i stayed in a wonderful apartment in stockholm last week with my travelling companion katie (confessions of a design geek) which we found through airbnb, a global network of accomodations offered by locals. airbnb provides a community marketplace for you to list, discover, and book unique spaces around the world, and with listings in over 18,000 cities and 186 countries, you’re sure to find something inspiring!

the apartment we chose was in central stockholm, just north of the main train station, and ideally located for our trip. we were met on arrival by the apartment’s delightful owner who happily showed us around her beautiful bijou home, and offered us fantastic tips on where to dine locally. her recommendation was spot-on, and we enjoyed a wonderfully traditional first night meal of pickled herring, reindeer pate and dark rye bread followed by moose burgers, all washed down with cinnamon spiced swedish cider. we’d also been left a bottle of vin glögg in the apartment which was just what we needed after braving the -10 temperatures outside, with instructions that it must be accompanied by a few pepparkakor biscuits (which are deliciously moreish!)

for all my concerns that i would freeze to death in stockholm the apartment was perfectly heated, and beautifully decorated to boot; scandi meets oriental minimalism with a delightful splash of colour to warm the blond wood canvas. it was wonderful to have our own space to kick back and relax in (especially after a long day scouring the exhibition halls) and really feel like we were experiencing the city from a local’s perspective.

in an ideal world, i would have loved to have spent an extra few days there, soaking up the culture and tasting more of the fabulous local cuisine!