The Beat That My Heart Skipped – A blog dedicated to daily design inspirations. By Rohini Wahi.

For anyone who noticed – I missed a post scheduling  on Friday, so here it is…

One of my very first shoots in this industry when I began as an assistant – was a fabrics shoot of sorts for Elle Decoration. Various fabrics were made into cushions and displayed in wonderful ways. There was one particular fabric I remember having to track down all week, one with a strange sounding name, we looked all over London [it was a lot more exclusive back then] and finally found it.

When I saw this elusive fabric at the shoot, all sewn and prepared in the form of a giant cushion, I remember being taken aback that something so naive and fairytale-like existed and was revered in an industry which I obviously didn’t fully understand as yet. It was of course the now very famous green Celotocaulis beanstalk print fabric. I obviously loved it, with my penchant for the magical, but was stunned that others did too.

I think what that shoot taught me not to be afraid of bold moves. Seeing this explosion of fabrics and patterns in Svenskt Tenn’s Stockholm shop really reinforces that. All these friendly, storybook fabrics were someone’s bold move and are now loved the world over [however out of them all, I think the beanstalk fabric will always be my favourite]!

images courtesy of Flickr.

Utterly sweet products from Karin Erkisson’s light filled studio shop Manos in Sweden – where she curates products she loves from other artists as well as her own collection.

For those of us who can’t make it to her sublime shop in in Solna, Sweden – we can shop her lovely collection online.

Oh, my. Who doesn’t want a piece of this action?

Sweden’s oldest mountain hotel, the 1,700-acre Fjällnäs Reserve, was built in 1882 as a retreat for Swedish royalty to experience the majesty of what Fjällnäs calls ‘the eight seasons.’ [I really recommend clicking that link].

Situated on the Arctic Circle, the last stop before the Norwegian border, the hotel is surrounded by a stark landscape of birch forests and barren mountain peaks. Rooms feature slate and scrubbed pine surfaces and are simply outfitted in white linens, sheepskin pillows and throws, and Josef Frank fabrics.

How lovely are these living areas? They are certainly no imitation of ‘Scandi Chic’ – this is what I love about Scandinavian design, its pure response to the environment around it. No pretence, just practical, cosy, sturdy and simple elements.

Just imagine staring out into those woods from those wide and generous windows – a retreat in the purest form of the word.

The Rio cinema in Stockholm Sweden was originally designed by Albin Stark in the 1940’s, but has recently been injected with new life by Design studio 1:2:3 and Kristoffer Sundin.

The new glittering concept echoes the original design of the 1940’s cinema whilst accommodating the venue’s events programme of seminars, theatre, art installations and musical performances.

The spaces are designed in such a way that modular furniture can be re-arranged and pendant lights can be gathered together in clusters, allowing the areas to be reconfigured to house various activities. During the day the cinema functions as a café.

My initial thoughts on seeing this sublime theatre was that the bygone concept had the qualities of a location in a dark and cinematic Baz Luhrmann film – don’t you think?