Chez Larsson

Formex

So on Thursday I went to the Formex fair here in Stockholm for work. I went to look at the new gift wrap and to get some general inspiration . The theme of the Fair this time was HAPPY!

 
You’re not allowed to take photos inside the booths but they do have an exhibition in the main area where a lot of the new items are being shown. I skipped the dark green/brown  and red/black/white themes and went straight for the bright and white. 

Still love the apple motif by Lotta Kühlhorn, despite having seen apples here there and everywhere these past few years, and I hadn’t seen it on stools before.

 
It’s Formex’ 50 year anniversary this year so they also had a little exhibit with each decade’s coolest trends at the time. My favorite was the 70’s.

 
There was also a Moomin exhibit which was really fun. I grew up with these cute Tove Jansson characters and love them.

They’d built a Moomin home with different rooms furnished with stuff that the Moomin characters would probably have approved of. Obviously there was also a slew of Moomin merchandise too but I have to say that it was quite tastefully done which isn’t always so with these types of things.

All in all it was probably one of the better Formex fairs I’ve been to. I’m not a huge fan of this fair but this time around it was alright.

Byggfabriken

Oh Lord, I love this store! Byggfabriken at Söder in Stockholm with another location in Malmö down south specializes in restoration in keeping with past tradition.

 
I finally got new 1930's style interior door handles for upstairs. It's been ten years since I added them to my shopping list so it was about time we switched the old ones out.

Here's some more of what the store offers; the exact coat rack we have in our house and cool period wallpaper.

You can also get period style light switches, house numbers and other signs depending on the style and age of your house.

Love this new kitchen complete with Formica style top, knobs and handles.

Here I can get replacements for my basement and outdoor light shades...

 
...and I la-la-love these! I don't have anywhere to hang a single one but I want at least three.

Aside from friendly, knowledgeable staff and cool wares it also smells divine in there. If you're ever in these parts of Stockholm or visit Malmö this store's worth a visit even if you don't have a period home or a small 30's cottage in suburbia like we do. 

And, yes, I promise I'll show the handles in situ and in action, just need to paint that last little bit before I can remove the "Fresh Paint" signs from the doors. And no, I've not been sponsored by Byggfabriken, I wish :).

Bemz Shabby Chic Inspiration

I get invited to quite a few press events and very rarely go (I'm really shy and feel awkward in that crowd of journalists who're looking all important and who all seem to know each other) but once in a while I can't pass it up.

Last Tuesday I attended the press show at Bemz here in Stockholm. Do you know of Bemz? Theirs is such a cool idea, they make custom slipcovers for IKEA sofas and chairs. Wish I came up with that!

Bemz is well known for their fitted slipcovers already and they have a huge selection of really nice fabrics (yes, I grabbed some swatches...) to choose from but their new thing is Shabby Chic inspired loose slipcovers. The look is obviously totally inspired by Rachel Ashwell's style. Rachel along with Martha and in a way I guess Lesley Pennington (founder of Bemz, a Canadian expat in Sweden) really are heroines of mine. Talk about taking your idea to the next level!


When I got the invitation to the show I was keeping my fingers crossed that that I would be able to switch covers on our old sofa Karlanda 3-seater to something looser but alas it's not a Shabby Chic model. Our covers are as old as the sofa (just noticed the 2003 stamp on one of the cushions as I was changing them a couple of weeks ago) and they are getting a little worn.

I do love the Belgian linen of the new designs so maybe light colored linen for the next fitted cover? Like I told you yesterday I've recently got this thing for linen and it seems I'm not alone. It appears to be the new big trend. Living Etc for example just ran a linen story and I keep seeing it everywhere.

So are you noticing the dyptych photos here? Nice huh?! Well here's the thing. Bemz commisioned photographer Magdalena Björnsdotter (who btw shot our home for a yet to be published story for Allt i Hemmet) to shoot their press images They are the photos to the right (and the one at the top).

So what are the almost same photos to the left? Ha! They are blogger Susanne Kings' images of her own home. I love this idea of totally using the location and styling of a home owner as a backdrop for a photo shoot. It's actually very similar to when our house was used as location for a commercial a couple of years ago, they didn't change a thing other that plonk in the actors. It just automatically gives that lived in feel that can be so hard to attain if it were shot in a studio.

So the new Bemz Shabby Chic inspired look is being launched on their website later today. Also be sure to check out Susanne's blog Me and Alice, oodles of inspiration if you like this look!

Thanks lovely people of Bemz for inviting me and thanks Susanne for letting me use your photos!

A Favorite Store ~ Bruka Design

The other day I desperately needed inspiration for work and left the office to take a stroll in the Stockholm shops. I'm pretty lucky that it's part of my job to window shop. I don't do it nearly often enough though...

I went to loads of stores for work but also passed some more personal favorites. Here's one of my faves, Bruka Design, and at the end of the post are some other stores I like but they wouldn't allow photos to be taken. I love that they just smiled and said "Sure!" at Bruka.


 As you can see it's quite "me". I la-la-love that lamp! And the letters. And the boxes. And the desk. I'm also loving the red and white. Again. It used to be my favorite combo but I haven't used it for a while, apart from around the holidays.


I've done the letter thing for quite a few years now and have gone off it a bit but I really like these small white ones and the fact that there are å, ä and ö.


What can I say? I find these rainbow displays so hard to resist even though I always end up buying white, but look at it, isn't it awesome? From a work point of view I love the way they've used the full height of the space.


These mail boxes are so cute. I see them on a lot of blogs where the tiniest size in red and pink are often used as little personal mail boxes outside little kids rooms. Adorable.


And there it is the little tiny one in orange. Displays like these really inspire me. So simple, so nice. It makes me regret leaving the world of interior design in favor of the little do-dads I work with.

So that was a little Bruka tour. Bruka means "Use" by the way and it makes me like it even more. And no, Bruka isn't sponsoring this in anyway. I wish. And they should:)

~

Here are some other stores I visited and if you're in Stockholm are worth seeing.

* R.o.o.m at PUB - Recently relocated to a prime spot in the city center. Fun and useful home accessories, design and furnishings in a range from the quite affordable to the expensive.

* 3rd floor furniture department at NK - New and loft like, very expensive and not really to my taste or wallet but worth a visit if you're already at NK and if you're from out of town you're bound to want to visit the largest department store. I used to work there in the visual merchandising department a long time ago.

* Granit - Great for storage and home accessories in white, natural, grey and black.

* Åhléns City - Not happy that they split the home department up on several confusing floors. Love their home basics though so I'll keep shopping.

I didn't get a chance to go to Svensk Tenn this time (it's location is kind of off my regular route) but I'll be popping by there soon enough.

EDIT: These shops should be added to the mix too.

* Designtorget - Fun and unusual designs for kids and adults. Indie designers as well as larger companies' goods. Several locations like Sergels Torg.

* Design House Stockholm - Swedish modern design. There's one a NK in the basement.

~

Ps. Need more Swedish inspiration? Check out my new favorite blogs Mitt Vita Hus and Helt Enkelt, both found via another fave En mammas Dag Weronica,. Even if you don't speak Swedish there are dreamy, pretty photos to look at.

 Hope you enjoyed!

At Home With Technology

Seen this issue? No? Maybe it's because it's nine years old. It's my all time favorite Martha Special Issue. I remember when I got it that I was obsessed with all the cool ways to organize the ugliness that is technology at home and I also devoured the fun tech crafts and admired the spaces. Can you tell that our home office and craft area is inspired by this? As I dug the mag out to illustrate this post I found myself re-reading it again and loving it as much as  the first time around.

The printer/scanner/copier which was chosen 50% based on looks and 50% on performance communicates via blue-tooth. Yay, one less cable!  The electric cable runs behind the file boxes, into the corner and down the shelf below and to the power outlet. All neatly clipped in place. Ok, I lied. I only went for the looks (perfect white glossy match to my Sony Vaio) but it also happens to do a decent job. A bonus.


Here's where my Wacom Bamboo resides. We're not friends yet but I hope to become better acquainted on Monday. I'm taking a Photoshop class and we'll get some coaching on how to use the board next lesson. Can. Not. Wait! I love the way it just found itself a spot like that on top of the organizer. Perfection if you ask me.


This on the other hand is a new buddy of mine. Meet Mr Seagate. Isn't he the cutest! And I love his little perfect length cable. Can you tell I'm into the matchy matchy thing here? He's got a little white stripe down his waist, don't know if you can tell. Very becoming and goes so well with Ms Vaio. To the point here. What is he? He's my external hard drive and I'm feeding him all sorts of goodies like old photos and negatives. His faves are the old slide scans.


Mr Seagate currently resides with the rest of the techy gang in the basket just above the work top. They're a motley crew of headphones, camera cables etc and I particularly dislike Mr.H above. He's like the black sheep but I need him to run my bank errands on-line. Wish he wouldn't dress so sloppily though. Get a nicer cable dude!


Speaking of cables. I've showed you this little trick before but a post on these vile things wouldn't be complete without this little desktop hole. It's where Ms Vaio drops her thingy which then goes into...


... here. Can you tell I hate looking at cables? Can you also tell I am hardly ever at this below-desktop-level so I didn't notice those old screw holes from a roller blind thing I had going on some years ago. I could have photoshopped them out but I wanted to treat you to my imperfections. Happy?

I've mentioned it before but a huge thank you for both the Bamboo and Mr Seagate goes to my friend Carol. I got them both with a way too generous Amazon gift card on Christmas Eve after helping her with her daughter's bathroom back in October.

~

Oh, one last thing! Almost forgot. The winner of the Polli give away is Jen who wrote "Even after looking at the website, I like the bicycle built for two best. I love cycling (as transportation and as sport), and I noticed the bread and wine in the basket. That sounds like a good time to me!"  Couldn't agree more!

Remember the 10% Polli discount is still valid until the end of March. Just mention Pollifan0310 at checkout.