Back to basics....

....A pretty, useful mess

But as anyone posting images of their homes online will tell you: Behind every lovely picture, on the other side of the lens, there is a pile of mess: A bed filled with dirty washing, a floor strewn with toys, a sink filled with washing up or a desk covered in paperwork...As an interior blogger, I am constantly sharing images of my home online, whether it is here on the blog or on social media, such as instagram or pinterest ...And I also love seeing pictures of other peoples beautiful homes: Perfectly styled corners of a room, all tidy and clean...or close ups of details, beautifully curated items grouped together in a thoughtful way...
...life online can seem pretty perfect!

Real life could never be that picture perfect....

...or could it??

Image from My Scandinavian home

When I visited Copenhagen, I stayed with an old school friend....and even though his home was far from perfect, with signs of daily life everywhere: his 1 year old son's toys strewn across the living room floor, and a constant pile of dirty dishes in the sink, it always looked stylish!

It took me a day or two to work out what it was that made his un-styled, messily real apartment always look like it was instagram-perfect, then I realized:

It s all about design!

Danish people inherently know that good design is paramount to good living!

From the people friendly infrastructure of Copenhagen to the architectural layout of their homes and the way even the cheaper housing, like the block of flats my friend lived in, is built around a communal backyard, with a playground and a landscaped garden that provides the residents with accessible outdoor space and invites them to socialize.....All aspects of Design is well thought out ,and with daily life in mind!
This emphasis on design is of course extended to the Danes approach to interiors, but way beyond the Arne Jacobsen chairs and the Louis Poulsen lamps commonly associated with Danish interior design...

Image from Daniella Witte

It is all in the details: from The coffee maker to the washing up brush in the kitchen, the laundry basket to the dust pan and brush....even the kids toys: Everything is beautifully designed....functional , but beautiful....
....and when your everyday necessities look this stylish, your home will ultimately look stylish as well!

Image from Avenue Lifestyle

So, over the next few weeks I am going back to basics here at Nostalgiecat, showing you how good, functional design can elevate your interiors, and make your everyday life a bit more stylish.
Introducing my theory that if your everyday mess looks good, your home will look good....but more than that: Your quality of life will be better....that is the power of good, functional design!

I will be looking at everything from kitchen utensils to housekeeping essentials, sharing my picks of beautifully designed products with a purpose, storage and organisation.... even kids toys....as well as, of course,  the odd useful DIY!



I call it BEAUTIFUL UTILITY.
An if you'd like to have a sneak peek on what sort of thing you can expect me to be posting about here on the blog, why not check out my Pinterest board of the same name.

Image from An angel at my table

Thanks for popping by, and hope to see you later this week , when I start this series of posts by looking at how to make ,perhaps THE most important everyday essential, THE MORNING COFFEE, a more beautiful experience!