summer

: : this is where you'll find me for the next 10 days. at my summerhouse in Sweden! see you later!

[view from the house]

Rörstrand

: : For a long time I have been wanting to tell you more about Rörstrand, Sweden's oldest China company, located in the town of Lidköping where I grew up. It wasn't until a few years ago that I truly understood the importance of Rörstrands influence on Swedish design history. I feel so fortunate to have been part of the company's history and heritage and to have witnessed the changes the company went through.

And the changes have been many, with several sad parts. The story is long, but I’ll try to summarize it in a few paragraphs.

Rörstrand was founded in 1726 by King Fredrik I. Sweden at this time was very dependent on imports so the King was determined to start manufacturing certain goods in Sweden to improve the Swedish economy.

Rörstrand was started in Stockholm, moved to Gothenburg in 1926, to just a few years later begin the move to Lidköping where it has remained up until one year ago.

I was 10 years old when my Dad [Pappa] was recruited by Hackman, to develop a new division within their brand called.tabletop. Hackman was a large Finnish corporation who in 1990 acquired Rörstrand as well as many other Swedish and Finnish glass & china companies. Brand names most of you probably know of. Arabia had originally been started by Rörstrand to facilitate trade in Russia, they were bought by Hackman in 1990. Iittala was a Finnish company, partly owned by Arabia, which Hackman bought up 100 % of. Iittala in turn owned parts of Nuutajärvi another Finnish glass company, so Hackman bought up all of Nuutajärvi.

With all these newly acquired brands they broke out new sections, and among these was .tabletop., the section my Dad was put in charge of, which encompassed all of Rörstrand’s production.

There had been talk of us moving to Finland, but since most of his work was tied to Rörstrand, our family settled in Lidköping. A very picturesque town, which a very rich history and culture. And a large part of it’s more recent history evolved around Rörstrand, since it was one of the largest employers in the town.

For several years my Dad worked for Hackman, until suddenly the management changed and disagreements concerning the future of Hackman arose. During this unstable period, unable to foresee the immediate future of the company, my Dad chose to leave Hackman.

Shortly after, all of Hackman, including all of it’s sub brands was sold to a Dutch risk capital investment company, and Iittala became the new company name. The sad part here was that all of these brands, Rörstrand, Arabia, Iittala and Nuutajärvi, were Finland’s and Sweden’s oldest and only china and glass companies. Most Swedes will at some point during their life own a Rörstrand dish. So, it was very sad to see them leave Scandinavia, uncertain of their future.

There is a good part and a sad part to the ending of this story. Iittala, now being the company name, encompassing all the sub brands, was actually recently introduced on the Finnish stock market. So, now the Finnish people can again become the owners of their world famous glass and china brands.

Rörstrand, will still remain a brand, and will always be Sweden’s oldest china company. However, production was shut down a little over a year ago, and moved to China. The factories in Lidköping stand empty. I walked the mile long building, where the kilns had been, with my Dad when I was home over Christmas.

New things will grow in the factory spaces, my Dad is involved in trying to create a design center there, building on the rich history of Rörstrand.

Rörstrand.

nau

: : it's the cool new thing within eco and clothing. I'm sure you've heard of it .nau.
an outdoor clothing company with clothes made completely out of recycled materials, for each purchase you make they donate 5 % to a national/regional/local social and environmental organization of your choice. read more on cool hunting

: : also, they're currently having a sale, so check it out : :

spisa ribb

: : I just bought one of these on Swedish ebay [tradera.se] .spisa ribb. a Swedish design classic, designed by .stig lindberg. in the 60's for Gustavsberg. to add to my vintage cup collection. squeals, I'm so excited!

it's being sent to my parents so that I can pick it up when I go home to Sweden next week!

image found here

: : today we are celebrating red.house turning one year!! and I want to thank .all of you lovely red.house readers. for being my constant source of inspiration, my support and my new found friends. thank you for finding me out there, in the myriad of blog spaces. I hope every return visit to red.house, always feels a little bit like coming home. to a red. house that is, with white trims......

for the occasion we are celebrating with these beautiful paper sculptures by .frazier & wing. because paper is the appropriate 1 year anniversary gift.

and also, we're celebrating with a red. house logo explosion. of course

Living Room Designs

The living room is a fun room to decorate. It's usually the least-used room in the house, so you can afford to be a little impractical--unless you have kids. It's also the room most people see first, so you can go all out to make it pretty.

Here are few goods ones we found on PointClickHome.com.

Note the use of different types of chairs/sofa/furniture. It's not all matchy matchy...

We love to use chaise. It's a nice alternative to a sofa sometimes....

If you have a large room, it's nice to break up the furniture a little bit into different areas...

A nice mix of modern and traditional furniture. Also very functional.

Here are some living room furniture pieces that we like...

Chloe Chaise-we like to do this chaise in white for a crisp & modern look.

Phoebe Lounger. This is a great sofa to lounge around. The back of the sofa can be custom-made so that it will have back-cushions instead of throw pillows, which can be a pain some time...

Trenton Chaise-this chaise is clean-lined and modern. We like it in mohair or a fantastic chenille.

Vintage Sofa-our favorite sofa, this one is great in a simle cotton or linen. It's a classic style that seems to last forever...

Monte Sofa -this one is ultra cool...

Carson Bench-we use this one either as a bed bench or for extra sitting in the living room.

Modern Sofa-this one is sweet and simple. We love the dainty legs...

All the furniture are made by Pepper Berry, a small furniture manufacturer in Los Angeles. If you need help with any of these products, send us an emai. We'll be happy to help you with anything you need.

Cool Bedroom Decorating

The bedroom, in a way, is the easiest room to decorate , yet it could be the hardest. It's easy because the furniture required are so simple. Basically you will need a bed, nighstands, an ottoman maybe, a couple of chairs if your room is of a decent size. Yet the range of the choices are huge-it's hard to know where to start!

Here are a few pretty ones we found on Metropolitan Home:

This is tranquil and harmonious. It feels like a boutique hotel...

We like the use of drapes and colors in this room. It feels warm and cozy:

This one is clean-lined and modern:

This one feels sexy and sensuous...

Here are a few upholstered beds that we just love. It is made by Pepper Berry, a small boutique manufacturer based out of Los Angeles. Run by the nicest couple we ever met, Matt and Michelle Cicero, Pepper Berry sells to furniture stores and interiors designers. The company makes beautiful products that are well-made and well-priced.

This bed is perfect for a guy. It's masculine and sexy!

Here is another version of it in white fabric. Perfect for a loft!

We like the prettty, soft lines on this bed. The headboard can be tufted as well.

As with any upholstery products, you can customize the beds with different fabrics. You can also make slip covers for them if you feel like changing the look according to the season. These beds are relatively inexpensive (roughly $2000 for a king size not including fabric).

For a complete catalog on Pepper Berry products, send us an email . In addition to upholstered beds, they also do beautiful chairs, ottoman, sofas and chaises.

frecklewonder

: : I always check .frecklewonder. for lovely vintage finds. she just updated her website, but things are selling quickly [which is always the case]. check out her blog too, with pics and stories about her adorable little helper, .henry.

Sigvard Bernadotte

: : I want to buy these .margrethe bowls. designed by Swedish prince Sigvard Bernadotte. I hope to write more about him someday. A wonderful man, and a great influence on Swedish industrial design.

Maine

: : had a wonderful weekend camping in Maine with my friends.

more about me

: : today you can learn a little bit more about me on lovely .pethra's. blog
inredningsbloggen happy reading!

4th of July

: : happy 4th : : I will be viewing the fireworks from this rooftop. the best view in the city. we call it the .citgo set. some very respectable fellows live here.

Need Inspirations?

Don't you love looking at home decor magazines for inspiration? We do too. We have to confess though, we only look at the pictures and never read the text. For people like us, there is a new site that has just been launched that we love, http://www.pointclickhome.com/. It is a site that combines the resources of several home decorating magazines, including our favorites--Elle Decor, Metropolitan Home and other remodeling-related home magazines. It includes several resource sections, blogs, tips , ideas, expert advice and all the cool stuff about home remodeling, home design and home decorating. The best feature is that it has TONS of beautiful pictures that you can browse through. Well, maybe not tons, but enough to have fun for a little while. We suspect as the site grows, the content will get richer.

The site still has a lot of glitches, as with most newly-launched site. It does not have easy navigation, a good search tool, and there are many dead links. As with most ad-supported sites, it has annoying pop-ups, but it's a good start and a good idea.

Check it out. It's a great site!

red.house dreams

: : looks like someone else is also dreaming of .red houses.

fine little day. is another lovely place to be at.

midsommar

: : some of my own pics from our midsummer celebrations here in .Boston. there was lots of snaps and singing......as there should be.