Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Living room snaps

The gorgeous spring sun seeping through the blinds inspired me to take a few pics around the livingroom.
I'm constantly arranging and rearranging my String shelves. I love them to bits, but never seem to get the setup just how I want it. But I guess that's part of the fun, right? I've never been big on color, especially not red. I've always leaned towards neutrals, however, these crazy colored germans have really won me over (they're all Scheurich). Apart from the crazy germans the shelves are currently holding WG planters, a Pantella lamp, a Muuto vase (a birthday present chosen by my dad!!), vintage Hadeland pieces, danish studio pottery, small model Panton chairs and books... My comfy leather chair is a Siesta chair, designed by Ingmar Relling in 1965 for norwegian manufacturer Westnofa. It's still in production, although by another company. Relling was the norwegian Wegner, a great designer from the Scandinavian design movement. You probably know that The Chair by Wegner was made famous by Kennedy in a tv debate, but did you know there are 16 Siesta chairs in The White House?

 
 






 
Ingmar Relling also designed these great daybeds for norwegian manufacturer Ekornes in the mid- sixties. They're called Combina and were part of a vey successful line of furniture that could be combined in many ways, hence the name Combina. We used to have them at home when I grew up, and one of them became my bed when my parents got new couches. The seat could be lifted to store my pillow and duvet when I had friends over. It's a classic mid- century piece of furniture, similar to several other daybeds of the era. These are not the ones we had back home, I found them in the exact same color after I put an ad on FINN (the Norwegian equivalent to Craigslist) What are the chances?


 

The aerial photos on the wall are for a project I did a few years ago. It's the last time I did one that didn't have a client. These are diagrams of the energy content and direction of waves and mapping of the topography on a site for a wave powerplant. I did it out of pure obsession and a solid dose of concern for landscape preservation and it turned into a thesis....


 
There's gotta be a solid dose of greenery in a home, right? I looove plants and planters. My most treasured planters are the 100 year old brown storage jars from Sandnes, near my childhood hometown. They were made by Graveren (later Gann Graveren) while they were still producing ordinary storage jars, baking bowls and roof tiles, before they started attracting artist and produced more colorful, patterned pieces. They're so rustic and cosy and remind me so much of home. My parents were kind enough to pick up these for me from an antiques store back home, they sometimes prefer driving instead of flying when they come to visit. They even found me a really large one.



 

My mom and dad are so sweet. They even found me this credenza in ... you might have guessed ... Stavanger!! It was made by a local furniture factory called Svena møbler, that was really big in the 60s. It's got such a great shape and so many gorgeous details, I just love it! Through the door you can see my new kitchen. My goal was to get a better connection between the living room and kitchen, color and material- wise, and I'm so glad it's finally done! I'm trying to convince my husband to paint the wall behind the credenza black. It would be such a great contrast to the teak and the kitchen wall that you see through the door. No luck so far... The big old radio next to the door used to belong to my husband's grandparents, and we were so lucky to have it handed down to us. I'm not sure if it's working, but it sure is a great place to put some pottery.


 

Finally, I'm sneaking in some pics from the kitchen counter- new use for old pottery, Stavangerflint Sera and Brunette. Have a great week!! 
  



16 comments:

  1. Oh My God. You're house is what I dream about. It's absolutely stunning and clean and comfortable. I'm completely in love and beserkly jealous! My ultimate desire is to have a set of string shelves. Lucky you!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you SOOO much for the overwhelming and kind comment! I'm so glad you like it! Yes, I'm very fond of my String shelves, imagine they've been in production since 1949!! Mine are new, though... Thanks again:-)

      Delete
  2. Oj oj oj Tove! Du har det så fint, luftigt vackert och uttänkt. Jag älskar din soffa, byrån och stringhyllorna.Jag söker just nu efter ett teakskåp eller sideboard till köket, en sådan som din vore fint =) Fotoserien är verkligen snygg!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tove, titta här: http://lucyvioletvintage.blogspot.fi/2013/04/stylin-it-part-two-sideboard-and-sofa.html
      Kanske det får din man inspirerad till den svarta väggen......=)

      Delete
    2. Å, tusen takk!! Så hyggelig at du liker det:-) God ide å vise min mann den svarte veggen på Lucy Violet Vintage, jeg følger også Kylie, veldig fin blogg:-)
      En slik sideboard (på norsk kaller vi det skjenk) er veldig praktisk. Jeg hadde letet etter en lenge da min mamma så annonsen. De har blitt så populære at det er vanskelig å få fatt på fine modeller her i Norge. Stringhyllen er ny, jeg ga opp å finne de delene jeg behøvde gammelt. Sofaene og stolen minner om barndommen, det er akkurat det samme som mine foreldre hadde. Jeg er en håpløs nostalgiker:-)

      Delete
  3. Nydelig hus, fantastisk interiør! Ga bort to brune Siesta-stoler for et par år siden pga plass, men det kjennes ennå langt inni hjerteroten. Tror må finne noen igjen:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tusen takk for kjempehyggelig kommentar:-) Ja, Siesta er knallfin design, håper du finner deg en ny! Vi hadde akkurat denne modellen i svart skinn og palisander da jeg vokste opp. Da jeg var nyfødt lå jeg og sov i "knekken" mellom ryggen og setet. Samme med sofaene, og bordet er mine besteforeldres. Merker jeg dras mot alt som vekker minner, Grønlandserien, Festivo, Figgjo .... Ha en herlig fridag i morgen:-)

      Delete
  4. Far out! I'm moving over to help you with your string shelf issue! I'm sure we can enlist others! Our home is sheer slight for my midcentury scandi eyes!

    I have a surprise for you, coming soon! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your home! Slip of the finger! Lol xx

      Delete
    2. That sounds like a lot of fun, Pippa:-) Nonstop thrifting and decorating:-) Please do come, I've seen your shelves, you're really good at it!! Surprise?!? Wow, that's exciting! Thanks for the sweet words:-)

      Delete
  5. Your living room and EVERYTHING in it is making "my heart beat faster" Tove! It's exactly like I thought it would be. Stylish, beautifully curated, but still warm and real. Gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh gosh, Kylie- that's SOOO sweet, I appreciate it so much! Especially the "warm and real"- bit:-) I'm so thrilled you like it, Kylie!! Thank you so much again!

      Delete
  6. I love your predominantly neutral palette with the occasional splash of color. Simply gorgeous! Your living room is so tastefully done...and so serene and inviting. I loved your story about the Relling daybeds. My Ekornes chair, although only about a decade old, is one of my favorite pieces of furniture.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank you so much for the wonderful comment, Dana, that really warmed! I guess my "color strategy" is to keep the furniture in a. neutral palette and let the accessories be splashes of color. When I put the ad in for the daybeds, I was thinking that if I found them they might be in a bad shape, and I'd reupholster them in grey wool. When they appeared though, in the exact same color my parents had, I couldn't. Besides, the wool is such a good quality, there is actually no visible wear. The wood frame had to be complete sanded down, though, I spent a week on the terrace doing that...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Utrolig flott hvordan du har greid å innrede så gjennomført og samtidig så personlig. Du er flink!!! Og jeg vokste også opp i denne sofaen! Hilsen Pep

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gjorde du? Å så gøy! Ja, serien var virkelig en klassiker med en skala og kombinasjonsmuligheter tilpasset tidens store boligutbygging med nye moderne boligtyper. Tusen takk for fine ord, Pep, det setter jeg kjempestor pris på, veldig hyggelig:-)

      Delete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...