JUST GIVE ME A REASON

Every time I pass by the hardware and home goods store I try to find the perfect excuse to get the soup/salad bowls from Bitz. The proportions are pretty, the glaze looks great. If ours were a single person household it would be the perfect size fruit bowl. Maybe I need a designated bowl for onions and garlic?
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE JERNIA 

DAY OF THE DEAD

If you want a text book example of cultural imperialism via commercial mechanisms, consider the celebration of Halloween in Norway. If you want a text book example of how to honour your dead in Scandinavia, consider visiting an ancient grave site. Strewn across every landscape are the typical mounds and stone circles. These standing stones in Greby, Sweden, were painted in water colour by Olof Hermelin, most likely in the 1880s.
PHOTOGRAPED BY LARS KENNERSTEDT

NOVEMBER

The first week in November we remember those who have passed, honour their lives, and light candles in their memory.  A poetic line from an old Swedish folk psalm capture the mood: "Sorrow and joy they wander together".

Image made with the crosstitch generator.

WOODLAND CREATURE CHRISTMAS

This is my kind of Christmas! Throw pillow Skogen from Åhlens can grace your home from October through March, look great in reading chairs, as well as the kid´s room.

KELP ME

This is my colour inspiration at the moment. Kelp and seaweed under the frozen surface of the sea, mirroring the fading fall colours as nature shift gears from blazing October to quiet November. Photographed in Lauksletta in Troms County, Norway.
PHOTO BY L ORIOL 

TAKING THE TUBE

The boys are learning to light matches and love to cozy up with breakfast around candle light. The  card board tube to hold old tea light cups so they make it to the recycling, has been upgraded from wish list to need list. Made by Swedish FORMAT. 

IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE INREDA.COM

KEEP IT SIMPLE

The past few years coloured glass has become trendy, and I love myself some colour in the home. But  there is something to be said about clear glass and its versatility. Two BERAKNA vases from IKEA with is soft curves would look lovely filled with pine cones, perhaps on a moss green table cloth, surrounded by low pillar candles reflecting its light in the glass. Or the other way around, with pillar candles in the vases and pine cones strewn on the table. A great base for a seasonal setting without going overboard with Santas and reindeers.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE IKEA 

4 GENERATIONS AWAY

The Parish Constable August Ländin and others at a horse and carriage on a country road at Åkeshov, Sweden, in the 1930s.

I am fascinated by photos from this era because my grandparents were born between 1920-1930. This is what the regular and everyday looked looked like to them, though they come from other regions in Sweden and Norway. Imagine the changes in the standard of living they have seen during their 90+ years on earth! Cars, plumbing, washing machines, vacuums, electric ovens, changes in the school systems, a world war, telephones, television, the internet, digitalisation, and the list goes on.

I look at images like these and realise that I get to hold the last hands of this generation, but also bury this generation as grandparent after grandparent passes away, and therefore in some way, this life is as well. It amazes me.

IMAGE: THE SWEDISH NATIONAL HERITAGE BOARD, PHOTOGRAPHER; EINAR ERICI

FALL FAVOURITES

Kastehielmi tray, Iittala / Kaj Boyesen wooden monkey, Rosendahl / Stoneware bowls, H&M Home / Terracotta flower pot, Granit / Rosehip drink, IKEA / Golden leather string, House Doctor / Soap, LA Bruket / Beanie, Fjallraven / Round pen holder, Hay / Stoneware bowl, House doctor / Storage box, IKEA / Scented candle, LA Bruket.

IMAGES: PRODUCT IMAGES FROM IITTALA; ROYALDESIGN.SE; H&M HOME; GRANIT; IKEA; FJALLRAVEN; HAY; LA BRUKET

WEEKEND READS

Packed with some of the best brush strokes of the region, the auction catalogues from Bukowski are treasure chests of inspiration. This weekend I am turning to The Classic Sale – Helsinki Auction from 2013 and 2014.  

IMAGES: CATALOGUE COVERS from ISSUU

ODE TO ERNST

This summer I spotted one of the best looking pots I have ever seen as I was standing with my mother on the escalator of Åhlens City. It became my summer gift to myself, because really, why not get a heavy terracotta pot as hand luggage when travelling? Ugh. It still sits at my mother's house waiting for me to come retrieve it.

Mind you, I have never been a dedicated member of the Ernst Kirschteiger fan club, though I have dipped my toe in his pond a few times. When he eventually branched out into design the product line wasn¨t my cup of tea. In the past two years the brand seem to have come into its own with new products and great styling, just scroll down this page to see what I mean.

I visited the shop in shop at Åhlens City in Stockholm and was intrigued by how many of the items I not only approved of, but simply adored. What had looked dead on screen seemed to come alive with its irregular surfaces, colour variations and beautiful proportions to both hand and eye. If you are curious about the Ernst collection, look past the Zoolander portrait of the designer himself and browse the catalogue here. Or better, go have a look.
IMAGE: PRODUCT IMAGE and PRESS IMAGES ERNSTFORM.SE

IKEA WINTER 2017

The Winter and Holiday collection at IKEA is inspired by Iceland and showcases a pared down, more neutral collection than usual. I for one love to see inspirational imaged showing tables the way I actually dress them rather than over the top fantasies. Table settings without tablecloth and only simple white china is underrated. My favourite inspiration-take-away here is placing all silverware on the right side of the plate for a cleaner look. 

IMAGE: PRESS IMAGE IKEA 

CLIMB EV'RY MOUNTAIN

Happy campers. Tromsø in the faded background.
IMAGE: PERSPEKTIVET MUSEUM

PREPARING FOR WINTER

It¨s the first day of fall break in Oslo, and I'm mending the knees of trousers with the background soundtrack of a dish washer in one room and the rhythmic hums of a laundry machine in another. When my tea is ready, I will take my sewing pile outside and mull over plans for our tiny flower bed. Bulbs? Bushes? Berries? Blooms? The trees surrounding the garden are shifting from green to yellow one at a time, as if they were a colouring book and someone was penciling in each leaf.

September and October are a delight with all their blazing colours. The mountains in the north are never as beautiful as in fall, with intense sunsets burning on the horizon each afternoon. Further south, forests rise mighty and inviting, filled with the sounds of birds and animals fattening up on berries, pine cones and shrubs. In our suburbs, the air smells of apples, pears and plums, cut grass and fall flowers. First graders are wiggling loose teeth, and the older kids race to school in new rain gear.

And there is still day light. The skies may be gray, but the days are not dark yet, so Scandinavians savour the lingering light.

Welcome to another season on the blog.

WINTER IS COMING

Welcome to new readers and returning visitors! We are well beyond halftime a.k.a midsummer, and according to the old viking calendars, winter arrives in about two months. October is also the official season premiere of the blog, so bookmark us, subscribe to bloglovin or visit our pinterest boards for pre season inspiration.

The Scandinavian summer was mostly lukewarm and rainy this year, so it seems fall has arrived early with chilly nights and spectacular sunsets. Enjoy the crayfish, moon eclipses, harvest season and floral abundance of fall, and we´ll see you soon!

WALK IN THE LIGHT

Today is Kyndelsmӓssodagen, and Christmas is officially over, but in addition to the catholic symbolism tied to this day, the sun has also returned to the polar regions. The polar night is finally over, even in Svalbard.

WEEKEND INSPIRATIONS

Have you visited Svenskt Tenn's new and improved webpage? Don't miss the "Inspiration" tab with new rooms every season. Available in both a Swedish and an English version.

THIS! How I long to visit Ulriksdals tradgård every time I go to Stockholm, and my web browser history proves it. Since I usually travel alone with kids, it's been about nine years since my last visit. Imagine that! Nine!

The Grand Hotel in Stockholm recently underwent a major renovation. The gallery showcasing their muted interiors are a delight.
IMAGE: GRAND HOTEL STOCKHOLM, WEBPAGE

HOME EC 2.0

Hemkunskap is Swedish for Home Economics but the literal translation is "Home Knowledge". I am fully capable of feeding my family, but it is time to up my game in the kitchen. When a chef boasting two Michelin stars publishes a book about simple home cooking basics, I cetrainly expect it to elevate our week day dinners. Sample pages at Bokus. 

IMAGE: BONNIER FAKTA PRESS IMAGE

IT'S CLEARLY WELCOME BACK

I'm STOKED about the re-launch of Limelight by Kosta Boda. The glasses are the icons of the collection, but I adore the pitcher and the vase for roses. 

IMAGE: PRESS IMAGE KOSTA BODA

WEEK FOUR

The first month of this year is unusually warm in Oslo, but with the characteristic gray skies and icy gravel strewn streets of most Nordic urban winter days. I linger in the midwinter darkness, the cozy feel of wool blankets and resist the urge to welcome spring too soon. In a week or so I will begin to introduce white and green in the home again, to welcome the light. But not quite yet.

In the desperate attempt to declutter prior to a move six years ago I threw away the old maps I'd been saving to have framed.  I'd torn out the original print from a book in an even earlier attempt to declutter. This was one of those maps, printed in 1909, and I miss it terribly. Perhaps it is time to admit to myself that I never grew up. I am one still of those who adore the treasures others call clutter.

IMAGES FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: BLOMSTERFRAMJANDET, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, USED WITH PERMISSION. MAP OF STOCKHOLM FROM THE INTERNET BOOK ARCHIVE