June 2021 – Focal Point

Benita Larsson’s minimalistic world

26/06/2021

Ok, I admit it, officially I became obsessed with Benita’s YouTube channel. I’ve discovered her wonderful, minimalistic world 2 weeks ago, and since then watching any of her videos is the most relaxing activity of the moment. She is an online marketing specialist (heh, no wonder why her social media channels have such a nice vibe) and a video content creator in her free time. Benita lives in Stockholm in a 2 rooms apartment with a small backyard that she turned into an urban jungle. Every 2nd Tuesday she shares a video about her everyday life, routines, her apartment, wardrobe, cleaning habits, and all this is focusing on Scandinavian, minimalistic principles.

Just a heads up, if you start watching her videos, you realize that your home is full of crap, and you should start decluttering right away. Without any exaggeration, Benita’s videos can be with therapeutic effects, suddenly you understand that you have way too many things in your home, and you could be just fine with only the 20% of the stuff you have right now.

Below you can find a nice tour of her minimalistic home, explaining why white color is so common in Scandinavian homes.

She also has an Amazon shop where you can find her favorite products and things she purchased or has in her apartment. If you see something you like in her videos, feel free to check this page, and most certainly you’ll find the item. Just as I did, I saw in her fridge organizing video the roller for face, and I bought one for myself. It’s already in the fridge, cooling down, and it’s so great to roll it over my face on these hot summer days. Love it!

Photo credits: Cover image – @benitalarsson

An interior with eye-catching wallpapers and signs of patina

19/06/2021

When I started following Jessica Lindberg on Instagram, it was around Christmas when everything was surrounded by magic. I remember clearly the first post I saw, it was a short video with her kitchen playing some French music in the background and the wood cracking at the fireplace. She and her family have 2 houses, one in Skåne County, the southernmost region of Sweden, and the other one in Norrbotten, the northernmost county or the country. What a great way of keep traveling across the whole of Sweden, I could imagine living in almost every corner of that country.

Jessica’s living room has multiple focal points, I could not decide which one I like the most. This huge Monstera deliciosa called also the Swiss cheese plant (love this name!) is all over the place, shining with its beauty and assuring the greenery feeling in the room. The chocolate brown sofas are another great piece, I’m not very into leather but these ones look great with their metal legs. Ikea has an ecological leather sofa too (maybe with a lighter color) that I like very much, I even used it in one of my projects. The ultimate focal point of this room it’s the Samsung Frame tv on the wall with always different art set on the screen…never ever assume that I wouldn’t spot a Frame television in a room.

What would be a room without a reading corner? This iconic Butterfly chair was purchased by Jessica in Morocco during a trip and bringing home from the far East. I adore the leaves’ graphic art on the wall, it looks so pure. I wonder from where this is.

Boom, double impact…two iconic pieces (above) on the same square meter, the white Carl-Johan lamp by Olsson & Jensen on the drawer and a PH 5 pendant by Luis Poulsen hanged above the vintage dining table. It is simply adorable how the patina is shining on this table.

Another great little spot in the kitchen area is this coffee corner that looks perfect for the morning coffees and the afternoon 5 o’clock teas. The Series7 black chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1955, produced now by Fritz Hansen, and the white floor clock next to the window show respect to the history of interior design.

Look at that sage green candle, isn’t that a great detail in the bathroom?

I specifically love homes where I see courage combining new with old, showing patina of furniture’s and using iconic pieces of interior design history. Jessica has it all, and I’m so grateful to her for letting me showing you around.

Photo credits: Jessica Linberg IG @rangas_etc – shared with her friendly permission

Living big in a tiny home

13/06/2021

What I love the most about tiny homes is that they teach you how to live more minimalistic. If you don’t have enough space for all the unnecessary stuff that a human being is capable of hoarding, you have no other option, but to declutter. We are quite ok with my husband from this point of view, but still, sometimes I wonder why we’ve bought a 3 bedroom + living room house, and now we are planning to build a garage on top of this…more space to store stuff…grrrr.

Anyhow, this beautiful 1 room apartment is in Jakobsdal/Örgryte residential area, up on a hill with a gorgeous view of Gothenburg. The building originates from 1934 and the apartment got renovated in 2010. The studio has 39 square meters and thanks to the light interior design everything got airy after the renovation. The floor is covered by a three-strip parquet in oak throughout the entire apartment, and the walls are painted in Sommarsnö color from Jotun. I adore the wall art gallery and the reading nook next to the window, these are basic essentials, from my perspective, to turn a room into a hygge interior. I wonder from where the pendant and the table lamp are, never seen it before, drop a comment if you know the brand/producer.

The kitchen is well organized, with white cabinetry, oak countertop, and white matte subway tiles on the wall. I like the fact, that they optimized the space by turning the deep window sill into a dining area.

The apartment has a view and its own access to the cozy courtyard. As usual, for Swedish people a direct connection to nature is essential, and this lovely tiny home is no exception to this principle either.

If you are from this region and care to see this studio, it is for sale, so don’t hesitate to contact Lundin and book a tour.

Photo credits: thank you Lundin.se for letting my share these pictures.

A lake house in a non-digital environment

05/06/2021

For 3 weeks in a row, I continue to be in a holiday mood and dreaming about a countryside life. Last week’s treehouse made me realized how wonderful can simple things be. Sitting in front of my laptop all day due to my work, sometimes I aspire to non-digital environments, no social media, no nothing. And I think today’s interior would be a perfect match for this.

Only for 1-hour drive from Stockholm, in the region of Katrineholm Municipality, there is this tiny, magical lake house with basic facilities, no internet, household electricity available only with solar cells, no tap water or sewerage. The place is simply magical with its view to a lake, being in the middle of pure farmland without any neighbors. This interior is simply teaching you to spend time without any digital device or tool, take a book, a puzzle, a magazine…start having long night talks with your loved ones. 🙂

The living room has 3 windows with a lot of natural light coming in. During winter this stove is a perfect heating source, and it’s also a guarantee for a hygge feeling.

The kitchen is full of ceramic treasures exposed on the open shelving. It’s a real farmhouse kitchen that has recently been painted with linseed oil paint using olive and wheat gray colors.

Since there is no tap water in the lake house, the water supply inside the house is assured by these water tanks, which I found like some masterpieces from previous centuries. It seems that it can also serve as a cooler for freshwater during hot summers.

The stairs take you to the upper level where 2 bedrooms can be found. The attic is gorgeous thanks to the visible beams all over the place.

The view from this window is to the lake and sitting out in the summer, far from the noise of the city, can make you discover new sounds of nature during magical sunsets and starry nights.

This lake house is for sale, so if you are in Sweden, maybe close to Stockholm, do not hesitate to book a view at Historika Hem.

Care to see other summer holiday inspirations? Check out the Transylvania Loft Treehouse or La Belle Vue – a perfect place to start the summer articles. Going back to nature and spend some time without your mobile phone or laptop can be a real treat for your soul.

Photo credits: thank you Historika Hem for letting my share these pictures.