Vintage Swedish Interiors

A feast of historical interiors are on display at the Skansen open air museum in Stockholm. Skansen is an excellent source of Swedish textile traditions and pattern inspiration. I love those stencilled wall murals...

  

http://www.skansen.se/artikel/inredningstextilier

A sojourn in Stockholm

I had a lovely time wandering around the open air museum Skansen, situated on Djurgarden, just a short walk from the centre of Stockholm.

A fairytale building in Holland

This wonderful piece of architecture, designed using a mish-mash of local traditional building styles is a brand new hotel in Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam. I wonder if the inside is as amazing as the outside?
Inntel Hotel Amsterdam Zaandam

Hiccups in De Zevende Hemel

The Hiccups collections are now sold in several countries around the world, and happily for me they are available throughout the Netherlands, which I was lucky to visit on my recent overseas trip. (I love Holland!) 

One of the stores I visited with our Hiccups Netherlands based agent Ben was the stylish children's boutique De Zevende Hemel (Seventh Heaven), in Zeist, which now stocks Hiccups bed linen. Here are a few shots of the interior of this lovely store which offers a range of beautifully crafted kids bedroom furniture, clothing, bed linen, toys, books and wallpapers. There are 6 De Zevende Hemel stores located throughout Holland.

Pictured above is the Hiccups 'Sailing Away' printed bed linen.

Lovely ceramics from Dutch company PIP Studio. I hope these will be available in Australia soon!

Typical Dutch gingham patterns

A wonderful collection of toys and kooky wall lamps.

For more information about Hiccups products and retailers in the Netherlands, please visit www.hiccupsforkids.eu

Hanging around in Amsterdam

I love being in Amsterdam when the hollyhocks are blooming. I am definitely planting some seeds for spring!

Another gorgeous boutique in Paris

The Serendipity boutique relocated to a much larger space in St-Germain-de-Pres in October of last year, and I would definitely recommend a visit if you are heading to Paris. The founders of Serendipity, Laurence Simoncini and Elisa de Bartillat have created and gathered together a wonderful collection of items to decorate a child's bedroom or playroom with style. Industrial style furniture is artfully combined with hot pink linen, giant scale knitted accessories, kooky one-off toys and hand-made lamps.  I love the bird house wallpaper. And those grey painted walls.... and those printed cushions.... bella!

Serendipity is located at 81-83 Rue du Cherche-midi, 75006 Paris

http://www.serendipity.fr/ 

A French Bulldog

On a hot summer's day in Paris I came across this lovely fellow hanging out in a cool hallway near the Bastille metro.

A visit to Bon Ton Paris

Bon Ton stores can be found in several locations around Paris and every single one of them is worth a visit. The newest addition to the Bon Ton family is Bon Ton Filles Du Calvaire, located just a few doors away from Merci. Picture a large cavernous space with polished concrete floors, filled with lovingly styled vignettes at every turn. 

The chic products on offer include clothing for babies and children, bedroom furniture, bed linens, cushions, books, toys and games, and a great selection of kitchen items for budding chefs. Magnifique!