Dutch Design - Creative and Colorful!

Check out these canvas cotton prints from Gnitfee

Hey friends, it’s so nice to be here with you today after a bit of a break since I took time away from blogging to travel with my family. Don’t worry, for those of you paying for a subscription, I’ll extend you for free for THREE months as a way to thank you for being here and enduring my absence.

Let’s talk about decor - the reason you’re all here in the first place! Color and a nod to the bohemian days of design (60s/70s) is still a big trend over here in Europe, especially in The Netherlands - you see fun mixes of color in furniture, art, wall paint, and in pottery, prints, and throw rugs. Also fashion - the Dutch seem to love to mix and match patterns and colors - as well as mixing vintage with new, modern pieces.

When I came across Gnitfee a few days ago, a Dutch brand producing mainly cotton canvas prints (and some throw pillows), I knew I had to share them with you since they feel fresh and on trend. I know you love design as I do, so you may fancy them too. I find many of their patterns and designs timeless, so they’re something you can imagine displaying and enjoying for years and years, rotating them in and out of your interiors as you see fit.

I discovered this label in person - not on Instagram - at Laif & Nuver in Groningen, NL while on my second vacation this summer - our first trip was to the alps in Austria and the second, to northern Germany near the the Dutch border which meant a day trip to Groningen. What an unexpected gem of a city for art and design! I’ll definitely return to this charming city.

After visiting the usual haunts like Dille & Camille and Sissy Boy, and of course the Groningen art museum, I made my way to the very Insta-friendly and impressive interior decor paradise/shop Laif & Nuver (which I did originally find on IG). It was there that I noticed many colorful, quirky and fun framed prints on the wall - so I simply had to learn more because I really liked the offbeat and fun color combinations - so unexpected.

As I made my way to the cash desk to inquire, I stumbled across an entire table dedicated to Gnitfee with a stack of business cards. Mission accomplished! I grabbed a card for future research so the brand could eventually end up here on my Substack (wink), so here we are only days later.

Gnitfee is a Dutch art poster brand made up of mostly high quality prints on cotton canvas using environmentally-friendly ink. Unlike regular paper, cotton canvas has texture so they can be framed or clipped to the wall since they are both smooth and stiff at the same time which allows the print to fall naturally without curling/rolling up.

I don’t have an art wall any longer, visually it made me feel chaotic and I also felt having one dated my interior, so I went towards a more restricted, edited mix of art and prints in my home with showing only a few here and there.

I also have some artwork leaning against the wall on cabinets which are easy to rotate in and out.

I believe that art walls (aka “gallery walls") with 6+ pieces had their day, don’t you? I prefer to let that home trend rest for a bit before it fires back up again as trends always tend to do in the world of design - here today, gone the next, then back again.

These days, I like to keep art groupings to 5 or less or stick to pairs, a single print, or a selection of 3 or 5 pieces max. I like to mix art with objects like small mirrors, mini ceramics, something special from a flea market that can be placed on a wall, etc.

What do you think? Can you imagine adding any of these to your home? Do you like prints or originals? Do you have a dedicated art wall or do you prefer just displaying one or two prints on a wall?

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Holly

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