The idyllic Swedish summer cottage

When it comes to March and the first real warm days of the year, I dare to dream of long, carefree summer days. Freshly baked bread (by my man - after all, the secrets out - I'm the world's worst baker!!), the dewy grass under my feet and our children dashing around the garden screaming with laughter. In fact, the setting is not unlike that of the summer cottage of photographer Carina Olander in Dalarna, Sweden. Dating back to the 1800's, the charming cottage had no warm water and was in desperate need of renovation when the family first acquired it. Today, white washed walls serve as a simple back drop for a mix of antiques and vintage finds. The door is idly thrown open to the garden - which takes centre-stage all summer long. What an idyllic setting, don't you think?

Photography / home-owner: Carina Olander, shared with kind permission.

Oh how I'd love to be enjoying 'fika' under the boughs of that tree right now, fancy joining me?!

Get the look from Carina's lovely cottage: kitchen / dining room - Bialetti coffee maker, keep an eye out for a pair of industrial pendant lamps here, Moroccan woven shopping bag. Second dining space: bamboo lounge table and sofa bench from Tine K Home (I also like this folding table in bamboo for smaller spaces), set of linen cushions.

You might also like to take a peek inside more dreamy scandinavian summer cottages in this archive, and a whole host of idyllic Swedish cottages here (if this comes up first just scroll passed it). There really is something extremely special about a Scandinavian summer cottage, don't you think?

What does your 'summer dream' look like?

Have a wonderful weekend!

PS You probably recognise Carina's name as I'm often sharing her beautiful photography here on the blog - including the home of a collector, a country home at Christmas and a beautiful Gotland home in soothing grey.  Oh so lovely?!

Your New Year cabin hide-away?

As the Christmas holidays draw near I'm dreaming about getting away from it all for a few days at a little remote hide-away. Nothing fancy, just my family and I and a little wood burning stove - doesn't that sound wonderful?! This tiny Swedish cottage in Marie Emilsson's garden at Håkesgård, just outside Varberg on Sweden's west coast fits the bill perfectly. The traditional falun red cottage, which includes a kitchenette, bedroom and basic facilities has been newly renovated in classic green tones to match the surroundings. Oh and it has a hot tub too. Guh! How I'd love to spend my holidays here, how about you?!

Credits: Photography - Kristin Lagerqvist (blog here) - shared with kind permission. 

So pretty! And the surroundings? Beautiful!

Could you imagine spending a few days here?

Get the look from Marie's little cottage: Morris Willow Bough wallpaper, Farrow & Ball sells a selection of green paint like this, straw fedora (source vintage ones here), buy beautiful grey linen fabric by the yard here, L:A bruket soap, these traditional linen cushions /pillows are pretty.

You can see more pics of Marie's lovely cabin here. 

The second to last image of the wood burning stove is taken from the main house - and features a beautiful garland made with fir and other foliage gathered from the garden - more pictures and a great tutorial of how to make this garland here.

Although not currently for hire, word on the (blog) street is that Marie might start to make it available - watch this space! In the meantime, if you're in Varberg, Trip2garden is definitely worth a visit with it's garden, café, shop and gallery.

More beautiful homes captured by Kristin Lagerqvist include a vintage inspired Swedish home full of soul, the lovely home of Johanna Bradford and an idyllic allotment house. I have to say, this Scandi-boho style is one of my favourites.

And if I've got you dreaming about getting away from it all, you might also want to check out three of my favourite archives: swedish cottages, rural reteats and log cabins (just scroll passed if Marie's cottage comes up first). And relax!

Have a lovely day!

PS Thank you to everyone who entered the give-away to win two vases from Nordal - the winner has now been announced here.....drum roll....

Step inside a beautifully simple Swedish island retreat

I hope you had a wonderful weekend? We went to visit friends at their summer cottage on the east coast of Skåne, which was lovely and soooo relaxing! I always find these cottages provide such a perfect way to switch off - partly because the Swedes have got it so right by keeping the decor simple and pared-back, offering the essentials but without distraction. This lovely holiday home on Gotland, an island off Sweden's east coast beautifully captured by Erik Lefvander and stylist Anna Mårselius is a perfect example of this. Home to Johan, Joanna, Melina & Ziggy, the muted colour scheme is complimented by strictly natural materials throughout for a calm living space centered around enjoying the simple pleasures in life: nature and each other.

Photographer Erik Lefvander / Stylist Anna Mårselius shared with kind permission. Featured in Residence Magazine.

So beautiful! Could you imagine spending your holidays here?

It really is such an inspiring space. I love the oil lamp over the kitchen table, bespoke wall to wall sofa lined with cushions and bedroom with space for the entire family. What a well thought out home!

Is there anything that stands out to you?

I'm such a big fan of Gotland and have featured many, many beautiful homes from the island on here before, some of my favourites include a charming 19th century house, a simple island retreat, and a beautiful home in soothing grey.

Hey, I've got an idea. Shall we just skip the working week and head there instead?! 

An idyllic white and wood Scandinavian style cabin

Wouldn't it be a dream to do up a summer cabin? I'm forever creating moodboards in my mind  - white floors, sheepskins, a sofa next to a roaring fire, an outdoor bathroom....(what does yours look like?). Perhaps we can all take some inspiration from John and Juli Baker's idyllic summer cottage overlooking Lake Huron in Canada? As owners of Mjölk, which sells 'pure, honest, and essential' items for the home with a gallery exhibiting 'work by artists and artisans from Scandinavia and Japan', it makes sense that the recently updated (see previous pictures here) country retreat has a Scandinavian look and feel to it.  Think white washed walls and floors and plenty of natural wood. Let's take a tour...

Source: John & Juli Baker / Mjölk - shared with kind permission. 

Pared back and simple yet super cosy. Everything that a rural retreat should be. 

Could you imagine spending your weekends and holidays here? 

Almost all the items you see in John and Juli's cabin are available at Mjölk - perfect!

For more inspiration in a similar style you might also want to check out their Toronto apartment.  And there's an entire archive dedicated to beautiful Scandinavian style cabins here (if this home comes up first just scroll past it). Feel free to dream away. You never know when that second home might crop up! Or perhaps you already have a summer cottage - in which case we'd love to see pictures?!

And that folks, is it from me - oh, except for an incredibly exciting give-away this weekend - so stay tuned and don't forget to stop by!

Right, better get packing for my trip to London and Norway now - eeeee, so excited!

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!

A pared-back forest cabin in Holland

I do love a pared-back rural retreat. Every Friday I dream about packing my weekend bag and zooming off to the countryside. There's something wonderful about the back-to-basics, fuss-free life-style, don't you think? This lovely cabin is located in a forest in The Netherlands. The owners (with the help of stylist Kim Timmerman) have brought in hints of the great outdoors - including a bird garland, animal motif cushions and bedding, and a branch used as a clothes rail and kept everything else very simple. Oh, how I could unwind here, how about you?!

Stylist: Kim Timmerman   Photography: Rene Gonkel

Lovely! 

And there's good news too. It's available for rent here (oh yes! I've packed my bags I'm ready to go....).

I'm bsolutely loving all these Scandinavian inspired country cottages / cosy cabins too

My sister has just arrived from London *so great to see her*! We're heading off in a minute for lunch and a day of shopping in Copenhagen - I've been looking forward to this day for so long! 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

PS  If you're planning on doing any shopping, don't forget the 10% discount on all items from Blackthumb with the code MyScandi10 until 31st March. 

PPS Great weekend give-away coming up so stop by tomorrow if you have the time!

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.