An idyllic Finnish cottage with an outdoor summer kitchen

As January comes to a close and the short, snowy days continue,  I find myself dreaming of the summer sun more and more. And when it arrives - I'm going to be outdoors along with the rest of Scandinavia. That's why I thought I'd share the latest developments of one of my favourite summer cottages - an oh so idyllic family retreat on an island in the Finnish archipelego. The ongoing renovation project is driven by owner Minna Jones of Time of The Aquarius and her partner and has been well documented here on My Scandinavian Home (here and here plus her year round home here). To me, the residence epitomises the essence of the Scandinavian summer - life at a cabin with a beautiful, yet basic interior and maximised to ensure time outside enjoying the long awaited summer days. Last season the owners added an outdoor kitchen to the mix. And the good news? It's easily replicated.  Here are a few new snaps of Minna's home and her fab new outdoor kitchen.

Minna Jones, Time of the Aquarius

To get a similar outdoor kitchen: try painting an IKEA trestle table,  the water can with tap and lights are from Granit, buy a camping stove here. Finnish birch basket. Rattan furniture is set to be big this spring / summer - I'm a big fan of the uber comfy BYHOLMA chair.

Other items I know and love: Bertoia chairs, Butterfly chair and String shelves. IKEA PS 2012 chest of drawers and FÖRHÖJA kitchen trolley.

To get a full picture of the summer cottage and for more images of the plan, interior, grounds, surrounding nature and family life at the cottage you can wile away a few hours on Minna's dreamy blog.

I also absolutely love this Finnish log cabin with a sauna.

Summer in Finland anyone?!

And because it's still January (just): I loved how Scandinavisk summarises the 'Sense of Scandinavia' in Thursday's piece. And this beautiful video by Volvo featuring Amanda Begman's song 'Vintersaga' (winter tale) perfectly sums up the coldest season in Sweden- I was particularly excited to see it even features the beach by my house here in the South! Thank you AMM blog for the tip!

Have a lovely day!

PS Thank you so much to Ana of Blog Milk Shop for all your amazing technical help with my blog lately! Ana is not only my tech saviour but she also creates the most stunning blog templates available to buy here.  

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The home of a Swedish Fashion designer

I started to work from home this year. It certainly has its merits - pretty much everything in the house is whirring around me - the washing machine, dishwasher...and I'm sitting here, no make-up, big socks etc. But the true freedom comes with managing my own time (I'm planning on diving into town in a moment to run a few errands) and control of how my workspace looks. And it's the latter which inspired today's post. I love the light-filled home office in the Stockholm pad of Åsa Stenerhag,  fashion designer at Swedish brand Filippa K. The space, which has been beautifully captured by Jonas Ingerstedt, is home to her art,  images which inspire her, artifacts collected on travels and vintage finds. The rest of Åsa's home with it's warm, earthy tones and ethnic textiles is pretty lovely too, don't you think? Oh yes, I could work and live here.

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt. Home-owner: Åsa Stenerhag. Featured in Elle Decoration Sweden

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt with permission. Home-owner: Åsa Stenerhag. Featured in Elle Decoration Se

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt with permission. Home-owner: Åsa Stenerhag. Featured in Elle Decoration Se

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt with permission. Home-owner: Åsa Stenerhag. Featured in Elle Decoration Se

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt with permission. Home-owner: Åsa Stenerhag. Featured in Elle Decoration Se

Photography: Jonas Ingerstedt with permission. Home-owner: Åsa Stenerhag. Featured in Elle Decoration Se

I think what I love most about this home is how it reflects Åsa Stenerhag's personal style. Is there anything that stands out to you?

Other fab office spaces here.

And more beautiful Stockholm apartments here, here and here.

One of the greatest things about Sweden's capital city is how it's surrounded by water. A short boat ride can take you to one of thousands of islands with lovely homes such as this one.  Have you been? We're heading up in a few weeks time to visit my brother-in-law - tips welcome!

Have a lovely day!

PS - thank you to La Maison D'Anna G for today's post tip. 

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A striking Danish home with a calm feel

The 'Sense of Scandinavia' is built 'of vast landscapes and raw seasons, of cosy shared moments and the world's happiest people' so says Scandinavisk.  And if the Danish candle company owner Shaun Russel and his wife Lene's house is anything to go by, this is most definitely true. Located in Copenhagen, this calm space is the perfect shelter from the winter storms and light a candle or two. Not only does the brown and white schemed space have amazing bones with high ceilings and original parquet flooring, but the couple have carefully selected treasured design items and combined them with antique and vintage finds from which to enjoy it. And of course, there's that incredible grand piano...

Photographer: Pia Winther, Stylist Gitte Christensen. Post inspired by Vosges Paris, with thanks. 

Photographer: Pia Winther, Stylist Gitte Christensen. Post inspired by Vosges Paris, with thanks. 

Photographer: Pia Winther, Stylist Gitte Christensen. Post inspired by Vosges Paris, with thanks. 

Photographer: Pia Winther, Stylist Gitte Christensen. Post inspired by Vosges Paris, with thanks. 

Photographer: Pia Winther, Stylist Gitte Christensen. Post inspired by Vosges Paris, with thanks. 

Photographer: Pia Winther, with kind permission. Stylist Gitte Christensen. Post inspired by Vosges Paris, with thanks. 

Could you be the happiest of people here? I certainly could!

A few things I know and love: Eames RAR armchair, series 7 chair (currently on sale!), Super Ellipticle table, try Etsy for vintage filing cabinets and keep an eye on LiveAuctioneers for leather sofas. try Farrow & Ball Mahogony paint to get a similar effect as the striking hallway.

Anything that catches your eye?

Other beautiful and inspiring Copenhagen spaces include this apartment in unexpected colours,  an artist's home in black and white and a pad with the shiniest concrete floor you've ever seen! Oh how I love the Danish sense of style, how about you?

This week I'm excited to be working with a wonderful team at the IKEA headquarters. It's about an hour and a quarter away from Malmö by train and stepping off the train is like entering a snowy winter wonderland. BRRRR - my new work wear: a fjäll räven backpack and fleece tights!

Have a lovely day and stay warm! 

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