[ a gesture in black&white ] by Norm.Architects

A few photos of a townhouse in Copenhagen renovated by Norm.Architects. 

A home of contrasts.

A white background and open layout that make for a serene, pure and fluid refuge, in opposition to it's exterior body and surroundings. And an almost graphic gesture through the punctuation of the space with black details. I find it beautiful (if maybe not very liveable). What do you think?

photography by © Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen

via Yatzer

Ylva Skarp - Calligraphy Love

I'm starting this week by sharing the work of the Swedish calligrapher and designer Ylva Skarp. 

You may have seen some of her handwriting in several images before, but here are a few more.

The prints 'Curiosity' and 'Creativity' have been on my wish list for a while...it's one of those things that belong in my dream home... and today I fell in love with her words on ceramics as well. 

all images via Ylva Skarp

Her writing just makes me feel happy!

Hope you like it.  

Home Flowers Snapshots

Some white flowers for my white Scandinavian Kitchen. 

And, for a change, the weather is lovely outside.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

PS: I normally keep my cooking herbs in that flower pot, thus the 'herbs' written with chalk.

Vipp + Merci

The story of the Vipp's pedal bin is an example of permanence in good design. This pedal bin, created in 1939, by Holger Nielsen, for his wife's hair saloon, was in the origin of the internationally recognized Danish design company Vipp. And in 2009 it was accepted into the architecture and design collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Today, the pedal bin continues to be very sought after, and as the iconic product that it is, it gets to be dressed, styled, painted and personalized by different artists and designers, for limited editions or charity purposes, that you can find on Vipp's Pinterest board Collaborations.

source: Vipp + Merci

On a previous post, about Merci opening it's web-shop, I shared the images of their paper bag as one of my favourite products. So you can imagine my excitement when I first learned, on Nordic Leaves blog, that the designers of the paper bag (the French design team bê-pôles) and Vipp had worked together for a limited edition of the pedal bin for Merci. I had to share it here!

image via Nordic Leaves

image via Nordic Leaves

By far my favourite collaboration...what do you think?

The Wood Lamp - Scandinavian Lighting

image via Muuto

Today I'm sharing the Wood Lamp from Muuto. A desk lamp made of pine wood with a rubber cord, in green or white, that represents to it's designers team, TAF Architects:

"...a low-tech antidote to the usually very modern work desk lamps. 

All of the details are pragmatically chosen with every screw visible. 

The wooden lamp gets a lot of personality with the most simple methods.”

images 2 | 3 | 4 photographed and styled by Nina Holst from Stylizimo blog

Daniella Witte's Home

Daniella Witte is a Swedish stylist and photographer with one of the most beautiful and inspiring blogs I follow. Her blog is written in Swedish, but the photos more than speak for themselves (and there's always google translation). There, you can find beautiful photos of her impeccably styled home and it's transformations over time. Her style comes from a mix of raw materials (wood, copper, concrete) and natural tones, with warmer details and textiles. It's a perfect example of contemporary Scandinavian style. 

I truly recommend a visit to her blog. But first, here are a few photos where you can see some changes happening. You can notice two different lamps hanging from the ceiling and a painted black detail on the table's legs, for example. And also the different sun light coming in through the windows. 

all images by Daniella Witte 

Hoping this was a good way to inspire you for a new week!

(mine started with 24h without internet...it's good to be back)

Scandinavian Style - Family Room

When I moved to Denmark I noticed that the layout of theirs homes is, generally, very different from what you can find in Portugal. And the most flagrant of those differences is the predominant existence of a room where living, dinning and kitchen coexist. They call it "Alrum", the equivalent of a "family room" in English, and it derives from the strong concerns and integration of the idea of family and family life in interior design and architecture around the 1960's. 

It took me a little time to stop worrying about the smell of food and the mess that a kitchen can become, and focus on the idea that it's not necessarily a bad thing to be forced to pay more attention to what you have in your kitchen and how you show it. To actually think and plan that space without being able to rely on closing a door. But what I love more about it, I must admit, is that being someone that loves baking and spends a lot of time around food, I don't have to be isolated to do so. 

So today I'm sharing an example of a Scandinavian family room, in neutral tones and with a mix of mid-century and industrial style. Photographed and styled by Lovely Life and for sale at the Swedish real estate agency Alexander White.

all images via Lovely Life

The Edit Lamp - Scandinavian Lighting

I saw this lamp on Emmas design blog a few days ago, and it immediately got my attention. The creation of the Edit lamp, by Joanna Laajisto, came from the necessity of having a small and simple pendant to suit her interior architecture projects. But the process of design, to achieve the desired aesthetics - clean but interesting, modern and classic, demanded many hours of revising and editing, and thus the name "Edit". The lamp can be used as a pendant or attached to a wall fixture, and in three versions: all black, steel/black and brass/black.

“The idea that the light could be fixed to the wall was especially intriguing to me. Wall lamps create a very special ambience” 

- Joanna Laajisto -

I personally love the all black on the wall. It reminds me of an old street lamp which, not notwithstanding it's minimalistic lines, still evokes a romantic and poetic atmosphere. 

all images via Joanna Laajisto creative studio

The home of...Yvonne Koné

Today's inspiring interior is the apartment of  Danish designer Yvonne Koné. I find it very interesting that we could describe her home with the same words used on Koné's web site to describe her work and design for leather accessories. 

"Yvonne Koné is inspired by raw, natural leather with an industrial non-color feel giving the collections a discrete look of understated poise and elegance. Also, the consistent use of contrasts in materials creates a dialogue between toughness and fragility in each design" 

Ok, it's yet another home interior in: white, black, grey and timber; modern and vintage/industrial...but it's worth it!

photography: LineThit Klein (for Elle Decoration DK)

Styling: Stine Langvad

via: Yvonne Koné

Gorgeous! Especially the living-room. Those made to measure book shelves, made by Københavns Møbelsnedkeri, provide a place to keep everything and give warmth and personality to the room.  And I just love the low sofa tables and the lamp stand in concrete and timber.

Vintage Details in a Danish Home

A beautiful Danish home, from the 1920's, in neutral tones, a lot of art and vintage findings.

This first photo is a perfect "vignette". 

Dark wood (which I'm loving these days) against white walls, black and grey details... simplicity. And the word RO, that sums the atmosphere of the space, and can be translated into English as tranquillity.

all photos by Pernille Kaalund

for Bo Bedre