designex

today I visited designex, the leading trade fair for design professionals in New Zealand. I met with many new suppliers, other designers, had a good chat with auckland council about the new auckland unitary plan and even saw some familiar faces. Unfortunately I was a little disappointed by the lack of Scandinavian products and design, I hope there will be a change for the next coming design events as there is a huge interest in Scandinavian design here in New Zealand and Australia.

Luckily I run in to my friend form Design Denmark who showed some latest lighting from Louis Poulsen and Normann Copenhagen, including these stunning pendants from Louis Poulsen

Claesson Koivisto Rune..

..is one of the most talked about Swedish architecture practices today. They are a multi disciplinary design practice and create everything from architecture and interiors to furniture, home accessories and jewellery. Their architecture is stunning and three recently built houses are Kråkmora Holmar, Folded roof house and Drevviken, see images below.

 

  

Kråkmora Holmar

 

 

 Folded roof house

Drevviken

The Kilt storage furniture, available from Asplund.

Rosendal's Garden Cafe

One of my favourite cafes in Sweden is the famous Rosendal's Garden Cafe in Stockholm. It just won the prestigious White Guide Cafe prize because of its beautiful and relaxed ambience and their delicious lunches and bakery from own produce. The cafe lays in peaceful surroundings and it's hard to believe that you are within walking distance to central Stockholm. It has been around for 30 years this year and has always had an ecological and biodynamic focus and most of their delicious food, home made bread and bakery are made from their own locally produced crops. The cafe itself is inside a beautiful glass house but there is plenty of green surroundings to enjoy and have a seat.

Some inspiring and images from this inner-city garden cafe!

Images from Rosendal's Garden Cafe

Design Denmark

Today I visited the fantastic Design Denmark shop in Ponsonby, Auckland. They sell high end indoor and outdoor furniture, lighting, gifts and home wares from premium Danish design brands. Please check out their shop, or website if you're not in Auckland, as Danish design ware is timeless and anything you buy you can consider as a design classic and an investment for the future.

Below some latest products in store - Dropit Hooks, Bell lamps and the Norm12 lamp shade, all from Normann Copenhagen.

Gothenburg, Sweden

This is 'Vasastan', my old neighbourhood in central Gothenburg, where I used to live before I moved to London. It is central, buzzing with shops and cafes, close to both my old university and where I used to work and it will always remain as one of my favourite places in Sweden.

This apartment is in a typical 19th century building block, facing the central park 'Vasaparken'. The small apartment is cleverly designed and with its minimalist design and pale colours combined with warm wooden details and antique furniture, the interiors represent the Swedish style

 

  

images from stadshem.se

Nordic light

as scandinavian summers are very short, you have to make the most of brining the light and wild flowers into your home. this is the season as midsummer is around the corner and the summer is at its best.

i love these inspiring images with flowers as if they have just been taken in from the garden, the black bauhaus rattan chairs and the bright light shining in through the windows.

images from line klein

Scandinavian summer

as we go into winter here in new zealand, i can’t stop dreaming away to the other side of the world where summer is just around the corner. scandinavian summers are amazing and i can see how people are starting to prepare for a well deserved summer break and holidays near the ocean with friends and family and long summer nights.
Scandinavian summer break is all about doing as little as possible, away from work and stress and preferably away from the city. the little holiday home in the country side is many people’s dream and i have fallen in love with this amazing place on the island of Gotland, Sweden, by Deve/Enflo Arktiekter.

this summer house is divided into three zones, with a residential area and a guest zone on either side of a large communal living area which includes a kitchen, living area and covered terrace space. This central space can be opened completely with large sliding glass panels.

for privacy and security and when not in use, large sliding wooden panels can be moved to enclose the entire building.
the house is made of local timber and utilizes the local tradition of tarred-wood cladding which help the building respond both culturally and environmentally to the island of Gotland, Sweden.

images from enflo arkitekter