Hello, it’s Holly Marder with another Homes With Heart column and this time I'm touring you through a sleek Scandinavian style home belonging to a Dutch graphic designer and her family. Ready for the tour? Having grown up in a dark house laden with thick carpeting, dark walls, persian rugs and heavy mahogany furniture, graphic designer Femke Brooks finds herself being drawn to clean, contemporary lines, open spaces and a monochrome color palette. In the Scandinavian inspired home she shares with her husband and son in Tilburg, The Netherlands, northern influences form the primary components.

“Simplicity and use of light are two of the things that inspire me most about Scandinavian homes,” Femke says. Emphasizing her home’s abundance of natural light and spacious floor plan, she has kept furnishings and accessories to a bare minimum.

Materials such as copper, wood, concrete and wool, simplicity of design and geometric elements are right at home in the designers minimalistic abode. When it comes to colour, Femke prefers to employ shades of grey upon crisp whites and elements of black for high contrast. Wooden accents and soft textures add warmth and depth to the space. “The combination of white, grey and black has something robust and tough about it, but more than that, these shades combined create a sense of space and light,” Femke says.

Femke enjoys nothing more than decorating her home, drawing inspiration from the changing seasons.

Styled vignettes create little areas of interest throughout her home. “When I put together a still life, I try to incorporate different heights, shades and textures but the end result is never too busy,” Femke explains. The designer also enjoys creating things for her own home, and many of the graphic prints found throughout the space were the creation of Femke and her Paqhuis business partner Karlijn de Jong. Femke also made the artwork above the dresser in the living room.

Femke draws much of her inspiration from the Dutch design blog April and May for the simplicity of style the blog represents, as well as Pinterest, but the Scandinavian aesthetic never ceases to offer inspiration.

When Femke moved into her partner’s bachelor pad, there was absolutely nothing in it but a couch and a table. It was cold and sterile and has taken the most part of two years for Femke to inject a sense of warmth and cosiness to the large space. “I began with accessories, such as cushions, throws, rugs and brought in more wood,” she explains, and though she has always been drawn to characteristic homes with older architectural details the 1970s built home was lacking, feels she has made the best of the space and architectural style of the house.

GET THE LOOK:

Spot something that you love? Here are some of the items in Femke’s home:

Sofa: Sur & Plus. Coffee Table: Restyle XL. Cushions living room, Sideboard "Besta" Living room, Grey hooks hallway, White and copper vase on grey stool hallway (DIY project): IKEA. Lamp on sideboard: Tierlantijn. Wooden hand: Hay. Dining table: Restyle XL. Lamps dining room, Wall colour bedroom: 'Antraciet' and Wall colour kids & dining room: 'Vapeur': Karwei. Chairs dining room: Verner Panton (replica). Lamp entrance: Hema. Kids bed & dresser: Coming Kids. Rug bedroom: House Doctor. Button coat hook: HK Living.

So what do you love about this contemporary, monochromatic space? See you next month for another installment of Homes with Heart! - Holly Marder.

(text/images: holly marder)