My name is Helene and I am a trained nurse. I am originally from Jæren, on the West-Coast of Norway, but have lived in Kristiansand for seven years. I have two children, Charlie which is 3,5 years old and Aurelius that is 1 years old.

Our house was finished in February 2020 and it was designed by Novo Architects. I have designed everything inside of our house and chosen the materials. We had a strong focus on quality in the materials and most of them are local. We wanted a house that we could grow old in, where all we need is on the first floor with bigger and fewer rooms instead of many smaller rooms.

The house is a bit out of the ordinary. There is an open solution upstairs with glass windows looking down on the kitchen. This also creates a higher ceiling in the kitchen area which opens the room up towards the beautiful view outside. We also wanted a house that was both esthetically pretty and practical. Our lot has the shape of a triangle, so our house is designed perfectly to utilize the space. The exterior is cedar tree and bricks which is chosen because of its low maintenance and the nice look, especially combined.

My goal for this house was to create a calm place with exciting textures from different materials. I wanted to keep the colours neutral so that the materials and the various shapes would get the attention it deserves. Akupanels made of oak together with bricks breaks with the smooth plaster walls and creates a contrasting expression. Akupanels plays a key role in the interior and is continuous for the house. It is timeless and durable, and would probably look as good now as in 15 years.

To see how the materials would fit together I have created different mood boards so I could try to see the entirety. It was important to me to have a common thread throughout the house. I get a lot of inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest, and also from our stunning nature and interior magazines. I have been lying down many evenings just scrolling through endless of photos gathering ideas.

When it comes to the flooring our priority was a wood floor. The nice and warm feeling you get when walking on a wooden floor was important for us. There will always be some small scratches with wood floors over time, but at the same time, it makes it feel alive, especially in comparison to Laminate. We wanted a light floor, but not too white and not too yellow. With this floor we have gotten the perfect in-between. Wide and long planks were a key for us to achieve that wow factor. A nice floor was probably one of the things that were highest on our wish list.

The floor we chose is Oak Traditional white, Chaletino and we fell for it immediately in the store. We did check other colours as well, but we always came back to this. We also got very good advice from BOEN before making the final decision. The floor is glued down to the subfloor, which I really like. It can continue all over the house in every room without needing any doorstep, which creates a great flow. To me this is the icing on the cake.