It's a cover-up

Judges' choice - Leslie, formerly of Apartment Therapy

Here is the second installment of "Judges' Choice", where the judges from the My home, my way: Bemz competition (now closed), let us know which of the over 100 entries published (!), they liked the most. This one is from Leslie, a founding editor of Apartment Therapy San Francisco, who has now moved onto pastures greener:

"...this was so tough!

For me, it's a tie: I really like Sofia Nilsson's green sofas -- the color's perfect for the light and airy living room. And I'm sure that Beate Terrier's cat is not the only one to appreciate her comfortable chair -- what a great, cozy reading area.

Thanks so much for allowing us to do Judges' Choices!"

It is us who are thankful Leslie, and well done to Sofia and Beate!

How white is white?

Frida of popular Swedish design blog Husmusen and one of our esteemed judges from the recently completed the My home, my way: Bemz competition wants to buy a new cover from Bemz for her Goteborg sofa but can't decide on which.

She's torn between Raffia Soft White, Chenille- Soft White and Soft White in Belgian Linen/Panama Cotton. She needs your help. Visit her blog and let her know which you think she should go for!

Judges' choice

Following the success of the My home, my way: Bemz competition (now closed), we were talking about what worked and what we'd like to improve on for our next competition. One bit of feedback that we all agreed with was that the judges hands were a little too tied re: the final selection. There were a lot of really great entries and we'd like them to have a moment to shine too, so we asked the judges to let us know which, of the over 100 entries published (!), they liked the most.

Here's the first installment, from Elka of Casa Sugar:

"My personal favorite entry is Flore Vicaire’s customized sofa and pillows. I love that she made her own pillows, and they contrast so nicely with the pattern on the Bemz sofa cover. Overall the whole room is dreamy, and the Bemz sofas really provide the central inspiration for the whole look."

Thanks Elka, and well done Flore!

Meet the judges VII - Bemz's in-house designer

Our coverage of the judges for the My home, my way: Bemz competition would not be complete without our very own in-house designer, Katarina Wiklund.

 

Katarina chose this picture of herself because:
"Although this is an incredibly bad picture of myself, I chose it because it shows my new "favorite": the wallpaper by artist Elisabeth Westerlund. She makes house calls to analyze what she thinks will best suit your home with regards to colors and patterns. She then buys a variety of wallpapers that she uses in unconventional ways to best suit the room and wallpapers' new home. A mixture of art and interior design, permanent art as an integral part of the home." How cool is that?

Where are you from and where are you living now?
Hässelby, a suburb of Stockholm. Becoming more and more central.
Favorite toy as a child?
Lego. Especially the pieces that you used to make windows in the house.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hot spot in town?
Sofa, wine and friends.
Occupation?
Artist, designer.
Favorite designer or design piece?
None.
Urban minimalist or country romance?
Unfortunately both. Or rather a sloppy minimalist: I like the strictness of minimalism as well as the eclectic touch of country romance. There's something disturbing about interiors that are too premeditated.
Favorite brand?
Ikea, Bemz, mac.
Latest download to your MP3?
Elvis Presley's Christmas songs.
Best Christmas gift ever?
My canary called Klas.

Meet the judges VI - Apartment Therapy

Apartment Therapy's tag is saving the world, one room at a time like a kind of designer super hero. We all need one of those! Their mission: help people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by hooking homeowners up with local resources, along with some professional tips and guidance to boot. To ensure suitable resources were supplied, they've launched regional sites based out of New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC and Boston. Lucky us managed to coax Leslie, one of Apartment Therapy San Francisco's founding editors, to join our panel of judges responsible for choosing the winner of our My home, my way: Bemz competition.

Leslie and her sidekick, Lily the Wonder Dog

Where are you from and where are you living now?

I'm a native (Northern) Californian, and ended up back here in the Bay Area after stints in Washington State, Italy, and Greece. I've just recently moved onto a houseboat.
Favorite toy as a child?
Books.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hot spot in town?
Definitely a night in. I'm a homebody.
Occupation?
Writer / editor.
Aspirations for your blog?
I was one of the two founding editors of Apartment Therapy: San Francisco, and I always wanted it to be the "go to" source for anything regarding home design in the Bay Area and Pacific Northwest.

Photo thanks to conranandpartners.com

Favorite designer or design piece?
Terence Conran.
Urban minimalist or country romance?
Urban minimalist -- or beach house.
Favorite brand?
Does "flea market" count?
Latest download to your MP3?
Mix CDs that my sister made for me.
Best Christmas gift ever?
I'm such a non-techie that it makes me laugh to think it was either my first Mac or my TiVo. (I wish I could think of something more sentimental, but can't offhand -- and those two things changed my life.)

Meet the judges V - CasaSugar

We were thrilled that Elka of CasaSugar agreed to be on our panel of judges who will choose the ultimate winner of our My home, my way: Bemz competition. CasaSugar, as it says on the tin, is the part of Sugar Inc that addresses "one of the most influential parts of a woman's life: her home." With tips on how to modernize your home, easy DIY projects, focus on trends, as well as readers showing off their abodes and a guide to green living, we felt we'd found in Casa a kindred spirit. Home sweet home indeed (see what they are doing there?).

Elka holding her New Baroque- Chocolate Brown cushion cover designed by Katarina Wikund and made by Bemz.

This is what Elka had to say:
Where are you from and where are you living now?
I am from rural northern Wisconsin, close to Lake Superior. I now live in North Berkeley, CA.
Favorite toy as a child? Breyer’s Model Horses! They were the best. I spent all of my birthday money on them every year, and named them all.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hot spot in town?
Definitely the former-my tolerance for loud, bad music has gone way down!
Occupation? 
I am the editor of CasaSugar.
Aspirations for your blog?
I want everyone who reads my blog to be inspired to make their homes more beautiful, organized, functional, and personalized! I also hope people learn something new about gardening, design, and cool new products and trends in the residential design world every time they check the site.

Photos c/o www.allenpearce.com

Favorite designer or design piece?
My favorite designer of the past is probably Hans Wegner. My favorite designer of today is Alma Allen.
Urban minimalist or country romance?
I am definitely something other than these! More eco-boho-vintage-modern. 
Favorite brand?
Hmmm....Technics turntables come to mind. And le Crueset! Also, of course, as you can see from my photo, I am a big Bemz fan!
Latest download to your MP3?
Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje and the latest round of Will Shortz’s Sunday Puzzler (yes, I am a nerd).
Best Christmas gift ever?
The stable with the removable roof that my grandfather, a carpenter, built for me for my 11th birthday. It even had a paddock for my Breyer horses!

Meet the judges IV - Yvestown

Photo of Yvonne's dream garden spot, c/o Yvonne

We first came across Yvonne of Yvestown when she showed off her beautiful Bemz-covered sofa on flickr.

Yvonne blogs about her home and the things she loves. She is honest and sincere, has an eye for beautiful things and is happy to share them with us. Her blog is inspirational, her photos beautiful. We were really pleased when she agreed to be on our panel of judges for the My home, my way: Bemz competition, despite recently moving house (and countries!), her intense home renos, maintaining her blogs and online shop. This is what Yvonne had to say:
Where are you from and where are you living now?
I'm from the Netherlands, living in Belgium.
Favorite toy as a child?
Most definitely Barbie.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hot spot in town?
A night on the sofa with red port and House MD on the DVD player.
Occupation?
Photographer, writer and homemaker.
Aspirations for your blog?
To be able to blog about decorating again.
 
Favorite designer or design piece?
The Bull Chair by Hand J. Wegner.
Urban minimalist or country romance?
Country Romance with a twist of Urban Minimalist.
Favorite brand?
Cath Kidston.
Latest download to your MP3?
Giovanca - Subway Silence.
Photo c/o danish-furniture.com

Best Christmas gift ever?
A cream colored Kitchen Aid.

Meet the judges III - Husmusen

Husmusen is one of Sweden's largest interior blogs with over 16 000 30 500 unique readers a week. Started in 2005, it has received local, national and international press. Frida of husmusen started the blog when she was at university, working on her final paper which was about marketing at IKEA. The blog was her way of documenting her passion for design and interiors. Ikea? Passion for design? Swedish? The reasons for asking Frida to join our panel of judges for the My home, my way: Bemz competition are obvious. Find out more about Frida here:

Photo from scandinaviandesign.com

Where are you from and where are you living now?
I was born and raised in Umeå (in the very north of Sweden) where I still have my family and most of my friends, but since 2006 I am living in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Favorite toy as a child?
Oh, without a single doubt - that would definitely be my LEGO bricks.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hotspot in town?
It depends. Every second Saturday, I do either of.
Occupation?
Project Manager at Valentin&Byhr (one of Sweden's largest advertising agencies)

photo from scandinaviandesign.com
Aspirations for your blog?
To develop a blog (or, in my wildest dreams, even a web magazine) that can continue to be an inspiration source and an unpretentious hotspot for people who are genuinely interested in interior design, home decorating and modern crafting. Unfortunately too many of the already existing interior design magazines has become showy, exaggerated and ostentatious in their content. And they have lousy web portals. For me blogging is a perfect form to quickly share free information, inspiration, product news and smart design ideas on a level where all readers can “keep up” and be inspired, instead of feeling dejected because they don’t have all the foppish gadgets shown in all the glossy spreads.
Favorite designer or design piece?
I am very fond of the Danish design classics from Arne Jacobsen and Hans J. Wegner.
Urban minimalist or country romance?
Urban minimalist.
Favorite brand?
IKEA, not only because of the added value to their brand but for their lovely slogan “Home is the most important place in the world”.
I couldn’t agree more.
Latest download to your MP3?
A Christmas playlist, through Spotify.
Best Christmas gift ever?
I’m still waiting for it. On my wish list for this year is an engagement ring.

Meet the judges II - room & serve

Helena Karjalainen runs the Swedish blog room & serve, focused on design and travel. We asked Helena to be a judge in our My home, my way: Bemz competition as her blog is full of beautiful ideas and pictures. More importantly though, because she really captures Scandinavian trends and taste which is a big part of what drives us at Bemz.

Here's what Helena had to say:
Where are you from and where are you living now?
I was born in Helsinki, Finland. I now live in Eskilstuna, Sweden.
Favorite toy as a child?
A rag-doll that was as big as me. One day I dipped her in the bath and my rag-doll was no more.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hot spot in town?
Oh, absolutely a DVD and red wine.
Occupation?
I work as an Information Officer (PR manager) for an institution that monitors energy markets in Sweden.
Aspirations for your blog?
I have a really good day job doing what I was trained to do. I took up blogging as a hobby, one I really enjoy. Who knows? I am certainly open to suggestions!
Favorite designer or design piece?
I don't have one. The world is so full of beauty that I have not yet focused on one particular style or type of work.
Urban minimalist or country romance? 
A minimalist romantic in that case.
Favorite brand?
YSL skin care line.
Latest download to your MP3? 
A Swedish band called Weeping Willows.
Best Christmas gift ever?
I was extremely pleased with an impressive silver bracelet I was given from a boyfriend once.

Helena describes herself as a bit of a shop-a-holic, she loves the sales especially when she gets her hands on a great find, and saves money! She remains discriminating although her motto is "If they can knock enough off the price, I'll manage to squeeze it into my home."

Meet the judges I - Ikeahacker

Around the time of launch of the My home, my way: Bemz competition I promised to introduce you to our panel of independent judges. These people have been selected from among the world's best design and shelter blogs to assess the three entries most favored by our readers to help decide on the winner of the 5000 SEK* grand prize shopping spree at Bemz. Here's the first of seven installments, a little tête-à-tête with 'Jules' of Ikeahacker:

Where are you from and where are you living now?
Malaysia. Still living here.
Favorite toy as a child?
It was a hand sewn doll my mom made for me. I still have her.
A night in on the sofa with good wine and a DVD, or clubbing with friends at the latest hot spot in town?
Sofa, with Kahlua and a good book.
Occupation?
Copywriter. Blogger.
Aspirations for your blog?
World domination? :P I have many aspirations for it - Ikeahacker in other languages, more community interaction and sharing, to have invited guest writers. I would also love to do videos of Ikea hacker homes. 
Favorite designer or design piece? None.
Urban minimalist or country romance?
Urban minimalist.
Favorite brand?
Ikea, of course. I also like Sony - their phones, computers, gadgets.
Latest download to your MP3?
Wake up productive course.
Best Christmas gift ever?
A vacation in Bali.

The Ikeahacker blog is exactly what it says on the label: a place dedicated to sharing the wonderful, ingenious and inspirational ideas people come up with for adapting Ikea furniture to better suit their individual needs. As Bemz is all about individuality, personalization and mass customization, we've been keen fans of Ikeahacker from the start.

Click here to read more about Jules and Ikeahacker.

*5000 Swedish Crowns (SEK) is approximately equivalent to €500 / £400 / US$700 / CND$800. The actual value will be given at the exchange rate on the day of the draw.