A fresh, bright and beautiful Dutch cottage

I do love a weekend escape. This white country cottage belonging to interior designer and co-owner of NU interieur /ontwerp Nathalie Fransen, architect Bas Van Egmond and their three children in the Netherlands hits the mark! The Dutch cottage has been renovated into a beautiful, fresh, light space using among other things, a lick of white paint, a new kitchen and bathroom. For a relatively small space of 34 metres square this family weekend retreat gives an illusion of space. Take me there!

Holly Marder for Decor8

I love this cottage, it has everything I could dream of in a holiday cottage, how about you?

You can see more pictures and read more about this Dutch space here. 

For more Scandinavian retreat inspiration you might want to check out this page (warning: you might want to pour yourself a coffee first, you could wile away a good hour looking through these Scandinavian rural retreats!). 

Have a lovely weekend!

PS we're off to the jungle here in Thailand for the weekend, exciting! See you Monday. 

A Norwegian cabin by the sea

For a long time now my dream has been to renovate a beautiful wooden cabin by a lake or sea here in Sweden so that my family and I can spend weekends and holidays there (this Finnish family are my inspiration). This Norwegian cabin owned by Kari K.Holm and her German born architect husband Jurgen Kieh is just what I'm looking for. The house is designed for outdoor living, for every indoor space there is an outdoor area to match. From the many verandas Kari and Jurgen can wave at friends as they sail by the island. An idyllic retreat! Imagine this space with candles, Christmas decorations and a roaring fire?

Photography Pia Ulin (with kind permission). Dwell.

Do you think my dream will ever come true? I promise you'll be the first to know if it does!

What do you dream about on gloomy Monday mornings?

For more cabins and retreats check out this Finnish log cabin, this romantic log cabin with a twist and this Danish retreat. So beautiful!

I hope you had a lovely weekend!

A beautiful basic weekend cabin

In Scandinavia I sometimes hear about people enjoying their free time in a basic cottage without running water and electricity. Now it's becoming popular in the UK too. It seems everyone's keen to escape the demands of daily life - the more disconnected the better. In fact people will pay a small fortune to go back to basics. No WIFI? No worries. No mobile reception? Bring it on! This beautiful, basic 'Ermitage' cabin designed by Paris based architects Septembre is just the tonic for a weekend retreat if you need some alone time.

Septembre via Lotta Agaton and Wabi Sabi with thanks

Could you spend your weekend here?

If you love this, you'll also love this Finnish family cabin in the snow. And this Swedish cottage is so cosy (love the bed in the wall!). There's always this oh so fabulous eco-friendly holiday home out in the Finnish forests too! Or for something further away - may absolute favourite - a beach retreat in Uruguay, heaven! Which one would you pick?

Before I leave you to get on with your weekend - I've got an exciting new sponsor to introduce. Made in Design is an incredible online modern and contemporary design shop and are offering my scandinavian home readers 10% off any orders over 90.00 GBP until 15th December 2014 using the code SCANDI-HOME (terms and conditions apply - for more information visit Made in Design). The Signal ZigZag floor lamp and Signal wall lamp are top of my Christmas wish list!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Gotland retreat

If there's one place on my wish list it's the island of Gotland on the East coast of Sweden, it's supposed to be stunning. This summer cottage is situated on a little island called Furillen just off Gotland (even better!). According to Anna of blog La Maison D'Anna G, the space was formerly used as army storage and has been carefully renovated using raw materials as well relics from the original building. The blue accent and sheepskin rugs add a warm element to the cold industrial feel of the concrete and pared-back space. Very original and beautiful. 

Photography: Pia Ulin, Styling Cilla Ramnek for Residence magazine. Via La Maison D'Anna G with thanks

I like the way they have 'opened up' the Hay industrial light - it adds a cool twist, perhaps I should do the same with mine in my bedroom....I see they have the Muuto Wood Table Lamp, one of my favourites! I am also a big fan of sheepskin rugs over chairs - as you can see from my dining room (it actually makes them so comfy too!).

Anything about this home you love?

PS Don't miss my very exciting give-away this Friday just in time for the clocks to go forward  (open worldwide).......Ooooo what could it be?!

A Swedish cottage with a beautiful mix

It's Friday! Woohoo! To celebrate here's a truly inspiring cottage in Höganäs here in Skåne. I would love a home like this - it's got the perfect mix of orginal wood beams, whitewashed brick walls, industrial style lamps and furniture and a touch of shabby chic. The white floors on the upper level are the icing on the cake for me!

Hemnet via 79 ideas

What do you think?

If you're ever in Southern Sweden, Höganäs in well worth a stop thanks to it's fantastic design shops - Lily & Oscar and Magasin 36 (which also does the best brunch ever!).

Have a wonderful weekend!

PS If you understand German and fancy a little read about design bloggers and their homes check out this article.....they've included my portrait picture and a few snaps of my home in the gallery too!!

A pretty Swedish summer cottage

I when I am not dreaming about escaping to Brazil (see yesterday's post!) I dream about buying and renovating a summer cottage and then spending my weekends and holidays there with my family (just like the beautiful cottage Minna is doing up in Finland). This Swedish summer cottage is a perfect example of how I imagine it to look! It veers a little from the usual homes I show here on MSH but it's a lovely example of a traditional cottage complete with bed nook!







Stadshem

Could you imagine spending your summers here? What does your (imaginary?) weekend retreat look like?


A Finnish log cabin

Doing anything fun this weekend? I know one family in Finland who will spend the weekend in this beautiful 48 metre square cottage. I showed a few pictures of it here and today the lovely Minna from Time of The Aquarius has given me permission to show a few more. Complete with two bedrooms, tiny kitchen and a sitting room with a cosy fireplace and a sauna and guest room, the cottage has no running water. It's small for a family of five but that's the idea, they can be close and spend quality time together. Apart from the incredible decor, I think it resonates with me because I love the idea of weekends away with nothing but family and the nature for entertainment.

Time of The Aquarius

Could you spend time in a cottage without running water?

Do you remember this incredible Finnish cabin I showed a few months ago (also without running water?

If you're up for some simple but very cool DIY this weekend check out this cool project.

I love this incredible wooden box house, it's such a refreshing take on architecture and design!

I spy the very cool Vitra L'oiseau in these pictures. If you haven't entered the give-away to win one of these cooly birdies hurry! You have until Monday! :)

Before I head off, I just wanted to mention you've probably noticed my blog is going through a bit of a facelift at the moment, bear with me, the wonderful Ana from blog milk is working on it and it may look a little strange for a few days!

Have a wonderful weekend all!