Live Like You & Marmalade Interiors
  • Swedish Interiors

  • 20Jan

    9 Comments

    Heat in the seat!

    Posted in: Design Tips!, Swedish Interiors

    I hate being cold! Everyone is always surprised when I say that. You’re cold? But you’re Swedish, you’re not supposed to be cold! B-I-G misunderstanding.

    Because I grew up being so cold my toes and fingers often went numb from freezing temperatures, I don’t ever like to be cold. As I’m gearing up for an upcoming “snowy” magazine shoot in Sweden. (we need snow, praying for snow) I’m planning to add even more furry/shaggy seats to chairs over there.  Nothing better to warm up your bum!

    Design by Marmalade Interiors.

    This is a chair in my bedroom in Sweden. It has a hole in the upholstery which I’ve covered with an IKEA fur hide. Much cheaper than reupholstering…This way I could also keep the old Swedish Tenn fabric on the antique chair. Cozy!

    Swedes know a thing or two about staying warm.  Seriously if a Swede offers you advice on how to dress when it’s cold…listen to them! No joke.  And there’s no surprise why you see these fur throws in so many Swedish interiors.

    Image via Swedish magazine

    This is a f-u-u-r-r-y Stockholm apartment that has made the rounds in the blog world.

    I’m seeing this becoming a trend over here, actually it has been for a while. Here is a fun PB Teen chair….

    Image via Pottery Barn.

    The following image is not from my house, ( I wish) but I’m using it as inspiration for our dining area in Sweden. Flowers and fur hide. The truth is in case you ever plan to visit Sweden… if you’re unlucky you can freeze your butt off even in the summer time!

    Image source unknown. (if you know it please post)

    If you live in the states my friend and clever Swede is selling Swedish sheep hides on her online store Splendid Willow Avenue.

    Image Monika Claesson Splendid Willow Avenue.

    And last but not least, sharing an image of a foyer I designed in Colorado.  I basically took an old shag carpet and had it upholstered on the antique settee.

    Design by Marmalade Interiors.

    Certainly a warm seat after a day of skiing. Seemed crazy when I did this a while back, but fits right with the times now.

    Here’s to staying warm over the weekend!! And to all of you living in warm climates, go out and enjoy yourself in the sun while the rest of us are freezing our bums off!

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  • 17Nov

    18 Comments

    My friend’s AMAZING Stockholm apartment!

    Posted in: Swedish Interiors

    Some people have the most cool style.  It’s something you can’t create or pretend to have, it’s something unexplainable that extends to every visual way that person expresses themselves. It’s no wonder  Jennifer Jansch is a popular stylist in Sweden.  This fall she took a big leap of faith and moved to New York city with her three daughters and husband.  I love New York, but I know  it was hard to leave this beautiful apartment!  The design has been a labor of love, a mixture of auction “wins” and vintage finds from Sweden’s version of Craig’s list.The result is a super chic cool family space.  It just came out in Skona Hem last week, so I finally have the go ahead to post it here on the blog.

    Enjoy!

    Dining room.

    Master bedroom. Don’t you love the carpet?

    Jennifer in her pretty apartment.

    The kitchen chairs are vintage finds that have been  repainted, the table is Ikea.

    This kitchen makes me home sick!!

    Playful colors and patterns.

    Dreamy colors.

    Must have been so hard to leave!

    I hope you all are having a great week so far.

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  • 8Dec

    8 Comments

    Nature as Swedish Christmas inspiration?

    Posted in: Christmas, Swedish Interiors

    My favorite thing about Christmas is to go back home to Sweden.  I get the brutal weather report from my mother every day, 10- 12 degrees Fahrenheit and last night when I checked my Iphone it said -4 degrees!! But I still can’t wait to get there next week!

    The whole country is covered with snow and ice, and it’s dark except for a couple of hours a day, but there’s nothing like a cold, crisp winter night, when the glistening snow lights up the darkness.  Everything is so beautiful, icy, quiet and serene. Really nothing like it! Some great designers say you should draw inspiration from what you see outside the window.  So perhaps there’s no mystery to the much simpler, natural and white Swedish Christmas decor.

    It’s a magical white winter wonderland at home right now.

    Images: Skona Hem

    All that white nature right inside?

    Simple natural wreath and all colors of snow right in your bedroom.

    Natural wreaths and earth tones mimic the snowy trees outside.

    The outdoors celebrated inside?

    This is what I see for hours on the long drive from the airport to our house.

    Snow and evergreens-do we really need anything else in Christmas decor?

    Natural wood headboard and natural floors. The colors of ice and wood.

    The Stockholm archipelago on a “slushy” snow day.

    Ahh…the simplicity of it all. And much easier to decorate your home.

    Do you think Swedes draw inspiration from what they see out the window?

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  • 3Dec

    12 Comments

    Praise for the House hugger

    Posted in: My Family, Swedish Interiors

    My dear brother Peter has worked tirelessly for years with his organization Operation Karlstad. He has spent endless hours blogging, writing newspapers, calling people who didn’t want to take his call, doing research no one else cared to do, urging people to fight for the protection of old, beautiful, historical buildings, and to save them from being carelessly torn down. He is deeply passionate about what environments we live in, and what we leave behind to future generations. I’m so happy he is finally getting the attention he deserves for all his hard work. Last year he was the recipient of a an annual architectural award in Sweden, given to people who’ve done the most for our surroundings. A journalist called him “The House hugger”, and I can’t think of a better name.

    On top of his full time job as a graphic designer, he fights so beautiful old buildings like this one in my hometown Karlstad…

    …does not turn in to….

    …this boring building which is there today.

    Or quaint old city blocks…

    ….like this street, doesn’t turn in to…

    …this sterile shopping arcade that’s there today.

    Thousands of people have joined his cause.  With each beautiful old building that goes down, we lose history that will never return.

    He’s also a great older brother and a great uncle! Here are Peter and Luke outside of Peter’s house last summer. He bought an old house a few years ago and renovated it himself.

    He restored it…

    …and painted it the original colors.

    Of course I have to show some of the inside….filled with only (Sweden’s version of ) Craigslist finds. (Blocket)

    Sneaking in a snapshot from last summer so you can check out his DIY zebra table he did 15 years ago, way before zebra or DIY’s were cool!

    His girlfriend lives in another beautiful, old house that has received the same loving care. How could you ever tear down homes like this?

    (Could not resists to include her insanely cute kitten.)

    When I think of all the generations of kids that have grown up at my old house in Sweden, I have tremendous appreciation for what he does. (You can see old and new photos here). It feels really special to live in a home with all that history, and to be it’s caretaker for a while.

    Of course we need to create, invent and design new things, but we also need to care for and respect our beautiful history.

    Don’t we owe it to future generations to leave something special behind?  Something of our history?

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