My apartment is now washed entirely in bright white paint. It's the kind of Victorian where tenants before me have annoyingly painted over all the hardware so I did the same, slapping paint over anything that need a "fix"—the smudge on the wall, the faux gold hinges, you name it.
But now that everything is all white, it needs a little edge without going fully B&W. The answer, I've discovered, is in dark wood and rich mahogany leather; exactly what drew me to this space in Österlen, Sweden. The 300-square-meter, loft-like space is owned by Henriette and Peter of design studio The White Briefs and has an easily replicable look; see our sources below for more.
First seen on Emmas Design Blogg, photography by Jenny Brandt.
Above: A design using 20 porcelain ceiling lights in a circular outline provides dispersed lighting in the living room.
Above: A black painted antique table and dark bentwood chairs stand out against the white walls and polished concrete floors.
Above: We could imagine these Leather Pulls from The Brick House in this space; for how-to DIY a similar look, see our video: How to Make a $20 Cabinet Pull for $2.
Above: The Geoffrey from Montauk Sofa is 95 inches long; $3,800. To achieve a similar mix of white sofas, see our 10 Easy Pieces: The Perfect White Sofa.
Above: A similar Moroccan Tuareg Rug made of dwarf palm tree fibers with hand-woven with leather stripes; available from Mosaik at 1st Dibs. Hannoun: Rugs from Morocco also has a good selection; prices start at $800.
Above: Hudson's Bay 6 Point White with Black Stripes Wool Blanket; $315 from Oregon Trail Outfitters.
Above: Source vintage Kilim pillows from Istanbul on Etsy like the Kilim Pillow Cover for $55 from Decolic. Photograph from The Brick House.
Above: The Tan Moroccan Leather Pouf has subtle color variation and is packed with dense cotton and finished with hand embroidery; $450 from Serena & Lily. For more poufs in metallic shades see our Moroccan Pouf Roundup.
Above: Canvas' velvet Rectangular Pillows are handwoven in India and in six colors of velvet and two different sizes (12 by 16 and 12 by 24 inches). Visit Canvas for pricing and availability.
Above: Henriette and Peter have a collection of vintage bentwood chairs; an alternative easy-to-find option is the solid-base Era Chair in dark brown ($150) or the Era Chair with Caned Seat ($170) both at Design Within Reach.
Above: The Noguchi Akari Table Lamp 1N is $105 from Canoe.
Above: A quick and inexpensive furniture fix is painting an antique table in a glossy black paint. Benjamin Moore's Aura Semi-Gloss Finish Paint is $67.99 per gallon directly at Benjamin Moore.
Above: Design House Stockholm's Step Ladder in black is $330 from YLiving.
Above: The Thomas Hoof Porcelain Ceiling Light is €22 at Thomas Hoof Produkt. For more ideas visit our post: Design Sleuth: Porcelain Ceiling Fixtures.
For a living room with a similar jewel tone color palette, see our Design Sleuth of Isabel Marant's Paris Apartment. Seeking more Scandinavian inspiration? Sift through 74 Scandi Living Rooms and 93 Dining Rooms in our Gallery of rooms and spaces.