A frequent piece of advice given on house tours is to wait and buy stuff you really love. This is a fantastic idea. But sometimes .— just sometimes — a bare mantel or undecorated corner just screams for decoration. And the people who own this Swedish apartment seem to have a knack for ideas that will help take the edge off when you just can't wait any longer.
The apartment is actually for sale, so some of these ideas may be staging. But it being Sweden, they're all design-minded and attractive. Easy to replicate in your own home and easy to swap out when you find the perfect piece.
- Fill your mantel with things you use and love — here, a pretty arrangement is created out of paint bottles and brushes, candles, and filled canisters. In the second image, a dining room wall looks like an inspiration board — easy enough to recreate with magazine and family photos, ticket stubs, and indie posters.
This is a controversial move here on Apartment Therapy, but decorating with clothing often works well. If you don't want your own clothes to fade, you could try decorating with cool vintage finds or costume jewelry.
Stack mismatched, colorful pillows on the floor in big piles. This looks especially great against a white wall.
While I'm not sure I could hang shoes on my door, it's a good reminder that even the tiniest spaces can be decorated. Try decorating your door with a gorgeous scarf, lovely satchet, or metal ornament — there are plenty of possibilities.
A row of matching neutral baskets in the entryway looks artistic and modern. While not everyone has enough room for this, multiples are often a good idea. Try a row of matching bowls for keys and spare change or a cluster of inexpensive, identical vases.
For more of the apartment see Bolaget.
Images: Bolaget
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Why must we fill every space? For the most part, I believe that when people claim they don't have enough space, it's because they own too many things.
Plus, I figure that if I own it, eventually I'll have to clean it...
I LOVE those pocket doors. Does anyone have any idea where to get them?
@mjs- Some of use just like having things around and feel that if all the surfaces are bare and everything neatly hidden away it doesn't look like anyone lives there. Personally, I look at all of my jewelry and shoes as possible decorative items. What you might see as cluttered or too many things, I would say is artfully arranged in a way that both organizes and displays. :)
I love the mantel w/art supplies and the pile of cool pillows, but hanging dirty sneakers on the door knob?
I don't understand--why would decorating with clothing be " a controversial move"?
miranda, in the past decorating with clothing has been controversial in the comments posted here on AT about it. People either love it or hate it.
Thorndale - yes, they do stage. Home staging has been a term in Swedish for at least 20 years (in English from what I remember).
I like the sneakers.I have a pair of camoflauge Converse that are dying to be hung up.
I wish US sellers staged their homes like this, instead of sterile "so boring it could appeal to any generic suburban buyer" style.
Thorndale - staging is not a common phrase or notion in the UK. It is always a sellers market where I live (London), but even elsewhere you would tidy your house but not 'stage' it as such.
I like the idea of owning things that are both beautiful and useful - no more useless knick-knacks!!
@Thorndale
I am italian and in Italy home staging doesn't exist. Here many people change everything or a few things where they buy a new home and they prefer to choose on their own their new floor, or windows, or bathroom...
Owners just provide (and not always!) to keep clean the house.
Sometimes decorating with clothing is a necessity, if you don't have a closet and your bedroom is too small for an armoire or dresser. If your clothes have interesting colors/textures and they're neatly folded on open shelving they can look quite good! I also have all my chunky jewelry hanging on the wall. Why hide it in a box, especially if you're lacking a surface to put the box on?
I saw the shoes and remembered that Sweden is one area where no-shoes in the house isn't odd.
could that simply be a space for shoes in use? Or shoes worn in the yard?
(it's a great idea compared to my "corralling cats" method of trying to keep piles contained)
I sold my flat threw Bolaget!
They use mainly owners stuff for staging, and they love closeups of details. I had a picture of my Danish wooden monkey and one of my silkdress in the folder...
Swedes want to feel that people live nice lives in the flats theyre buying, and, of course, we are slaves to style and in need of constant inspiration!
I understand staging to coax potential home buyers into seeing a space in a positive light. I disagree, however, with staging a home that is "lived in" ...this being the operative phrase. A stage is for a performance and our homes are the place where we don't have to perform.
Removing personal items and collections is important when selling a place. Potential buyers (or subletters) will spend more time imagining themselves living there. Having a lot of clutter or personal items around makes them feel like they're imposing and they leave much more quickly.
If you're selling or trying to sublet, start imagining yourself in your next place so it's easier to stage and let go.
The only staging I do in my own home is to keep it relatively clean and organized. And that's for my own sake.
I love the idea of using what you have, and making displays out of ordinary objects. That said, I shudder about having toxins near a fire. Paint is highly flammable.
Also, the shoes in the kitchen. Hopefully they've never been worn. Really unhygienic.
Colors - yes...Highly flammable solutions like paint on top of a fireplace??--NO!
The pair of Converse appear to be in a child's room - the blue room - not the kitchen.
Maybe the paint is water-based so not flammable. Still, I wouldn't want the bottles to catch fire!
This Swedish family could throw compost on the floor and I'm sure it would look good. My clothes as art would look terrible, I'm sure.