This was a crazy 8 week summer holiday in Norway (we live in S. Korea but are based in Norway)! We have talked for awhile about selling our charming, cool little house because it is too small, but I haven't been ready to leave the area, all our friends, and this little house where my babies were born. But now the timing is right, so we bought a lovely house not far from our old house. It is from 1964 and retains some cool 60's details as well as being modern, open, light and unusual.
The Kitchen:
The kitchen is exactly what I would have chosen if it were me redesigning. My favorite feature are the handmade tiles from Fired Earth in my favorite color, sea green! The only thing I want to do is build a corner bench in the eating space. The kitchen is bright and cheerful and I want it to be a hangout place for us - long Sunday mornings with coffee and the newspaper, candlelight and good music playing!
I found these ideas as inspiration:
I am going to make the cushions in some fabulous Marimekko fabric - these I think:
The Garden:
The garden is the biggest project we have. As my uncle says, "you can't have everything in a house" and this house has a garden that is big, but also very rocky, has sloped plains, and quite shady. But my husband, being the gardening enthusiast that he is, is planning to rebuild the back patio by filling in the sloped parts and building a new wall and outdoor fireplace. He is also planning to create more grass areas in the front.
I found these images for inspiration:
This image is from Derviss Design in the US.
I love the curved bench here, although I think we would have a wall and not a bench. A low curved wall with and incorporated outdoor fireplace and built in spotlights would be great.
This is the feeling I want to create. A fun social place to gather with the fireplace roaring, good food, lovely wine and great conversation!
I love this space as well. We want to create a serene space with Asian inspired details. I love the edging and of course the pool here, I would love to have little fish swimming, but what to do with them in the freezing winter would be an issue :)
We don't move back until next summer, so plenty of time to plan, but I know I will be getting more and more impatient to move in and start our new life!
