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The Apartment

The Apartment in Copenhagen designed by Ilse Crawford and her team at Studioilse has a wonderful ambience. Muted wall colors and furniture blends perfectly with well chosen materials in the furnishing, mixing natural fibers and brass, dark wood with pale wood. Thick rugs on the beautiful wooden floors, sheep skins on armchairs, a lovely throw lying casually on the bed and books piled on coffee tables and in bookcases, create a homely but stylish wholeness.

My favourite is Franco Albini’s rattan chair Gala Lounge Chair that looks so good against the charcoal wall, rug and grey sheep skin. The thick dark Beni Quarain Rug under the hammock strung between the wall and a bookcase is another. On the whole it’s a marvellous array of materials, textures and hues that work well together.

The Apartment is a gallery founded by former Sotheby’s specialist Tina Seidenfaden Busck, features modernist art and design in an 18th-century space presented as if it were a private home. It was last autumn that this interior was displayed and it came to my mind as Ilse Crawfords has a new range in collaboration with IKEA that is due to be released in August. What I’ve seen from the press releases it’s going to be quite spectacular. Can’t wait!

Photo source: Daniella Witte for Femina, Casper Sejersen for the Apartment.
Credits: http://www.remodelista.com

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Preparations

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

This journey of mine is getting seriously real. Well it would wouldn’t it when one gets a hefty jab in the arm with a needle. And that not only once or even twice. I also have to fill out a four page visa application where one’s required to write down one’s name in Chinese…How does one do that? Google translate?

Trying to figure out if the best solution is to by a round the world ticket from the start or to buy tickets on the go? Is it better to be free and take everything as it come? Or is the wisest move to book the whole trip in advance and save time and maybe money? And then there is the whole logistic part and making that work. Which places to visit and whether to stay here or there first? And to take the right steps and to make the necessary arrangements. A real challenge for my project management skills.

Making the first bookings now and feeling quite exited. Am getting some nice feedback and people I’m going to visit seem interested and exited too. Still so much to do before I leave though! So feeling the stress now! Wish me luck!

Yoga mat on the go

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

Hurray! My new yoga mat for traveling arrived yesterday! When I visited Mallorca I ran into Malin Berghagen by chance one day. Apart from being a yogi she is a very beautiful and strong woman guided by empathy and love. I admire her a lot for her ability to share her passion, her strength as well as her vulnerability. So she is a something of a role model for me there. She is also brave enough to walk her own path and I felt that I had met a kindred spirit. Talking to her I told her a bit about my upcoming trip and and we spoke amongst other things about yoga mats, and she got this glimpse in the eye when she told me that there is something special about a mat that visits many places together with you. As soon as she had said that I got this picture of “my” mat in my head. Back at home I started searching and I found it. A yoga mat is very personal I find and it’s color is important. The only color I could think of was orange. No other color felt right. I couldn’t find an orange mat, lightweight enough for travel, so I widened my search to abroad and sent for it.

Writing this I got curious and started to research the meaning of orange from a chakra point of view. This is what I found. The orange color stands for the sacral chakra. The main energy of this color is connected with creativity and feelings. “Orange energy is balance, strength, and sustenance. It is the building block of physical growth and development. Orange represents the developmental stage when we learn to walk and we explore our world.” Well that fits the bill well enough!

I continue to read: “Just as the sacral chakra is located in the pelvic area, orange is the area of our gut feelings and wisdom. Buddhists call this “hara”, the centre of being through which we connect with the deepest voice of the self, the deepest stillness and wisdom. This is where we find bliss. Orange energy is very sensual. Living a life guided by orange color transforms even the most mundane daily experiences into pleasurable experiences. That is not to say that orange is purely hedonistic. Orange is also associated with the gentle and positive nurturing of ourselves which moves us on our path of growth and development.” Credit to chakra-anatomy.com
What color of mat do you have? And why did you choose that particular color?

I also want to give Malin a big hug and thanks for sharing my story in her blog in Amelia! Namaste! Follow her at http://blogg.amelia.se/malinberghagen/

Hello travels!

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

To kick-start my travels after months and months of unraveling my domestic life as a house owner and to get myself into travel mode again, I took a short trip to Palma de Mallorca around midsummer. If this is a mini version of what my trip around the world will be like – well I can’t wait!

I stayed with Maryna and Mike in Santa Catalina. It was my first visit in this particular area and my first stay with them too and we had a great time together. Sharing a home with someone is an interesting way to travel. You get to know new people fast when meeting them in a informal and relaxed environment as a home is. I also very quickly got that feeling of truly being at home. Sharing a glas of wine and enjoying great conversations when my hosts came home after a day at work. Going out for a meal together. Saying hi to the neighbours when meeting them on the stairs. Buying food at the local market. Apart from that I just walked the streets, soaking in the ambience of the place. Streets shaded from the hot sun by leafy Acacia trees. Eating at the local cafés and restaurants, striking up conversations with people I met by chance, taking the local bus to the beaches. Basking in the heat like an exotic flower deprived of sun and nourishing soil for a long time. And loving every minute of it!

Apart from visiting different beaches, it was hot I can tell you, I never actually left Santa Catalina. I never ventured past that buzzing little corner of Palma. Never felt a need to do so. What’s great about this area has partly to do with it being a place where real life takes place. Of course they have their fair share of tourists and people of other nationalities living there too. But mostly I found the Mallorquines themselves going about their days, doing what they do everyday. I was thrilled to hear people only speaking Spanish around me, at restaurant around the corner on a Saturday evening. Always a good sign. They served simple but delicious seafood. I had a knack of ending a meal in a restaurant in the kitchen having a nice chat with the chef. And being given small tidbits such as a Gazpacho or Strawberries and a Macaron. Or being asked to enter the cabin of a small vessel and steer the boat together with the captain, on the the way back from the beach to the port, while the rest of the party traveling in small groups had to sit on deck and get wet with the spray of the sea. Lots of fun! So thumbs up for the perks of traveling alone!

I totally fell in love with the tree shaded streets of Santa Catalina. With it’s low buildings with wooden shutters and curtains hanging outside the windows and balconies. Small, unique and fun shops. Excellent restaurants. And the small town feeling. I will be back!

Here are some snapshots from my stay. Most of them are taken with my phone. I just wanted to give you the feeling. Enjoy!

Clever ways of using mirrors

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

Using a mirror is a great way to enlarge a small space so that it visually feels bigger. It can also be a way to increase the natural daylight in a room that doesn’t benefit much from it, like a north-facing room. Brighten a dark area of a room by hanging a mirror where it reflects the daylight from the window. Or use it to trick the eye into believing that there is a window or a doorway, creating an illusion of a architectural feature where there is none.

And of course, mirrors in themselves can be very decorative. Use several and group them together to create something striking. Keep a theme like only using round mirrors. Or only mirrors with the same kind of frame. Vintage mirrors is also a way of enhancing an era. If you can’t find the right kind of mirror, here’s one tip that maybe can be useful. Take an old picture frame that you like, remove the picture and insert a mirror in the frame.

I always stress that mixing different textures is important to create the right feel in a room. Soft materials as wool and other fabrics, against hard surfaces such as wood, metal and glass. And the shiny, hard and reflecting surface of a mirror adds something unique to this palette. A simple mirror used cleverly can give your home just that extra touch.

Here are some images that illustrate the vast use of mirrors in interiors. Enjoy! Don’t forget to tell me which one inspires you most!

Photo sourses: Pinterest, http://www.decoratingyoursmallspace.com/how-to-choose-and-use-wall-mirrors/, http://rydeng.blogspot.se/search?updated-max=2011-09-24T02:54:00%2B02:00&max-results=20, http://www.walltat.com/Sticker-Decals-Reflective-3D-p/rf-%2016.11.htm

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Contrast creates interesting homes

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

Give your home exciting content with the aid of a well thought out color scheme. Just as if you would create a play or a movie, a home also requires a certain amount of dramaturgy. A black staircase in an otherwise white room really makes a statement. A dark floor as well as a dark ceiling defines the height of the room making you experience the ceiling as lower than it is.

An alcove painted black in an otherwise white room creates not only a cozy, relaxing space but also a room within a room feature. Or make for example a passage between two bright rooms dark, and you will get an exciting transition. And a great way to highlight an architectural detail is by emphasising it with a contrasting color.

A dark color can also be used to accentuate a feature such as a bookcase. Or to create a striking backdrop for your collection of pictures and paintings, making them really stand out. Maybe highlight one wall in a room as a eye-catcher. Light meets dark. Soft faces matches hard. Make the flow of your home become more interesting.

Which of the rooms inspires you the most? Can you see yourself using of some of the ideas in your own home?

Photo sourse: Pinterest

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Boho homes

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

Bohemian-style is for those who enjoy creatively thinking outside the box. This design style is all about an eclectic mix of colors, patterns, textures and fabrics. Create it with odds and ends picked up on travels around the world, vintage pieces, heirlooms, old books, pieces of art, especially old art, decorative figurines, lots of soft furnishings such as pillows and generally load up with accessories. More is more. Blend different textures, such as wood, metall, glas, natural fibers, wool and animal skins, as a way to master this look. The key to doing it successfully is that nothing can match, nothing is new and don’t stick to any rules. True bohemian style is achieved only when the room appears as if it has grown organically over the years. If you don’t want to follow any design trends, perhaps this style is for your? Playful, inspiring or challenging? Which one of these seven homes is your favorite?

Photo sources: 1. http://theselby.com/galleries/aldo-chaparro-artist-at-home-in-mexico-city/, 2. http://thedesignfiles.net/2014/08/sydney-home-dion-antony-anna-feller-and-family/, 3. http://www.anahataart.com, 4. http://www.dewittenijl.be/antwerpen/, 5. http://www.anthropologie.eu/anthro/index.jsp, 6. http://thedesignfiles.net/2013/09/fremantle-home-trish-bygott-nathan-crotty-and-family/, 7. Pinterest.
Credit: http://www.onekindesign.com/2013/07/12/43-bohemian-chic-interiors-to-rock-your-senses/

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Multifunctional living space

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

Love the multifunction of a big table. When not used as a dining table, it can double up as a workspace as well. A great way to furnish when living space is limited. Instead of having furniture for various purposes divided in different areas of your home, do the opposite and have all the features in one place. Make sure that you have sufficient lighting. And add really comfy chairs. Then it also works as a nice spot to gather when friends visit and you can banish the sofa too.

Credits: http://www.homeadore.com/2014/02/13/eixample-residence-loox/

Travel itinerary

Published by Anita Martinez Beijer

The route for my trip around the world is set. I’m finalising the finer details now but it is going to be as showed on the travel information board. I begin my world tour in Shanghai and will come back to Copenhagen approximately eight months later. Looking forward to sharing more details with you soon!

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