EMMAS DESIGNBLOGG

I just found out about this new book by interior stylist and photographer Lisbett Wedendahl called Familieliv (Family Life), and now I can't seem to get it off my mind! It sounds like such an inspiring book, and judging by the few pictures I've seen, it's gorgeous!

Familieliv is all about making your everyday life better and more fun, and it's full of little projects for your kids, home, kitchen and garden. It has sections on getting time for yourself, smart storage solutions, cookie recipes, inspiration for the holidays, and more. How about building a playhouse, inviting your friend for cocktails in the garden, making a kite and sewing your own slippers? Sounds like fun, huh?

So if anyone out there is looking for a gift for me, this would be the perfect one! ;-)

Thumbtack Press never fail to surprise me with their fresh, affordable and exciting art. They sell prints from a huge amount of artists, and update often enough for me to find a new set of favourites every time I visit! These are by artists Nick Deakin, Irana Douer and Richard A. Goldberg.

It was love at first sight when I spotted this San Francisco beach house from 1949 by architect Ernest Born in The NY Times. The current owner has built an addition as a separate house, connected to the original via a glass tunnel, but other than that, everything is left unchanged. Decorated with both vintage and reproduction midcentury items that truly fits the spirit of the house, the atmosphere is relaxed and cozy but still airy, and with the addition of modern and personal things like a built-in surfboard rack and flat-screen tv's, the feel is not at all like a museum or period show home.

Jaime over at Design Milk opened up her fab new online store Vitamin D(esign) today! It features lots of cool stuff that previously wasn't available to buy online from designers like Furni, jefdesigns, InModern and Brave Space, and a whole section of eco friendly products called d-ECO-rate. Until August 5 they offer 10% off all orders over $ 100, so get your order in now!

NY Magazine featured this amazing home of Sharon Coplan Hurowitz, a private art adviser living in New York. This is a rental that she and her family are living in at the moment because their old apartment was flooded. This means that all the renovations done has to be totally convertible, and it was all done very quickly as the family had nowhere to live...
Sharons owns a super cool collection of designer furniture and modern art, which inspired the architects to use all these bright colours and untraditional solutions. I have to say that the result is rather stunning, don't you agree?

IKEA are about to release the new 2008 catalogue, and unfortunately I couldn't go to the press event, but I got some pics of the new stuff anyway! If you would like to see more of their 1000 new items, and browse the whole of the 372 pages of the catalogue online, just visit your local IKEA homepage.
I haven't flicked through it all yet, I want to wait until the real thing arrives in my mail box, sit down with a cup of tea and truly enjoy it, but here are some good stuff that I found at first glance. The PS clock makes a reappearence, and the NORVALD chair and UNNI pillow are nice too. I also like the high gloss finish on these cupboards, and the balance between black and white in the bottom picture.

My blog friend Elisabeth has made some awesome fabric patterns for Swedish textiles company Mairo. It will be shown on the Formex fair in August, and I hope it is going to be available in stores later this autumn, because I can't wait to buy some! The "Strössel" design, with the chocolate ball pattern (does anyone make chocolate balls outside of Sweden?) would be perfect for birthday parties, don't you think?

She also made this supercute elephant pattern that is going to be on bedlinen and rollerblinds, also for Mairo.

I've written about the Danish wallpaper company Ferm Living before, and some readers asked where they could get their products. Now I'm happy to announce that all of Ferm's products are finally available in the US, both through their own webshop and a smaller selection through Design Public, who offers free shipping for all orders over $ 50. I love their patterns, and now I'm very curious about the new wallpaper collection Graphics in Nature that they are going to show at the Formland fair in Denmark in August! They are also promising a collection of bedding this autumn, and I'm sure that will be fab too!

...if I didn't have kids, but now it's just way to small for the three of us.
It's in a really cool neighbourhood, and look at that kitchen! I love that they have kept the old cupboard but removed the door, and then painted it in a bright turquoise, it makes a great focal piece and breaks nicely with the black and white. I don't know if you can see it in this picture, but that is a zink floor. Have you ever heard of that before? I know I haven't, but it sure looks good! The flooring in the rest of the flat is very beautiful too, I'm a sucker for dark wooden floors.
The layout of this place is a little weird, with that long narrow entrance, and the bedroom (former dining room) tucked in behind the kitchen, but that just adds to the charm here, together with the high ceilings and big windows.
There are more pictures here.

I'm switching apartments with Sia in Amsterdam for a couple of weeks in August. I'm really looking forward to the trip, but I'm also a little scared, since this will be the first time I travel all on my own. What am I going to do all days? And nights? Sure, hanging out in parks and going shopping is nice, but then what? Where are the nicest bars, and the best cafés? Come on, give me your best tips on what to do (alone) in Amsterdam!

I'm still on vacation, but I just had to show you this! One of my favorite illustrators, Sanna Annukka, recently opened up an online shop, where you can buy her prints. Soon she will be filling the store with some of her other stuff too, like fabrics, jewellery and stationery, so keep coming back to it. I love her folkloristic seventies illustrating style!

It's rain, rain and more rain here. So boring. To cheer myself up, I put a new feature on the blog! It's a small Etsy widget in the right column, which shows my favorite items from Etsy. So if you are a seller there, feel free to email me (emmas dot blogg at hotmail dot com) with links and pictures of your stuff, and perhaps I will show it here!
Thank you Holly for showing me how to do it!