The most important thing for me while decorating an apartment is taking my time. This is our 4th apartment in 11 years and the second one we bought. (In Norway you buy, reside a while, improve/renovate and sell. Then you buy bigger, nicer, and so on, until you hopefully land the property of your dreams, at least within your financial range.) I studied for a long time and now it´s my husband turn to break through as a designer, meaning we´ve been living on a tight or semi-tight budget for many years. At the same time, both of us have a strong need to surround ourselves with beautiful things, so we don´t want to compromise too much when it comes to quality. We bought too many crappy Ikea things that broke and ended up in the trash, so now it´s either design, vintage or inherited stuff. My recipe for an original interior is as such: you need a couple of beautiful and sturdy pieces of furniture, like a leather recliner, a dining table and chairs, a coffee table and a sideboard, a couple of artsy pictures and lots of fond memories (shells and sand or small candle holders and figurines). Throw in a beautiful kelim rug and a couple of gracious pets! Voilà!;-)
The rest you can get along the way, from flea markets, discount stores or second hand designer shops. 😉 We haven´t been able to keep the same couch since the cats have scratched it or it has turned soggy, but next year´s treat is a big, comfy designer couch from Andreas Engesvik!
What do you think?
xxx, Alina
life in a bubble 
It looks lovely, warm, like a home should feel 🙂
thank you!:-)
I think your apartment looks like a real home, one to keep you warm and comfortable (mentally as well) no matter the weather outside. It`s one of those places where I`d take lots of photos to capture not only the shape, texture and colour of things, but especially the way all these reflect the nature of those living in it. I love it!
Oh, you made my day!;-) come visit! We have a spare room!;-)
Even if we stay elsewhere, you can be sure I will definitely love to meet for a coffee / brunch / dinner / drinks at one of the many nice places you know in the city or at your comfy place for me to take the above mentioned photos! :))
Forgot to mention that when it comes to homes, the most important elements to me are: wooden floor, big windows, neutral tones, a solid wooden dining table with a very rough & natural look and, my obsession for some time, the typical Parisian duo made of an elegant, vintage looking mirror set agains the wall and, at the same time, placed on a fireplace or a cupboard. I guess it will be a cupboard in my case. 🙂
For my part it´s crucial to have wooden floors, big windows, a fireplace and a balcony. We do have big windows, a fireplace, wooden floor in the kitchen and hopefully underneath the parquet in the other rooms. No balcony, though..:-/ And the fireplace is not a traditional one and on top of it it´s in the kitchen, but hey, we can´t complain!;-) I do have 2 vintage mirrors and I´m selling one of them, I´ll blog about it one of these days, 50 euros only. 😉
Yes, I fully agree with the balcony, especially when living in Northern Europe and you want to benefit immediately of each ray of sunshine that might happen to appear through the clouds. A balcony is vital for me as well and it needs to be positioned on the South. 🙂 That being said, looking fwd to see the mirror!