Monthly Archives: August 2013

NAM NAM RESTAURANT – NAMED AFTER PETER SELLER’S CULT MOVIE ‘THE PARTY’

29 August 2013

Restaurant Nam Nam in central Copenhagen neatly brings together this week’s theme of Asian and Western fusion – see Superfussy and Small Spaces. This post ticks more than one category box from the stunning interior design by studio Holmbäck Nordentoft and Christina Meyer Bengtsson to the delicious Asian fusion kitchen featuring mouth-watering ingredients and authentic dishes cooked in aromatic spice mixes directly imported from the owners’ sisters in Malaysia.

I wish I lived in Copenhagen and could just pop in to sample their dishes which are based on the Singaporean expression ‘Makan Kaki’ meaning ‘to eat’ – a call to friends and family to get together and enjoy a meal where each guest orders a dish they then share with the table. A beautiful and sociable way of eating and a clever way of teaching children from a young age to share. [Can you tell ‘learning to share’ is a prominent theme in our house at the moment!?]

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To make your mouth water let me just tease you with some of their ingredients ranging from coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, laksa leaves, tofu, galangal, chili, turmeric and tamarind to a long list of very specific and aromatic spice pastes, known as sambals. Nam Nam serves Peranakan classics such as Laksa, Poh Pia and Beef Rendang as well as Singapore street kitchen highlights like Roti Prata, Chilli Crabs, Fish Head Curry and Gado-gado.

I could happily spend an evening in their beautifully designed surroundings created by Holmbäck Nordentoft in collaboration with graphic designer Christina Meyer Bengtsson. The interior is casual with the emphasis on being sociable and enjoying a meal together with friends. The colour palette is bright and bold with a rustic material mix of untreated wood and authentic finds from Asia. I particularly like the wooden crates serving as shelving for intriguing Singaporean flee-market finds like old photographs, paper lanterns and tin pots and mugs. The large ball pendant lamps with their woven texture add a focal point and the open kitchen reassures the customer that all dishes are freshly prepared.

Finally, a funny fact about Nam Nam which gets its name from the 1968 cult movie ‘The Party’, in which Peter Sellers plays the main character and during the party feeds a parrot, and with a bold Indian accent says: ‘Birdie namnam’. Who would have thought, eh!?

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copyright Nam Nam Copenhagen by Holmback Nordentoft

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Annie Signature Stylejuicer

More information & photography | Holmbäck Nordentoft

SMALL SPACES: STYLISH RETRO APARTMENT IN COPENHAGEN

28 August 2013

I’ve recently taken stock of my interior posts and feel that I need to counter balance all those huge, impeccable, glamorous interiors and homes which – let’s face it – are unattainable to most of us.

So today I’ll be starting a new series featuring SMALL SPACES that are cleverly designed and decorated, maximising space and from which we can all take inspiration for our own homes – unless you’re a multi-millionaire or Victoria Beckham. But don’t worry that doesn’t mean that you won’t get your property eye-candy of infinity pools, kitchens the size of tennis courts and statement staircases anymore. I just want to broaden my selection a bit and make the experience more pleasurable for you.

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I came across this cute little apartment in Copenhagen on Danish site Femina, the online presence of the same name women’s magazine. The apartment is 69 m2 (740 sq ft) and has been lovingly renovated and opened up by photographer Benita Marcussen and her partner Niels Frøhlke an app developer.

I love their deco mix of retro, IKEA and statement pieces (especially the shiny black fridge). The iconic 70ies photo of a female tennis player without any knickers injects some humour and reminds me of my own tennis club when I was growing up and that exact same print had pride of place in the clubhouse. The use of bold colours amongst a mainly neutral colour palette draws the eye in and sanded wooden pillars, exposed brick and zinc pipes give interesting textures to the space. Benita tells me that they are currently changing the flooring and the kitchen and I wonder if I can persuade her to take a few shots of the updated space. I’ll let you know!

Now, scroll down to create the look with STYLEJUICER.

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small spaces copenhagen apartment via stylejuicer

CREATE THE LOOK WITH STYLEJUICER ON LUVOCRACY.COM

When seeing creative little spaces like Benita and Niels’s apartment I’m always curious where they got their decor from and how to create the look in my own home. For that reason I’m trialling a site called luvocracy.com where I put collections together that you can view and from which you can purchase if you like. I’ve got to stress that this is not a sponsored link and I’m interested what you think about the opportunity to ‘shop the look’. Email me at annie [at] stylejuicer.com for feedback or leave a comment below.

To browse the collection on luvocracy.com just click the link.

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Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Annie Signature Stylejuicer

More information | Femina
Photography | Claudi + Capion

SUPERFUSSY, THEY AREN’T!

27 August 2013

Wouldn’t we all like to be a bit more bohemian? Not care so much about children’s routines, nap and meal times and go more with the flow. Travel, experience, live and don’t get so bogged down with everyday life. I know I would which is why I admire Nathalie and Khairi the founders of superfussy so much. They took their baby daughter Milla Rose on their travels and didn’t worry too much about routines and sure enough Milla adapted beautifully.

Superfussy was born just over a year ago when the couple travelled from New York to Singapore, Bangkok and Myanmar in three weeks. A week into the trip they realized the little harem pants they got along the way had become Milla’s daily wear and soon the idea of bringing ethnic, versatile and comfortable clothing for kids back to the US was born.

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It’s a genius culmination of their love of travel and functionality. Their website is laid back and approachable and includes a blog and a tumblr page giving the user an insight into their lives, thoughts, travels and sourced products. I adore the chikan kurtas and above mentioned little harem pants, all available in beautiful colours. Their eclectic selection is innovative and different and everything feels hand-picked and special. I’ve got a feeling that great things are lying ahead for superfussy as they expand their range to adult apparel and home goods. What a great way to combine a passion for travel with what others would call ‘work’.

But before you dive into the stunning selection of travel and lifestyle shots let me leave you with this beautiful quote by superfussy:

with our daughter milla rose as muse and inspiration, our goal is to share things we love that are timeless, functional and affordable on superfussy. sometimes directly from our travels, other times thru inspired learnings and explorations. we hope they all become a staple in your kids closet and your home. and a source of happy findings for your bohemian life.

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Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Annie Signature Stylejuicer

More information & photography | superfussy

LIVING IN A SCULPTURE – OSCAR NIEMEYER’S STRICK HOUSE

26 August 2013

Gabrielle and Michael Boyd are avant-garde collectors and enthusiasts and have been on a quest to live in an environment that’s a comprehensive, from the furniture to the house.

They had managed to accumulate a vast library of modernist books and avant-garde furniture and had already bought and restored three previous house before they came across Oscar Niemeyer’s Strick House, his only residential home outside Brazil.

Oscar Niemeyer is of course the legendary Brazilian visionary and architect of the capital Brasília who also worked collaboratively with other architects on the United Nations building in New York. He was however banned from even entering the country for his residential commission by film director Joseph Strick and his wife Anne because of his associations with the communist party and the house was designed via aerial photographs and topographical surveys. Niemeyer never actually visited the site and it was built by letter and phone calls – hard to imagine in this day of email, skype and mobile phones.

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The 4,600 sq ft house sits upon the Santa Monica hillside overlooking the fairways of the Riviera Country Golf Club and is built in a T shape. As Anne Strick recalls they were very specific about the details with a high ceiling in the public spaces, low in the private and level changes in the living area. When the Boyds purchased the property in 2002 it had become destabilized by seismic shifts in land values and needed some attention. Luckily it is a well-built house which didn’t need restructuring but mainly cosmetic updates.

Much to the Boyd’s delight the T shaped layout works perfectly for a family with the stem of the T defining the main living area including kitchen and dining terrace and a fireplace at the far end. The fun part was furnishing the house where the couple could chose from their vast collection of mid-century pieces, keeping the more fragile ones for the library.

The garden design was another important element for the Boyds as the meaning of the design was based on inside-outside living and they wanted to bring out the sense that this is a Niemeyer building with a feeling of the Brazilian landscape. So now palms and ferns populate a front and back garden paved with curved paths that wind between ink-drop formations.

Michael and Gabrielle Boyd are delighted with their home and sum it up by saying:

We’re living in a sculpture, and the sculpture works perfectly. It’s minimal, clean and Constructivist but actually functions as a residence. The design makes us live differently. When we’re inside, we’re outside with the plants.

If you’re interested in avant-garde and mid-century modernism take a look at Alex Bruces blog The Importance of Being Modernist.

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copyright Strick House by Oscar Niemeyer via stylejuicer

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Annie Signature Stylejuicer

More information | Boyd Design
Architect | Oscar Niemeyer
Photography | via Architectural Digest

TIDE HOUSE ST IVES – INTERIOR INSPIRATION FOR COASTAL LIVING

23 August 2013

Whilst indulging myself in day-dreaming about my next luxury mini-break I came across the gorgeous Tide House in St Ives, Cornwall which dates back to 1540. ‘What? 1540?’ I hear my American friends exclaim. And yes, that’s 225 years before the War of Independence, 80 years before the Mayflower landed and in those days nothing west of the Mississippi was explored. But I digress.

Back to the Tide House and it’s rich history as the oldest hotel in St Ives, a smart coastal town at the south west tip of the British Isles. Cornwall is a bit of a posh get-away for the Brits, especially Londoners and can get as busy as Oxford Street during the summer months. However the scenery and Cornish coast line are breathtakingly beautiful and there are plenty of beaches, rock pools and old ruins to explore which make it popular with families. I’ve not been to The Tide House which claims to be both family-friendly and a romantic retreat but I adore the look and feel of the place and I could see myself there at any time of year. Plus their photos fit perfectly onto my ‘Coastal Living’ board on Pinterest for my future coastal retreat.

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In 2011 Suzy and David Fairfield bought the hotel and spent 18 months restoring it into a home from home with friendly and informal service. Suzy’s skills as an interior designer come through in her choice of beautiful warm and tactile luxury furnishings and the coastal details and chalky colour palette are tasteful without being overwhelming. Each one of the six bedrooms is individually styled and Suzy’s artwork – she has a degree in illustration from Brighton College of Art – is on display in some of the rooms. I love the mix of materials and the combination of old and new and can tell just from looking at the photos that the couple is passionate about their place. They have achieved their vision of creating a home from home where people come to relax yet feel they are staying somewhere special.

LOCAL POINTS OF INTERST:

by Suzy and David Fairfield via Alastair Sawday’s

• St Ives has seven different great beaches to explore and enjoy
• St Ives is world famous for its connection with artists – some great galleries to see plus, of course, Tate St Ives
Barbara Hepworth museum and sculpture garden is really worth a visit
The Minack Theatre, Cornwall’s world famous open air theatre – a stunning place to see
• The iconic St Michael’s Mount – a stroll across the tidal causeway or a short boat hop from nearby Marazion
• Some of the best coastal walking in the UK, including the spectacular Hell’s Mouth to Godrevy and St Ives to Zennor

Sounds just like my cup of tea!

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Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Annie Signature Stylejuicer

More information & photography | Tide House St Ives, Cornwall