Showing posts with label Design Boards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Design Boards. Show all posts

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Swedish Country Interiors Part 2 - How To Do This In Your Home

Here are some more great images from the hot new design book Swedish Country Interiors which you can get HERE.
It is such a wealth of inspiration, and any one of these images is sure to give you some ideas as how to bring a little Swedish Country into your decor scheme.
Click on images for a larger view.

Swedish decor is all about color
The fabric on the settee is Ralph Lauren, and very much like a Swedish textile


Take note of the checked curtains

This kitchen is the epitome of a simple well designed space
Add a sink skirt and open shelving in your own kitchen


Mora, mora, mora!
These clocks are THE signature Swedish design element


Love the floors, the old armoire, and the white bed linens
All key ingredients for a Swedish interior


Even the bathroom can have a touch of Swedish design
Add a painted Swedish antique table for a pop of color


An old painted Swedish chest, a simple rag rug runner
You can do this!


All the classics make this dining room perfect
Use upholstered chairs with a farm house table
Note the seagrass rug under the table


Two demi lune tables pushed together and an old oriental rug
Do this is your entry hall for some Swedish love!


The painted armoire is a key element- overpaint one you already have
Note the old bench and the blue buckets


This office space comes alive because of the old factory table
Check out the white accent pieces


A rare 18th century Swedish corner chair and small table, both with the original paint
Using one or two special pieces like this will give you an instant aura of a Swedish interior



This unpretentious kitchen is wonderful
Clear pine cabinets and white appaiances are refreshing
The skirted table is a nice unexpected element in a kitchen
The Gustavian style chairs are so Swedish


Bare floors are another element of the Swedish interior
A piece like the 18th century game table is another grace note that can transform a space


A pair of white upholstered arm chairs convey the simple symmetry of Swedish design


The ubiquitous white slip covers are something you may already have


Do you collect antique linens?
Showcase them in an armoire for a terrific statement


White painted built-ins, and the white painted table
Infuse your home office with Swedish Country styke this way
Check out the bright plaid on the chair seat


What can I say?
The perfect painted chest defines the Swedish interior
The graphic wall paper has birds among the vines, a classic Swedish motif


More clear pine and a farm house table are something you may already own
Bring it out of storage and use it for instant Swedish style


Huge armoires and chest on chests like this are something to invest in if you want a Swedish interior design


Sprigged floral fabric is another way to get instant Swedish style


Blue and white tiles on the fire place echo the look of an old Swedish stove


Such a modern looking room made Swedish by using double chandeliers
and of course the Mora clock and white slipcovers drive it home
Note all the blue fabric and the trunk used as a coffee table


Another perfect antique chest with a pair of Gustavian chairs
Over paint a pair of chairs and add check slips


If you have French things you can move them into a Swedish interpretation
The red check seat slips and the blue over painted furniture are very Swedish


Pare down the collections on display
Swedish style is a clean calm look



These old rakes are extraordinary
I love the decorative paint on them
Stencil an old rake for the same effect, and scour the market for rakes like these


This collection of busts along with the aged map
is a continental style that looks so right in the Swedish scheme of things
I spy a turned wood chandelier, another popular Swedish element


Please get the book and read all the details of the homes pictured above. There are so many interesting back stories of each one of these unique Swedish Country Interiors, and many more images that I haven't shown to you.
Nothing can ever replace holding a book in your hands.
I just wanted to share another little look book with you, in case you feel like styling a room or two this weekend.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Holiday Decor For Cote De Texas

This month has not been fun for me.
I feel so left out!!! :(
Just like when I was a little girl and my best friend across the street was a Catholic with 6 kids in the family - on Christmas and Easter, it was so magical over there!! Joni Cote de Texas

Empire State Building decked out for Hanukkah

My dear friend Joni left the above comment at Style Court HERE
Hanukkah starts this weekend, so I thought I'd do a posting for Joni. I'd also like to wish you all a Happy Hanukkah!
Having been a designer in New York for many years, doing many wonderful Jewish weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, I was often called upon at Christmas time to decorate the homes of my Jewish clients for the winter holiday season. Also as a side note, my ex husband is Jewish.
Harry the Hanukkah Armadillo on Friends

Some of my clients asked for Christmas trees in their homes. They just considered it decoration and nothing more or less. I never made a judgement call, no matter how they envisioned their holiday decor. But for those who did not want Christmas decor, I looked to nature and the winter solstice, the season, and to the symbols and colors of Hanukkah.
Valorie Hart Designs
Holiday Party
at The Puck Building, NYC



I would start with the concept of light, since this is the most beloved festival of lights.
Blue and white (and silver and gold) are the "official" colors...
...so I would use the blue and white collections in the home, enhancing them with some winter plants and flowers. And why not serve a holiday punch in your blue and white tureen?!
Many families have the traditional menorah, but for stylish Joni I would use a collection of nine French style candlesticks. I would visually join them together with a length of beautiful French ribbon.
Of course beloved family traditions must be honored and practiced...
...and today designers like Martha Stewart have whole lines of beautiful Hanukkah decorations that expand on tradition in a very stylish way. The traditional blue has morphed into a very pretty pastel Tiffany style blue.
Martha even tells you how to make a dreidel out of home made marshmallows...
...and to hand make cute little bags for Hanukkah gelt (I love the coin shaped chocolate).
I would get some of this glam gelt from Canada and fill lots of pretty bowls with it.
I would use snowflakes as a nod to the season...
...and shells since Joni loves the beach so much.
I'd take a page from my own decor and gladly give it to her...
...using shells and the color blue...
...to spread a little Hanukkah cheer around the house. I'd tie her pillows with ribbon to make them look Hanukkah gifts. If you didn't know I had a Christmas tree in this room, this would pass for a very pretty Hanukkah holiday decorated room!
Or maybe we'd get some of these lovely Rebecca Vizard pillows (posted on Style Court) and toss them all around!
Joni's house would be filled with pretty topiary plants...
...in pretty French flower pots or urns.
I would use pale color wreaths in every window...they would look so good with Joni's white slip covers!
...maybe even some silver leaf ones...
...or some glam white feather wreaths!
The front door would get a wreath too, maybe using some twiggy natural elements.

I'd set her table with a vintage country French blue and white tablecloth...
...and maybe these numbered napkins from France, to signify the number of nights the candles are lighted.
I would use a pair of grand urns on her table...
...filled with blue spruce boughs.
Outside and flanking her front door, I think a pair of these boxwood and light covered containers filled with white branches would make a terrific holiday statement.
I would sprinkle around lots of paperwhite narcissus flowers, white amaryllis, and maybe even white poinsettia, always potted in beautiful French style urns...


Pottery confit style pots would be wonderful filled with most anything, boughs, branches, plants, shells, pinecones,
or maybe pale vintage ornaments.
Little winter birds could perch around Joni's house...
...vintage lights from France could be strung wherever the fancy takes us...
...glass jars filled with ornaments,
...or gelt, or gilded Jordan almonds are always a festive touch of color.
Antlers are such a big decorating trend now, so why not bring some woodland deer into Joni's mix?
Baskets of pinecones are always a nice nautral touch, and I especially like white ones.
Every night a little gift is given, and here's another opportunity for a festive hoiday decoration.
Joni could also use blue toile gift bags tied up with a beautiful French ribbon, to enhance her holiday home on Cote de Texas!
These little lavendar sachets are too perfect! I would tie them with a ribbon to look like little gift packages,
...and put them in a huge white ironstone punch bowl. Everyone who comes to visit Joni can take away a small holiday favor.
So Joni, I'm putting the chemises in the valises, and hopping in the toile-mobile with all the decorations to doll up your house for the holiday season, and every Catholic kid on the block will be drooling over your magical decorations ha ha!