Think soft simplicity. Paint the walls the same colour—one that’s easy on the eyes and Earth-toney like this blush pink. Accent with one or two neutral colours and mix in a lone eye-catcher, too. Create a close-to-nature feeling with live plants and natural, renewable materials like solid pine, birch plywood, seagrass and jute.

Create calm unity by showing off the wall paint behind your storage. Matching open shelving does the trick, and you can use wall shelves in corners and above windows. Group together your most precious items as focal points. Declutter whatever else you want on hand but out of sight with boxes. For extra harmony, keep everything to similar colours and shelve books with pages facing out. Tech? Put it all away.

Surround yourself with nature’s own stress relief. Houseplants not only purify the air and generate oxygen, they also add colour, texture and depth. Frame a window with hanging planters above, plant pots below and a few sprigs or air plants tied across. Flowering plants are lovely, of course, but we went for the ease of mostly greenery.

Get that sitting around a campfire vibe with low, flexible furniture. An unconventional rocking chair with great ‘curl-uppability’ can replace the space-consuming sofa. Laze around on a rug with soft throws and lots of large, comfy cushions. (We sewed on fabric loops for hook-friendly storage.) Stackable stools can double as side tables.

We love to see our customers get creative with our products. Go for it! But please note that altering or modifying IKEA products so they can no longer be re-sold or used for their original purpose, means the IKEA commercial guarantees and your right to return the products will be lost.

Made by

Interior designer: Elin Stierna
Photographer: Andrea Papini
Writer: Fredrik Cederholm/Marissa Frayer