A Beautiful Airbnb Holiday Rental in Bergen, Norway

Are you planning on visiting Norway anytime soon? If so the beautiful west coast city of Bergen is a must - and I have just the place for you to stay! Located on one of Bergen's pretty narrow lanes which lead down to the waterfront, this historic three storey townhouse dates back to the 18th century and has been beautifully restored by Canadian-Bergen architect Todd Saunders. Airbnb guests are invited to relax in the open-plan, light-filled rooms, pad around on douglas spruce wood floors and enjoy the simple, predominantly white interior which is peppered with design pieces and this season's 'new neutral' tones. Sounds like my kind of holiday rental - how about you?! Let's take a peek!

What do you reckon? Could you imagine hanging out here for a few days?!

Funnily enough I'll be in Norway in a few weeks time since I'm holding a talk about Scandinavian design on a cruise ship (an all time first!). Perhaps I should jump ship for a few days and head down to Bergen? It's been years since I was there and now I have somewhere pretty to stay too!

Meet you there?!

If you're after a little more Norwegian inspiration today you must check out the cosy and relaxed home of a Norwegian blogger, a beautifully serene Norwegian space and a charming Norwegian home in green, grey and cognac.

Thank you so much to my blog friend Katarina Dima for discovering this little pearl of a holiday home!

Have a fabulous day all!

Niki

Photography courtesy of Airbnb with thanks

READ MORE...

10

A Colourful Retro 'Funkis' Home in Norway

Green and pink accents are popping up everywhere this year - which makes me so happy, since it's one of my favourite combinations - are you a fan too?  We've seen everything from the darkest green and emerald to sage green and soft grey-green combined with subtle powder and dusty rose hues. But the 'deco pink' and pea green scheme in this house in Søgne, South Norway brings something new to the scene.

Etsy is a great source for mid-century teak furniture*, Eames dowel leg chair*

Bambi and Heels print by Julie Pike. 

The house was built in 2011-2012 and designed with large windows to capitalise on the stunning views over the Langeneskilen sea. Camilla, Henning and their son Storm moved in on Christmas Eve, 2012. "It really is wonderful to live so close to the sea," Camilla tells me, "sometimes, when we're having supper we can see fish jumping! Our son Storm is also very fond of the sea and loves to catch crabs and fish."

Camilla is a big fan of retro furniture (teak being a favourite!), contemporary art, and Scandinavian design classics - and of course, colour. "I need lots of colour in my home, I don't feel comfortable otherwise. My favourite hues are pink, turquoise and mint," Camilla explains.

Contemporary Art by Anetmai

Interior designers often suggest adding an element of surprise to a room to really bring it to life and make it truly unique. In this room a beaded, flamingo door hanging does the trick (and looks great next to the retro storage unit!). 

"The flamingo wall hanging I bought in Croatia. I love pieces like that, and when I saw it, I knew it was meant for me! The colours of the flamingos are beautiful, and I think it's a fun piece to have in our living room. It will certainly be moved around the house!

This is a perfect example of how you can transform a neutral space with a few accessories and a statement piece. In Camilla's bathroom a mint coloured retro chest-of-drawers, salmon pink towels and a rattan plant pot add a fresh and vibrant feel. I love the seascape too!

Is there anything that you love in particular from this home? I'm already wondering where to use that deco pink!

You can check out more snapshots from Camilla's home on her instagram @rainbowfunkis - and for other inspiring colourful Scandinavian homes I'm loving: bright colours in a Danish home 
(also featuring Deco pink!), a Danish home full of vintage treasures and 12 child-friendly ideas from a happy family home in Berlin. Oh hang on - why don't I just give you the link to the entire bright colour homes archive - far easier!

I hope you enjoyed the tours!

Vi ses imorgon!

Niki

Photography by Camilla / @Rainbowfunkis shared with kind permission

READ MORE...

5

A Beautifully Pared-back Norwegian Hillside Home

I was thinking that it's been way to long since I featured a Norwegian home - and then this beautiful space popped up from nowhere (actually, it wasn't technically from nowhere - it's the fruits of an Avenue Design Studio trip to Norway late last year!). The house is located in Drammen, just south west of Oslo and belongs to design duo Kine and Kristoffer and their son Vilmer. Like their creative studio, the hillside house reflects their passion for sustainability and function as well as their penchant for a clean, Nordic aesthetic and eye for detail. Let's take a peek inside!

Although fairly minimalist the look has a lovely, relaxed feel thanks to the mix and match chairs around a Hay Loop Stand Table.  The light overhead is the Gubi Semi Pendant.

The U-shaped kitchen is a prototype of their own bean stained bamboo kitchen and the open shelving is also from the Ask og Eng collection.

Kine and Kristoffer exercise a lot of restraint when it comes to colour, preferring a neutral, monochrome scheme which draws heavily from nature. 

Upstairs the family of three have a second sitting room where they like to relax together.

The pair made the bespoke headboard from bamboo to create a warm and intimate feel in the bedroom. I also love how the reading lights have been hung from a central point in the ceiling.

The bed is covered in the Mega Dot Quilt by Hay. 

Vilmer's room has been painted in a gorgeous blue and white colour scheme (although I don't know the exact blue paint colour, it looks similar to the one in my stepson's room (S 7010-R90B Ambience by Nordsjö). My daughter has the same Apple Papple print by Fine Little Day in her room and tells all her secrets to him! Isn't he fab?! She also has the same tent! Source a similar one here. 

Thank you so much to Kine and Kristine for a virtual tour and to Holly and Hedda from Avenue Design Studio for the kind permission to share these lovely pictures. You can see more / read the full interview here.

What struck me the most about this home, is how beautiful each and every piece of furniture is. In the interview it says that the pair are careful to select items that are built to stand the test of time, and you can totally see this from the pictures.

Is there anything that stands out to you? 

For more Norwegian inspiration today don't miss this serene home looking out over a fjord,  this cosy and relaxed cottage and a magical mountain cabin! Gah! So lovely!

My sister's arriving from London tomorrow evening with my 2.5 year old and 6 month old niece in tow, so it's a hive of activity around here in preparation for the royal arrival. We're so excited!!

Have a lovely day!

Niki

Photography: © Avenue Design Studio

READ MORE...

7

Converted Stables Become a Dramatic Home Full of Contrast in Norway

It's Friday friends - JAAAAA! To wrap up the week I'm leading us all over to the dark side (mwah ha ha) on a virtual journey to an incredible maisonette in Oslo. Formerly a stables, the two floor apartment is owned by Nina (blogger behind Note to Self), her boyfriend Jørgen, baby boy Gustav, and cutest pup Ipa. When Nina's not sewing or working as a graphic designer, the pair are transforming the space (often on a minimum budget) into a dramatic family home full of contrast and delicious, warm, dark grey, chocolate and beige accents. Enjoy the tour!

The maisonette has an upside down layout with the entry, bathroom and bedroom on the ground floor and an open-plan kitchen, sitting room and dining area on the upper level. I thought we'd start with the cosiest zone of all - the sitting room!

The sitting room wall has been painted in NCS S 7002B which makes a wonderful contrast to the oak floors, plastered brick walls and a fluffy 70's style shaggy rug (from Layered). And just how cosy does that velour Madison sofa look? The Blind No5 print is by Danish artist Kristina Krogh (available here).

It's incredible what a difference vintage wood adds to a monochrome space. Pick up similar  Thonet-style bistro chairs here (gah! So beautiful!). Nina never quite got on with the original brickwork and so they decided to plaster over it.

"The plastering gave just the right, tactile texture the apartment needed. And the colour was perfect too, so there was no need to paint it."

Where would a Scandinavian kitchen be without a natural linen tablecloth?! So pretty (and it looks better un-ironed too). It's nearing lunchtime here and I'm sort of drooling over the cheese too!

All hale the Bollo chair by Norwegian designer Andreas Engesvik (I've got my eye on the pink one). 

Since the pair are currently renovating a house elsewhere right now (their future home), they didn't want to invest too much money on the apartment. Even so, they still managed to transform the kitchen from this...

 To this...

...on a limited budget!

 To achieve the new look they plastered the walls and painted them in NCS S 7002B, spray painted the cabinets in NSC S 8002B, replaced the thick laminate counter top, kitchen taps, sink (all HTH), added Borghamn handles from IKEA and spray painted the switches, sockets and cables. 

Quite incredible, and so inspiring to know what you can do on a limited budget, don't you think?!

When the pair moved in the stairs were a varnished yellow colour...

They painstakingly sanded them down before washing them with white pigmentation, and then painted the walls and doors the same colour as the sitting room. They also added the same oak floor. 

What an incredible transformation, don't you think?! I've been wondering what to do with my stairs (which are also tinged with an old yellow varnish) and now I may have found the answer - I just need to brace myself for the work (and warn Per!)!

Nina saved a load on a designer clothes rail by creating one from a 12 mm copper pipe, which she bent into shape using a wrench, lightly sand papered and then sprayed matt black! So clever! More info on her blog here. 

The dark tones are also carried through to the bedroom which give the room a wonderful cocoon like feel - and no doubt feels blissfully dark at night, even under the Norwegian midnight sun!

Another Scandinavian must - natural stonewashed linen bedding (it's that ironing thing again! Source similar here) - the unbleached material looks particularly lovely against the dark grey walls!

And this little chap feels right at home!

Thank you so much for inviting us into your beautiful home Nina, Jørgen, Gustav and Ipa! I for one, might be tempted into over to the dark side in my own home after all. Anyone else feeling inspired too?!

See more of Nina's home renovations, creations and recipes over on her fabulous blog Note to Self as well as on her instagram feed.

I can't resist leaving you with a few other links to enjoy over the weekend too:

f you're looking for more home tours on the dark side try a cosy cocoon-like Swedish home (also featured here) and dramatic green and grey in a Swedish home - actually, do you know what? I'm just going to go ahead and give you the link to the entire 'dark colours' archive! Way easier!

And now for one of my favourites. Conversions. Don't you love it when a home has history (like the stables in today's post)?! See everything from converted garages, warehouses, schools, shops and even a bar here!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Niki

PS This weekend I'm writing a guide to Malmö in which I'm hoping to cover off a load of the things I missed in my previous Malmö guide (and some of the new places that have popped up too) I'm so looking forward to my staycation! Look out for the guide soon.

All photography  © Nina / Note to Self

READ MORE...

7