops, we chose Silestone which is similar in look’ as marble but a lot more durable material. Pricier’ but I am hoping it will be worth it in the long run. It can take heat and any acids! In our last summer place we walked on our toes every time someone used lemon, strawberries…which was basically every hour. Finally we can walk normally in the kitchen.

Another detail I wanted to share, which you probably already know is that choosing your counter tops via your kitchen supplier often ends up being more expensive but on the up’ side you keep everything down to One supplier.  Choose what works best for you. We found a stone supplier close to us, Helsingborgs Sten. They have been great and so far (all via pictures) looks great.

The kitchen island, big table in the middle will come soon – cannot wait! Also for some reasons I dont have any good pics that show our bench and tall cabinet to the left but I will be there in no time and can shoot all the pics I want….

We decided on the Italian stove, Bertazzoni which I cannot wait to start using this Christmas. They still have to plug & push things in but lets hope for the best.

We choose one big bath tub as you can see, which I prefer to fit the big pans and stuff. Again, apologize for the blurry pics quality but here you can at least spot the gray thread in the stone which I like and picks up our cabinets *and no, the cabinets dont have any green in them…its just weird lighting.

Above you get a good view of the counter top. On here, we will have our yummy and fancy coffee machine (which I miss tremendously). I often joke and say that our summer place is way more equipped than our regular Seattle home, but its the truth… Here you can also spot what will be the area for the fridge/freezer as well as pantry and on the far end is laundry room. Between the kitchen & laundry we placed this sliding door.

That’ s it my friends, that’s all I have. Oh, and by the way – we chose Lagoon as color and counter top model, in case you want to look it up more. Our Åraslöv Kök kitchen comes in a light warm gray color (Y2502s). LOVE that color!

Sorry for being a little short today, but trying go to bed early so I can get the best start of  the week! Thank you for stopping by, I hope y’ all had a wonderful weekend.

Promise to check in more this week!

Hugs P