Ina's Summer House Retreat

When the experienced interior architect Ina Janine Johnsen created her very own summer retreat on the east coast of Norway after many years of living abroad, she brought some rather foreign ideas back with her to the Norwegian seaside. The family kept coming back to their homeland for their summer holidays. Then, after having spent two weeks at eight different locations during one of their trips back home, Ina realised that the family desperately needed a place of their own. At the time, they were living in London, and while they had just had two little ones, they decided to take back the Norwegian summer.. Since then, they have all moved back to Oslo, and the cottage is now being used as a second home.  Today, the wooden buildings are painted in black, but the interiors look more like something out of a Cape Cod landscape, than a basic cabin from the fifties. Ina has also been inspired by American modernistic architecture while at the same time making use of the established Scandinavian tradition of building with wood. The active hostess, who is also a popular food blogger, has created a unique retreat which works on all levels for her family. And next to it, there is the little guest house of course. View feature

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The Blue Room

The owner of this classically decorated apartment in Oslo, lives for, with and off the arts. Her home has become the essence of style, with the knowledge, experience and fine art she has collected over the years. Besides being a representative for one of the UK's major auction houses in Norway, she has designed everything from cruise ships to hotels chalets and Royal rooms. It's an adventure to go exploring in this art experts’ home. From the elegant hall, open living room with light from two sides and a ringside seat to the Oslo Fjord and the Kiel ferry's approach. But if one takes the opposite way you are in the blue room, suddenly, with little over five meters to the ceiling! The 70 m² room appears as a gallery for fine antiques and art, as well as library and music room, but also as a perfect gathering place for friends and a large family. The mix of old and new, Norwegian, Swedish, French and Asian culture all testify to the owners' interests and travels... view feature

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Three Chords and the Truth

This phrase, coined as it was by a country musician, and later appropriated by the punk-scene is anything but the equivalent of simplicity as many take it to mean. On the contrary, it requires hard work, the ability to improvise, historical knowledge, and a whole bunch of will-power. It just looks and sounds simple. Like a good architect’s work. Walking from cabin to cabin between the rock-formations, and from room to room, it dawns on us that what the owners have created here isn’t just an updated version of the “summer-cabin”, but an alternate cabin-universe altogether... view feature Pin It Now!

Solstrand

If it were not for the Spanish flu, there wouldn’t have been a summerhouse here. In the years 1917-1920, thousands died in Norway as a result of this epidemic. As a special note of thank you for having cared for and saved a nearby landowner’s family, - Dr. Ringvold was allowed to pick whichever piece of land he wanted by the sea on the family’s property. He ended up with Solstrand, meaning sunny beach… This was the early part of the twentieth century in Norway, and having a vacation home surrounded by wild nature was just becoming fashionable. Forty years ago, the property changed hands, but the family who moved in, continued the tradition of mixing furniture and styles in imaginative ways. Covering the walls is a mix of fishing tackle and hardware, bathrobes and old sailor-paintings, and through the window he has an unobstructed view of the sea... view feature Pin It Now!