A happy Friday to you and gorgeous book giveaway

The weekend never comes soon enough - except when I have a Friday deadline. So I figured there is no better time to do a book giveaway.

This is a unique one - "Classic Swedish Interiors," by Lars Sjoberg. The poetic photos are by Ingalill Snitt.

I'm going to quote Amazon as they describe the book better than me -

"Lars Sjöberg has made it his life's work to understand and preserve the Swedish manor houses of the 17th and 18th centuries. Here, exquisitely photographed by Ingalill Snitt, are the eight houses (and one church) that he has acquired over more than 40 years. The book focuses on Sjöberg's first, most complex project: the manor of Regnaholm. Unoccupied for about 40 years when Sjöberg arrived in 1966, it allowed him to experiment with interior decoration and refurnishing, copying old furniture, reweaving, and reprinting old fabric patterns.

His other projects include Ekensberg, a three-story Italianate villa near Lake Mälaren, built in 1788-90, and Salaholm in Västergötland with a garden laid out in the first half of the 17th century. Odenslunda, a small manor from the 1770s with a panelled exterior and a säteritak or manor-house roof, is his family home, while Sörby, a scaled-down early 17th-century manor house, was reproduced in its entirety for an exhibition in Stockholm. Full of insight and inspiration, this is a deeply personal summary of everything Lars Sjöberg has learned in his years of working and living with classic Swedish interiors." - via Amazon.com

Here are some of my favorite photos from the book -


One day I will have an antique Swedish grandfather clock!








As usual, all you have to do to enter the drawing is leave a comment! To comment on this post (scroll to the bottom of this post and right above "Labels" you will see a number followed by the word "comments." Click on the word "Comments." Or, you will see a link, "Post a Comment," which you click on to comment.

If you receive posts in your email feel free to respond to the email noting that you'd like to be entered in the drawing.

Contest closes Friday July 1st at 5pm. Good luck!

A super cute Swedish abode in a mix of styles

What a great dining room. It's hard to incorporate color like this without making the room look like a kid's room, but I think they did a great job!




Love the tiles.
This kitchen is so bright and cheery.
via Lantliv

A lovely white and bright Swedish home

This winter is so dreary and blah. It doesn't help that I've been stuck on the couch with a cold all week. Here's a bright and cheery pick me up for all of you out there who are feeling like me.



The spiral staircase acts as a room divider

Great home office!


see the spiral staircase on the right?

via Lantliv

Pardon my drool...but you'll understand when you see this home office!

It's amazing how such a functional and pretty space can be created in such a tiny nook, but below you have it. If you like this look and want to learn more, you must go to the amazing blog of the multi-talented Benita Larsson, "Chez Larsson" She has created a post on how they created the space and several update posts.





bins, boxes, baskets, bowls..whatever your preference - USE THEM. They keep clutter under control!




Sticking to a color palette also keeps your organization system looking it's tidiest.

Jealous? I sure am! Awesome job Benita!

Glam interiors with a modern Swedish flair

These spaces really speak for themselves. Enjoy.


Is that a shoe display?







via Skona Hem

Book Review: "Classic Swedish Interiors"

As my regular readers probably know, I'm a big fan of Swedish interiors. That's why I was super excited by the opportunity to review the new book, "Classic Swedish Interiors," by Lars Sjoberg. The poetic photos are by Ingalill Snitt.

I'm going to quote Amazon as they describe the book better than me -

"Lars Sjöberg has made it his life's work to understand and preserve the Swedish manor houses of the 17th and 18th centuries. Here, exquisitely photographed by Ingalill Snitt, are the eight houses (and one church) that he has acquired over more than 40 years. The book focuses on Sjöberg's first, most complex project: the manor of Regnaholm. Unoccupied for about 40 years when Sjöberg arrived in 1966, it allowed him to experiment with interior decoration and refurnishing, copying old furniture, reweaving, and reprinting old fabric patterns.

His other projects include Ekensberg, a three-story Italianate villa near Lake Mälaren, built in 1788-90, and Salaholm in Västergötland with a garden laid out in the first half of the 17th century. Odenslunda, a small manor from the 1770s with a panelled exterior and a säteritak or manor-house roof, is his family home, while Sörby, a scaled-down early 17th-century manor house, was reproduced in its entirety for an exhibition in Stockholm. Full of insight and inspiration, this is a deeply personal summary of everything Lars Sjöberg has learned in his years of working and living with classic Swedish interiors." - via Amazon.com

Here are some of my favorite photos from the book -


One day I will have an antique Swedish grandfather clock!

Brighten up your Monday - favorite images from my favorite blogs

Today is just a blah Monday and the weather outside is far from inspiring. I thought I'd do another installment of "Favorite Images from my Favorite Blogs." I started this feature because I realized that as a blogger, I rarely had the time to peruse the blogs that inspired me to start blogging, or that I'd discovered while blogging. I hope you enjoy and that it ads a little brightness if it's gloomy where you are like it is here...

(blogs featured in no particular order)

Gotta love Swedish style


This bit of heaven on earth is Lake Como, Italy
Images above from the lovely, La Dolce Vita



I want a kitchen that gets such great light - maybe it would help me wake up in the mornings

Great sconces on either side of the bed...
The three above images are from the inspiring, Cococozy.



Take a look at the room above again. It doesn't jump out at you at first but I think that's why it's so great. This room is so serene and calm. Personally I find it very hard to feel relaxed, or focus and get any work done, if a room is cluttered. I feel like in this room I could either completely clear my mind, and/or really focus on the task at hand. Beautiful.

These images from the amazing 79 Ideas