Author: Caroline

La Fábrica - at night

La Fábrica – A home you wouldn’t believe existed

“We found enormous silos, a tall smoke stack, four kilometers of underground tunnels, machine rooms in good shape… This was in 1973 and it was our first encounter with the Cement Factory.” It sounds like the beginning of a really good story, yet this one is real. La Fábrica, just outside Barcelona, is a Cement Factory turned into a home and studio by architect Ricardo Bofill. It is an ongoing project and will never be finished, but nevertheless the factory has been completely transformed. Read More

Essential Hangers - Hanger.37 brass

The only hangers you’ll ever need in your closet

There is a wide variety of hangers out there and sometimes it can be hard to know what goes on what. My philosophy is to try to keep it simple and practical. As you might know I’m a total closet/clothes nerd. I love to take good care of my clothes and one way to do so is to have the right tools. So here are three hangers your closet simply can’t be without and how to use them.

Coat hangers - Hanger.37

Coat hangers

Coat hangers are a bit wider to support the weight of a heavy winter coat and still making sure it hangs nicely. Place the coat or jacket evenly over the hanger, so it keeps its shape and doesn’t crease. If the coat is moist hang it somewhere else to dry before placing it in your closet. This is to prevent weird smells, unnecessary creasing and damage to your coat and/or other clothes in your closet.

Thin hangers - Hanger.37

Thin hangers

Thin hangers are great for blouses, shirts or dresses that you don’t want to place in a drawer. And you can fit many more items on your rail than if you’d use only coat hangers. A thin hanger is great for more delicate pieces as well, just make sure that the shape of the hanger doesn’t deform the shoulders of your garment. Knits are usually best placed in drawers to avoid this. Even though you can fit many more items in with thinner hangers, try to leave some space in between the garments. This gives you a better overview of what you actually have in your closet and it keeps the clothes feeling fresh and wrinkle free.

Pant hangers - Hanger.37

Pants and skirt hangers

Pants hangers can look and function in a few different ways. My favorites are when you simply fold up your pants and hang them over the bottom of your hanger or when you hang them in clips. Jeans and more everyday pants are great to fold and hang on the bottom of your hanger. This also saves vertical space if you don’t have the space to hang a pair of full length pants. Hangers with clips gives you a better overview of your different garments and keeps them crease free. They are also great for skirts, since you most likely don’t want to fold them.

So there you have it, my three favorite hangers that you simply can’t be without. All in the name of a happy closet. I hope you enjoyed! Do you agree with my list? Let me know and leave me a comment below. See you next Tuesday 🙂


You can find these hangers here.

Houseboat - the middle floor of the Water Villa

Houseboat living is not my thing, or is it?

Being engaged to a former sailor we have naturally had the talk “Is living on a houseboat an option?” because lets face it, the Stockholm housing market has been spiraling out of control and you have to be smart and think outside the box sometimes. However, it has always been a definite NO for me*. That was until I saw the Water Villa in Amsterdam designed by FRAMEWORK Architects & Studio PROTOTYPE. I can totally see myself floating around in this airy and light space divided up into three(!) floors. Read More

How to be a conscious consumer and why you should be

Being a conscious consumer can impact your life in big ways. Not only is it good for your wallet but for the environment too. So why we care about our personal finances is quite obvious to most people. And it is perfectly fine to be a conscious consumer for that reason alone. But I’d like to take a moment and talk about what being good to the environment really means. As a Scandinavian I am raised to love nature and have a fair amount of it around me in spite of living in Stockholm (the biggest city in Scandinavia). When discussing the environment and what we should, could and would do for it I feel there is a disconnect. We talk about the environment like this big non-tangible, elusive concept that we can make feel better if we drive our cars less. When it is really much simpler than that. The environment, wait for it, is the nature around you. Mind blown, right?! 😉 And while I don’t like camping, and might not be described as outdoorsy by my friends, I do love nature. I love walking in it, being in it and breathing the fresh air. And I’d like to continue doing so, don’t you? Enough rambling! Here are some tips on how we can be conscious consumers for our wallets and nature too. Read More

Minimalist-Junsei-House

A minimalist house nestled amongst the trees

The minimalist Junsei House designed by Suyama Peterson Deguchi has a minimal footprint so that it wouldn’t disturb the surrounding trees. None of which were removed or moved to make way for the house, even taking consideration to their roots. It is a simple home for a simpler life, and was a way for the homeowners to impact their every day life and to learn to live with less. But I think this understanding of less depends on your point of view. The Junsei House offer an abundance of stunning views of nature and has an aura of calmness without being spartan. I think a lot of the home’s warmth is thanks to the use of natural materials in dark and moody colors along with the simple but perfectly placed fire place in the open living space. Read More

Dalili Design – Made in Sweden, and why it’s so important

Why is Made in Sweden so important to me? When I started Dalili design four years ago it was a no-brainer, I wanted my products to be produced in Sweden. It might not be the smartest move financially. The margins are substantially smaller, even a small collection requires relatively big investments and because of this, things can some times take a lot longer. But it ensures that my products are ethically produced, in a country leading the way for efficient energy use and sustainability. Where emissions from long transportation routes is kept to a minimum. And I can focus my efforts on creating high quality products that lasts.

Philosophy

Dalili design is above all about beautiful design. Part of what makes the designs so beautiful, to me, is the conscious decisions of ethical and sustainable production. These are core values not only to me as a person, but also to my brand. I mean, how can you run a business that doesn’t share your values? Our products are industrially made, heightened by the craftsmanship of the final details. This way we combine the best of both worlds, and support our local industry and skilled craftswomen and men. I want Dalili design to be a brand that costumers can count on in all fields. Joining the movement of sustainable and ethical design, advocating to leave cheap throwaway products behind.

In the future

Looking to our future we want to work with new innovative materials and techniques. A lot is happening on the front of smart fabrics and ethical alternatives to leather. Not to mention the great wave of possibility the 3D-printing technology presents. Now, I realize we can’t expect all this to be made in Sweden alone. There are plenty of companies around the world that focus on ethics and sustainability, same as us. I look forward to find like-minded people and companies, and to work with skilled craftspeople around the world. Dalili design will always be a Swedish company with high regard for all life, human, animal and nature alike. For the share joy of it, we will keep producing in Sweden, but our doors are always open to new, exciting ventures and collaborations outside our borders too.  A Swedish brand on the global market, a thought that I find very exciting!

Do you know of any new innovative products and materials we should know about? I’d love it if you shared it with us in the comments below! Don’t forget to like this post if you did <3

Wind House in Bangkok is an architectural gem

Wind House is a private residence in Bangkok, designed by Openspace design. The design process started around the question of “How to live comfortably with nature?”. I think this is such an interesting question to start a project with. We either try to keep nature out in our modern homes, or we rather want the opposite: to be more rustic living in the midst of nature. But this question seems to seamlessly combine the two without conflict. It just goes to show how important the beginning and foundation can be for the projects whole outcome.

It was important for the owner to incorporate its surroundings in a resort-like feel as the house sits on the edge of the housing estate project’s boundary. And Openspace design truly delivered a magnificent modern building where nature is ever-present. Just look at the way they used wind to flow through the house as a natural way of cooling it down. And how they’ve managed to keep it a light space without the burning rays of the Thai sun heating it up to boiling point. It not only looks magnificent, it also feels comfortable. Project-brief achieved!

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Furniture fair - Pholc lamps

Why I hate furniture fairs

Seeing as the Salone del Mobile came to its end last week and we have been bombarded with images of the same shows and exhibitions through social media, I thought it might be time I stepped up and confess. I hate fairs! Now this sounds very harsh, I know, but let me explain. The general idea of the furniture fair is kind of the same as for fashion week, I feel. It’s a glamorous place where you go to be inspired and make sure you are in the know. Followed by a bunch of fabulous parties where you meet all the right people.

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Design trends for 2017

A few weeks back I attended Stora Trenddagen* in Stockholm hosted by Trends and Friends. They had summarized what the biggest trend influences will be during 2017. Our lecturer for the day was Swedish trend guru Stefan Nilsson also known as Trendstefan. Now, trends isn’t something I tend to focus too much on, and I think you should take (or not) what you want from them. That said, being conscious of trends can serve you well, especially if you are an early adapter. So they are not to be ignored.

The trends for 2017 were broken up into five distinct groups, each group named after it’s characteristics; Read More