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/

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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

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Vintage summer bazaar at Nina's Apartment Saturday 15th of June, 11am-4pm

It is time for another one of those crazy fairs at my shop!

This time with a summery theme, since we are halfway through June after all. Expect to find lots of great vintage and revamped furniture, retro fashion and accessories (BIG sunglasses and fine suitcases) and plenty of collectable items too.

To tie in with the summer theme we've got a BBQ and lemonade stall set up (and some sneaky wee cocktails!) and outdoor seating - with umbrellas to prevent you from sunburn (or getting wet ;-). Plenty of picnic hampers for sale too for those of you loving the outdoors.

Dress by Bobosemporium

A vintage photo booth is set up for those of you wanting your picture taken in great vintage outfits and with props in front of a real classic Morris Minor. All for free of course.

For the kids there is a face painter in a vintage caravan, traditional Dutch 'blikgooien' plus some toys and a sandpit with buckets and spades for the very little ones too.

What else does one need on a Saturday? Come along, it's gonna be fun. From 11am to 4pm, free parking on site.

Traders taking part in this event are:

Nina's Apartment  - that's me! vintage furniture and homeware

The Closet - vintage clothing and accessories

Peapod - vintage furniture, homeware and fashion

RockingStitch - handmade textile crafts

Fimbly - bunting and baby accessories

Bobosemporium - vintage clothing 

Gary Robertson upholstery - furniture

Re-Store - vintage homeware

Dee-Licious Finds - vintage toys and finds

Mydecorideas - upcycled furniture and homeware

Retro Racks - vintage clothing

All clothing and accessories Bobosemporium

All clothing and accessories Bobosemporium

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Tan leather sofas, my new found love.

Maybe it's the Spring in the air, maybe it's the fact that I've been sitting on the same boring black sofa for years now (my husband "bought it for life" when he was still a bachelor, so I said we could keep it for a bit longer...), but I fancy a change. Not a life change, a sofa change. Normally I would choose a fabric one, either wool or linen, but with two cats and a toddler I think leather is probably not a bad idea. So I've been browsing - yes you guessed it - Pinterest, and here's some pictures of beauties I wanted to share with you today.

Tan leather seems to mix with quite a few colour schemes and styles, whether contemporary, retro or classic. I also love the mix of grey walls and tan leather, combined with some ethnic accent cushions. Natural wooden floors and kelim wool rugs combine well too.

Gorgeous vintage leather sofa and chair with great contemporary art and natural floor boards (http://pinterest.com/pin/486881409685166222/)

I love the graphic rug, ethnic cushions and metal side tables in this picture. A white backdrop is perfect to make the colours pop. http://pinterest.com/pin/486881409685166213/

Lovely retro sofa against a grey wall with art display. Great bog floor cushion too. http://pinterest.com/pin/486881409685166220/

Wonderful big artworks behind this beauty. Looks like a cosy sofa to snuggle up in with those cushions http://pinterest.com/pin/486881409685166217/

Beautiful simple shape, not too bulky and a adding great warmth to the deep grey back wall. http://pinterest.com/pin/486881409685104938/

Great retro room with this tan sofa, grey wall and purple accessories http://pinterest.com/pin/562105597210729702/

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And so now...I have my very own shop! With a door and a key: Nina's Apartment vintage furniture and interior design, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire

Well, not quite yet...but soon!

Sometimes things change quickly. Less than a year ago I set up my own business and started promoting my ventures online. In January I set up an Etsy account, in May I started selling at Yeadon's bookshop in Elgin and I've done a number of craft/vintage fairs since last Christmas.

(Oh yeah, I also had a baby)

It is August now and I have just got the keys to my very own studio & shop space. Eeek! What's going on?! Am I scared? Yes, I am!

It is out in the sticks and not on a busy high street, so I am going to have to shout loudly to draw attention! Nevertheless, it is hugely exciting and I will be part of a lovely old building housing other creative people who make furniture - and even complete handmade kitchens (the woodworking workshops there would make any joiner drool!). Oh yes, and it has lots of parking space (try to find that in a city!).

It will be my own little work space where I can let my creative juices flow, paint, sew, design, make and also show off and sell my furniture, vintage, unique and handmade homeware and other nice things. I hope to make it a fun, inspiring and welcoming place to be, where people can come and spend some time, find inspiration, join me in creating things - or just catch up over a cup of coffee.

But first things first: redecorating! An opening party will follow. Promise.

x

Nina's Apartment will soon be located at:
 
Lethenty Mill
Inverurie
Aberdeenshire
AB51 0HQ

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Shop: Izzi & Popo

Australia is on my short list of countries to visit (along with Argentina and Norway) and European vintage emporium Izzi & Popo is at the top of the grouping of shops I'd have to visit. This place features some of my favorite varieties of vintage -- leather club chairs, suitcases, hat molds and shoe forms, farmhouse furniture, old hardware and enamelware. When it comes to unique vintage finds, I've been known to search far and wide -- even if it means traveling to the other side of the globe.

Store Counter

Cupboard

Perpetual Calendar

Monastery Table

Coat Hangers

Journals

Enamelware

Images: Izzi & Popo.

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Shop: Terrain

For pure inspiration, nothing rivals a visit to home and garden hot spot Terrain in Glen Mills, PA. The displays are ever changing and the goods represent the work of talented artisans from around the world. Here are a few photos featuring their vintage furniture, industrial salvage, dishware, lighting and plantings of all kinds--not to mention the greenhouse cafe that has been arranged like a secret garden. 

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Garden Furniture Invited Indoors

My blog got its name partly from the fact that I am a habitual re-arranger of furniture. In college, I moved my bed to a new wall of my room with each of the season changes. A different apartment for each year of study made for plenty of heavy lifting. When I bought a house five years ago, I experimented with every design configuration possible. My dining room and living room switched places and never lamented their former addresses. My loft master bedroom became an office/studio while the smallest bedroom in the house became my cozy sleeping quarters. Placing a daybed in the kitchen turned a cooking space into a year-round haven thanks to the constant sunshine that poured through a wall of windows. Moving the furniture is a way of rediscovering a space--the equivalent of shopping in your own closet. It's a way of reinventing pieces and broadening their purpose. I'm a big supporter of using pieces in unexpected ways. A pair of aqua French doors that now stands in my shop at The Milkhouse has functioned as a headboard and a desk at one time or another.


In this vein, I see no distinction between indoor and outdoor furniture. I love seeing rusty chairs in a dining room or a concrete bird bath being used as a coffee table. A graying cedar potting bench could easily be made into a bathroom vanity and a wooden ladder can be used to hang towels, magazines or shoes. The dining room table in my house of experimentation (now someone else's cherished abode) was flanked by aqua plastic chairs from Ikea and a pair of vintage metal chairs that had probably done time in an outdoor bistro. The following are a few examples of garden furniture and outdoor elements given the indoor treatment to great effect.

A chippy picnic bench and folding chair make friends with a giant industrial spool table. 

Folding chairs join a farmhouse table in a modern kitchen.

Galvanized metal chairs are paired with a simple workbench in a home office. A good

 view isn't necessary in a space this inspiring.

This living room is full of outdoor elements: wire furniture, a vintage metal chair painted aqua, 
birdcages and a porcelain pedestal.

Bamboo chairs and a wicker table. All that's needed is a pitcher of iced tea and good company.

A porch swing and duvet.

Images: Old & New by Katherine Sorrell, Ryland Peters & Small 2007. Apartment: Stylish Solutions for Apartment Living by Alan Powers, photography by Chris Everard, Ryland Peters & Small 2001. The Comforts of Home by Caroline Clifton-Mogg, Ryland Peters & Small 2010. Fresh Home Magazine, Spring 2010 issue. Inside Out Magazine, May/June 2008 issue. Country Living Magazine, photography by David Butler.

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