Friday, November 7, 2014

Swedish Blogs


Oh Scandinavia, what's not to love? The landscape looks like Canada, but with cuter houses. Last spring my daughter Kate visited Scandinavia when she was doing her study abroad term in the UK (that's her photo above of Copenhagen). She fell in love with Scandinavian style. I have always loved Scandinavian interiors and Kate introduced me to their streetstyle. 

Scandinavian design is famous for its simplicity and use of natural elements. Their interiors tend toward light neutrals. In particular, you see lots of white with a subtle use of colour in their homes. The clothing also tends toward neutrals, but usually more the darker colours. They also embrace function both in interior design and fashion - flats and Chelsea boots prevail rather than sky-high heels and minimalist, well-curated, organized collections on open shelves rather than cluttered sideboards. It is a look I love (although not necessarily one I can master - especially the organized, curated, minimalist part).

Kate asked if I knew any good Scandinavian lifestyle and decor blogs so she can continue to be inspired by their style. I have been doing a little digging for her (I mean what's a mother to do) and have come up with some, but I was wondering if anyone else had other Scandi blogs they could recommend.
 

These are the ones I found that appealed to me - some traditional and some more modern; some home decor and some lifestyle (click on the name of the blog to check out the blogs themselves):


My Scandinavian Home - written by a British woman living and raising a family in Sweden. I love her style and her choices of homes that she features. 


My Scandinavian Home

Live Like You - written by Jill Sorensen, a Swedish decorator who now lives in California, but returns to Sweden every summer and is decorating a home in the country.



Jill Sorensen

Vibeke Design - a Norwegian blog (written in Norwegian) which focuses on more traditional Scandinavian decor including her own home in the country.


Vibeke Design


Flying House - a blog written by an American mom of three living in Denmark (although they are in presently in the US for six months).

Flying House

Design Attractor - written by a graphic designer from the Czech Republic who loves all things modern Scandinavian.  He features home after beautiful minimalist Scandinavian home.


Design Attractor

Love Nordic - written by a British woman who loves all things Nordic (do you see a theme here of some of the best Scandi blogs written by people who don't live in Scandinavia).  This blog leans toward modern interiors and features Scandinavian industrial design.



Love Nordic

Marsipan og Smilefjes - a Norwegian blog, written in Norwegian, which features more simple modern country design with lots of natural elements mixed in.


Marsipan og Smilefjes

Emmas Designblogg - her byline says it is Scandinavia's oldest and most read design blog. So there you have it. She writes in English which is helpful to me as my Swedish is nonexistent and she is the author of the bestselling book Northern Delights about Scandinavian design. She favours minimalist modern designs. 




Elisabeth Heier - a Norwegian blogger, writing in Norwegian, with some English at the end of each post and lots of photos of her beautiful modern white home.


Elisabeth Heier

Decordots - a blog written by a woman from Estonia who loves all things Scandinavian.  She has a good design sense and features beautiful homes.


Decordots

Nordic Bliss - A Norwegian woman living in the UK (now there's a twist) and writes about Scandinavian design.


via Nordic Bliss

Scandinavian Retreat - a design blog written by a Norwegian blogger who writes about how they transformed their seaside cabin and are now building a home near Oslo.  That's her gorgeous cabin in the photo below. She also features other Scandinavian homes and design.


Scandinavian Retreat

Stylizimo - a blog from Norway (just guessing by the tiny Norwegian flag on the header) with tons of inspiring home design articles.


Stylizimo

And finally, I wanted to show you another photo taken by Kate in Copenhagen. While it isn't a Scandinavian interior, it is a good example of their ingenious design sense in an outdoor space. It is a wall with hinged boards that are black on one side and coloured on the other. People can come by and open select boards to create interesting designs on the wall.  So creative and so fun, right?




Please feel free to add any suggestions of great Scandinavian blogs in the comments. There are never enough blogs on my favourite's list.

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