About Mel

Mel Chesneau_Styled Canvas

Photo credit: Larnie Nicolson

Design a life you love

Welcome to Styled Canvas, an award winning international interior and lifestyle blog now based in Stockholm, Sweden.

I started this blog in July 2012 as a creative output. I had not long moved to Auckland NZ, from my hometown of Sydney Australia, with my French husband and our two beautiful boys. Soon after we had our third child, a divine little girl.

Motherhood kept me very busy and content but I also had this yearning to be creative and write, so my fourth baby – this blog – was born. Little did I know what a journey it would take me on. I since have begun a freelance writing career, my home has been featured in an interior magazine, along with a major international design blog, and while I was living in Auckland, I had a regular style column with New Zealand’s most distributed interior magazine.

With a huge passion for interiors it was a natural step for me to set this as my main topic. To me, having a space that you feel happy to come home to and that you’re proud of is great for the soul. This doesn’t mean that you have to go out and spend a fortune decorating it. It’s about gradually building your collection of things that you love and that will stand the test of time representing who you are and your life’s story.

I am a lover of so many different styled interiors, from the mid-century classic, to the eclectic or Nordic cool. My all time favourite style is the mix of everything – what the French call, “Bobo” (bourgeois bohemian). To me a mid century chair looks great beside an antique cabinet, as does a flea market art find from an unknown artist that’s hung next to a collectable artist, and let’s not forget a designer lamp on a distressed table.

On Styled Canvas, I hunt down and dream about beautiful things for my home (or yours), style and restyle what I already have and, of course, reflect on life, sharing some personal experiences.

I also tell the story of other people. It might be of their home or business, of makers, bloggers, and friends. I’ll cook for you and people for me. I’ll visit interior stores, cafes and restaurants. I’ll even throw in some travel stories.

This blog is about life being our blank canvas, so I say, let’s style it well.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Mel x

P.S. You can also find me on Instagram, Pinterest, FacebookTwitter and sign up to my newsletter here.

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Mel Chesneau