Monday, June 30, 2014
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Thursday, June 19, 2014
Remodeling 101: Easy Whitewashed Scandi Floors
Last fall, when I dropped in on Mjölk, my favorite Toronto housewares emporium, owner John Baker invited me upstairs to see the newly renovated flat where he lives with his wife, Juli, and their two daughters. The first thing I noticed were the pale Scandi floors. When I commented on their perfection, John said, "It's much easier than you think to get the look." (He was referring to our post How to Create Scandi Whitewashed Floors, which describes a more complicated route.) Of course I immediately asked John to share his secrets; here's what he told us:
Above: John and Juli's Toronto kitchen.
Above: "First, we applied a coat of Woca Wood Lye to bleach the boards."
Above: "Next, we applied several coats of white wood soap. You could also coat the floors with a white pigmented oil or clear matte urethane for an even tougher finish. However, the soap treatment is the traditional Scandinavian way and it will develop a beautiful patina with age. We have used this finish on both our cottage and home, and we are really happy with it."
Above: "We used 10-inch wide solid Douglas fir boards from Peerless Forest Products in British Columbia. They're tongue and grooved and also screwed and plugged with matching Doug fir dowels (the boards have to be screwed, otherwise they would begin to bow with age)," John says. "It's not fancy stuff, but it's reasonably priced and we actually like all of the knots. Compared with the prices from Dinesen, the standard bearer, Canadian Douglas fir is cheap, It didn't make sense shipping wood from Denmark, anyway, when we have so much of it here in Canada."
For another (slightly more involved) technique, see Izabella's post Scandi Whitewashed Floors: Before and After. Also have a look at Dinesen's Custom Floors.
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Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
An Idyllic Inn in Sweden, Archipelago Edition
To be filed under: always rely on the advice of locals when traveling. My husband and I (children in tow) spent a summer vacation in Sweden a few years ago. Our first instinct was to contact our Stockholm friends Martha and Anders for ideas: where to stay, what to do, where to eat, etc. I'll always be grateful to them for insisting we take a ferry to Grinda, a small island in the north Baltic Sea archipelago (a two-hour trip from the center of Stockholm), for a hike through the forest followed by lunch at Grinda Wardshus.
Since our visit, the restaurant has been gathering steam: owner Jan Pfister is on a mission to "elevate the cuisine of the archipelago" and it's been written up in Conde Nast Traveler, the Financial Times, and so on. I'm plotting a return visit.
Photos courtesy of Grinda Wardshus unless otherwise noted.
Above: Henrik Santesson, the first chairman of the Nobel Foundation, bought the island in 1906 and built the Art Nouveau villa as his summer house in 1995.
Above: Straight out of Bergman: the terrace overlooking the Baltic sea.
Above: The moody wood-paneled reception hall.
Above: Even in summer, a fire is lit.
Above: A candle illuminates the restaurant concierge desk.
Above: The pale, sunlit dining room; photo by Gentl & Hyers for Conde Nast Traveler.
Above: Candles illuminate the dining room, even during daylight.
Above: A simple, spartan guest room.
Above: Built-in daybeds.
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