Category: Home & Lifestyle

Hard to resist! Super stylish designer jugs filled with fresh water…

If you’re thirsty, there’s nothing healthier than plain water. And to make the plain water a bit more exciting we’ve chosen a few Scandinavian designer carafes, for your inspiration.

By Georg Jensen is this functional jug with a oak lid.
alfredo_carafe_by_george_jensen

There’s the water carafe by Kartio Pitcher for Iitalla.
water_carafe_jug_by_Kartio_Pitcher_for Iitalla

This simple style from Menu
menu Water carafe jug

The Eva Solo Water carafe, with a neoprene cover to keep in the fridge.
eva Solo Fridge Carafe_with_neoprene_cover

Fun and full of life is this water carafe by Normann Copenhagen.
carafe_by_normann_copenhagen

With a water carafe I tend to drink more water, especially if it’s in the fridge, as it’s cold and refreshing. The carafe from Georg Jensen is just super stylish, but the Eva Solo is probably even more functional as it just sist in the fridge, ready to serve. Which one is your favourite carafe?

Designing a new IKEA kitchen for our London home

Our home may have some fantastic features such as large french doors in the living room and high ceiling. The location is great too. And for those of you that follows this blog, you may have picked up that we have a small but private garden that we very much enjoy. But it ends there. We do have a large eat in kitchen, but the fittings is in teak/plastic from the glorious days of the 70’s. The fan looks like a space ship and the cabinets are not possible to completely close. All in all it’s in a state. So we are looking into renewing it.

IKEA offers an online solution where you can design your own kitchen by simply filling in the accurate measurements of the room. When that’s said there’s no surprise there’s companies offering to design it for you, for a small fee. Because finding the right solution, cabinets that fitted your measurements, turned out to be a small headache. As hours spent with click and drag cabinets around your virtual kitchen, that would fit in with the rooms dimensions, is before deciding on whether to go with a grey or off white kitchen.
rbki19a

We’re planning to recover the original floor, that are hopefully hiding underneath the parquet, with some sanding and oiling. Combined with contemporary Scandinavian dining furniture and a fully functioning fireplace -this might end up being our favourite room in the house. Now, should we choose grey or off white?

Collecting Blue Fluted Plain Dinnerware by Royal Copenhagen

When staying with friends this summer we truly enjoyed dining in with their gorgeous dinnerware by Royal Copenhagen. It really inspired us and we realised that if we were ever to have the same in our home, we needed to get started. A birthday present, adding to the collection of tea mugs in all shapes and patterns prompted our quest to a stylish dinnerware. Mixing dinnerware can be fun but our selection is not a mix in a good way. Our mugs are everything from Diamond Jubilee to Santa saying ho ho ho. Returning the gift, four tea mugs with a summery flower pattern got us started with one tea cup and saucer from Royal Copenhagen. Royal Copenhagen doesn’t come for free, but it does come with a two year breakage guarantee. The quality is lush, and as every piece is hand painted, you should choose each item with care. From now on, no more unwanted gifts for Birthday and Christmas. Also, you might come over nice pieces of the collection, second hand and even in sales sometimes. I wouldn’t mind mixing the different straw patterns, although we will be focusing on collecting the Blue Fluted Pain.
royal_copenhagen_blue_flute_dinnerware

Collecting a certain dinnerware set does make you feel all grown up. But whatever makes you happy! We’ll probably combine this with Royal Copenhagen Fluted Contrast coffee mugs, as a contemporary touch on the breakfast table.

If you are interested seeing more, have a look here Royal Copenhagen

Welcome back!

Yes, it’s been quiet on the blog over the summer. Summer in Scandinavia is a favourite and I took some time off to enjoy the beautiul weather, the raw nature and to spend time with friends and family.



How about you? Did you make, go, see or do something special this Summer?
Ps. You do know about Little Scandinavian? It’s Kids Scandinavia in compact format. Also shared by me. ;)

Nordic Music at Ja Ja Ja Festival, Roundhouse London 8 Nov 2013

Ja Ja Ja and the Roundhouse in Camden London present some of the biggest names in Nordic music at Ja Ja Ja Festival, a new two-day event that will showcase the best of new Nordic music, film and food.
mew_band
© Mew – mewsite.com

Mew from Denmark and múm from Iceland are among the first artists announced to play at the Ja Ja Ja Festival, a joint event and collaboration between Ja Ja Ja Music, the Roundhouse and Nordic Culture Fund.
Mew’s appearance at Ja Ja Ja Festival will be their first London show in over four years.

Playfully combining analogue and electronica sounds, múm gained global attention with their second album “Finally We Are No One” in 2002. Renowned for their stunning live shows, the Icelandic band is a must experience.

Tickets from £25. More details about the festival on roundhouse.org.uk

Nordic Modern furniture and lighting from &Tradition Copenhagen

&tradition is a Danish design company established in 2010 with focus on being “tradition tied to innovation”. With a furniture and lighting inspired by classics dating back to 1930′, they include some of the best Scandinavian designers as well as some exciting new talents. The FLY Lounge Series (as seen below) by SPACE Copenhagen, launched in 2013, has a genuine feel of traditional craftsmanship yet with a modern look.
andTradition_FLY_lounge_series_by_Space_copenhagen
andtradtition_ice_chandelier_by_sofie_refer

“We want to connect with the old masters, while giving space to new designers to define what will become future classics. We see a kinship between the old masters, who were avant-garde in their time, and new designers creating the ground-breaking icons of today”.

Martin Kornbek Hansen,
founder of &tradition

The Danish design furniture from &Tradition are now available in the UK at Moleta Munro and Skandivis. Find out more and see more retailers at andtradition.com

Skandinavisk KOSE – long burning scent free candle lights

Two English chaps, who fell in love with two blonde Scandinavian girls… This is the intro to the Copenhagen based company, SKANDINAVISK. They’ve captured the essence of the Scandinavian word KOSE. It’s about creating those small moments. Create space, and time for each other. To enjoy some quality time, in between everyday chores and stress.

Now Skandinavisk has designed a scent free candle that’ll burn for at least 140 hours. That’s a lot of KOSE!

skandinavisk_kos_mys_candle_box
skandinavisk_kos_mys_candle_burning_church_candle
skandinavisk_logo_candleskandinavisk_candle_table_decoration
© Go Scandinavian

As a Scandinavian living in the UK I’m finding it hard to find good quality candles. In Scandinavia, any grocery shop will have a great selection of everything from tea candles to church candles.
Luckily -I’ve now discovered the online shop, with FREE shipping at the moment, skandinavisk.com

Summer Wedding on the island that rises from the sea, Bornholm

A friend, a gorgeous Danish woman, beautiful inside and out, is getting married in June in Bornholm, Denmark. Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea. In Old Norse the island was known as Borgundarholm, the name related to the Old Norse words borg (height) and bjarg/berg (mountain or rock), as it is an island that rises high from the sea. What better place to start a union of two people who share their vison, dreams and goals, who have decided that love will conquer all.

justine-hoegh-wedding_bornhom
© Photo by Justine Høgh / Bryllup Bornholm

bryllupbornholm
© Photo by Verner Kjærsgaard / Bryllup Bornholm

Til lykke med de siste forberdelsene, kjære Lone og Laust. x

On the look out for a new bicycle – Boris! I’m breaking up with you!

There’s no way around it; I’m in a urgent need of a bicycle. The last bike in my ownership, a second hand mens mountain bike, was stolen in the streets of Oslo in 2002. It was meant to be replaced. Then immediately became to soon and then eventually to sometime.

Since 2008 I’ve enjoyed traveling around in London. The city offers a great choice of transport and especially the tube system. However, there’s something about pedalling your way around, the sensation of utterly freedom holding the handles and choosing your direction. When my boyfriend got me a Boris key it was with great pleasure I tried the system out. Not having cycled for years, the heavy bike was tricky to manoeuvre around in the busy streets of Central London. It was almost a relief to put it back into the dock. But as with everything you do get used to it. However, even though it’s convenient to jump on and off the communal bike around the capital, it’s not quite like having your own. So, Boris. I’m breaking up with you!
Boris_and_his_bike
© Boris and his bikes

My ultimate wet bicycle dream would be able to own a Swedish handmade womens bicycle from Skeppshult. But as with most things unique, handmade and good quality, it comes with a hefty price tag. In other words; it’s just not meant to be.
Then I spotted this vintage bike in a window in Barbican, with my name on it. And I thought this was the one! However, turned out the offer was “we pay £100 for your used bike when you buy a NEW”. How disappointing -a bike, literary with my name on it, and it’s not for sale! So the search for “the one” continues.
image (3)
© Go Scandinavian – Bianca Bike

Let me know if you know where to buy a affordable bicycle, you know a frame with two wheels, handles and a saddle. A device that can take me anywhere I desire.

Benefits of a bicycle

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