Nestled In

Minna and I dream that one day we’ll live in a little house of our home and have a yard, a bit more space for more pets (although I’m not sure what Lissu would say to that!) and a little garden to tend. Today I’m really happy to share with you a peek into one of my very favorite real homes I’ve found via Flickr. Amy’s home (and her garden – she even has chicken!) is so inspiring to me, it’s a lot like what my dreams look like. Amy has a blog called Homegrown and you can also find her at flickr. We asked Amy a couple of questions, here is what she said:

Where do you live? I live in the US in a little town called Media Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia with my creative husband, Chris, who is a “jack of all trades” and our two daughters, Hannah, 7 and Norah, 4. We live in an arts and crafts style twin built in the 1920s. Our house was a true fixer upper when we first bought it almost 11 years ago. We have gutted most of the house, but we still have many plans like redoing our attic one day.

What are your favorite thing and least favorite thing about your home? I have so many lovely custom pieces in my home, built by my grandfather and husband. Every room in my home has at least one handcrafted piece — bookshelves, window seats, kitchen cabinetry, as well as a custom built-in bed complete with drawers and storage. I don’t think I will ever be able to move, mostly because of all the the time and energy put into my home by my loved ones.

During my last pregnancy, I went into major nesting mode and decided to paint a lot of the house in warmer colors. I have regretted this decision for some time now. We have northern exposure, which does not allow for tons of light and some rooms in my home seem too dark. I love the look of grey and even white walls that allow for fabrics and artwork to really POP! I am looking forward to painting soon.

If you could add one extra room to your home, what would it be? Lately I have been dreaming about a greenhouse/mudroom space which I would love to convert my front porch into. I am an avid gardener living on a small property. I have decided to stop wishing i had more space and instead finding joy in the challenge of being creative with my space. i manage to fit in chickens, rain barrels, a rabbit, a potting shed and fruits and vegetables. So why stop there. a greenhouse would be dreamy.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? i love to snuggle with my family, read books with my girls, play games, sing and make music, knit, garden, cook, and hang laundry while my hens cluck at my feet:)

Where do you find inspiration? i find inspiration from the outdoors, especially the woods, my home is full of feathers, twigs, antlers, pinecones and beautiful creations made from the forest by my talented husband. i also love the many beautiful things i find on flickr which lead me to some of the most amazing blogs, websites, and all sorts of resources.

Home is where …. i feel at peace and where i long to be. i really will miss my home even after only being away for just a few hours.

Thank you so much Amy for welcoming us into your lovely home!

(All images: Amy)

Continuing our visits to lovely real homes, today we have a chance to peek into Catherine’s home in Australia. I’m really inspired by her use of color in her home and I really love all the little details and vignettes. Catherine has a blog called Little Glowing Lights and she also has an Etsy shop. You can also find Catherine at flickr. We asked Catherine a few questions, here is what she said:

Where do you live? I live in Hobart, Australia, and my flat is in a big old house a short walk from the city. I live by myself, something I initially thought I would dislike, but actually it has been quite wonderful to have my own space and the freedom to do whatever I like with it.

What are your favorite thing and least favorite thing about your home? As I mentioned my home is part of a big old house so I have lovely high ceilings, mantle pieces, picture rails and floorboards. All these features are exactly what I would look for in a home if I was able to buy, so it’s very lucky to have them in a rental. I get a lot of light and while it’s only a small space it works very well for me and feels cosy without being too claustrophobic. On the downside there are some wonky floors, it’s not easy to heat, and I would love to have more private outside space than I have.

If you could add one extra room to your home, what would it be? I would love to have a separate study/workroom area in my home for my desk and computer with lots of storage space for all my crafty bits and pieces. At the moment everything is in my bedroom and it can get cluttered and chaotic, to have a whole room for this would be wonderful. Also I would love just a little bit more room in my living/dining/kitchen area so that I could add an armchair in, I’ve always wanted a big high-backed armchair.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? Sometimes it feels like I don’t spend as much time at home as I would like, so I appreciate quiet afternoons for reading in the sun, or baking in the kitchen, and taking pictures.

Where do you find inspiration? Ever since I was little I would pour over my mum’s World of Interiors magazines, they always feature beautiful homes in all kinds of styles, they have definitely been a big source of inspiration for me over the years. In general I am inspired by music, art, photographs and films, I love colour, flowers, and I’m getting more into geometric patterns at the moment.

Home is where… you can take time out and just be yourself…and maybe listen to music and have a dance!

Thank you Catherine for welcoming us into your beautiful home!

(Image credits: Catherine)

We’ve paid a couple of blog visits earlier but now we’re going to make them a more regular thing over here at Nestled In. Every once in a while we’ll visit the home of someone whose style we admire and learn a bit more about them and their home. Today we get to peek inside Katrin’s beautiful home in Austria. Katrin has just started a blog called Taking Notes and you can also find more pictures of her home at Flickr. We asked Katrin a few questions about her home, here is what she said:

Where do you live? Me, my husband and cats Marlene and Lulu live in a small house with a large garden in Vienna, Austria.

What are your favorite and least favorite things about your home? The favorite thing about my home is the light we get through the many windows we have. The least favorite is the very tiny and hideous bathroom.

If you could add one extra room to your home, what would it be? Oh, definitely a dining room. We only have a small kitchen table which seats 3 so that we can never have friends over for dinner (except for barbecues in summer). I´d love to have a beautiful large dining table and something where I could store all the extra dinnerware which currently resides in our basement.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? Decorating and gardening. At this point I actually feel my house is “done” decoration-wise but I still manage to find some projects around :)

Where do you find inspiration? I´m inspired mostly by blogs, Flickr, magazines and nature.

Home is where… I can truly relax, and for this I need some of my favorite things and my little family around me. For me it´s not a question of “where” but more of “how”. Does that make sense?

Thank you so much Katrin for welcoming us into your home!

(Image credits: Katrin)

Today I want to introduce you to a new blog favorite of mine, KITKA design toronto and to share a few images of their gorgeous cottage remodel. (Click here for more pictures!) I don’t know what I love the most about this cottage – the white floors and walls, the high ceiling, the use of plywood or all the great furniture and details! (Maybe the plywood, it looks really amazing.) I think that if I ever had a cottage like this I would never want to leave it!

But enough gushing already, I’ll let John and Juli tell you more about themselves:

“We are John & Juli, and we live in Toronto Ontario. Back in January we decided to share our collective obsession with design by starting on our blog KITKA. We wanted to create a design blog from a Toronto perspective, featuring local design shops, architecture, andl vintage finds. With the renovation of our inherited cottage, however, our Scandinavian influences became very apparent, from design aesthetics to furniture to nic nacks.

We spent the summer renovating Juli’s parent’s old Georgian Bay cottage. Since we had a minuscule budget we had to do a lot of the work ourselves. That meant removing the old linoleum floors, refinishing and painting the old hardwood, tearing down walls, building a kitchen, and keeping the rest minimal.”

Thank you so much John and Juli for inviting us in and sharing about your amazing project!

All images by Kitka design toronto.

Ps. Alison from Lipstick on Your Teeth featured our home on her blog yesterday. Thanks Alison!

On Saturday we spent the day at my grandparents’ summer cottage. My mother cooked for us and my sister a meal in the simple summer kitchen my grandfather built for my grandmother.