I’m a HUGE supporter of recycling and reinventing furniture. I think the most impressive, effective, green store I’ve ever been to, is the giant warehouse in my hometown, called SOLARETUREN. Local citizens dump all kinds of unwanted items here. Furniture, clothes, sports equipment, toys, everything down to that old broken microwave oven you were aboutTreasure hunting – Swedish style
Scandinavian simplicity
Thursday night I did something strange…I went to a dinner. To actually spend a night with people, and not sit hunched over my laptop was wonderfully strange! It was a dinner at the Swedish Embassy for the 200 year celebration of the Caroline Institute in Stockholm. The beautiful, old fashioned evening started out my favorite way…with Toast Skagen and Schnapps!! Not sure if it was the Aquavit or the beautiful Swedish opera singing, but I got a bad case of homesickness.
I woke up the next morning wanting to catch a last minute flight to Stockholm. I wanted to stroll down a cobblestone street and breathe in the crisp fall air, with nothing to do other than finding a perfect latte in a cafe. Instead, I reigned myself in and surfed Skona Hem’s website and enjoyed the Scandinavian simplicity so prevalent back home. No wonder I want to go there when I want peace.READ MORE Scandinavian simplicity →
A cozy house for 30,000 dollars!
I don’t know about you…but I can’t deal with the heat! I have a really hard time enjoying anything in the 103 degree temperatures here in Virginia!! It really has me missing the cool air back in Sweden. A month ago my brother Joacim and his wife Lisa, threw Zoe (my niece) her first birthdayREAD MORE A cozy house for 30,000 dollars! →
A night at Haringe Palace
We’re finally back in the US. I need to to apologize to all of you for all the typo’s and errors in the previous post. Trying to quickly write a blog post with a spotty internet connection in a house filled to the brim with family and little children was beyond challenging! I’ve been traveling without a computer for two days, and was not able to correct it. So sorry!
Our last night staying at Haringe Palace was my favorite part of the trip. It’s a Gothic castle dating back as far as 1289, and is famous for it’s ghosts. If you ever visit Stockholm I highly recommend spending a night there. The second you arrive you feel like time has stood still for hundreds of years. When we first arrived we were disappointed to find out we would not be sleeping in the main area of the castle, but let me tell you…at the end of the night we were very happy we didn’t.READ MORE A night at Haringe Palace →
Cool, inexpensive, retro designs
Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend. Our visit over here is quickly coming to an end with only two days left. Before we leave I want to share with you some cool products I discovered while here. (I hope to carry some of them on our upcoming site) At the top of my list is the hip plastic carpet from Brita Sweden (you might already have seen it on my Facebook page). Sweden is on of the world’s most child friendly countries, so when companies create products, they do so with families in mind. And this carpet really confirms that.READ MORE Cool, inexpensive, retro designs →
It takes a village…to paint a cabinet
Most of you have probably planned a fun weekend somewhere. However vacation might also be a good time to start doing some things around the house you’ve been putting off for a long time! I know it’s so hard to get around to it. I’ve been here for two weeks already and I haven’t completedREAD MORE It takes a village…to paint a cabinet →
A Midsummer Night/Take 2
I’m coming off one of my favorite weekends of the year – the Midsummer night celebrations. This year the day kicked off with, spotting on our way to the party, for the first time in my life — an ALBINO MOOSE! (proof is at the end of this post) The night ended with a midnight drive home, past lakes with both the sun and a full moon shining bright. In short — pretty magical.READ MORE A Midsummer Night/Take 2 →
The beloved tile fireplace
I’ve always had a love and fascination for the tile fireplaces that exist in many old houses in Sweden. An early version of the tile stove (as it would be called if you translated the Swedish name) dates back to the middle ages. But it was not until an economic crisis in the 1700’s, whenREAD MORE The beloved tile fireplace →
White as a backdrop
One thing I’m noticing when I come here is the prevalence of white everywhere. I guess when I bought the house it was so dark–dark plastic flooring covered old wood floors, some windows were boarded up… So I really went nuts with the white porch paint!! I wanted white floors, walls..everything. I wanted to maximize the natural light, and create a bright and airy house that gave me peace. But I amaze myself, being the color addict I am, when I see all this white!READ MORE White as a backdrop →
We've arrived!!
After a long flight and a long drive, we’ve finally arrived way out in the country to spend time with our family in Sweden. For three weeks I’ll be working and blogging from here. I guess it would be called a “workaction” instead of working 70 hr weeks (I know insane!!), I’ll be cutting downREAD MORE We've arrived!! →