Top 10 - things I love ... and never tire of

10 things I love and never seem to get tired of.....

Symmetry - sometimes it gets boring but for the most part, it´s balanced and clean

Black and white interiors

Greek key patterns - on furniture, curtain trims, carpets... you name it!

Beautifully arranged art and mirrors.. the more the merrier

Beautiful place settings... if I ever stop decorating, I´ll become a weddingplanner

Gorgeous black-lacquered walls. Yummi!

White orchids - especially potted like this..in glass containers with moss

White kitchens! - always the first choice

Grasscloth wallpaper - in the city, at the beach, in the mountains. It´s great everywhere!

Bar carts - fully stocked with your favorite drinks, some little bowls with snacks and arranged with beautiful glasses and a stack of monogrammed cocktail napkins!

Camping anyone?!

photo via Decorista.com

Homesick

I am feeling desperately homesick lately. I haven´t been in New York since March and it feels like it´s time to go back again. Unfortunately due to work (and lack of money) I can´t jump on a plane quite yet. But oh how I wish I could...

My saturdays in NY were so great... I'd wake up and take my dog for a nice long walk through the tree-lined streets of Brooklyn Heights, down through Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens... stop for an Iced caramel Machiato at Starbucks on my way home and sit on one of the park benches on the promenade and look out over the skyline.

Then Spinning class at my gym around the corner for an hour and after that I´d clean my apartment while watching cooking shows with Barefoot Contessa and Giada diLaurentis. It was so relaxing even though I was dusting and vacuuming all over the place. Later on I´d take the train to West 4th street and walk around the West Village and meet up with friends for window shopping and mani/pedis. Saturday nights were usually date night and spent at some cozy NY restaurant with amazing atmosphere and delicious food.

Just thinking about it makes me want to be there in a heartbeat... if only I could click the heels of my shoes and magically get myself over there. Just like Dorothy in "Somewhere over the Rainbow"

there´s no place like home... there´s no place like home... there´s no place like home..

Celebrity spotting..

My friend Carlos told me the other day that he laid next to Sarah Jessica Parker & Family on the beach in the Hamptons a few weeks ago. (ok I´m not at all jealous of this celebrity spotting) Carlos gets tan like a gingerbread cookie (and is quite handsome) so naturally he liked to tell me she was checking him out. Wishful thinking my friend! I´m sure she was busy checking on her kiddos running in and out of the water. He did say though that she looked smokin´.. which of course is no surprise at all.

Me... a writer?

I have recently been asked to contribute to a new Swedish interior design magazine with either a half page or a full page column. Needless to say I was thrilled at the idea and super flattered!

Me, a columnist!?? ... in a published magazine!!! Yay, I am so excited I can´t wait to get started. I already have several ideas lurking about and am curious to see what guidelines the magazine will give me for each issue.

If you have any particular topics you would like to see more of in magazines or would like to know more about feel free to write to me at info@kandco.se or leave comments here.

Now THIS is an inspiration board !

Packed with photos of interiors, fashion, furniture and colors, this inspiration board is full of inspiration for anyone looking for some new ideas.

Belongs to the fabulous Dianer Bergeron of Diane Bergeron Interiors in Australia!

hm... I think I have to go jazz up my board a bit...

Antique prints

I have a love for antique prints and luckily for me one of my father´s best friends is a huge collector and expert on the area. On occasion he calls me up and tells me he has some fabulous prints available and I jump at the chance of owning some. Most recently he gave me a stack of small prints with beautiful people in costumes from around the world. Now I just have to pick out my favorites...

I think I´ll frame some of these and hang them at random in my shop and see if anyone thinks they are as beautiful as I do... some I think I´ll have to take home and keep for myself.

That´s the way it goes when owning a shop... some for me.. and some for sale. I hand pick and select things that I really love, so naturally it´s hard to part with some of it.

Kitchen project

Kitchen design by Tommy Smythe

photos via VTinteriors blog

I am in the beginning stages of making a presentation for a kitchen renovation and have been looking at images all day long for the past few days for some more inspiration. I had a pretty clear picture in my mind of what I wanted the kitchen to look like and when I talked to the client it turned out she had the same exact idea, which was really exciting.

I came across this gorgeous kitchen from a fellow blogger today and just fell in love with it. I love the black accents and rough feel of it. It´s not at all what I am planning for my client, but I just thought this was super chic.

Hopefully if we agree on a direction and contractor we are ready to go pretty soon. I´ll keep you posted on the development.

Feel free to share any kitchen ideas or inspiration photos with me if you´d like. I love looking at kitchen designs so the more the better.

House Doctor Soffa - Specialerbjudande

Specialpris på House Doctors fina Soffa i modern Howard Stil. Låg rygg, djup sits och lång-smala rygg kuddar gör den här klassiska modellen lite tuffare.

Soffan är klädd i vitt bomullstyg och har ett löst överdrag som man enkelt kan ta av för att tvätta.

215 cm bred x 74 cm hög x 94 cm djup (circa mått)

Ordinare pris : 27,500 kr. - SOMMAR ERBJUDANDE : 19,500 kr.

Hemleverans tillkommer

Diary of a Decorator ... in NYC - Moving to New York

photo by KL - taken in the meatpacking district, NYC

August 11, 2010
Dear Diary...
Coming to New York!

I had just graduated from URI, University of Rhode Island, and had packed up my little house that I shared with my two roommates and jammed all my things in my beat up gray Honda Accord. I was on my way...
The drive down to New York went by faster than it ever had on my usual weekend trips to the city... because this time I was moving there.

Coming to New York City was so exciting... I had been there countless times before, almost every weekend, to visit my boyfriend who lived there and had graduated a year before me. We started out living in a one bedroom apartment in Bay Ridge, in one of the nicer areas of Brooklyn. I knew very little about decorating at that time, but made the most of the space and made a cozy home for us there. I remember vividly going to Bloomingdales to buy my first sofa. I laugh at it now.. because I would never ever buy that kind of sofa again.. arm-rests way too big and generally way out of proportion... but it was so comfortable. The next big purchase was the bedroom set which we bought at some funky futon place in the village and even though I thought it was great then..I never would have bought that today. Times change and styles and taste change with it... thank God.

I had always loved design and decorating, but even though I knew that´s what I wanted to do with my life, I figured it was safer to start applying for jobs in the field that I had a degree in. I had never been super fashionable.. never really had the trendiest clothes or the best makeup brands, but it appealed to me and I thought it would be fun to work for a company that marketed those type of products. So I applied to Revlon, LÓreal and similar huge corporations where I could put my marketing skills to use.. and maybe enjoy the New York corporate environment.

After several interviews and starting to realize that marketing wasn´t at all what I wanted to do, I took a shot in the dark and began looking for jobs that had to do with interior design. Magazines, Interior Design firms and anywhere I could just get a foot in the door since I had no experience or background in the field.

One day I had an interview with some mossy old firm in Midtown and was shown their portfolio which appeared to not have been updated since the 70´s. I was ready to give up, even though I had another interview with a small firm the next day. I had gotten the names of these places from the yellow pages ( I had no clue who was who in the design world at that time) and I thought the next place would be just another wannabe design firm with pointless projects and horrific taste.

With (a lot) of convincing by my boyfriend to just do one more interview... I went to 58th Street on the corner of 6th avenue for my first interview with Brian J. McCarthy Inc.
I have a lot to thank my ex-boyfriend for... and pushing me to not give up and to go to see this firm is definitely one of them.

That interview changed my life! One month later, I was hired and starting my very first day... as Design Assistant!

xoxo,
Kristina

DAY HOME FALL COLLECTION soon at K & Co.!!

Fall is almost here... and even though I am a bit sad that summer is almost over, I am getting excited about the new Day Home Fall collection that is coming in really soon. Deliveries begin next week and new things will arrive until the end of September.... so there are plenty to look forward to.

Tons and tons of gorgeous velvet pillows in beautiful fall colors, matching bedcovers in different quilted patterns, furniture, lighting and cool little accessories too. They have also come out with new colors for the popular Hemp rugs so come in and check those out as well. I am only getting a few of those in and requests have been adding up... so reserve yours too to make sure you´re not left without!!

Come by the shop and have a look in person and walk home with some great new items for your fall home decor.

Here´s a sneak peak at what´s to come...

More things on SALE....

Pillow covers from Dermond Peterson

Beautiful handprinted linen pillow covers

was 1475 kr. now 995 kr.

pillow inserts sold seperately

Linen pillow covers from Hable Construction NY

Variety of prints and colors

Was 1450 kr. now 995 kr.

pillow inserts sold seperately

Beautiful fabric covered lined journals from Hable Construction

was 495 kr. now 295 kr.

Plus lots lots more.... come by and have a look before it´s all gone!!!

SALE!!!!

Help me make room for new fall items!! Some amazing furniture and accessories on sale at great prices !!

Come by and have a look....

Beautiful mohair throws in many colors. Green, pink, purple, orange and beige!

was 995 kr. SALE PRICE : 795 kr.

Candlesticks from Day Home

was 495 kr. now 395 kr.

Day Home pillows

was 595 kr. SALE PRICE 295 kr.

note : does not include pillow insert

Day Home side table

Was 1495 kr. FLOOR SAMPLE : now 995 kr.

Comfortable wicker chair with seat and back cushion

was 4,495 kr. SALE PRICE 3,595 kr.

Top 10 - hostess gifts

Are you looking for a personal gift to give to your host at the next dinner party or do you need something to give your friends after a nice weekend at their country house?

Here are some great gift ideas....

1. Books are always appreciated. This one has some delicious salad recipes

2. Monkey business - small ceramic bowls held by cute monkeys

The large one is big enough for snacks and the smaller is just big enough for a little votive.

3. Ceramic trays - comes in 4 different colors. Perfect for the console table in the hallway to throw your keys or loose change

4. Serve up some fresh lemonade in this cheerful pitcher

5. Gift box with three owl soaps

6. Paperweights from John Derian - motifs that appeal to all types of personalities

7. For the writer... beautiful fabric covered journals from Hable Construction. Now on sale!!

Lined pages with silk ribbon to mark your place

8. For the hostess who loves to entertain in style - mother of pearl caviar spoon

9. Every home needs a scent - pick one and your friends are sure to come back for more

10. Perfect for the summer BBQ - delicious accompaniments to your grilled food.

* All available at K & Co. - Stockholm

For prices and stock info. contact me at 08 - 32 03 40

New !!! Diary of a Decorator

I have written many times that I have worked as a decorator in New York but I haven´t really shared with you the process and my experiences working there.

So now I am starting a new page that I hope you will enjoy reading.
In "Diary of a Decorator" I will share with you how my day to day life as a decorator was in the "Big Apple".. from the first client meeting to the final installation and all the exciting steps in between.

Follow me as I tell you my experiences shopping for fabrics and furniture on Manhattan, flying business class to LA with my little Jack Russel Terrier Maddie, dining at fabulous restaurants while on location in Bel Air, and how nothing could beat the bliss of working as a decorator for one of the best interior design firms in the country.

Click on the page in the menu above to follow my stories.
Feel free to comment and ask me questions...I´ll be happy to answer them.

I hope you enjoy reading it...

xoxo,

Kristina