Beni

Easter in Sweden is a big event. Although the country is largely secular, the holiday offers a perfect excuse for families to gather in the spring sunshine (hopefully), eat some herring, egg based delicies and of course sing songs while downing akvavit! Afterwards, egg rolling is likely to take place in the village and if the children are lucky - the 'Påskhare' (Easter bunny) might just pay a visit and hide large paper eggs filled with sweets.  But let's rewind. Before the big event, there's decorating to be done! The leaves haven't yet unfurled in Sweden, instead birch twigs are decorated with brightly coloured feathers or hung with decorative eggs. You might also see a witch on her broomstick in the window (Swedish legend has it that witches fly off to Blåkulla on Good Friday before returning on Påskafton (Easter Eve). And on Maundy Thursday, you might just receive a visit from a little witch with rosy cheeks and freckles, asking for sweets. You've been war...

Sponsored by Carl Hansen & Søn, all words are my own and only work with companies I love and think you will too. Thank you for supporting the wonderful brands that make My Scandinavian Home possible.   Hej! In Sweden, the Easter week serves as an ideal opportunity to re-open the summer cottage after a long winter. Hearths are swept, cobwebs banished and now that the snow has thawed, furniture can be lifted outside once again. What a great moment!  Having completed our tiny cabin  in 2022, our attention has turned to the garden and one of the biggest steps was to choose a garden table. For someone who struggles to make decisions ( ahem understatement! ), this was no easy feat. Especially as I had criteria to fill such as it needing to be lightweight and easy to store away in winter as well as small enough to fit on the cabin decking (or moved around at whim!). And of course it needed to look beautiful too!   In the end I settled on the beautiful Dan...

Why, hello there! While last week's posts were very much about the Swedish country home , I thought I'd kick off the week with a city dwelling. After all, we can all dream about a romantic home in the countryside like Beata's  or Maria's - tbut he majority of us are likely to live more urban! So, let's head to Berlin today and take a tour of  Igor Josif's  wonderful flat!  Igor is a dear friend of mine (we've met at many events over the years and even once went on a tour to  Transylvania together!). I have always admired his talent and eye for design and have both of his lovely books on my shelf - Urban Jungle and Plant Tribe . I've also featured his past home on My Scandinavian Home, so you might well recognise the name!  Igor recently moved into this beautiful flat in Berlin with his husband and the space has become the perfect haven for his studying (Igor recently returned to university to study Classical Archaeology and Art History. And of c...

It's Friday and the sun is shining! Love it! Before we all head off, I just wanted to share one final snippet of Scandi inspiration with you in the form of Beata Nison's lovely country home.  Beata is the founder of second hand boutique ReBloom selling handpicked vintage treasures from around Sweden - evidence of which can also be spotted in her lovely country home (wicker 'frog' bin anyone?). But what also stands out to me from these corners are the pretty shades of blue, pink and ochre she's used and many of which she's mixed herself. Evidence that weaving in some hues can add so much depth and interest to a room.  Keep an eye out for the old fireplaces too - there's a 'kakelugn' to be found around almost every corner - even in the hall!  Velkommen! Really charming! All the flowers are making me want spring to hurry up and arrive too!  Do you see what I mean about the shades of blue and pink seen on doors, cabine...

This summer, my eldest daughter Liv is swimming in the Swedish nationals. She has worked so hard to qualify (mornings before school and all) so there's no way we're going to miss it, even so it's taking place in Sundsvall, some 980 kilometres (600 miles) from Malmö! And then I realised something. It's only a short hop to Sweden's Höga kusten (High Coast) in the Gulf of Bothnia - a world heritage site known for its archipelago and breathtaking scenery. Needless to say, it's somewhere I've always wanted to visit but never really had the opportunity until now!  While researching our trip, I remembered Maria's beautiful house in the area (I have followed Maria on instagram for quite some time now!). The pictures Maria shares of her home often have me dreaming of living a life in an old house on the water's edge - particularly as magical as this one.  A traditional red and white house, it's filled with earthy tones, wood panelling, vintage furn...