A Norwegian House By A Fjord

A friend of mine visited Zanzibar a few weeks ago and told me she's found her special place. "It was something to do with the light, I can't really explain it, but it gave me so much energy," she said. I understood immediately. I feel the same about Norway. If you haven't been, it's a MUST - the scenery is magical! One family who get to enjoy the power of the nature daily is Eldrid, Martin and their little son Aron. The family live in a house overlooking one of Norway's most stunning fjords in Stranda in the SunnmØre region of Western Norway.  These snapshots from the main living room beautifully capture a home where nature is the order of the day - inside and out! 

"Soon the snow will melt, the waterfalls will make music again and the green beauty of the fjord will spring forth." - Eldrid

Could you imagine looking out over this fjord? The weather changing every five minutes as it rolls in off the North Sea - so dramatic!

We're going skiing in Hemsedal in early January - I can't wait! If you have any tips I'd love to hear them!

You can see more pics for Eldrid's cabin here and read more about the region here (I see you can ski there in the winter!)

Naturally I can't wrap up the post without sharing a few more inspiring Norwegian cabins with you! Here are a few I love: a magical Norwegian mountain cabin, a rustic Norwegian cabin hide-away and a cosy Norwegian ski chalet.

Where's your special place?

Niki

Photography: House By The Fjord shared with kind permission

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Lessons To Learn From A Colourful Yet Calm Norwegian Home

There's so much to love about the Norwegian home of interior stylist Rikke Bye-Andersen: from the colourful Scandinavian design furniture and pink accent walls to the contemporary art and tropical wallpaper. I caught up with Rikke to find out more.  Prepare to feel inspired to introduce more colour into your home, and still keep that beloved Scandi vibe alive!

Muuto Five Pouf*, Wing Back Chair*, Saucer pendant*

Have you always liked to have a lot of colour in your home?
I have always loved colour and am especially inspired by interiors from the UK and the US, I think they have that special touch of colour and a playful way of looking at interiors, rather than the minimalist white and grey associated with Norwegian style. I try to be a little different and am often complimented on the colours I choose for my furniture and walls.

I am not surprised, they are both cheerful and calming in equal measure! What is it about colour that you like? 
It's proven that colours make you happy and give you energy. For example, if you paint your kitchen yellow it will feel sunny everyday, and who doesn't want that feeling?!

As an interior stylist / designer, do you encourage your clients to use more colour?
In my work I like to inspire people to use more colour and go a little crazy. Not everything needs to match and be tone in tone - I think interiors should be more personal and fun. I also advise using colours that make you feel comfortable, but it's also good to think outside the box and not just follow what everyone else is doing in their homes.

Wishbone chairs*, Gubi pendant*

I spy a few Scandinavian beauties in your home - how does this fit with your scheme? 
I love to furnish my home with Scandinavian design pieces, but I tend to go for colourful fabrics so that they stand out a bit - like my Wing Chair by Hans. J. Wegner* in pink. I think I've only seen it in grey before! I'm not your typical Scandinavian minimalist.

Do you have colours you return to time and time again?

I am drawn to pastels and soft tones, these are hues I feel most comfortable with. I love green, so I have used a couple of different greens over the years. But pink is definitely my all time favourite, it's really warm, cosy and fun all at the same time - you can't go wrong with pink!

A lamp gras 204 wall light in red has been mounted over a round mirror* above a freestanding bathroom sink from Duravit. 

Finally, do you have any tips for anyone looking to introduce more colour? 
Have fun playing with colours, it is so easy to paint a room! And it's just a colour... much better to try out different tones instead of playing it safe with white or grey.

The bedroom is painted in Peignoir from Farrow & Ball.

In the hall, Rikke has teamed Alexandrie wallpaper from Pierre Frey with Teresa's Green paint by Farrow & Ball. A fabulous plum coloured door completes the look! 

Wow! I absolutely love this home.

If I were to introduce more colour into my own home (which I plan to in 2019 - wait, did I say that last year too?!) I'd like to think this would be my approach!

That hallway!

We need to be braver (could well be speaking for myself here!).

Did you find Rikke's home inspiring too?

It's totally worth checking out her wonderful blog and instagram for a load more pictures!

Other fabulous Norwegian homes include the cosy and relaxed home of a blogger, a charming Norwegian home in green, grey and cognac and a beautiful Norwegian home in summer time.

Have a lovely day!

Niki

Photography: Filippa Tredal 

PS After the revelations in yesterday's post (including Valentina's comment!) I couldn't resist holding an instagram stories poll to see how many of us nip into open house / property viewings for fun (with no intention to buy). It seems like we're way nosier than the average Swede with 71% of us taking it as an opportunity to take a peek! Funny!

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Peach and Rust tones in an Elegant Norwegian Home

This is definitely the year 'pink' got tough. Forget fluffy and romantic, it's all about the earthy, 'dirty' peach tones. And it goes beautifully with the chocolate and rust notes of Autumn. Take the beautiful home of Malin Antonsen as an example. Malin is an interior designer living in Oslo, Norway with a penchant for "decor, flowers and other pretty things that makes life better". She has recently given her walls a once over in one of my favourite shades: blushing peach - I'm excited to see it looks equally pretty in the sitting room as it does in the bedroom. The hue also provides a soft, yet atmospheric background for abstract art, design classics, in-season bouquets and shiny details! Step this way!

// affiliate links marked with *//

Sunset Vibes* print,  Padrera coffee table, Hay slit table

Flos light*, Gubi Beetle chairs, Tulip table*

Lyngby white vase*, Skultuna Lily candlestick

Blushing peach wall colour, IKEA mirror wardrobe, washed linen pillow case*

Pholc wall lamp*

I so enjoyed this tour. Malin's home strikes a wonderful balance between classic and elegant and everything that's hot right now. 

I might just have to nick the idea of the Pholc light by the bed (I don't actually have a reading lamp right now so there's definitely a lamp vacancy waiting to be filled, and this Swedish one is a beauty!).

Is there anything that caught your eye?

See more of Malin's lovely home on her blog. And continue soaking up the Norwegian vibe by taking a tour of a colourful retro funkis house, a relaxed artist's apartment in Oslo, the relaxed Norwegian apartment of Maja Hattvang. And of course - there were those four Norwegian bedrooms in yesterday's post! 

Have a wonderful day!

Niki

Photography courtesy of Malin Antonsen, shared with kind permission. 

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4 Cosy Autumnal Bedrooms in Norway

A competition with an aim to find Norway's finest bedroom? LOVING the sound of that, how about you?! As you can imagine, I've been following the competition like a hawk, and now the jury have narrowed it down to just four. Each of the finalists were invited to kit out their bedrooms with Høie of Scandinavia linens and blankets for the final round. No matter who wins, I'm feeling so inspired that bedding and blankets can add such an instant cosy, warm and inviting Autumn vibe. Here's a sneak peak of the final four.

1. Steffens' striking bedroom

 2. Manuella's light and airy bedroom

 3. Jorunn's classic / romantic bedroom

4. Kine's bedroom (see the complete home tour here)

How lovely! Do you have a favourite look?

Does this inspire you to update your bedding and add a few blankets in time for Autumn too?! I've got my eye on the chestnut bedding!

I originally found out about this competition through Katarina Dima, whose Norwegian bedroom I featured last week. Oh and this cabin in Bergen (available through Airbnb) also has me wanting to go back to bed!

Norwegians certainly know how to create the perfect boudoir, don't they?! 

Have a great start to the week - let's rock this one and it'll be time for a lie-in before we know it!

Niki

Photos courtesy of Høie of Scandinavia / KK.no

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A Delightfully Simple Norwegian Attic Bedroom

It's easy to spend months, even years scratching your head over a space - and the answer is often just to keep it simple! This beautiful bedroom in the attic of Katerina Dima's Norwegian summer cabin is a great example of this! The walls have been painted in a soft grey (Sommersne pure colour supermat from Jotun) creating a gentle contrast with the white wood panelling and the subtle black and brass accents add just enough detail to give the room a lived in touch. And of course, there's that linen!

White* and pale grey linen bedding* are designed to match the walls and ceiling behind. Also seen: Frama stool,  Pholc table lamp*, Aesop hand balm*. 

Katarina picked up the brass hooks from Lagerhaus. They are perfect since they don't require any drilling - and massively practical for hanging robes, bags and even a mirror!

Scandinavian simplicity at it's finest!

I hope this may have helped solved an interior conundrum you're facing or inspired you in some way!

Katerina is the master of grey and white bedrooms - this is her former boudoir in Oslo (also painted in Sommersne).

I seriously wouldn't mind a duvet day in either of these spaces right now, how about you?!

Tour more beautiful bedrooms here! 

Niki

Photography courtesy of Katerina Dima shared with kind permission.

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