Hygge Nook

Accessorise your room with a globe

Lately I can't stop wishing that I had a globe. I've seen them pop up in a variety of homes. In living rooms, studies, playrooms and children's rooms, globes have that quality about them that makes them work well for all ages. And there's something rather elegant about the spherical maps, isn't there? Take a look at these rooms which all feature one or more globes:

Oliver's room via Flickr & Ohdeedoh.

Look at all the globes in Kelly Rae Roberts' home. She's creates beautiful art - see it here.

Another really pretty room - Mabel's House found via the Vintage Globes Flickr set.

And globes aren't expensive either. I've just snagged this one for 99p on eBay! I'm already thinking about where to put it...

Made by Girl's beautiful home

I've just added Made by Girl's blog to my RSS reader and I'm sure you will do too once you've taken a mini tour of Jennifer's fabulously stylish home. As an aside, she is so beautiful too and after seeing her beautiful dogs, nothing has made me want a Boxer more. Not only is Jennifer super talented in her home decor but she also makes beautiful printed posters and cards, many with a love theme, and I have several - including the i love you blogs & tea print - on my wishlist. Find all her products at her Etsy shop here - her international shipping rates are very reasonable.

Now for her home:

 

Dining room: I love the Union Jack painting, the rustic-chic table and chairs and the wall of frames.

 

Living room: Pretty cushions contrast with the antler's head in this light-filled room.

Bedroom: The dark walls make all the colours seem to burst out.

Bedroom: This Love print is from Jennifer's collection.

Close up of that wall.

Home office: Fun, decorative and functional.

Patio: I think this space is so pretty from the blue stripe-effect aluminium walls to the white drapes and bistro set.

There are lots more pictures on Jennifer's Made by Girl blog and I'm really looking forward to reading more from her.

Helen's Orla Kiely staircase

I'm hoping my occasional Hygge Nook co-writer Keris will like this fantastic use of Orla Kiely wallpaper. In the July issue of LivingEtc (p64), home owner Helen - who also writes a blog here - has this great staircase with an orange print paper that really pops.

I think the wallpaper used here is the multistem paper which retails for around £59 a roll but you'd probably need less than one roll to recreate the look. Isn't it fabulous?

Living etc also has a really fun forum with lots of makeovers and an inspiring 'see what I made' thread, plus the best ones win vouchers to swanky homeware shops.

TV REVIEW: Kirstie's Homemade Home

I was really looking forward to this series starting and despite the bad start of not even being able to find the channel it was on (More4 or catch up with it online here), snuggled down to watch Kirstie renovate and fill her Devon house with recycled, crafted and thrifty finds. Naturally, it wasn't any old house. Meadow Gate is a large detached house with grounds. But then, your average semi makeover would be a bit boring wouldn't it?

Kirstie is embracing the new generation that have rediscovered crafts. We see her knitting the above in the opening titles (I wonder if she really did knit them?) and then follow her as she tries her hand at pottery, glass blowing and sewing a simple cushion. All very well to encourage people to make their own stuff but I don't imagine many people could have a bash at glass blowing. Kirstie is overjoyed with every crafty revelation though. She can make stuff, hurrah! And there is something awfully satisfying about making your own things, isn't there? But I wonder how economical it is to do so for both time and money when there's - dare I say it? - Ikea.

We also see her recycling a mirror from a skip (to paraphrase Kirstie, you have to ask the skip owner first otherwise it's theft) which is very well but how much did that aga cost?

Of course, you can't be expected to make everything so Kirstie does do her bit by championing British designers with a visit to Cath Kidston (love her house) and aforementioned artisans who've taught her the crafts. Plus there's trips to find inspiration at Kirstie's parents house and the kitchen of Lanhydrock House too.

Like most shows, there's a mix of "yes, can actually do that" and "ha, ha in your dreams" but I personally would rather see something aspirational and interesting than boring and a bit interesting. There's one thought that I can't shake though: Is the whole series an advert to rent Meadow Gate for upwards of £2000 per week?

I'll take some of her advice with a pinch of salt and enjoy the rest of it. Did you watch it too?

Readers homes in Ikea Family magazine

The latest copy of Ikea Family magazine thudded onto my doormat yesterday and I was rather taken with the family homes depicted. There was the white Copenhagen apartment for Birgitte, Rinske's Amsterdam apartment with lots of prints and cute little figures and a really vibrant French country home with a great terrace for Marie and her family amongst other homes. There was also a blog from Constanca by Saidos da Concha who makes really lovely things.

I'm always fascinated about homes that are stylish and have children in them, like Marie's. I think there is a certain feeling of if you have children, you can't have lots of stylish things because they'll get broken/ dirty / torn / ruined in some manner. It's definitely a trap I've fallen into and I'm only, very slowly, moving away from. Have you found the same thing and did you find a happy solution? Also, what did you think of the magazine?

 If you haven't got a copy, it's online here.

Inspiring mid-century makeover

I spotted this home on Living Etc's forum. The home owner bought a run down 60's house replete with orange wood pannelling, brown paisley carpets and some rather dodgy other 'features.' But what they did with it was fab. Take a look here if you like the mid-century look - note the fab Eames rocker and the mini Panton chairs and Tulip table. Love it.

Like this? More inspiring spaces

Hygge Talk: Isabella Smith, creator of Maison Belle

Easy Living (January 2009, p178) have a great article featuring Isabella Smith's home. Isabella is the Danish creator of Maison Belle, a line of eco-friendly cleaning products that are designed to be as aesthetically pleasing as they are functional and she's got the idea spot on. Just look at all the beautiful things that you can put in your home then look at the amazingly ugly bottles of cleaning fluids that we use to clean it. Toxic yellow, dull green, obnoxious orange. Ugh! I wonder if there's a brain connection that sees us associating foul packaging with the industrial strength of the cleaner? After all, we might think, how can something so pretty by useful too?

But I digress. Isabella is noted as a 'lifestyle guru' with her own TV show, glossy magazine, mail order company, Maison Belle line... in short, the Danes answer to Martha Stewart. The pictures show her home to have a neutral backdrop with stripped wooden floors and the occasional splash of wallpaper and lots of colour from the woven blanket to the crammed bookcase and Chinoiserie prints. However, it's what she says about her home that interests me. "When I'm at home, I want my eyes to always fall on something nice,' she is quoted as saying along with, '...for me, it's really important to be surrounded by beautiful things.' And her motto reflects this: 'everything should be beautiful - not expensive, exclusive or clever, just really, really lovely to look at, whether it's a junk shop table or a teacup.' I couldn't agree more.