Chez Larsson

Famille Summerbelle

So on Friday I showed you my Nickprint London poster and some of you were interested in the silver one on the right. That one depicts New York and is by Famille Summerbelle.

 

 

Here’s the New York image from their site. It’s a print obviously but the prints actually start out as real paper cuts! When I went to the site to get the link to answer a comment I noticed they have a video up showing how the original paper cut of their San Francisco map print was made. So I borrowed it to show you.

 

 

San Francisco from Simon Summerscales on Vimeo.

Isn’t it AMAZING?

 

Again, Famille Summerbelle have no idea I’m writing this., I just love their art.

Ps. If you’re in Sweden you can find Famille Summerbelle at Mokkasin which is where I got mine.

New Poster

I’ve often wondered if those classified ads at the back of glossy magazines like British Vogue work out for the companies that advertise via them. Now I have the answer.

I was reading the aforementioned mag at work and came across an ad for a poster that I immediately fell in love with. I have this thing for art that depicts cities and maps as you might now and this one was right up my alley. The problem was that it only came in red or cyan. Not my colors du jour so I got in touch with them and asked if they could custom make a green one for me. No problem for an extra fee they said so I went on a mission to find the perfect green Pantone color.

 

 

A week or so later my poster arrived. I la-la-love it!

 

It depicts all things London and British. There’s Winston Churchill, the Beatles, Big Ben, the gurkin, the union Jack and a zillion more things and people. I love looking at it and keep finding details I haven’t seen before.

 

The poster’s by Nickprints. Oh and, they (he? Nick?) has no idea I’m writing this.

Happy weekend!

 

Fotografiska

Aside from exercising more another aim of mine is to take a day off now and then (ideally every week but we all know that’s not likely to happen) and do something other than working on the house and blogging about it. My first such day occurred last week when I went to Fotografiska. It’s the photographic museum here in Stockholm. They’ve had an exhibition with photographs by Nick Brandt which ended on Sunday and I didn’t want to miss it.

 

This museum is actually a great tip if you’re visiting Stockholm and are at least somewhat interested in photography.

 

Aside from being a museum with potentially interesting exhibits its location on the water front is pretty stunning.

 

I thoroughly recommend having lunch in the restaurant on the second floor. I have no idea if the food’s any good (it was super crowded and besides I’d just eaten) but this is the view from the museum and its restaurant!

Oh and, see that building with the pointy bits just to the right of the ship? That’s Nordiska Museet – the Nordic museum where I used to work. That’s another museum I can recommend. There are actually still a few items in the museum that I made about 17 years ago. I took Wille there a couple of years ago and it was really fun to realize that some of it is still shown.

 

The Nick Brandt exhibition was awesome. I’m not a big fan of too arty photography or too arty art for that matter but his photos of wild animals are amazing,

 

I loved the wild cats in particular. So regal.

All in all a lovely day which I ended by waking back through the city and doing a bit of shopping. Here’s to more of the same in 2012!

Twiggy

Remember that little weird window I had (have) in the wall above the old chair? When I posted about the living room here I got a suggestion which I thought was worth trying; Hang a framed piece of art that will cover the hole.

 

Enter Twiggy. I have loved this image of the iconic 60’s model for ever and bought this poster from the National Portrait Gallery and framed it in a large enough IKEA Ribba frame to hide the hole.

I love the poster and the idea but I’m unsure whether I can live with it hung that high. Hanging art too high is my pet decorating peeve and this to me is too high. Unfortunately I can’t lower it or it won’t hide the hole anymore so I may just ask Twiggy to hang around elsewhere on my walls and go back to the idea of adding a back to the hole and using it as a shelf until they day I add a fireplace in it’s place.

Ps. Yes, that Bonus in the cat bed :).

The Painted Stairwell

So I didn’t end up ripping up that lino this weekend after all. I painted the stairwell instead. This changing of plans happens pretty often. I intend to do something but on the day I feel like doing something else. In this case both things need doing so it doesn’t really matter which goes first.

The stairwell has sea grass wallpaper so I’ve been dreading it a bit because I know (from painting the den) that it takes at least four coats of paint and it’s really awkward painting this tall space.

Several people have said they quite like the natural sea grass look but firstly it’s not really “me” and secondly I’m not a fan of the previous owner’s ghost art there on the wall to the left. Maybe I should have kept it until Halloween though?

 

So I painstakingly painted those four coats and it instantly felt so much better. I still need to paint some trim and the railing but that’s a different project. Can’t do it all at once.

As you can see I removed the hand rails and to make sure I got them all up easily after I numbered the hardware. ALWAYS number the hardware. Even if it looks the same it might not fit in a different hole than the original one.

 

And here it is, hand rail and all. And as you can see down there to the right I’ve painted the inside of that originally brown door white. Such a relief!

 

The best part of finishing a paint project is doing those little final touches such as hanging art. Here I’m on the landing outside the bathroom trying out the best way to hang three frames.

 

Laying your frames on the floor under the area where you intend to hang your art is a good way to figure out how it will look together on the wall. I mimicked the stairs going down when choosing to hang them like this.

 

I had intended to hang a larger piece here but since I haven’t bought it yet these three little ones will do.

 

Here’s what the stairwell looks like from the den. I love how it all flows now that the walls are all white. That bean bag, by the way, is one of Mini’s favorite hangouts on this floor.

 

Remember how I asked for advice on lighting in the stair well right after we moved in? I got tons of great suggestions but in the end I bought a light that I’ve loved ever since it saw the light of day (pun very much intended), the Nightfly.

 

It looks really pretty and fresh just hanging there but when you turn on the light…

 

… it’s extra cool. I love it!

 

So there it is, one painted stairwell including freshly painted ceiling, art + an amazing light. Check!