I currently have a crush on stylist and author Hans Blomquist and wanted to drop in for a moment to give his work a shout out and point you over to his book, The Natural Home, published by Ryland Peters & Small in London. Hans is a stylist after my own heart, giving rooms a very casual lived-in touch with heart. Nothing in his new book looks overly styled or fussed with and I admire that.

I own a few of the books that he has directed and styled for IKEA, but The Natural Home is unique in that it is his vision from cover-to-cover and is completely independent of IKEA so he was able to really go for it and scout spaces for the book that spoke to his aesthetic AND he didn't have to worry about including specific products so he used what was in people's homes to tweak as he worked. There are so many beautiful photos in this book which was photographed by Debi Treloar whom I've worked with on two books.  I can really see Debi working with Hans more in the future, they seem to really click - you can always tell that about a book I think - the relationship between the stylist and the photographer. Debi told me that Hans would deliberately mess things up when styling for a shot - and from what I can see in his book, he did a brilliant job doing that -- the wrong somehow looks very, very right when done by his expert hand.

From Amazon, "The Natural Home is a place where natural materials and motifs are the key elements of a decorating style that is a joy to live with and a joy to behold. Influential art director and stylist Hans Blomquist starts off by exploring the essence of his style. In Texture, he revels in the textures and patinas of natural materials. Still Life reveals Hans' passion for creating displays that showcase treasured pieces, while Plants and Flowers celebrates the beauty of nature and the cycles of the natural world. Color presents his favorite earthy, natural color palette, which provides the perfect backdrop for hits of brighter natural hues. In the second part of the book, Homes, through a series of case studies, Hans explores houses and apartments that showcase the beautiful simplicity and elegance of the natural look." As a bit of a bonus, I've included some photos from his portfolio below so you can see his other work..., Hans is represented by Agent Bauer and you can find more information about him here.

Bottom line... If you love the idea of living naturally in a relaxed environment filled with vintage finds, texture, industrial touches, old meets new and natural earthy colors you will adore The Natural Home. It's stunning and a current fave of mine!

(images: top 6: holly becker, all the rest: portfolio of hans blomquist )