Spring light

The changing of the seasons is always a time to bring changes in one’s life, work and surroundings. The urge in Spring is towards renewal, growth and regeneration; getting rid of the old, tired and cold to make room for the fresh and invigorating, new ideas and inspirations. 

This is the idea behind the notion of Spring cleaning and it is an essential factor in Spring interior design for the home. After the heavy, dark and sombre months of winter Spring brings a lightness to the world, both in terms of weight and illumination. Lightness should be the theme of any Spring room. Heavy fabrics and dark colours make way materials that are airy and minimal, such as sheer window treatments. Colours should also be paler hues that reflect and amplify light instead of absorbing it. Cool colours, airy patterns and floral themes will go a long way towards creating a spring feel and will hold up well through the summer months too. The key to spring decor is to bring as much nature indoors as possible, there are endless options as long as one keeps in mind the essential feel of Spring: light, bright, growing, and natural.

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Oslo colourful

Dagny Thurmann-Hoelseth is the creative director of Colourful, a Norwegian chain of stores selling their own brand of paints and wallpaper. Dagny is sitting by her kitchen table in her detached house in the heights just outside Oslo, where she lives with her husband Pål and her two lovely girls Stella and Indie. They just finished the house this spring, and moved in with all their colourful clothes and objects. The glamorous blogger, spokeswoman, TV personality and professional, refuses to accept BORING interiors. Some would describe that as a very un-Norwegian, rather unconventional thing to do in Norway; possibly even slightly American - but there you go, that’s Dagny! She has even given her own taste, or outlook on interior design, her very own term 'Scandinavian maximalism'. This is the way she has always preferred it. She cannot think of anything more depressing than grey, and wants people to feel happy upon entering her home... View interior feature

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In perfect isolation

Sitting at a table on the sun-bleached deck outside her home on the Norwegian island of Asmaløy, designer Ragnhild Wik is the picture of contentment. Her happy demeanour says it all, but it wasn’t always so – once she was a harried commuter in metropolitan Oslo. “For 14 years I worked in fashion design. My friend Linda Walsøe, whom I have known since we were students, and I would fantasise about starting our own business. Then the time was finally right, and we decided to create a range of porcelain that captured the style and nature of Norway.” When the pair launched Wik & Walsøe in 2007, it took only three years for them to become established as an international brand. But Wik found that she was still spending too long commuting from Oslo to the studio 60 miles south in Kråkerøy, so in 2009 with husband Vegard Øie and their son Lauritz, she set about finding a home in the area, part of a national park dominated by huge boulders sculpted smooth during the Ice Age... View interior feature

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On display

Intoxicated by the light and the magical evening glow in Hornbæk fishing village. Pia Dalgaard Saabye loves bright colours and great patterns - both in her work, textile printing and in her family home. "The best is when the apple tree outside our living room window pops out in May you see the light in the different rooms," says Pia, adding: "When the sun goes down the whole room takes on that very special evening glow - you are close to happiness and I'm really glad to have my textiles and art books on display." View interior feature

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Unique and ornate style

The Irish interior designer Orla Collins is justifiably well known for the richness and classical quality of her interiors, and this apartment in Kensington is a great example of her unique and ornate style. The dark, rich tones of the mahogany floor in the living area serve as a backdrop to the bright and colourful furniture, arranged around the fireplace. Mixing modern styles with vintage designs, the retro look is further enhanced by the 1960s style mirror on the mantelpiece and the bright red tulip design of the floor standing lamp. Luscious purple flowers – a trademark colour of Orla whose company is called Purple Designs – adorn the coffee table and dining tables. The private rooms are shamelessly opulent; with the rich dark tones of granite offsetting the lustrous steel and glass in the bathrooms, and luxurious bedspreads and sumptuous headboards dominating in the bedrooms. The kitchen is more modern and functional, yet still retaining a sleek and stylish look... View interior feature

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Riant Chateau

Riant Château is a luxury residence located in a unique setting facing Lake Geneva and the Alps, built by the famous architects Polak and Piollenc in 1912-1913 on the eve of the First World War. During the Roaring Twenties this ultra-modern attracted personalities linked to the world of cinema and originally included several large apartments for wealthy families and a cosmopolitan clientele seeking discretion. A renovation turned this former 20th Century palace in Montreux-Territet into apartments that still attracts many foreign followers of anonymity. Former hosts include Charlie Chaplin, Alain Delon and Freddie Mercury. The mysterious and invisible entrepreneur who lives here with his in-laws, between sky and lake, turned to the talented decorators Lyon and Dominique Herve Giughese to add the finishing touches to his penthouse apartment. Throughout the day in this beautiful residence with its pure white décor, the changing light brings different contrasts to the pieces, giving an extra life to the choice of the simply furnished with tones of baroque. The light and shadows, sitting on a large roof terrace with the cry of gulls, the sound of the wind, the house offers a variety of environments outside of time... View interior feature

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A choice of colours

The first thing they did when moving into their new Oslo apartment, was to paint it all white… ‘We were in such a great hurry with our move, as we were expecting our son Otto to be born any day, and so he arrived the day after we got our keys.’ says Synne Skjulstad. As soon as they had got used to their new arrival and their ever so ‘nice’ nest to bring him up in, they got out their paints and wanted to play…  They started off with a bucket of glossy signal-red oil paint and dressed the hallway with built in storage solutions and shelves. Then they moved on to a patch of bright yellow in their Amish dove grey kitchen. These two colour choices and the dominant painting in the sitting room led them to an acute stop in their process. The solution came when trying to ‘’keep up with the Jones’s’’. When at the home of their architect-neighbours Andreas Joyce Nygaard and Heidi Pettersvold they started thinking of their home as having the look of a boring council office! So they asked their neighbours for help with the rest of the colour chart... View interior feature

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