Fill your house with art (and gorgeous vintage furniture!)

My recent purchased sideboard and favourite artwork in our house

 

One of the great things about my job is that I get to meet so many different people in very different houses. This week I picked up a wonderful 1960s McIntosh sideboard and another British-made mid-century desk from a lovely couple in Aberdeen - with a wonderfully eclectic interior. As soon as I arrived I was taken back by the vast amount of original artworks that filled their home. These people clearly were true collectors with great style and taste! Visiting their house also made me re-think my own wall space and where to place artworks. I have always had this idea that a room can only handle one very large piece and a few other smaller pictures on other walls, but the walls in the house of this couple were filled - wall-to-wall - with paintings and it actually looked good. "Just fill it!" the lady said when I told her my dilemma of having too many artworks and not enough walls. I think I'm going to take a leaf out of her book. After all, being surrounded by art can only be a good thing for mind and spirit.

I have made a collection on Pinterest of beautiful rooms filled with art and pictures, combined with iconic Danish furniture, to share this idea with you. What do you think, a winner?

A wall covered in small pictures http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416041063896/

Amazing art in this bedroom http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416041063901/

Art, sideboard and great books - what more do you need in a room? http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416041063902/

Ceramic objects, another love of mine! Great display http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416041063891/

A wonderful monochrome palette http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416041063892/

Great splashed of colour and art display http://pinterest.com/pin/25473554114710163/

http://pinterest.com/pin/229894755948987319/

Who needs a TV when you have this to look at? http://pinterest.com/pin/273030796132204724/

Who says large artworks are only for museums? Fabulous. http://pinterest.com/pin/273030796131276801/

I like how this artwork has been hung to the right rather than centrally. Great wall colour too. http://pinterest.com/pin/273030796130992110/

Read More

Nina's Apartment...a local vintage shop with European flair

 

Article published in Made in Scotland, issue 2, June 2013

 

If you are on the hunt for a beautiful piece of vintage furniture, a statement mirror or just a splash of colour and uniqueness for your home, you’ve come to the right place. Meet Nina’s Apartment, a vintage shop in Lethenty Mill, just outside Inverurie, Aberdeenshire.

Nina's Apartment is run and owned by Dutch vintage enthusiast Nina Eggens, who came to live in Scotland eight years ago and was missing the choice in home interior shops she was used to on the continent. After working for different North East arts organisations and becoming a mother she opted for a career change and opened her own shop in 2012. As she puts it, Nina’s Apartment offers people “colour, quality, quirkiness and European flair.” Above all, everything in Nina’s shop is carefully selected and curated, creating an inspiring shopping environment.

“I have always been a collector of vintage and design and am forever reading interior design magazines and pinning myself silly on Pinterest”, Nina says. “I dreamt about opening a shop for years and after having my baby boy 18 months ago I decided it was now or never.”
“I started selling only online and at fairs at first, but soon my house was full of furniture and boxes of china and it was time I found my own premises. My husband was delighted he got his garage back and since opening the shop in October I have been truly overwhelmed by the positive response from customers.”

In the shop you'll find an ever-changing selection of vintage chairs, recovered foot -stools, painted chests of drawers, mirrors, upcycled lampshades, well-traveled trunks, retro dinnerware and blankets. Sleek mid-century sideboards, tactile Danish ceramics and graphic patterns show Nina’s love for the Scandinavian style, which also shines through in the cushions she designs and makes herself. 


“I love the clean lines and simplicity of Scandinavian design. It never bores and goes with so many different interior styles. I always get very excited when I come across gorgeous items on my travels. Last year I discovered a set of forgotten Hans Wegner wishbone chairs in the back of someone’s shed. Needless to say they sold pretty quickly. ”

One of the strong points of Nina’s Apartment is the mix and styling of products in the shop. This is no coincidence as Nina tries to bring a message across. “Vintage is a very trendy word at the moment, but I want to offer people something that works well in their own, modern interiors in the long term, whether you call it ‘vintage’, eclectic or timeless - as long as it is beautiful and made with care. I want to show them it’s easy and fun to mix and match old and new furniture and accessories in order to create a home with soul and personality, rather than to buy lots of mass-produced items in the same matching colours from the same shop. After all, your home is yours and shouldn’t look like everyone else’s.”

Nina’s Apartment is currently open on Saturdays between 10am and 2pm and by appointment on other days. She also sells at local vintage fairs.
www.ninasapartment.com
Nina’s Apartment can also be found on Facebook and Twitter


Published in Made in Scotland magazine

Read More

A vintage sewing box that turned out to be a treasure trove, full of retro fabrics

Recently I bought an old sewing box from a family clearing the house of an elderly lady who had passed away. I took the box without having a proper look what was inside as I was mainly interested in the vintage style box itself. A few weeks later as I rediscovered the box and opened it up, I found the most amazing stack of 1960s and 70s fabrics, all neatly folded and in the most vibrant colours and crazy patterns, some of them by 1960s textile designers Barbara Brown and Bernard Wardle.
It made me wonder what kind of lady she was, this woman who picked those fabulous fabrics all those years ago and used them for her own creative projects. She must have loved bold colours and graphic patterns as much as I do. She sure had great taste!

I can't wait to make them all into beautiful Summer cushions, which I'm sure the old lady would have liked very much if she she was still with us. Here are three cushions I have made so far;

Read More

What inspired me this week: grey basics, ethnic textiles and graphic patterns

Great collection of artwork above a wonderful grey wool sofa http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416040438341/

 

 

Love the pops of fuchsia pink and mustard against the black and white. Great textures too in the chunky rug and wool cushions http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416040438328/

Another example of bold graphic patterns and pop of bright colours against a grey basic background. http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416040428909/

Oh my...that tiled wall...loving the pattern! Would look great a smaller feature wall in a bathroom or kitchen too. http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416040428904/

Nice timeless design sofa in grey, good combo with the graphic patterns and mustard yellow accessories http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416040385013/

Another beautifully styled living room with the grey sofa and black and white graphic pattern accessories, including the iconic Marimekko bowl. Can't beat a bit of Scandinavian design! http://pinterest.com/pin/259027416040357100/

Read More

Scandi patchwork cushion collection by Nina's Apartment, vintage furniture and Interior design, Aberdeenshire

I love Scandinavian fabrics. The simplicity of the geometrical patterns and the strong colours have been used for decades but are still so timeless and work well in most interiors - contemporary or traditional. Marimekko is an obvious name in the 'Scandi' fabric design world, but I have recently discovered Lotta Jansdotter, who makes the most stunning prints and whose fabrics I have incorporated in many of my cushions. One day I might try and design my own Scandi-style fabrics, but for now I source beautiful material already available.

Here are some cushions I have made recently using various Scandinavian fabrics.

(PS: If you like this style, I do take commissions and can make a set for your own home, based on the colour scheme of your interior. Just contact me for a free consultation!)

Read More

How I became the proud owner of five neglected Hans Wegner CH24 wishbone chairs

I always keep my eyes and ears open on the hunt for great vintage treasures. Last week I decided to randomly type in the words 'bentwood chair' in the search box of our local Gumtree and in the listings I found something that immediately caught my eye. I contacted the owner to arrange a viewing and in his back garden I found five battered, dirty, damaged chairs - but of an unmistakable design and the leftovers of the labels on the bottom made me smile from ear to ear: here I had no less than five original Hans Wegner wishbone chairs. He got them from a house-clearing somewhere, some time. I couldn't believe my eyes - nor the price: £60 for the lot! They do need complete re-lacquering and seat replacement at some point, but for now I am the proud owner of a beautiful set of salvaged Danish designer classics.

Looking good around our beech dining table!

I added cushions...to prevent my cats from getting their claws into those vintage paper cord seats!

Some more wishbone chair love (in much more grand and stylish homes than mine ;-) ...

http://pinterest.com/pin/178595941442396649/

http://pinterest.com/pin/196751077440968595/

http://pinterest.com/pin/9570217928624774/

http://pinterest.com/pin/9570217928624774/

Read More

From Fleamarkets to high end design: on tour in Sweden

I have just returned from a fabulous two weeks holidays in lovely Sweden and am totally rested and inspired (and even a little tanned!). What a totally cool and laidback country....aaahhh...I want to live there. We shopped, sauna'd, sailed, canoed, shopped some more, read books, drank very expensive wine (not by choice - and only a sip for me!) and took heaps of photos. Below I will share some of what inspired me most.
I saw these upcycled cupboards in a shop window in Stockholm's trendy area Sodermalm. It's not an actual shop, but the designers used it as an advertising space. Very clever!

A great lamp shop in Sodermalm, with lamps in antique, retro and contemporary styles.

An atmospheric picture of a street and bicycle in Stockholm's Gamla Stan:

This was our idyllic sauna on the waterfront on the island of Lidingö near Stockholm. Lovely. You could bring your own candles and make it a cosy retreat in the evening. Once all heated up you dive straight into the sea water. Brrrrrr....

Here's me enjoying some sunshine on the ferry in Stockholm.

One place we spent quite some time in was the department store P.U.B. Apart from serving an awsome lunch and home bakes, the store features many great brands and shops. The home interior department was wonderful! I wanted to buy everything wih the result that I didn't buy anything because my brain could not take all the beauty...and I would have to ship it all back by at least three large containers . So I just took lots of photos.

And of course there were plenty high end designer furniture shops with the familiar names of Arne Jacobsen, Eames, Vitra and many others. Always nice to have a wander around these stores although some times I must admit I get a bit bored by them, as they always look a bit 'sterile' to me. Where's the junk?! Gimme me some junk!

Well, junk galore once you're in the countryside, I tell ya. At first I had no clue what the word 'Loppis' meant. I thought perhaps people were selling strawberries or something at their farms, so I paid little attention. But soon we were enlightened by our landlady who told us they were nothing less than mini fleamarkets! Hey-ho! So as you can expect, I soon shouted STOP! LOPPIS! at every Loppis sign at the side of the road, driving my husband bonkers. Some barns were full of total rubbish and didn't have much to offer, but I did find three lovely 'characterful' (i.e. cracked) Swedish blue plates though for the grand sum of 30p.

We also found some more junk: the vintage car cemetary in Båstnäs,Värmland, which has become a bit of a tourist attraction. Hundreds of rusty cars from the 1940s-60s scattered in the field and forest, piled on top of each other with trees growing through the roofs. Bizarre but fascinating! 

Last but not least, we brought back some plastic rugs from Swedish brand Pappelina and one unknown make but equally cool. In Arvika, a provincial town in the province of Värmland, we came across a fabulous rug shop with rugs in every colour and pattern under the sun. 

Shame the holidays are over, but it's a country I definitely want to go back to. Even if it was only for the evening swims in the quiet lakes.

Read More