HAY Archives - Style&Minimalism

Create A City Oasis

With our gardens, balconies and window sills having become so much more important to us lately (whilst we are asked to stay home), I thought I’d share some of my favourite designs to help you spruce them up. I’ve tried to consider products that work for every situation and give suggestions for different size spaces – I appreciate that not everyone who lives in a big city has a private outdoor space. Try to make the most of what you do have and be creative.

If you have the space (and make the most of it) it can feel like you have an extra room, or two. If you have a big family, it can make a small house feel so much larger and give you all an area to spend time alone. Just having a small area to sit, surrounded by plants can be transformative to your health and well being. If you’re able to get in the sun, you’ll also benefit from the vitamin D your body produces in response to its rays.

Whatever size space you have there’s always something you can do to make it feel special; from growing herbs in beautiful pots on a bright window sill (to give your summer salads a boost), to creating an inviting dining area in the garden (to sit and enjoy a barbecue on warm summer evenings). It’s your space so choose what makes you happy.

Reading

Whenever I can, I like to read outside. I’m less distracted by the chores that need doing in the house and can lose myself for at least half an hour. It’s a lovely form of meditation that’s transformed by a comfy chair and a cosy blanket on chillier days.

You don’t need a lot of space, just enough to squeeze in a chair, a small table to rest your morning coffee on or even just a tray on the ground. What’s most important is that it offers you the chance to sit and relax.

Below you’ll find some of my favourite outdoor chairs, as well as a few stools and accessories that will offer you some added comfort.

**ferm LIVING** Desert Lounge Chair & Plant Box

**Skagerak** Tradition Corner Module & Table

**Skagerak** Virkelyst 3-Seater with Cushions in Sea Blue Stripes

Dining

For some reason eating outside always feels more exciting than indoors. Perhaps it’s the change of scene, warm air, and the chance to slow down and enjoy your food. There’s no rush and little distraction; except for maybe some good company.

I love the relaxed vibe of eating al fresco, piling the table high with sharing plates of fish, meats and salads. It’s a great excuse for mixing up a fresh pitcher of your favourite cocktail and clinking glasses until well after the sun has set. With the right lighting, a log burner and a few blankets there’s no need to go inside when the temperature and light drop.

Whether you’re perched on a small balcony or spread across a large terrace, I have found some beautiful designs for your outdoor dining area. All are incredibly well made, built to last but also look good. I’ve included a few accessories that will make serving a spectacle in itself.

**Skagerak** Lilium Lounge Chair & Table

**Muuto** Linear Steel Table & Bench in Off-White

**Skagerak** Nordic Bowl & Plate and Fulla Salad Servers

**Skagerak** Hammer Decanter & Cutter Bench

**MENU** LAB Bottle Grinder & Plinth Table

**HAY** Palissade Dining Bench & Chair in Anthracite

Growing & Gardening

There’s little more satisfying than eating something you’ve grown and nurtured from seed; without question, it tastes better. In my own garden, I began with herbs, these are the easiest to grow and always useful. I cook with them daily and often sip on a mint tea at the end of day.

Several pots in different sizes, clustered together look great sprouting with bright green basil, pale sage, dense thyme and sprigs of fragrant rosemary. You can use them in your cooking, fresh throughout the summer and if dried they can be used long after the plants have lost all their leaves. Fruit and vegetables take a lot of care and attention but, if you enjoy the process, will reward you in more ways than by simply providing you with something to eat. They can be grown in some highly creative ways, make use of balcony boxes if you have a small space.

For the more ambitious among you, a propagator or greenhouse might be necessary to kick things off. I’ve found some elegant options for various size spaces, that you won’t mind showing off.

If you’re happier getting your herbs, fruits and vegetables delivered to your door then why not surround yourself with fresh green foliage and flowers in your favourite shades to create a little haven.

**Skagerak** Spira Green House & Growth Table

**Kent & Stowe** Transplanting Trowel via **ARKET**

**Skagerak** Edge Indoor Pots in Light Grey

**HAY** Plant Pot with Saucer in XL, Black

For organic seeds you could try Vital Seeds or Tamar Organics.

Books

*Grow Fruit & Vegetables In Pots: Planting Advice & Recipes From Great Dixter* (Phaidon)

*House of Plants: Living with succulents, air plants & cacti* (Frances Lincoln)

All that’s left to say now is, enjoy the weather and stay safe, stay home.

All images are courtesy of the brands featured.

A Calming Minimal Home Workspace

A while back I started gathering inspiration for a Scandinavian-inspired home office, you might remember my post. With Isabelle on the way, I had to rethink the location, moving it from our back bedroom to a small alcove in our open-plan living/dining room. The style is unchanged, it’s still very minimal and Scandinavian-inspired, I just had a much smaller space to work with.

Finding a suitable desk was my first, essential task; it needed to be less than 1m wide so that it would fit within the alcove of our living area that I had designated. I found this quite limiting with the style I had in mind and I had to be a bit more creative, opting for a console table rather than a desk in the end. My favourite design for quite some time has been the Skagerak Georg Desk (named after the son of its designer, Chris Liljenberg Halstrøm). I love its rounded edges and soft oak finish. Unfortunately, it was too wide and too deep for the space, so I chose the Skagerak Georg Console – a smaller version of the desk that comes without a drawer. It’s a lovely solid oak table made with FSC-certified wood. It’s just deep enough for my laptop and a few essentials. If you prefer a paler look you could try their Cura Oil in White, which preserves the wood whilst giving it a lighter, whiter finish.

For years I’ve had issues with my neck, shoulders and back. Slumping over computers is nothing new to me and for too long my posture was appalling. I’d get so caught up in what I was doing that I didn’t notice how close I was getting to the screen or how locked up my shoulder was getting. A good chair has always made a world of difference to how I sit at a desk and how comfortable I am. It’s not always been easy as a freelancer to make a fuss over a desk set-ups but since working from home it’s down to me to create a set-up that works in terms of comfort and inspiration.

I wanted a chair with armrests that would still slide neatly under my desk. I wanted a design that’s simple, elegant and minimal but it also had to function. I tested out a few for comfort before deciding on the MENU Harbour Chair. MENU are one of my all time favourite brands, they work with some incredible designers, including Norm Architects who are the designers behind the Harbour Chair. It was originally created for MENU Space, MENU’s new creative destination in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn Harbour. The injection moulded, ergonomic shell is upholstered in a Kvadrat wool-mix fabric called Remix 2, in a soft beige colour-way known as 223 and is lined with soft foam for added comfort. The gently tapered legs and base are made of natural oak (which coordinate perfectly with my desk).

Being such a small desk it would be easy for it to get covered up quite quickly so I’ve tried to keep to my bare essentials. A statement lamp (also from MENU) and my laptop take up most of the space. In addition there are just a few small bits: my notebook (an old one from Bamford), a pen, candle, plant, timer, hand-cream, coaster, clips and a few inspirational postcards I’ve collected over the last year.

How To Stay Focused When Working From Home

I’ve been working from home for quite a while, so I feel pretty qualified to share some tips on how I manage to stay focused and get my work done.

Get up, shower, get dressed and do your hair and make-up as if you are leaving home. You don’t need to be meeting-ready but just enough to feel ready for the day.
Before you sit down get any distracting household chores out of the way; put the washing on, wash-up, empty the dishwasher and have a quick general tidy-up.
Working from your dining room table is okay but I would recommend having a dedicated space in your home. It helps to have everything ready to go where you left off the day before. You won’t waste time setting things up or clearing them away each day. It also helps put you in the right frame of mind to work.
Make yourself a cup of tea, coffee or preferred drink before you sit down.
Make a list of jobs for the day; be realistic about what you can get through (save less urgent jobs for another day). There are two ways I approach my list, depending on my mood. If I’m feeling productive I’ll tackle the most important job first; if not, I’ll tackle a few small easy jobs to get things moving.

Minimal Hooks For The Home

We’ve been on a mission to get the house as finished and baby-friendly as possible over the last few months, me being pregnant was the kick up the backside we both needed. One area of the house that needed some attention was our bathroom. The paint had started to flake, we still didn’t have a bath and it just felt a bit unloved even though we’d invested so much in it when we first moved in. We’ve since had the walls micro-cemented and a stunning roll-top bath from C.P. Hart has been installed. It’s now need to think about the smaller details, like hooks and shelves. I’m currently looking for the perfect minimal hooks to hang our towels on. There are so many great designs out there, so I’ve rounded up a selection of my favourites.

1. **HEM** Punched Metal Hook Large in Grey by Julien Renault | 2. **Skagerak** Regn Hook Large | 3. **Utology** Wooden Wall Hook in Ash & Scorched Black Wood | 4. **Muuto** The Dots in Black by Lars Tornøe | 5. **HAY** Volet Hooks in Black | 6. **HAY** Hook in Natural Ash | 7. **Skagerak** Reflect Hook Double | 8. **MENU** Knobs in Black | 9. **HAY** Iso Hook in Light Grey | 10. **MENU** Afteroom Coat Hanger in Small | 11. **ferm LIVING** Hook in Brass in Small | 12. **ferm LIVING** Hook in Brass in Large | 13. **ferm LIVING** Hook in Black Brass in Large | 14. **HEM** Peg Hook in Varnished Natural Ash by Jonah Takagi

STAY Copenhagen

This post was created in collaboration with STAY Copenhagen.

Last month, Brittany Bathgate and I took a trip to Copenhagen for the weekend. It’s a city we both have quite an obsession with; we’ve been previously, on separate occasions. This time around we stayed at STAY Copenhagen, an apartment hotel in the Islands Brygge area of the city. They have 172 apartments, ranging in size from studio apartments to penthouses, that have all been designed by HAY (one of my favourite Danish brands) in a minimal monochrome palette. Each feels bright and open with huge windows on either side. As the sun set, the light in our apartment flooded in, casting beautiful shadows across the floor and furniture. We stayed in one of their top floor penthouse apartments, each with our own double bedroom and bathroom. My bathroom was partitioned from my room with a dramatic clear glass wall. We had a large balcony, that on warmer days would have been lovely to use. And if that’s not enough, there’s a huge rooftop terrace for everyone to use. The block looks like an ‘A’ from above, creating an inner terrace which some ground floor apartments back on to. On the other side are a mix of cafés and restaurants, including Scarpetto, WabiWabi, Le Marché and Emmerys. It’s a beautiful decked space with raised geometric flower beds dotted around.

Previously known as the ‘A-House’, the block once housed some of Copenhagen’s top creatives. Some of the apartments are still adorned with remnants of their previous owners; a scribble on a wall, a print on a ceiling. The building still reflects its artistic past with the apartments and rooftop regularly being used for all sorts of things like pop-up restaurants, recording studios and photoshoots.

Just across the harbour from Islands Brygge is Dybbølsbro station where you can get a train to Nørreport in about 10 minutes. There’s also Kødbyen (the meatpacking district) just beyond Dybbølsbro station where you can find lots of cool bars and restaurants, including Kødbyens Fiskebar.

Why Minimalist Interiors Might Be Good For You

This post was created in collaboration with Nest.co.uk.

**HAY** DLM Side Table in Grey* | **Normann Copenhagen** Moon Tray in Black* | **HAY** Tray* | **HAY** Paper Porcelain Coffee Cup* | **Wood/Grey** Striped Pom Pom Cushion* | **Happy + Co** Bondi Cushion* | **Muuto** Restore Storage Basket*

It’s really important to me to feel relaxed when I step through the door to my home. I love London but it’s a chaotic city that (most of the time) is far from chilled, it’s fun and inspiring but rarely chilled. When I get home I want to quickly and easily let go of the tension and stress that I often feel after a day spent in the city. Whether that’s due to taking the tube during rush hour, navigating tourists or just avoiding those annoying people that stare at their phone whilst wiggling/walking down the street. (Yes, I’m guilty too but I like to think I’m a little more aware of what’s going on around me.) Luckily I can avoid a lot of these stress inducing situations most of the time, a huge benefit of working for myself but it still happens as I have regular meetings to get to throughout the week.

We know it’s important to eat well and exercise regularly but how often do you consider how your environment affects wellness?

Stress affects us all in one way or another and although new studies show that it’s your approach to stress that determines whether it’s detrimental to your health or not, I try to reduce it in my life where possible. We’ve all become far more aware of the need for wellness than ever before. It’s mentioned daily in the press, their are blogs dedicated to it and new businesses popping up daily. We know it’s important to eat well and exercise regularly but how often do you consider how your environment affects wellness? A simple space with easy, neutral colours can help calm a busy mind. Whilst cluttered spaces give the eye so much to take in and can excite the mind.

A home should be somewhere you feel happy, somewhere you want to invite and entertain your friends and family. It should inspire you and help you to relax, in equal measures. The way you decorate your home can have the biggest affect on the way you feel in it. It’s important to decorate it in a way that creates a positive space for you to live in. For me that’s a fairly stripped back but comfortable environment. I’m drawn to Scandinavian design; I find the combination of clean spaces, neutral colours and soft textures relaxing. The Scandinavians will often bring the outside in, connecting themselves to nature, bringing them closer to the quiet countryside whilst living in a busy city. It’s this balance that I crave and one of the many reasons why I’m (not so secretly) a Scandiphile. I have lots of plants, wool rugs and throws, and real wood floors and furniture around me. To keep it feeling clean and minimal and not too country I mix in contemporary designs from Scandinavian designers like Normann Copenhagen, HAY and Muuto.

I know it’s easier said than done to keep your place decluttered. Try giving yourself 10 minutes every day to go through anything that stacks up. Also, be clever with your storage, having a home for everything will make it so much easier to keep your place tidy.

A Bedside Lamp With A Difference

This post was created in collaboration with Houseology.

I used the bank holiday weekend to do some DIY in the house; a little project I’d been planning for a while, to convert a pendant lamp into a bedside lamp. I can’t take the credit for the idea though, like most of my projects it was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest.

I’ve put together a step-by-step guide in case anyone else would like to have a go. At the end of the post there are links to everything you need.

Step 1

Thread the cable through the EU plug so that the two wires extend just beyond the casing. Loosen the two screws in the small transparent plate and thread the the ends of the wire into the little holes. Tighten the screws to hold the wires securely.

Step 2

Then, fix the plate into the case of the plug with the central screw.

Step 3

Unscrew the central screw in the UK plug and flip it open. Secure the EU plug inside the two metal clips and then re-close the plug and screw shut.

(If you don’t plan to fit a switch, skip to step 7)

Step 4

Measure a meter along the cable from the plug and using wire cutters or a Stanley knife cut the cable in two. Carefully cut through the grey outer tube of the cable on each of the newly cut ends, about 2.5cm from the end. And then, do the same to each of the revealed wires about 0.75cm from the ends.

Step 5

Remove the cover of the switch, loosen the screws at each end and thread the wires of the cable into each hole as per the photo below. Then, tighten the screws to secure them in place. Replace the cover.

Step 6

Fit the bulb (using a cloth so you don’t get any fingerprints on the glass) and test it all works. Then, remove the bulb.

Step 7

Using a spirit level to make sure the metal hook is straight, mark the two holes for the screws on the wall where you want the gym hook to go. Drill two holes (I used a No. 6 drill bit), fit the rawl plugs that come with the hook and screw the metal hook in place.

Step 8

Fit the the gym hook onto the metal hook and fix in place with the small screw, using the allen key provided.

Step 9

Wrap the cable through the gym hook a number of times and fit the bulb once more.

**Muuto** E27 Pendant Lamp in Grey* | **Muuto** Ceiling Cap Single Canopy For E27 Pendant* | **COS x HAY** Large Gym Hook in Natural | **B&Q** 1-Way Single White Switch

New Season Bedroom Accessories

Spring is only a few weeks away and I’m looking forward to the longer days; for me more daylight means more shooting time and not worrying if I’ve missed the only good light of the day. As we’re coming out of winter I feel like it’s a good time to freshen things up in the house.

I’ve been thinking more and more about how we use our bedroom and the kind of mood I want to inspire. Above all else it’s where we sleep so the bed, bed linen, pillows and duvet need to work hard. I think textiles are key when it comes to creating a comfortable and relaxed space. The White Company are one of my favourite brands for bed linen, the quality is exceptional and although not cheap I think their products are good value. I’ve been on the lookout for a great quilt for a little while and their new Bourton Collection has a gorgeous grey one that has matching cushion covers. It’s grey herringbone on one side and a stripe chambray on the other, so when I fancy a change I can flip it over.

I’m starting to experiment with lighting, we have downlights in most rooms but I think we’re missing a trick and could do with a few lamps here and there. I’ve seen a lot of great designs out there that don’t seem too expensive, especially for something that makes such a big difference to the mood of a room. Scandinavian designers are particularly good with lighting; maybe as daylight (or lack of it) has such a big impact on them. MENU and ferm LIVING are two brilliant Danish brands that not only make great lamps but lots other great homeware products, too. I’ve picked out a couple of my favourites above.

Like many of my Instagram buddies I’ve become quite obsessed with Beni Ourain rugs. They’re traditional Moroccan rugs woven from undyed natural wool by the Beni Ourain people from the Rif Mountains. Modernist architects, Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright were also known to like them. Like those guys, I’m a fan of order but I love the imperfect nature of their patterns. The thick pile is perfect for rubbing your toes in as you get out of bed. With their current popularity there are so many great Beni Ourain style rugs available online, I particularly love this one from West Elm. It’s not a traditional Moroccan rug but was made in New Delhi as part of the Craftmark initiative, “which helps denote genuine Indian handicrafts, develop sector-wide minimum standards and norms for labeling a product as a handicrafts product“. If you’re looking for a genuine Moroccan rug, India May Home have some coming soon.

One of the other things I like to do in bed is read a good book. I read a lot, I have a book on the go constantly. Usually I buy three or four at a time which I keep beside the bed. I’m planning to put up a new shelf in our bedroom to keep them on so I can keep my bedside table clear. I’m undecided about the style and size of the shelf at the moment as I’ve yet to decide where to hang it but I love the simplicity of this one by Frama. And being a book lover, the recent discovery of Folio Society has got me all excited, their beautifully bound editions are keepers.

Christmas Wish List 2016

I have to admit that I love receiving presents as much as I love giving them, especially when you unwrap something that you have been thinking about buying for some time. My Christmas wish list is made up of all the things I’m currently in love with and know I will appreciate over the next year, not just the next month.

1. Isabel Marant Étoile Olga Cotton-Twill Wrap Skirt | 2. A.P.C. Demi-Lune Shoulder Bag in Black | 3. Taschen Peter Lindbergh – A Different Vision on Fashion Photography | 4. Isabel Marant Étoile Clifton Mohair-Blend Sweater in Grey | 5. HAY Large Dot Wash Bag | 6. Isabel Marant Étoile Checked Wool Scarf | 7. London Tea Club Crème Earl Grey Loose Black Tea (now closed) | 8. HAY Mirror Mirror Handheld Mirror | 9. Lucy Williams x Missoma Horn Hoops in Gold Vermeil | 10. Gucci Double G Buckle Leather Belt | 11. HAY Kaleido Large Metal Tray in Light Grey

I’m pretty obsessed with all things Isabel Marant Étoile and A.P.C. when it comes to my wardrobe; there’s a pretty high chance that if I open something from either of them that I’ll be thrilled but the pieces above are my current favourites. Likewise for the home, HAY has my heart, their designs are super simple and fit in our house really easily.

I’m always looking for shoot inspiration and Peter Lindbergh’s beautiful black and white images really capture my imagination. I’d love to spend an hour or two once a month pouring over his photography whilst enjoying a cup of my all time favourite tea, the London Tea Club Crème Earl Grey. I met their founder, Cecelia, in the summer and attended one of their tea ceremonies not long after. If you sign up to their club they will send you three teas to try each month.