Swede Escape

As you've probably gathered, I'm not a huge fan of the 'show home' look.  I like places to feel more lived in, and I do like for my furniture to have a bit of character.  I would personally rather scour the flea markets and antiques shops to acquire my furniture than head to Ikea, but at the moment Ikea is what we can afford, and mixing it up with individual pieces and funky accessories can be interesting and fun, as well as budget friendly.

Almost every bit of furniture in our little apartment is from Ikea.  Although it was a bit of a nightmare to pick out all of our furniture at once [and actually find it in the warehouse], we spent a very hot Sunday there.  Five hours of Ikea mania.  And because I'm not a fan of the matchy-matchy scene, I've gone out and bought other random stuff to mix it up and give our rented abode a bit more charisma.  Most of our accessories come from random places, trips that we've taken, or things that I've made myself.  D's even getting excited to make his own wall art out of all of the stuff he's been collecting over the years.

The truth is, I think that the Swede's have the right idea: mix and match, clean lines, fun accessories.  I've recently stumbled upon Skona Hem, a lifestyle magazine from Sweden.  Although I don't understand a damn thing that's written on there, I know what I like, and I like the mix of color and pattern, modern and vintage styles.

all from Skona Hem

Mixing woods, modern with vintage, crazy colors and random accessories.  I think I'm going to tackle the top left photo in the finds for this post [mostly because I want to find something similar to that blue lamp].  See below for where to buy.

In the UK:

1.  Vega-Nor by Victor Vasarely, £14.99 at allposters.co.uk; 2. Caress Paperweight, Emerald, £29.95 at John Lewis; 3. Antique Fruitwood French Lowboy Desk Sideboard Dresser, £300 at ebay.co.uk; 4. Pangden Rugs, Catkin, £115 - £525 at John Lewis; 5. Imperial blue large jug, £17.95 at Debenhams; 6.  Glass stem table lamp blue, £79 at Dwell; 7. Zach, £127.20 at Habitat; 8. Paisley Jug, $12.99 at Zara Home.

 In the US:

1. Squares by Victor Vasarely,$179.99 at allposters.com; 2. Stray Dog Glass Lamp, Clare, $299.99 at Macy's; 3. Rustic White Vase, $49 at Pottery Barn; 4. Mohawk Home Undercurrent Rug Collection - Neutral, from $175.99 at Target; 5. Kon-Tiki Collection Gravy Boat - Blue, $29.99 at Target; 6. Tasman Collection Console Table - Walnut, $179.99 at Target; 7.  Vienna Side Chair, $119 at Crate&Barrel; 8. Glass Sculptures, from $35 at Pier1.

No luck on the lamp then... better luck next time, I guess.