Danish Modern

Denmark have a reputation of great design and in the 1950's the definition of Danish Modern was establised, much due to the great furniture architects Jacobsen, Werner and Juhl. Here's some inspiring Danish interiors with light wood and lovely pale grey/gold colour scheme.

images bo bedre

Colour trends 2014

Interesting colour trends for the year to come, from AkzoNobel ColourFutures 2014. Lots of pale and natural hues but also a range of bright and fun colour to choose from. The colour of the year is teal, a green-blue colour that I think can look great, in the right environment.

      teal - the colour of the year 2014

                subtle colours in silent revolution

     

      soft smoky tones in secret garden

        lots of energy where anything goes in do it now

    

images and more information at colour futures

Deko's house at the Housing Fair Finland 2013

The Housing Fair Finland is the largest housing and living event in Finland. This year the Finnish interior magazine Deko participated with its own housing fair house. With its pale concrete floor, calm white surfaces, black ceiling and wooden furniture this home feels modern and minimal with an industrial touch.

     

     

images deco 

ScandiFORM is back...

Hi everyone. Once ScandiFORM just got started in Auckland, it was time to move again. We have now located from Epsom to the wonderful little suburb of Pt Chevalier. You who know about it know it is a very quiet place near the beach, yet close to the city and neighboring area to Ponsonby, Grey Lynn  and Westmere which hosts many of the best shops, restaurants and cafes in town.

My family and I have finally settled in to our new home and I totally underestimated the time it takes to get unpacked and organized. And we're still not finished. We have plans to redo a few rooms and I can't wait to have it all done, but as a designer it will probably be a constant project and never really finished ;)

Anyhow, enough about me and my move, but that is the reason I haven't published anything on this blog recently. I am now back, and in between being a part time mum, and working on a few projects on my own, I will be publishing whatever comes into my mind about the latest and most inspiring Scandinavian design.

So, for all you Scandi lovers here in Australasia, enjoy and please share to everyone you think might like it too!

Just an amazing interior to start off with. This is from the Swedish photographer Pia Ulin's NY studio, just beautiful.

from the latest issue of Swedish magazine Residence

A growing Auckland, but with less cars - is that possible?

I believe it is!

I moved to Auckland from Europe less than 6 months ago and I must start with saying that I absolutely love it here. The climate is great, the people are friendly and there is lots of great architecture and creativity in the city which I love. Unfortunately I have become very dependent on using the car wherever I go. In Europe I lived for years without even owing a car, and life was pretty simple with fresh walks, the bike if the distance was I bit to far, and of course the local trams (Gothenburg), tubes (London) and local buses commuting to work.

I brought my bike when we moved here, aiming to start using it wherever I go but the lack of cycle lanes, cycle stands and ignorance from drivers I feel too vulnerable on the busy central Auckland roads. Auckland is about to change, it will increase significantly over the next 30 years and the city council has big ambitions for the city and is hoping it to become the most liveable city in the world. I really hope this could be a reality, but for that to happen there must be a drastic change in the way Aucklanders use their cars and start walking, cycling or at least start using the local buses or trains. It's a bit ironic but you can quite often see the [empty!] buses, stuck in the morning traffic, amongs cars with only a driver but no other passengers.

Here's some inspiring films about life in cities.

The human scale - a new film with the great Danish architect Jan Gehl, about human interaction in our cities.

Copenhagen - the most liveable city, by Monocle.

And last, Saturdays in Charleston, a really picturesque short film, by Kinfolk, of how life in a city with less cars can be like.

Hoping to see this in Auckland one day very soon!

fun cycle stands

a new funky cycle stand that adds a great splash of colour in any urban environment is the new Hook cycle stand from Swedish Nola. With its simple design it is discreet and lightweight and doesn't take up much space, yet function a s a bold detail in contemporary urban life.

images nola

Bob and Friends

today I visited the shop Bob and Friends in Ponsonby. They bring great contemporary British design to New Zealand but has also a few handpicked Scandinavian products such as the famous String shelving system and blankets from Swedish Klippan.

 images string.se

 This warm woolen blanket Ringar from Klippan works well in a wintery New Zealand!

image Klippan