HappypeopleHappyhomes

#51 A home full of light

happypeoplehappyhomes — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 21:09:47 +0000

After spending a warm and sunny summer travelling between Sweden and Greece here I am welcoming the rainy Swedish autumn and getting ready for a creative and exciting winter. Needless to say how much I missed writing here…but…taking a break gives way to inspiration and inspiration is, in its turn, an essential ingredient of this blog!

That said I am more than happy to write my first post for this season and share with you a few tips on how you can bring more light into your lovely home.

Actually, there are two key ways to enhance natural light:

1) By improving interior reflectivity and

2) By reducing obstructions from furniture

As for reflectivity, it maximizes the amount of times that daylight bounces inside the room and that can easily be achieved by picking light colors with matte finishes on ceilings, walls and floors. On the other hand, reducing obstructions refers to orienting objects in the room to promote the flow of daylight. Therefore, things like bookshelves and partitions should be perpendicular to the window wall and Venetian blinds can be used in order to redirect sunlight to the ceiling while providing solar control.

Image credit: surreyblindsandshutters

Image credit: allblindservice

Try these tricks and enjoy the positive energy of a brighter home…Happy autumn!

Cheers,

Denise

#50 Summer banana drink

happypeoplehappyhomes — Sat, 06 Jul 2013 09:38:51 +0000

Here I am… Sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Athens. It’s finally time for my summer (however relatively short) vacation and can’t wait to feel the sand on my toes… During this week I have been trying to empty our fridge in order to avoid our fruits and vegetables going bad and meeting weird rotten creatures after coming back.

I have to confess that this procedure has proved to be rather creative since I have come up with loads of ideas on new recipes (You lucky fellas! )! Here I show you an unbelievably easy and totally refreshing drink. It’s a 100% natural energy drink made out of just three ingredients! Enjoy!

WHAT YOU NEED (makes 2 glasses):

2 ripe bananas (it’s better if you put them in the fridge the day before)

1 1/2 glass of low-fat milk

1 tablespoon of honey (I used greek thyme honey of excellent quality)

HOW TO:

Peel off the bananas and cut them in small pieces.

Put them in the blender, add the milk and, last but not least, the honey…

Press the button and… voila!!!

TIP: A hint of cinnamon powder on the top is just perfect.

Cheers,

Denise

#49 More than a tile

happypeoplehappyhomes — Sun, 23 Jun 2013 12:28:26 +0000

When thinking of renovation most of us tend to just focus on painting the walls instead of experimenting with the color AND texture of both our walls AND floors. Tiles are a rather misunderstood decorative solution mostly because in our minds they are pretty plain, conservative and therefore boring. However there are various tiles out there which challenge our taste and creativity and contribute to an imaginative decor.

So why don’t you get a look here and get ideas for your next renovation project? Your home will be grateful for your choice…

Image credit: trendir

Image credit: minimalissimo

Image credit: emergingworld

Image credit: trendir

Image credit: tilesandtiles

Image credit: thebohmerian

Image credit: mosaicartsource

Cheers,

Denise

#48 My little treasure

happypeoplehappyhomes — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 21:18:31 +0000

For a couple of weeks or so I was having a used jar standing on my kitchen counter. Empty of its content (which was beetroot by the way – remind me to show you the recipe of an amazing salad sometime!) it was still standing there, rinsed but ugly with all those labels on it waiting for me to take it for a visit to the recycling station. However, that visit kept being postponed until… I decided to do something with it instead. A sort of upcycling let’s say…

Inspired by my latest trip to Greece I went for creating a lovely jar, which would remind me of the sea and would keep all my summer findings safe. Small shells and starfishes from beautiful greek beaches are about to become the dwellers of this jar, who will give me hope during the long, cold Scandinavian winter and promise me a warm, sunny and carefree summer full of play and new discoveries…

Although I really need to figure out what I’m going to do with the jar’s cap… :p

Cheers,

Denise

#47 Creamy smoked salmon pasta with pesto

happypeoplehappyhomes — Wed, 29 May 2013 19:56:40 +0000

I have recently come back from a short trip to my beloved Greece and brought with me all the laziness of vacation… Therefore, I opted for a quick and easy (yet very tasty) dish, which brings together the most famous fish in Scandinavia and pure Mediterranean pasta. It’s a light summer dish and by no means complicated. Enjoy!

WHAT YOU NEED:

250g of pasta (I chose some delicious lasagna-like sort of biological pasta from Greece)

200g of smoked salmon

2 teaspoons of pesto

250ml of milk cream

Pepper

HOW TO:

Put the pesto into a small saucepan and add the salmon.

Stir well in relatively high temperature and pour the milk cream. Lower the temperature to medium and add some pepper. Let boil for a couple of minutes and DONE! Serve with the salmon sauce on top of your pasta and enjoy your meal.

TIP: Homemade pesto can be a good idea in order for you to add a personal touch to your dish. Since I haven’t tried any pesto recipes yet, I can’t refer you to one but… I promise to come back to you as soon as possible!

Cheers,

Denise

#46 Gone fishing

happypeoplehappyhomes — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:51:34 +0000

Oh what a feeling! Tomorrow I’ll be flying to Greece for an amazing one-week break. Sun, sea, family and friends and of course good food will be some of this trip’s highlights… A small taste of summer which I’m sooooo much craving for! I take a look at my fishbone-inspired coffee mug

and start the countdown… Don’t look for me, I’m gone fishing…

Image credit: inspirebohemia

Image credit: alifemoreinteresting

Image credit: lauraashley

Image credit: firedearth

Image credit: emmashome

Image credit: aliexpress

Cheers,

Denise

#45 Lime is sublime

happypeoplehappyhomes — Sat, 04 May 2013 23:19:01 +0000

This post is dedicated to the grass that is getting greener day by day up here after a long cold winter… Spring is inextricably linked with bright happy colors, which signify the resurrection of nature and introduce us to the warmth and joy of summer! One of my favorites is definitely lime, a light yet playful shade of green and here you can have a look at small things that can make your home look brighter and set the mood for a joyful springtime! Enjoy!

Image credit: normann-copenhagen

Image credit: bigscarykitchen

Image credit: dailydanny

Image credit: gardeningshopuk

Image credit: inhabitat

Image credit: hermanmiller

Cheers,

Denise

#44 Yummie eggless butter cookies

happypeoplehappyhomes — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:26:10 +0000

Hello there! How is it going? Here it already smells like spring… The snow has melted (at least most of it) and most of the Swedes go out and enjoy the bright sunny days! As long as I am concerned, apart from enjoying the spring, I keep myself busy with our new home and its needs. Therefore, I decided to improvise a little bit the other day and make up a recipe of some delicious butter cookies, whose smell can definitely serve as a room perfume as well. The whole place smelled heavenly while baking them and my joy was even bigger when I got to eat them! (Not all of them…) Here’s a 30’ minute recipe for eggless cookies that you’ll love…

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 teacup of butter (at room temperature)

1/2 teacup of brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder

2 teacups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon of water

1 teaspoon of baking powder

HOW TO:

Stir well with a mixer the butter and the sugar.

Add vanilla, flour, baking powder (all of them sifted) and water.

Blend well. Form your cookies and stamp cute messages or images on them (I used a “Home Made” silicon stamp with a cute heart).

Bake at 200 degrees for about 15’.

Good luck and happy eating!!

Denise

#43 Inspiring work spaces at home

happypeoplehappyhomes — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:43:59 +0000

Whether you’re a crafter, a translator, a freelance designer or just a work-from-home lover, the most likely is that you would much appreciate a fresh, creative and elegant environment which can give the necessary kick to your imagination and productivity.

Here are some examples of such work spaces…

P.S.: These photos were discovered after I had picked my new desk, chair and lamp (remember our moving out and in to a new apartment?). By coincidence one of these can be seen in one of the pictures below… Can you guess which it is??

Image credit: simpledesks

Image credit: thelovelyside

Image credit: artrss

Image credit: bellamumma

Image credit: mindbodygreen

Image credit: homeadore

Image credit: bodieandfou

See? Maybe this way you can actually get fun out of work! Don’t you think?

Cheers,

Denise

#42 Back to the future

happypeoplehappyhomes — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 20:29:35 +0000

I’m back!!! Yes, it’s been 10 days since my last post BUT…it’s been 10 crazy days during which we packed all of our belongings and moved them to our new lovely apartment!! We now have little in our fridge and all of my crafting supplies are packed and lie…somewhere!

So I started seeking inspiration on small decorative details which can add to the special character of a home and stumbled upon these beautiful clocks with a retro feeling, which I especially love! Wanna take a look?

Image credit: buyretroclocks

Image credit: designmom

Image credit: retrotogo

Image credit: procook

Image credit: rehabvintage

Image credit: buamai

Cheers,

Denise