Inspired by Nature: Creating a personal and natural interior E-Book

Hans Blomquist

• Herausgeber: Ryland Peters & Small
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Seitenzahl: 95

Beschreibung

In Hans Blomquist's new book Inspired by Nature, the stylist and art director identifies the connection between our home environment and our emotional wellbeing.

Leseprobe

HANS BLOMQUIST

Inspired by

Nature

CREATING A PERSONAL & NATURAL INTERIOR

SENIOR DESIGNER Megan Smith

SENIOR COMMISSIONING EDITOR Annabel Morgan

EDITOR Zia Mattocks

PRODUCTION Gordana Simakovic

LOCATION RESEARCH Jess Walton

ART DIRECTOR Leslie Harrington

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Julia Charles

PUBLISHER Cindy Richards

INDEXER Hilary Bird

First published in 2019 by

Ryland Peters & Small

20–21 Jockey’s Fields,

London WC1R 4BW

and

Ryland Peters & Small, Inc.

341 E 116th St,

New York, NY 10029

www.rylandpeters.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Text © Hans Blomquist 2019

Design and photography

© Ryland Peters & Small 2019

The author’s moral rights have been asserted. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978 1 78879 021 5

E-ISBN 978 1 78879 321 6

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

US Library of Congress cataloging-in-publication data has been applied for.

Printed and bound in China

contents

Inspired by my love of nature.

Nature all year round.

Decorating with nature.

At home with nature.

Credits

Address book

Index

Thank you

Inspired by my love of nature.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the calmness and peace that come from being at one with nature. Where I grew up, in a small village in the south of Sweden, you could walk or cycle everywhere without feeling scared or worrying about getting lost – it was a very free, unconfined way to grow up. The garden of my childhood home backs onto a forest and I spent most of my time there, playing and running around with my friends. To us, it was like the largest playground ever, a true luxury. Unlike my friends, I was always looking for interesting things, collecting branches and stones, picking flowers, looking at birds and sometimes digging up a small tree I liked and replanting it next to our garden. Living so close to nature definitely sparked my love for the natural world, and this was reinforced by our frequent visits to my grandmother. It was heavenly to be in her garden with all its flowers, vegetables and berries that she tended with so much care. I loved sitting with her in her hammock, looking at everything growing around us and listening to her stories. She loved cycling around the picturesque countryside where she lived, picking mushrooms and wild berries, and I first saw the beauty of nature through her eyes, which undoubtedly influences how I still see things. In the summer, we swam or fished from my grandfather’s rowing boat on a nearby lake, which was as quiet and still as a mirror. I had an amazing childhood, surrounded by people who valued and cherished nature, and the love I feel for nature today most certainly stems from everything they showed me and from all the adventures I was lucky enough to experience. I am so grateful to have grown up immersed in nature – a mystical, ever-changing world where you can get lost for hours and hours just being yourself and feeling at one with the trees, the sun, the wind, the smells and the beauty of the natural world.

Nature

all year round.

BRING SPRING INSIDE.

Every spring, when flowers start to grow in the forest and along the country roads, and when the first batch of blooms appears in the florist’s, I immediately fill my home with either a large bouquet of peonies

spring

It is a very special feeling when the light starts to return after a long, dark winter. The daylight extends by minutes every day without me really noticing, but then, all of a sudden, it is so obvious both to my eyes and my senses. For me, this is most impactful in Sweden, where the winter is so long and feels as though it will never end. Every year I am grateful to have got through yet another winter to meet the spring light and everything that comes with it, such as the first flowers covering the ground in the still-naked forest. It fills me with such happiness and calmness, and makes me feel reborn.

some simple but beautiful wild garlic/ramp flowers from my garden.

the softness of spring

The colours and shapes of spring flowers are so delicate and soft, ranging from the whitest white to the palest pink and the deepest blue, and set off by the vibrant colour and texture of their green leaves. I would not be able to choose a favourite out of all the glorious spring flowers that delight us each year, but there are some that have a special place in my heart, as they have surrounded me since my childhood and are for me synonymous with the early days of spring. I have very fond and vivid memories of my mother going out every year to pick wood anemones and putting the delicate flowers in a very small glass or an eggcup on the dining table to celebrate spring. To this day, I still love driving around the winding country lanes when the lupins are in full bloom, in an explosion of the most beautiful colours – shades of white, purple, blue and pink.

A LIFE OF THEIR OWN.

When the first tulips arrive in the florist’s soon after Christmas, it is hard to resist buying a bunch to celebrate that spring is just around the corner. The amazing colours and shapes they take on become more beguiling the longer you keep them.

ON DISPLAY.

Even the simplest arrangement of spring flowers in glass vases will be eye-catching and add texture, colour and a touch of spring to your home. You can place them anywhere, on their own or as part of a display.

Clockwise from left are bluebells, bringing vitality to a very simple tableau;

poppies still waiting to open;

a small chestnut branch adding colour and shape to a rustic still life.

Overleaf are peonies in the softer, dustier shades of pink, which have a vintage feel and sit well in a darker, moody setting, such as on this stack of old grain sacks on an antique chair.

I often bring home a large bunch and place it in a simple glass vase without arranging it, to recreate the same look as when it grows beside the road.

White chestnut flowers

delicate white

Some of the best things in life are free – especially everything that comes from nature. There is a such a treasure chest out there in every season, but particularly in spring when the natural world around us simply erupts into leafy greens and delicate blossoms, and it is all there for us to enjoy on a country walk or when driving through the countryside. I have a hard time resisting the urge to pick something up and bring it home, as I believe there is nothing as beautiful as what nature creates of its own accord, without being forced-grown or overproduced. The way in which flowers, plants and trees grow naturally is hard to replicate, and it is impossible to get them to grow as poetically as they do when left to their own devices. Many varieties of intricate white blossoms appear in spring, offset by the lushest spring green, and this purest of colour combinations will add freshness to any kind of setting in your home.

CENTRE STAGE.

Cow parsley has to be one of my best-loved wild flowers because it grows everywhere in early spring, swaying in the wind on tall, wiry stems.

fruit-blossom branches make a grand statement in the home as a large display on a side table

while a bouquet of early sweet peas gives life to any area.

Overleaf are wood anemones, my childhood favourite,

a blossoming branch, perfectly at home in a pure white jug.

summer

I am torn when it comes to summer. Part of me loves the lush greenery, summer flowers, large rosebushes and overgrown wild gardens where you are surrounded by tall, leafy trees, bushes, flowers and grass. Another part of me loves the desert with its vast landscape where you can see for miles, and where everything is dry and dusty, and punctuated by cactuses, sparse trees, scrubby bushes and tumbleweed. There is also something about the light and the smells in the desert that is so appealing to me, and I guess my soft spot for it is because of its stark contrast to the verdant summers in Sweden where I grew up.

DESERT DRAMA.

I am lucky enough to have a house in the south of France, where most summers are hot and dry. On my walks along the country lanes around my house, I always find dried flowers and bushes that remind me of the desert. Once brought home and set against the greyish walls and neutral linen textiles, they create an evocative desert vibe.

summer display

Creating a display can seem daunting if you don’t know where to start, so first decide what kind of effect you would like and what feeling you want it to evoke. Trust me, it need not be complicated. A display in your home can range from a simple and modest floral arrangement to something more eye-catching and oversized, or it can incorporate some of your favourite objects gathered on a small table, stool or bench. For a successful summer display, start by choosing nature as the centrepiece and then add other elements that will support your focal point in terms of colour, texture and shape. In your own home, anything is allowed and it is only you who can decide whether it looks right or wrong.

SUN-BLESSED SCENES.

Fennel grows wild in my garden in the south of France and every summer I bring in a large, tall bunch, as I love both its colour and aroma.

A simple still life of sun-bleached wood, dried hydrangeas and vintage shoe moulds creates a summery feeling.

Dried summer grasses have been tied to a wooden stick suspended on linen string to make a textural wall decoration.

Overblown and nearly dried echinacea flowers in a simple glass tumbler add a summertime look to a side-table display (below right).

TRAVEL TROPHIES.

I bring a lot of things home from my travels, most of which I have found along the road, on a walk or by the beach, such as these beautiful cactus skeletons, which sit perfectly in a tonal display with dried sea sponges and a vintage straw hat.

A wooden stool is used to display feathers gathered in hand-carved wooden vessels from Africa.

CUT AND DRIED.

Every second or third year, sunflowers are planted in the fields around our house in the south of France. It is one of the most beautiful sights, as they all stand so tall, facing the morning sun. There are always a few growing wild, too, and I am quick to pick them to add some of that bright sunshine yellow to my home. I don’t throw them away when they have dried out, since they look just as beautiful then as when they are in full bloom.

Displayed on a marble mantelpiece is a vintage glass vase filled with dried poppies found on one of our daily walks through the fields with our whippet, Felix. The hand-painted wooden goose was bought in a flea market on a work trip to Tucson, Arizona.

autumn