Social Nesting

ONE DESIGN DAY IN REYKJAVIK

Limited time in this stylish Icelandic capital? Tackle a design journey with our curated list of where to buy or just be inspired…

This year was peppered with a few marvellous adventures, and we realized we really hadn’t shared the love for the design journeys we experienced.

Early this year, Iceland took our breath away. From the intriguing natural landscapes with a desolate lunar-surface appeal, to the most incredible palette of homes in the capital, this place ticks a lot of inspirational design boxes.

We love following a design guide as much as we love making one, but there wasn’t one on Reykjavik that quite met the Social Nesting criteria. On top of the most glorious of bakeries (Braud & Co) and coffee, Reykjavik held a handful of brilliant design shops that are easily doable in a day and all of these are Social Nesting loved and approved.

Scintilla – Laugavegi 40, 101 Reykjavík

Never have we fallen so hard for the unexpected palette of pinks, yellows, mints and blacks. This design studio applies their unique aesthetic to fabulous textiles and art for instant pop-at-home appeal.

Geysir Heima – Skólavörðustígur 12, 101 Reykjavík

Part of the grander family of department stores, the standalone home store from the Geysir chain packs original and quirky design choices with covetable staples. Divine.

Magnolia – Design – Skólavörðustíg 38, 101 Reykjavík

Super-chic and packed with decadent touches in muted tones, it will be hard to leave without buying.

Mun – Barónsstígur 27, 101 Reykjavík

We defy you not to snap a selfie in the oversized teardrop mirrors or be dazzled by the original works of design and inner-child-appealing bedding and textiles.

MYCONCEPTSTORE – 45 Laugavegur, 101 Reykjavík

From the place to pick up your Crosley turntable or bottle of Molecule 1 to some lesser know but covetable brands of homeware and beauty products, enter this cave of cool for a wander that will leave you wanting.

Kaolin Keramik Galleri – Skólavörðustígur 5, 101 Reykjavík

We are super-suckers for ceramics, and Kaolin was a candyland for us. Stocked with the works of a handful of Icelandic ceramicists this place offers every style from cheery to beyond-chic.

Tags: decor, decor shops, design, design guide, Geysir, Geysir Heima, Iceland, Iceland design guide, Kaolin Keramik, Magnolia, Mun, MYCONCEPTSTORE, Reykjavik, Reykjavik design guide, Scintilla, shopping Category love'it&covet |

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NOT FORGOTTEN TREASURES

Crispy, chewy and painfully more-ish, these meringue mouthfuls don’t last long at Social Nesting HQ (and are a welcome way with leftover egg whites)…

We were first introduced to Forgotten Cookies by a dear friend and editor who sold them as ever so simple to make. As she had never (and still hasn’t) steered us wrong, the first try at making these opened a floodgate for our go-to solution to having extra egg whites.
For we definitely aren’t the egg-white omelette types… surprise, surprise.

We use this recipe, but substitute regular granulated sugar for the golden caster sugar it demands and we use chopped walnuts in place of pecans.

A few things to note:
– Only use dark chocolate – these are very sweet, so dark chocolate is a good offset.
– Lightly toast and cool the nuts you use so they are as dry as possible – natural oils and moisture are not good for meringues.
– Try eating one and walking away. You will fail.

Enjoy!

Tags: Forgotten Cookies, meringue, meringue cookies, recipe Category bowl&spoon |

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FUN PURCHASE ALERT: POLYKATOIKIA

Another fun purchase finally finds a home (and a sexy new friend) on the walls of Social Nesting HQ, and just in time for summer…

When I spotted this pair on Etsy, I could not resist falling in love.
These boys are adorable, a little reflective of the Social Nesting team (notice how one is looking at the other like: “Gurrllll…”), and so sweetly made by embroidered portrait and textile artist shop Polykatoikia.

But like much of our collection, it takes a while to get any new art purchase up.

The natural fit was alongside this gorgeous seaside goddess we got from Zara Home a couple of years ago. She does look lonely, and who couldn’t use a couple of beach buddies.

So to make her feel a bit special, they were positioned to give her the eye (and wouldn’t you in that polka-dot halter one-piece? Hubbah Hubbah!)…

…but (like the SN Team) in a totally non-sexual way and with only admiration and not a trace of lust.

And now they are one big happy wall-adorning family having a beach blanket Babylon of a good time.

Tags: design purchase, dolls, Etsy, fabric dolls, Polykatoikia Category love'it&covet, needle&thread |

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FUN ARTIST ALERT: RADRIGUEZ

The toughest thing about starting Christmas shopping in July (we pride ourselves on that) is waiting to give (and to talk about) the shopping discoveries. One of this years was a print from artist Radriguez.

While lovely, there is an overtness to his general catalogue of work that can (and should) be celebrated in some milieus, but maybe not here. And thus we are not providing a link as, well, we wouldn’t want more sensitive followers to face something they might not feel comfortable seeing.
If you are an adult, and you are interested, you will find a way to see the work of this charming artist.

But this print (also his main branding image) was too downright adorable to ignore. So when it came – perfectly packaged and full of fun (if not very graphic) stickers – I was excited to share, but had to wait until it was gifted.

Part of the gift was the framing, and we are fans of simple framing, but there was something about the tones of this print plus a plain black frame that wasn’t enough.