Trend Spotting: Scandinavian Home Decor

Bringing the Scandinavian design style into your home!

After visiting a restaurant in the SoBro area of Indianapolis for my birthday, it got me thinking about Scandinavian Design.  Its white, light, and simple design palette was a beautiful backdrop to the hot and spicy cuisine of Delicia. 

Scandinavian Design emerged in the 1950's from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland.  A design style known for their light, bright, simplicity throughout the decor.

1.  LAPPLJUNG RUTA Cushion Cover from IKEA

2.  STOCKHOLM Cushion from IKEA

3.  Manning Chandelier on Houzz.com

4.  Rustic Arc Table Lamp from Shades of Light

5.  Scandinavian Bird Hook from West Elm

6.  Mackinaw Small Accent Table from Crate & Barrel

7.  Half Moon Storage Basket from Luvocracy

8.  Wishbone White Wood Chair from Overstock.com

9.  Cross Throw Blanket by Pia Wallen from Mjolk

10.  Ottavia Rug from Crate & Barrel

You know that store that I really love for home decor and furniture?!?  You know the one -- IKEA!! Well, if you like IKEA then you like Scandinavian design style. Did you know that IKEA is based out of Sweden, so most of their products follow the Scandi design style or are Scandinavian inspired.  Look around IKEA the next time you are there -- clean lines, not a lot of ornate embellishments, modern, lots of white and cool grays -- it is the easiest way to understand and bring the Scandi style into your home!

via IKEA magazine

The home of style blogger from My Scandinavian Home.

via Stylizimo

A book of Nordic interior decor from the Danish couple Iben Ahlberg + Niels Ahlberg.

Scandinavian interiors will be sticking around for a while as long as IKEA is still in business.  And it has most definitely become more main stream and popular due in parts to IKEA whether you knew it not.  It has become a classic design style intended for the contemporary lovers.

Another Birthday, Another Year Older!

Yesterday was my birthday!  

Another year older.  Another birthday here and gone.  Grateful for an amazing year and looking forward to even more great things ahead this year!

I love that stores send me coupons or free things for my birthday.  I mean, who doesn't like FREE?!?  But, typically I would receive a "free $10" coupon and end up spending another $70 in the store buying things I probably didn't really need.  My birthday comes at a very inopportune time for me...Spring has just arrived, I am antsy to put away my sweaters for the winter, and all of the clothing stores have just brought out all of their brand new Spring and Summer collections.  So I typically go a little hog wild and I just loose all control wanting to buy all new Summer clothes!  Not this year though!

My birthday also normally falls within Lent.  Easter has been on my birthday in years past too.  So, I have to keep up with my Lenten promises during my birthday.  This year I decided NOT to buy myself anything through Lent, among some other Lenten promises I made to myself.

 NO Starbucks! 

 NO impulse buys from Target!  
NO manicures or pedicures! 

NO purchases on Etsy!  

Only exception is, if I have a "free" coupon, I can only spend that amount (or closest to that amount as possible).  And I can except gifts! :) It is my birthday after all!  So the challenge is to see how much I can get for FREE on my birthday! 

So here's what I purchased on my birthday with my coupons! 

I love World Market's scarves.  I bought this scarf this year with my $10 coupon from them.  Full price at $9.99 + $10 coupon = FREE!

World Market Hot Pink Pashmina Scarf

And I bought a scarf last year with my $10 coupon.  I didn't realize until I got home that I bought a scarf both years from World Market with my birthday coupon.  Like I really need another scarf!  But it was completely FREE!  (you must be a World Market Explorer to receive a free $10 coupon from them for your birthday)

I love these looks from Pinterest, so I have been on the hunt for the perfect hot pink scarf anyways! 

via Pinterest

The LOFT is one of my favorite clothing stores!  It's probably safe to say 75% of my wardrobe is from there.  So when they sent me a $15 OFF coupon, I knew this one would be a challenge because I always just want to buy everything when I go in there!  I literally, make myself stay away!

The LOFT Sheer Floral Crochet Tee

I got lucky!  All of their sale items were an extra 50% OFF!! This was originally $50.00, marked down to $40 + 50% OFF = $5 and some change out my pocket!  So I did have to pay a little extra but that's okay!  Still a great deal!  And the biggest success is this was the only thing I walked out of the store with!

I wore my new top out to dinner that night!  Paired it with jeans, a leopard print belt, top half tucked in, and a long necklace from Jane.com.  I thought this was a good transition piece into Summer too. 

I knew it would be real challenge for me to go into shoe heaven a.k.a. DSW with a $5 coupon without spending a lot more money on top of that.  So I debated about even making this one last stop on my shopping adventure yesterday.  But, after all, its FREE $5 burning a hole in my pocket!  Surely, I could find something inexpensive.  

DSW Coral Bubble Stud Earrings

Did you know DSW now has jewelry?!?  As I began perusing the aisles, I found some really cute black flats that I loved!  They were fairly inexpensive at only $40 but that would mean I would still have to fork out an additional $35 out of my own pocket and that meant breaking the promise!  So I moved along to the handbag and accessory aisles thinking, I could at least get a pair of socks or something!  Exciting right?!?  And then I saw a small area with jewelry!  Saved the day!  I could still get something fun and exciting, and let's face it, a girl can never have too much jewelry!  So I picked up these bright coral studs that will be perfect for summer!  $7 retail price + $5 coupon = I payed $2 and something for these!!  Victory!

I also received some great gifts for my birthday!

UP fitness bracelet from Jawbone!  So excited to try this.  It tracks Sleep, Movement, and Food!  It will be great to track my activity outside when the weather actually gets warm again!

It comes in all different colors.  I liked the black best though because I feel like it blends well with my other bracelets and doesn't stand out too much.

Erin Condren Life Planner

I received this one a little early and have been using it everyday since!  I love it!  I am a list, make notes, write down everything type of girl!  So, the Erin Condren Life Planner is a life saver for a girl like me with a million appointments and things to do every week!  My sister did a whole blog post about how she uses her Life Planner.  See here!

I ended my birthday with an amazing meal from Delicia with my husband and a surprise appearance from my brother and sister-in-law.  We enjoyed lots of Margaritas as I continuously gazed around the room at the beautiful interiors.

Delicia is an upscale Latin restaurant located in the Broad Ripple area.  It has only been open a little over a year and has already made Indianapolis Monthly's Top 25 Restaurants List.  The Margaritas were fantastic!  You could tell they were fresh.  My husband tried the Fire N' Ice Margarita!  Wowza was it spicy!!!  The ice in the cocktail was a jalapeno frozen inside a ball of ice.  Finished with a chili and salt rimmed glass.  Not for the faint of heart! We all ordered something different, and we were all very happy with our meals!  So tasty!

The decor was a mix of upscale Latin influences with a mix of Scandinavian.  But it worked!  The place was different than other restaurant decor and very beautiful. 

 

At the end of the day, I'm a 28-year old married to an amazing husband, with a nice home that we own, I have my own design company working from home, and I have amazing friends and family.  A girl couldn't ask for anything more.  I am grateful for each and every one of those things!  Here's to 28 being great!

Hello Spring! {free Download}

It's FINALLY Spring, y'all!

Today is the first day of Spring!  It doesn't quite feel like Spring just yet, but fingers crossed the warm weather is on it's way and here to stay!  I like to add little quotes and print-outs around my house for each holiday.  Whether it is Spring, or St. Patrick's Day, Easter or whatever.  I don't do a lot of seasonal decorating for smaller, quicker (here and gone) holidays.  Just an easy print-out from my computer around the house (entry way table and dining room buffet) is perfect.

I love this free download from Kraft & Mint.  It comes in this Salmon color, Yellow, or Mint.  I will definitely be printing this one out for my house this Spring!

Time Flies: 1st Birthday Party

Well my niece officially turned ONE last week!  I can't believe how quickly the first year went by.  Time really does FLY by! 

The theme for Emersyn's First Birthday Party was TIME FLIES!  With bird accents and decor as the main focus.  My sister did a great job putting this party together very inexpensively with a little creativity using just pieces we already had.  There are so many things to buy when throwing a party, one can really get carried away.  But by keeping the party the same color scheme as Emersyn's nursery, she save A LOT of money on the all of the party decor.  I helped my sister put the party together and by using things I had, with things she had in her home, and things from Emersyn's nursery, we didn't have to purchase anything extra for party decorations.  Only invitations, the cake, some fresh flowers, and the food and beverage supplies were bought for the party.

More about the decor of Emersyn's First Birthday Party:
The ONE banner around Emersyn's high chair was made out of scrapbook paper.  The ONE was written on the paper with a marker and strung together with yarn.  The TIME FLIES banner was also made out of scrapbook paper with construction paper letters cut out and pasted on each pennant.  A banner of photos strung together below that of Emersyn at each of her 12 months.  The fabric streamers were made from scrap fabric left over from Emersyn's nursery when we made a gallery wall of embroidery hoops with fabric.  Strips of fabric were just torn and tied onto a piece of yarn.  I think the smaller scrapbook banner around her newborn keepsake shadow box might actually be a leftover from my wedding shower.  It helps to have a bin of leftover scrapbook paper and fabrics for parties and projects like this.  The large standing ONE were leftover from Christmas.  Yes, Christmas.  I used these to once spell out "NOEL" covered in red scrapbook paper.  My sister just recovered the letters to spell "ONE" and stand amongst the pictures.  All of the other framed pictures, signs, the yarn wrapped "E", and decor mainly came from Emersyn's nursery.  Okay, onto what you are waiting for -- the pictures....

*all photos were taken by me*