Author: Anita Martinez Beijer

The Design Sheppard’s book review

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I’m delighted that brilliant blogger Stacey Sheppard wrote a great review about the book Home Life Around the World. Her award winning blog, The Design Sheppard, is one of the leading interior design blogs in the UK. Her blog has been appointed by Vuelio as one of the top 10 interior design blogs in the UK, every year since 2015. I’m honoured. I’m also over the moon that she so totally gets what the book is all about! Read her review here: https://www.thedesignsheppard.com/books/book-review-home-life-around-the-world

Slow living

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The hectic lifestyle of modern society is fast-paced and many times stressful. As we struggle to keep on top of everything, we are often left feeling drained, overwhelmed and disconnected from the important values in life. Our basic needs today though are the same as they always have been. We still need to be seen, appreciated and to connect in a meaningful way with each other. To be emotionally close, to be cared for and care for others and to love. Is it possible to step back and create a lifestyle that has a more relaxed and leisurely pace, in able to achieve a peace of mind and happiness? Can our homes help us with this? Several of the homes in the book Home Life Around the World reflect a lifestyle known as “slow living”. Slow living emphasizes a slower approach to aspects of everyday life and started with the slow food movement as a reaction to fast food. Well-being, simplicity, a sustainable lifestyle and consciousness are some of the qualities that define this lifestyle. “Slow down …

How to embrace autumn

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Autumn has arrived in my part of the world and I feel my spirits lift on my walks, when I take in the beautiful scenery of leaves that are turning into every shade of red and yellow. The mornings are becoming crisp and even though the weather is mild at the moment, one has the feeling that in no time at all it’s time for wooly mittens, scarves and coats and summer is a mere memory. How do I approach the change of the seasons? As I’ve mentioned earlier I became inspired by Wabi Sabi, when I visited the home of Elissa in New York, on my travels to explore what a home means to people*. Wabi Sabi is a Japanese philosophy that embraces the transience of life, whether nature’s changes, the different phases of human existence or the imperfections found in objects. The keyword that has worked for me is the word embrace. I do so love that word! I found that in actively changing my thoughts about a change I don’t particularly like or …

Colour of the year 2019

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UK paint brand Dulux has appointed ‘Spiced Honey’ as the colour of the year 2019, as part of the brand’s industry-acclaimed ColourFutures trend forecast. Spriced Honey is a versatile shade filled with warm and inviting tones of amber and rich caramel. “2018 was an unsettling and unpredictable time,’ says Dulux. ‘We were overwhelmed by the deluge of news, choices and demands upon our time, causing us to close up and retreat into spaces where we feel safe and cocooned. We pressed pause and took time to regroup.” “As we move forward into 2019, we find this pause has given people time to re-energise and deal with the sense of unpredictability with positive action, optimism and purpose. If the unpredictability of last year forced people to retreat and regroup, 2019 is the time for their awakening. We are ready to ‘Let in the Light’.” Other paint brands such as Jotun have similar shades in their new colour palette for 2019. Jotun’s RAW-Palette we find warm earth colors, neutral gray shades and burnt reddish tones. LADY 12085 Rural LADY Pure Color 20118 …

Inspiration from Formex

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The main trend seminar at this season’s Formex, was held by one of our times greatest trend analyst Lilly Berelovich from the New York-based trend agency FS Creative. I was so excited to find that many of the influences and tendencies she shared with us, show up in the homes of my book Home Life Around the World. The slow living trend is something that many of us yearn for in the busy and fast paced life of today. The chapter Wabi Sabi in Brooklyn highlight the love of handmade craft and embrace the idea of the imperfect. Healing Spaces celebrate the patina and aged beauty of furniture that have had an earlier life. In pursuit of happiness we seek to reconnect and live a life in harmony with nature as in Living Off-the-Grid. Realising the importance of silence in the chapter A peaceful Haven and creating an equilibrium in life in Visual Quietness, both show us ways to keep us connected with ourselves. The chapters Consciously Minimal and Industrial living are perfect examples of how work and home life are interconnected in the …

Book release!

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Book release! So happy to share this labour of love at last! Thank you all for helping me celebrate last night at Äppelvikens Bokhandel! I’m thrilled to bits, touched and overwhelmed at the respons Home Life Around the World has received! Here are some snapshots from the evening. Showing my world tour that was the foundation for the book. I enjoyed sharing the thought behind my book. These are all the wonderful people who generously opened the doors to their homes and shared their stories with me. The author hard at work at the serious business of dedicating books. Such a delightful task! It’s so great to have supportive friends around you! For those of you who were unable to attend, there will be an opportunity to purchase a dedicated book signed by the author right here on Bohemialife. For yourself or perhaps as a gift? This would be a lovely house warming present. Soon to be featured. Photocredit: Thank you friends & family!

Reviews

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Home Life Around the World has been warmly received and I’m so grateful and happy! If you would like to grab a copy for yourself or as a gift, the book details are below. There will be an opportunity to purchase a signed and dedicated copy of the book right here on Bohemialife shortly. Watch this space! Here are some of the wonderful reviews the book has received so far. Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read and review it! Your reviews do so much to help with a book’s success. “I enjoyed this peek into several people’s home lives, from Africa to South America. While each home had many unique and creative aspects, I found it interesting to focus on what they all had in common: access to greenery or plants, lots of light, effective use of space, and display of a few treasured items instead of holding a lot of stuff. A very soothing read.” San Fransisco Book Review “The Home & Gardens section of Publishers Weekly, the February 12th issue, sees a …

Living by ear

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Sam lives in Hong Kong, in a small studio flat on the 31st floor that has its very own private roof terrace with amazing views over the city. But we meet in Shanghai, where he’s currently on a work assignment. Sam spends much of his time away from Hong Kong for work, but he offers to host me in his apartment when I’m in Hong Kong. I’m happy to accept and look forward to this, as it will give me an opportunity to experience his apartment myself. We meet at a cafe in the French Concession. Sam tells me a bit about his work as a designer and consultant. When he describes what he does, he uses words like strategy, research, innovation and culture. But mostly, he says, it involves people and problem solving. He spends his days listening to the many layers of his clients. Gathering in-depth information about them and through that knowledge gaining an understanding of what they need. His motto ‘Living by ear’, reflects this well as it parallels the expression ‘playing …

Happy Book Birthday!

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It’s finally the release day for Home Life Around the World! Happy Book Birthday! The process of making a dream come true has involved if not blood, at least sweat and toil and it has been amazing! Every step of the way has involved exploring unknown paths and at times the learning curve has been steep. But with diligence, single minded focus and sheer stubbornness I got there at the end and result is so rewarding. What started at the end of 2014 as merely an idea, to explore what a home really means to people, actually involved selling my own home to realise funds to make the project feasible. Then followed a period of thorough research and the first tentative outreach to persons previously unknown, living on every continent. Every place I travelled to, was a place I never before have visited. Everyone I met was a stranger at first. Also, it meant getting the necessary equipment needed to complete the project. As well as acquiring the knowledge how to use these new tools. It has …

The cosy home in no 4

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A couple of floors up a steep and narrow staircase in an apartment building in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, I find the home of Eyal Cohen. The house is what the Chinese call a ‘walk-up’, a building from the 50-60s with no elevator. The first thing I see as I step inside is a bright and colourful wall made of – egg cartons. It’s a cheering and welcoming sight and a real work of art. His apartment is fairly spacious for Hong Kong, 575 square feet* and consists of one large room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It’s furnished and decorated by himself and filled with fun and eye-catching things. One wall has an image of a large ostrich with a hat. A full-scale sheep with blue wool is standing on top of a bookshelf. Origami squirrels are playing on a tree trunk on the floor. This is a home whose owner clearly has had a lot of fun whilst decorating it and I’m eager to hear the story behind it. “Rental apartments here in …