Panic happens. I've been flapping around my house like a hobbled chicken, squawking at unpainted walls, at our totally unfinished kitchen, at every dust mote that threatens to coalesce into monstrous proportions, at our unmowed lawn, at the unplanted flowers wilting away on our patio, at everything, really. I usually try to take a laid back approach to such chores, figuring things will happen when they'll happen, but now that I have a ticking time bomb in my belly, I find myself lying awake at 3 am contemplating faucet choices and agonizing over paint colors. As a result, I've been spending rather less time at the computer, and while I have 8 trillion potential posts prepped and bookmarked, I really need something glorious to motivate me. So, thank you, thank you, Stephanie from Even Cleveland, for sending me a super awesome link and saving my panic stricken, high strung ass from the certain ignominy of a lackluster Friday post. You are forever my homie!
You see, the Humlegarden Apartment, renovated by Swedish architects Tham & Videgard Hansson, simultaneously soothes my frazzled nerves and jump starts my system with a jolt of go juice.
Nestled inside this rather innocuous building in Stockholm lies a magical wonderland of color that brings me back to my youth, reminding me of that awesome 80's movie, Troll. Surely you have experienced the majesty of Julia Louis Dreyfus becoming a fairy princess and Sony Bono turning into a pickle while living a plain jane apartment that was taken over by trolls and turned into an enchanted forest? No?
Well, I'm pretty sure something like that could happen inside Humlegarden. After all, its floorplan and color palette were designed to mimic the changing seasons of a nearby park.
Some kind of magic definitely happened here, and it's making me want to stain my floor in a more seasonal palette. Unfortunately, since that would greatly lengthen my To Do list, I think I'll just enjoy the gorgeous ash parquet floors Tham and Videgard Hansson (Hansson, for short) have already installed.
Now I have that stupid MmmBop song stuck in my head. Thanks a lot, Hansson!
For serious though, with a house this uniquely bright and colorful, you have to wonder what kind of furnishings would possibly fit the space...
Well, while does go with everything... Wait, what's that I spy in the corner???
Why, it's Karly's favorite life sized stallion turned lamp from Front Design! Maybe the trolls have been here, busy creating a secret indoor forest? I, too, yearn for an indoor stable, but since I already have a messy husband, a cat, and an ankle biter on the way, I may already be on my way to achieving that goal.
This is a little 2001 meets psychiatrist office for me, but perhaps that's just my own little drama.
I do really like the sunshine yellow kitchen, and it's nice to see the common Windsor chair appear in a fresher shape and color. I would have the entire dining set covered in spaghetti sauce in no time, but that's really beside the point.
The point is, this place gives me the happy tingles inside, and it inspires me to get to painting, cleaning, and editing, pronto. All of it seems suddenly more doable. Now if only I could have those floors...