Beautiful house on Ile de Ré

I came across this house this morning and had to share it with you :) The house is on Ile de Ré, which is situated on the west coast of France - I went there last year for a visit and was blown away by its beauty and charm.  This house is very special and to me, even more special because I know exactly where it is.  Heaven.

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Images via: Marie Claire Maison

Summer cabin in the woods...

Something very different from yesterdays summer cabin post....
A cosy cabin deep in the woods in Northern Zealand, Denmark
that has been lovingly restored by the owners Stine and Henry
in a traditional log cabin style....
the walls are home to their amazing art collection.
Its no surprise that they spend all their summers here......

Read more about this lovely home here

Photos:  Birgitta Wolfgang Drejer

♥

Nice bedrooms....

I hope you all had a very nice weekend
whether it was relaxing or busy.
Here is a mixed selection of bedrooms for
you this very sunny Monday morning.
Enjoy and see you tomorrow...or maybe before
if I can't keep away :)

● just click the image for the source ●

♡........................lovenordic

Krummi (Raven)

Well how are we all this lovely Monday morning?  
Did you enjoy your weekend?
Mine was just great....I spent it with some of my closest friends and I loved it.
I'm not sure if you know this, but I have been importing the beautiful
Raven hanger
into the UK from Iceland and have been working
hard to get the product stocked in the UK.
My efforts have really paid off as they are now in
many Scandinavian/home interior stores and also in the
past couple of weeks we launched in
Selfridges!
Of course I am very happy with that as I think it is
probably the best store in London and maybe even the world.
The Raven is an iconic design piece in Iceland and is prevalent
in stores all over Scandinavia and Europe..Ingibjörg is exhibiting at the
Stockholm Furniture Fair (with the Ravens and other products),
so if you are there, pop over and say hello!
My aim is to have the Raven in every Scandinavian/home 
accessory store in the UK, so if you are a UK retailer
looking for an iconic new product, please get in touch ♡

By: Ingibjörg Hanna Bjarnadóttir

Available at: www.lovenordic.co.uk

Please enquire for stockists

♥

LOVENORDIC

Sunday bliss...

I just love sundays, it's really a day of rest in my house and it's just bliss...  
This morning I was very pleasantly surprised to find fresh orange juice and Pain Au Chocolat on my door step that a friend had delivered to us for breakfast...just perfect with a steaming coffee ♡
Well after a nice sweet breakfast I'm in the mood for some baking, so here is some baking inspiration to maybe get you in the mood too!
Happy Sunday lovely people...

Photo 1, 5 & 7: Taverne Agency, Photo 2, 3 & 4: Chris Court, Photo 6: Sweet Paul

♥

L O V E N O R D I C 

14 questions with.....Ingibjörg Hanna Bjarnadóttir

You will probably recognise her name, Ingibjörg Hanna Bjarnadóttir.  She is the creative talent behind the Raven coat hanger - one of the most recognisable design items to emerge from the Icelandic design world.  She lives and works in Iceland and was very happy to spend some time answering my questions which she answered honestly from deep within.  I enjoyed learning about Ingibjörgs talents, inspirations and favourite things....I'm sure you will too, so here goes...

Samantha: What is your education/background?

Ingibjörg: I studied graphic design in Iceland Academy of the Arts and worked as a graphic designer for a few years. Although it was in general a fun and creative job I felt the need to have a bigger control over the design process and the end result. About 5 years ago I started to design products out of pure passion for it. Graphic design was still my main job and product design was just on the side. Today it is the opposite. The transition happened almost with out me noticing it, all of the sudden I was almost only designing products.

Samantha: Tell me some things that you like?

Ingibjörg: I like the rain, sun, snow, the smell of the ocean, cappuccino, dried fish, chocolate, love, friendship....

Samantha: ...and some things that you dislike?

Ingibjörg: I dislike litter, pollution, evil, arguing, road rage, war, the taste of seaweed, hate and prejudice...

Samantha: Where do you seek inspiration?

Ingibjörg: I get inspired by the little everyday things that happen or appear. I use the previous experience, from today or my childhood and find a way to make it into a useful design object.

Samantha: What is the story behind the beautiful Krummi Bird Hanger?

Ingibjörg: Krummi is the pet name for ‘raven’ in Icelandic. I think the raven is a such a cool bird. I chose it for my design because it is such a flashy bird. Icelandic ravens like everything glitzy and use such items to decorate their nests. It can also be used as a hanging sculpture and I’ve seen it in people’s windows, for instance. I myself use it for my most beautiful dresses that I fly with to my own nest.

Ravens are very connected to Icelandic folklore. It for instance discovered Iceland for the Viking Hrafna-Flóki, who set two of them free to find land. The Norse god and sage Ódinn had two of the birds, called Huginn and Muninn, on his shoulders, whispering words of wisdom into his ears. Icelandic parents teach their children “krummavísur”, easily learned verses about krummi.

Samantha: What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Ingibjörg: A toast and a cappuccino... my favourite

Samantha: What did you last buy for your home?

Ingibjörg: I bought a stack candle holder, by Helgo.

Samantha: What advice do you have for young aspiring designers?

Ingibjörg: What has worked well for me is to be true to myself. Try to create something original instead of following someone else's path.

Another one of Ingibjörgs designs - Ljóssþor - translated means 'light-stitch' - a multi-use plywood
table or a stool with a light inside, which shines through holes in
the wood that depict traditional Icelandic textile patterns.  You can
take the lid off and use it as a chest. It’s strong enough to hold a
person and can be used as a stool when your guests become too many at
a party.

Samantha: What are you working on at the moment?

Ingibjörg: I am working on numerous new products at the moment. Some are already prototypes, some are sketches and others are still forming in my head. What they all have in common is that they are super practical and beautiful home accessories.

Samantha: Where do you go to relax?

Ingibjörg: I don't have one specific place where I relax regularly except for my bed. I love relaxing in a outdoor hot tub in the winter, when it is dark and it´s snowing. It is such a great feeling to be all warm and then these cold snowflakes fall on your face where they melt... there is  nothing like it.

Samantha: Some of your favourite designers?

Ingibjörg: Hella Jongerius, Ingo Maurer and Todd Bracher

Samantha: Tell me about your workspace? 

Ingibjörg: I share a studio with 3 other designers. We each have our own space but we do overlap each other at times with our sketches and prototypes. Instead of finding it irritating we find it joyful and inspiring.

Samantha: The piece you love most from your collection is…

Ingibjörg: It is hard to say... at the moment I am so excited about the products that are about to come... but I would have to say Krummi Bird Hanger because we have enjoyed so many adventures together. Ingibjörg: We have flown together all over the world to exhibit and so on.

Samantha: …and finally Ingibjörg, if you weren’t a designer, what would you be? 

Ingibjörg: I would be a surgeon, that was always the plan right until the swift change of mind where I applied for the art academy. 

Thanks so much for letting me into your world Ingibjörg!

A bit of salvage...

One of my favourite things to do at the weekend is to browse around architectural salvage shops and yards, looking for a gem in the rubble.  We went to a lovely place in Bath, UK this week and was totally inspired by their lovely white, rustic space.  Here are a few shots for you to see...