During the last few weeks of August, and throughout September, I've been living in an apartment in Lund. It is a temporary apartment, as is so often is for me, since I frequently experience lingering feelings of the so called Tavel Bug and of always longing for new places and to be elsewhere. Nevertheless, even if I am only staying somewhere temporarily and for a short time, I can't help but decorate the place a little bit. Apart from Illustrating, fashion design and movies, my other love is Interior design. The apartment where I'm staying in Lund is small, but there are still enough corners and wall space for me to be creative.
I find that my interior design style is very similar to the way I dress. I am less interested in trends and more interested in history and personal style, which is why I mix and match carefully chosen items from different eras that I have picked up here and there, in a way that I find aesthetically pleasing. Similarily when I dress myself, I like to wear for example a vintage 1960´s dress with some Zara heels, a small Tory Burch handbag with a vintage silk scarf tied to it, and pair that with a black coat that I bought on sale in Paris five years ago. I have the same approach to interior design. I mix expensive with more affordable items and new pieces with vintage ones, and I'm also not afraid of incorporating my favourite colors when it comes to decorating. In the image above is a vintage mirror presumably from the 1960´s, that I bought in one of me and my moms favourite antique stores located in Katrinetorps Landeri, just outside of Malmö. I love bows and girly details, and things that remind me of the French style Rococco, which is why it spoke to me. With this mirror as the centrepiece, I have paired it with a Qing dynasty Chinese Vase that my mom gave me, with some dried hydrangeas, a necklace stand that I bought at the pearl market in Beijing, and a 1950´s Swedish replica of a French style wall candle holder with glass pearl drops.
With this I also paired an old EmmaKisstina illustration in a simple white frame, that I ordered from her Etsy shop back in the 2010´s. I am a huge fan of her and her illustrating style, and I am really glad that I ordered many of her prints back then as she no longer sells these particular ones anymore. Along with thatI have my glass lipstick from Kosta Boda that I wished for when I turned 14, a real lipstick that I always wear from the brand Idun Minerals and my Chanel N. 5 Perfume. Lastly, the pear shaped glass boxes were my grandmother Lenas. I'm not sure what era they come from or where the bought them, but she used to keep them on her dressing table and I really treasure them.
In the main room of the apartment, there is a white very traditional, simple and Swedish looking table paired with some Cafe chairs. I wanted this corner to feel really clean and simple, yet cozy and bright. Since I like glossy and reflective surfaces, I am often drawn to things like this gold mirror tray and my Chinese glass tea pot. I like gold details, because gold feels very warm to me, and there is always something that feels luxurious about it even if they item itself is quite inexpensive. I also especially love pink and yellow when it comes to decorating, which is why I fell in love with this pastel striped tea towel, that was also purchased in the antique store at Katrinetorps Landeri. I love my simple gold Swedish candleholders, where I placed my beautiful pink Ombre candles from Hemtex. The pink vase is another Swedish vintage item from the 1800´s that I just had to buy because who who doesn't love a vase and a cake stand in one?
Tea is a big part of my life. Having grown up living in Beijing China, where drinking tea is a large part of Chinese living and its Cultural heritage, I naturally developed a deep interest and love for it as well. As I mentioned, I have a Chinese glass teapot where I brew my tea and then pour into my vintage Swedish pink and white teacups from Lidköping. Whenever I go to China, I stock up on all of my favourite Chinese teas such as Jasmine tea, Ooling tea and green tea so that I have enough to last me for a while. But since I have a real interest in tea, I also like to look for tea everywhere and recently discovered a nice blend from Whittard in Manchester and also at the Java Teahouse in Lund.
I have a love for vintage china pieces and actually like to use the ones that I buy frequently. I am a firm believer in that beautiful items should be used, not stored away in a cuppard for special occasions. I feel the same way about pretty dresses. They should be worn.
This is typically what my breakfast looks like when I'm in Lund. I always have yoghurt with granola and fruits, lots of tea and a croissant.
I won't stay in Lund for long, as I am now moving to Stockholm in January. But I am glad that I have captured this moment of how I styled this apartment. It will be fun to keep these pictures to look back at, as my style evolves and changes with the next places that I move to.
Kind regards,
Lovisa
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