Category Archives: Home & Interior

CLASSICALLY SUBTLE DANISH DESIGN BY FERM LIVING

7 November 2013

This SUBTLE week on Stylejuicer seems to be filled with real life fairy tales and to warm your heart just a little more and get your entrepreneurial spirit going I’m going to present you Ferm Living, another example of great style and taste coupled with impeccable timing and a dash of… luck!?

I’m hesitating to call Trine Andersen “lucky” as I firmly believe we all create our own lucky breaks but I won’t get too philosophical about it or you’ll have an essay on your hands.

So, the story goes that when graphic designer Trine couldn’t find the wallpaper she wanted for her new home she decided to design and print it herself. So far, so extravagant but her timing back in 2004 (ish) turned out to be impeccable as she had stumbled across a niche in the market for quality graphic wallpaper and founded Ferm Living in 2005.

Wallpaper still being at the heart of it she has transferred her designs to homewares ranging from cushions and throws to kitchen and bathroom accessories as well as fabulous kid’s designs, toys and textiles.

The beauty of her designs is the fact that each new collection integrates perfectly with previous ones and subtly evolves your home. Her colour palette is mostly subdued and her designs incorporate strong graphic shapes and prints. I can see how once you’ve experienced her collection in your home you’d want to update it season by season.

To me Ferm’s aesthetic is classically Danish: understated, casual, approachable, mostly minimalist but oh, so strong with a little twinkle in the eye.

A nice strategy and one that has recently made her a success in the US, a notoriously tough market to crack but I suspect her Danish twinkle won them over.

NOTE: If you’d like to read more about Trine and how Ferm came to feature a bird as it’s logo, pop over to Bungalow5 for a small interview with the founder and designer.

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Photography & more information | Ferm Living

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GENTLE RENOVATION OF A SWISS CHALET

5 November 2013

Today’s story of the gentle renovation of an old Swiss chalet is a bit of a fairy tale so let me start by saying:
In a land far, far away…

Mirko Beetschen and Stéphane Houlmann of Berdorf Agency discovered the old house in Interlaken and sensed that this was the beginning of a wonderful liaison. With their trained and sensitive eye the two interior experts immediately saw the treasures which came to light during the sensitive renovation process.

Though modestly looking from the outside the house oozes with original features from the 19th century like the wooden panelling in the parlours, the parquet floors, the old staircase or the fabulous fireplace in the library. It took a while to find the right team of experts who had the skills, knowledge and vision for this renovation project but one by one the craftsmen came together each giving their best to bring the vision to life.

Interestingly, the team found English newspapers from 1895 under the old linoleum flooring and a dog-eared copy of a Charles Dickens novel in one of the closets which points to previous British or American owners during the time when the Alpine tourism in Interlaken really took off.

As with all old buildings one of the major problems was insulation. Each room, from the cellar to the attic, had to be looked at individually for the best possible energy efficiency. The building still had to be able to ‘breathe’ and the solution was to stuff the roof with soft sheep wool creating a natural warmth that gives an exceedingly comfortable atmosphere. As a visitor you feel like taking a good book and a mug of something hot snuggling into the nearest corner straight away.

I love the fact the owners used forty different, finely tuned hues of paint which perfectly harmonise with the antique features of the house and add to their beauty, as if it has always been like this.

The chalet, that can sleep no less than 13 people, is a rare success of contemporary living coupled with historic charm which Mirko and Stéphane now share with friends and family.

Their talent for gentle but creative renovations has since attracted owners of similar properties in the area who have instructed them to work their magic on their own historic chalets.

…and they lived happily ever after. The End.

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

More information | Bergdorf Agency for Concepts and Communication
Photography | Martin Guggisberg

Home & Interior / 4 COMMENTS /

INTERIOR TRENDS: DARK WALLS

24 October 2013

I’ve been inspired by Jessica Helgerson’s office fit out earlier this week which featured dark, moody colours and a luxurious palette of textures from exposed brick to leather and shiny steel. So, I wanted to find out how this interior trend could work in a domestic environment and have come across some great examples I’d like to share with you today.

Heading into winter dark walls and rooms feel more natural to me. Like a person they can be dressed up and wrapped up with heaps of soft furnishings in tactile fabrics. Imagine smooth velvet, thick wool, soft mohair or luxurious cashmere. You choice of colour can add accents and really bring a room to life like the pink velvet sofa towards the top of the moodboard below.

If this is too adventurous for you have a look at painting just one wall in a dark statement colour to draw attention to a particular area or install a dark shelving system. I also love the idea of a chalk board wall in either the kitchen or the kid’s room as it’s so versatile and playful. Another way of making a statement is to add oversized dark lampshades which give any room an instant wow factor.

For more inspiration just pop over to my INTERIOR STYLING and INTERIOR DESIGN boards on Pinterest.

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

Credits | I’d like to give credit to all the photographers and designers whose work is featured on this board. Sadly, most of the originators can’t be identified anymore so if you recognise your work here please email me and I’ll happily credit you and add your link.

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GOTHIC OFFICE BY JESSICA HELGERSON INTERIOR DESIGN

22 October 2013

I’m in the mood for something different this week! So I’ve decided to have a MOODY WEEK here on Stylejuicer, matching the weather (not my mood) and leading up to SPOOKY HALLOWEEN next week. Be prepared for dark, sumptuous and tactile interiors, design and photography. It’s going to be a feast for the senses!

Regular readers will know that I’ve got a soft spot for Jessica Helgerson and her team of interior designers. I just LOVE their work and have featured their successful remodelling and interior design of a 100 year old family home in back in August.

Today I want to make your heart skip a beat by introducing the transformation of a private office space in a 1870s Gothic revival building in downtown Portland, USA.

Jessica and her team initially presented designs ranging from clean, modern and bright to dark, moody and luxurious. To their delight the client decided against the current trend and preferred the dark and luxurious route which was more in keeping with the historic building.

After gutting the space and removing angled walls that created small cramped rooms they divided the space into lobby, conference room, open-plan office with two private glass cube offices and a lounge area.

To break up the open-plan office space and to fulfill the client’s brief of a ‘feeling of separation’ they commissioned Portland based glass artist Andy Paiko who designed a glass sculpture that divides the space in an elegant and playful way without closing it off too much.

As with all her projects Jessica and her team are masters at adding interest and texture with bespoke coffered ceiling patterns, luxurious wall paper in rich abstracted botanical patterns and cabinetry that cleverly hides storage and a kitchenette. However, my favourite detail is the exposed brickwork which works as a juxtaposition to all the refinery and sumptuous fabrics.

You can tell how much fun they had when they managed to stage a photoshoot with antique telephones and typewriters to create a glamorous, dark and moody office where it’s ok to read novels and drink whiskey at work. A perfect backdrop for Don Draper and team and a way of ‘working’ which continued well into the 70s.

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

More information | Jessica Helgerson Interior Design
Photography | Lincoln Barbour

Home & Interior / 3 COMMENTS /

SMALL SPACES: STUDENT APARTMENT IN PARIS

17 October 2013

This charming student apartment in Paris’s ninth arrondissement might only be 25m2 but it is packed with practical storage solutions and a cleverly zoned layout thanks to the addition of a centrally located kitchen that divides but doesn’t obstruct.

I found this little gem AGES ago on Architectural Digest Russia and knew it would be perfect for my PARIS week. As Anne Ditmeyer of Pret A Voyager will testify, apartments are teeny tiny in Paris and a lot of them share bathroom and laundry facilities. Anne refers to her first abode lovingly as a cupboard as it was only 12m2, and I’m sure will consider this student accommodation a palace. Well, it helps if your mother is an interior designer.

Robin, the lucky owner and student, gave his mother a clear brief: A contemporary space that combined period features with his modern needs as a student. It was important for his mother Marianne to differentiate the ‘work and play’ areas which she achieved by installing a kitchen in the centre of the apartment. I love it’s open plan breakfast bar to one side whilst large glass panels on either side contain the space but let light flood through the apartment.

The quirky antique touches like the stove, gilt mirror and old suitcases that double up as a coffee table act as a reminder of the building’s history and blend well with the old floorboards and coving. Marianne chose a sensitive colour scheme with a dominant French Gray (I’m referring to Farrow & Ball here) broken up by soft blue for the fireplace alcove and a dusty purple behind the mirror in the sitting area. The scheme is contemporary but classy and fits right into this period place. Every nook and cranny has got it’s use with lots of shelving and storage built in so it feels like a generous space – unless it’s exam time and I suspect most surfaces will be filled with papers.

Enjoy and I hope you’re inspired!

More information | AD Russia
Photography | Stephan Julliard

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