Just in! Samantha would now like to share photos of their previous apartment – total eye candy. Are you ready to pack everything and relocate to Sweden? Oh you will be. Get a load of this kitchen! The moment I saw it, I thought about Susan Serra, the amazing New York kitchen designer who loves Scandinavian design and how much she’d love cooking up something delicious in this space. I also thought about how much I love Europe and how I miss seeing apartments like this. :)
Things I love: The building architecture overall, the gothic pew seating, all the industrial furniture, white walls, the transoms to die for, and the gorgeous light in the space. This home gives me a very serene feeling – it’s a look I love but in reality I realize that my love of color and animal/girl art would eventually take over and I’d add lots of pillows, flowers, and throw rugs. :) So it would be much more girly girl. But Sam and Grant have this editor’s eye that I appreciate because I don’t think I could have such restraint. Could be a cultural thing as Thorsten’s family (my husband) in Germany and some of my Swedish friends live like this, it’s part of their upbringing to be more frugal and to purchase things you plan to keep for many years. Plus store return policies aren’t nearly as generous, so if you buy it you can’t easily return it if it doesn’t work. And Craigslist isn’t all the rage. Perhaps all the options we have here in America is both bad and good. It makes it much harder to live like this Swedish couple, that’s for sure.
Sam and Grant, thank you for all this sharing today on decor8, I’m basking in the glow of all this gorgeousness – oh la love!
(image from Samantha and Grant Nixon)
January 7th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
The kitchen! Wow. Any idea what material that countertop is?
January 7th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Love, love, love the mix of old and new and metal and wood. Like you, I would never be able to achieve this pure and simple living style, but appreciate their mastery of this design aesthetic.
Simply lovely.
~suzanne
January 7th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I was in love the moment I saw the exterior shot & my yearning increased with each interior photo. Absolutely stunning! I’m filled with envy for every single vintage piece. Especially the desk & flat file unit in the bedroom. Thanks so much for another dose of eye candy.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Ooops, Holly. You made a mistake, but an honest one I am sure. This apartment is not Sam & Grant’s…it’s mine. I can understand why they’d want to take credit as I have a tremendous sense of style. But I am most certain that it is my apartment.
Oh…wait…hold on a second…lemme look around here…HEY!…What happened?! Hmmm…
Nevermind, Holly…it IS Sam & Grant’s. DARNIT!
January 7th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Oh I LOOOOVE those stools in the kitchen (the wooden ones with the small backs). Pls tell me where I can get them!
January 7th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Laura – the countertops are zinc.
Mrs. Limestone – we got those chairs from Saxon at http://www.metroretro.co.uk and I have seen similar ones for sale on his site since we bought ours a couple of years ago.
Cheers,
Sam
January 7th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Wonderful space. Any idea where they got their movie lights? (The big one in the living room and smaller one in the bedroom.) I’ve been looking for something just like that and have only found a $300 Pottery Barn lamp.
January 7th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Wow.Now if I could only live like that! I just know that I couldn’t though no matter how much I tried.
January 7th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
this is so inspiring… thanks for sharing your both your homes with us!
January 7th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I wanted to move in from the moment I saw the front door! Amazing!!
- Cesia
http://cesiadesign.blogspot.com
January 7th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I love the contrast of sparse and clean (all the white) against the texture (leather and aged wood). The pew is my favorite piece.
I think a rug under the coffee table, a more substantial TV stand (this one feels a little bit too spindly) and some art on the walls of the dining room would make me want to move in.
January 7th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
jealous. that’s all i can say haha
January 8th, 2008 at 5:04 am
I love all of it, but those two leather chairs with the metal table between…FANTASTIC!!
January 8th, 2008 at 6:18 am
what a beautiful space. i especially love the kitchen. it’s so bright and clean.
January 8th, 2008 at 6:22 am
I’m coveting!
January 8th, 2008 at 8:23 am
i love the lamp in the bedroom! where did you get it?
January 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I’m new reader and i would like to say you that adore your blog!! There is always beautiful photograph.
Like this space today… A great vintage house! (sorry for my english, i’m french)
January 8th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Such blissful and calm eye candy! I can only aspire to white painted floors… I SO love them (and white epoxy!) but I fear the repercussions of cat and dog traffic. ::sigh::
I have a wonderful friend from Sweden… I traveled there twice, and it’s interesting to see how little their decor has changed since 1990. This gorgeous space looks so similar to my friend’s home. Their design aesthetic is so classic and clean. In fact, their whole lifestyle is classic and clean- it was one of the most organically beautiful places I’ve ever been- the bluest sky EVER.
Now, Holly- Tell us about your Boston Globe day!!
January 8th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Thanks for the mention, Holly!!
I LOVE the view from the dining area. The blank walls really frame the kitchen in an interesting way, sort of like the kitchen wall is the painting and the blank walls a wide frame. Cool.
Also cool is the efficiency that is so Scandinavian. To me, efficiency has its own charm and simplicity, and seeing useful items in plain sight offers a cozy feeling you can’t get with a perfectly symmetrical/closed/formal design. I love the white and see too little of it in the U.S. Thanks for posting this really lovely kitchen!
January 8th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Absolutely gorgeous. From the architecture to the clean lines and great mix of industrial and traditional. I love all the seating they use.
I’m going to link back to this. It’s too wonderful not to share.
January 8th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
I my gosh. This falls into the now-I-hate-my-home-category. What an incredible mix. Amazing. Love how everything is so rustic, yet the look is minimal. Simply amazing.
January 9th, 2008 at 5:12 am
I love the crispness of all that white. I just finished painting my house. I tried to be a little different and use subtle greys and neutrals. I’m kind of regretting it now. I do love the grey and white square tiles they used.
- HF Guy
http://www.highfashionhome.com/blog/
January 9th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
I’m so jealous! I love love love the look of an a lot of white. Unfortunately, the fact that I have very creative children..(creative with messes that is)..I won’t be decorating that way for a while. Haha! Great Pics!
January 10th, 2008 at 2:29 am
holly, i cannot figure out how to sign in anymore – it’s been too long since i visited!
this may just be my new favorite kitchen! i just received the exact same steel chairs from france via sundance yesterday and I louuuurve them so!
becky from hatch (in case my only way in turns out to be “anonymous.” gosh I stink at technology!)
July 12th, 2011 at 9:59 am
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