we are at Winter Wonderland

Like mentioned in my previous post, this week has been a true luxury  - at our cottage in the Eastern Finland. When home in Stockholm, I've been feeling the spring approaching. Here - NO :)! This is the heart of winter. The days are a bit longer, we've seen the SUN a few times, there's a lot of WHITE snow. Every day is filled with outdoor activities, and afterwards we try to warm up the frozen toes in various ways. On sunday afternoon we decided to do it outdoors - eating hot dogs while enjoying the fire place - the kids loved...

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I like PLAZA KOTI interior design magazine

Chakra rattan storage box from Weranna's WarehouseThe children are on a winter holiday, and we are spending quality time at our log house in the eastern part of Finland. The little one was sleeping in, and I had the rare, wonderful opportunity to read through the major interior design magazines in Finland (there are many in this country, by the way, we like to read magazines).Jutta Rissanen from Plaza koti, a magazine belonging to the international PLAZA magazine family and claiming to be the most stylish home decoration magazine in Finland (I...

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my Easter eggs were in an accident

Luckily, luckily - no-one got hurt, but almost half of the wonderful, colourful, hand-painted ceramic Easter eggs are gone. When I received the message, there was a rush of pictures, noises and scents in my mind...Anyone been to Istanbul knows what the traffic can be like, especially on a Saturday afternoon. Horns honking, perhaps a little slippery as it is February after all, the wonderful scent of coal hanging still over the city from the previous night, even the ezan (call to prayer) could be heard... it is no surprise that an accident...

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she's telling you what she's doing

MISS DESIGNMy last blog post was a color splash - what is she doing? This isn't her style!  Well, like said, I LIKE mixing styles :) - you can call it rustic loft style, or whatever. As long as it is balanced, and looks good to your eye.Here is some wonderful pictures of a rustic loft in Bagnolet, France, at www.miss-design.com. You see their babushkas? They've chosen to add them white (anyone know, where to get these, I want some!!), as their loft has other splashes of color in the Electric Romance style. I LOVE this interior! It has...

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back to basics

You like babushkas? I think they are the most adorable toys for kids - and now my guess is they will be moving full speed to home interior world, let's see! The set pictured here my daughter received from Russia from her Godfather - they are the real thing. You know how the original ones have that special scent, in addition to the fact that they are clearly hand-painted?Last week I wrote about Ambiente and the trends they introduced for 2012, and I couldn't think of any better way to describe my very favorite of those brands, 'Electric Romance',...

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Light Innocence

Someone very close to me has one of the most beautiful interior decorations I have seen live. Why? She keeps it alive. Every time I visit (which is often) she has changed a little detail, moved an item from here to there, thrown away something (ahh, that feels good), and (or) purchased something new (feels even better). Fresh flowers? Always.Her whole interior is based on details and settings. She loves the shabby chic style, but as she is such a tidy person, she probably couldn't handle too shabby. But chic...yes. Light innocence? YES!We will...

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I love Valentine's!

Snow rose - photo by S. ThureWhat's your Valentine's like? Mine is usually super-romantic, thanks to my wonderful husband. A nice dinner, just the two of us, and as a gift (I love presents, both to get and give)  - some wonderful musical or theater tickets (something to look forward to!), perhaps jewelry, and...roses.Breakfast? Hmm. Let's say it's not SO romantic with the 3 still bed-warm sweethearts crawling on top of us, rather it is quite a lot of cleaning and 'no, no, no, no...', but that's alrite. It don't need to be exactly...

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Ambiente spring 2012

There will be now quite a few posts on the same subject, as I want to bring up each atmosphere presented in Ambiente in the very best way I can.  There were 3 different trends that caught my eye (the 4th one – noooo…can’t say I was inspired.) this time – 1.       Trend which I could call ‘But that’s Johanna!’ (above). The style can be described as light and luminous. Built with materials like glass, lace, organza and silk. Colors like white, ivory, pale pink, lavender and silver. Soft, round forms and...

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