The Yellow House in the Apple Garden

The house is surrounded by a large garden with fruit trees and is located in Voldsløkka, a central area in Oslo, Norway.

It was built in 1950, was not architecturally distinctive and was outdated inside on all levels. Right after purchasing the house, there was a construction halt in the area. This means no building, tearing down or rebuilding was allowed. So the task was to transform the interior and change the quality of the exterior. The outer structure of the house had to remain.

The extended conservatory was incorporated into the large open space on the first floor, which consists of the living room, TV room, and kitchen. A couple of beautiful rounded ash steps lead down from the kitchen to the conservatory, where the ceiling height is almost four meters. It reinforces the airy impression throughout the floor. The conservatory also blurs the boundary between indoors and outdoors.

The house had low ceilings and many small rooms. We aimed to open up the space between the rooms as much as possible, utilize the area, and maximize the ceiling height. In the first floor, this resulted in exposed ceiling beams.

High-end materials were used throughout. The kitchen and dining bench is custom-made from solid ash by Hamran. All appliances are Gaggenau.

The owners had some art from before. Additional art was also curated during the process. Much to our delight, they fit perfectly into the color palette and were the finishing touches that made the project complete.

When the house was bought, the owners envisioned painting some walls, moving the kitchen, and building two new bathrooms. Over time, things naturally escalated, resulting in a complete change of absolutely everything.

All the furniture was bought new, with specially adapted textiles from Kvadrat. We have mixed both new design and classics among the furnitures. Various types of wood and expressions have been chosen in the interior, which makes the whole of the home unpredictable and interesting.

The contractor's work was also of high quality; nothing was left to chance. Much of the planning came together along the way as the project expanded in scope.

On the second floor, we opened all the way up through the attic, so the ceiling height at the highest point is over three and a half meters.

Small mezzanines were built in both the children's rooms to utilize the height for more space. One of the staircases leading to the mezzanine is also a cabinet, with drawers and shelves in all directions.

The tiles in the bathroom are from Topcer, with rounded corners. A nightmare for the tiler, a dream result in the end.

All three bedrooms and the large bathroom have skylights.

The colors in the rooms were based on the homeowners' personal preferences. We started with colors the homeowner had "always" liked and chose them in slightly dirty shades. We continued to build on the palette with accent and contrast colors. Our goal was to create a colorful and harmonious palette that could be perceived as timeless, because it is personal.

The wall rugs / wool reliefs are custom made to the project, by us. They are also available at the Shop.

In the basement we find a combined bathroom and laundry room. A washing machine, tumble dryer and drying cabinet are hidden behind sliding doors. All the furnitures are custom made by the carpenters. All the sinks and the bathtub is in recycled and recyclable material by Durat.

The sofa in the basement living room is designed so that it can also be used as a guest bed. Underneath the bed are huge drawers for extra storage.

The floors are ash from Dinesen. The floorboards are a mixture of 250 mm and 350 mm width. All the planks are first hand-picked at Dinesen, then sorted in the house once more, and tried out like a puzzle before they were finally laid.

The tiled fireplace has been rebuilt and is the jewel in the open family room. The tiles are from Kaufmann tiles and shine warmly, regardless of whether there is a fire in the fireplace or not.

Photos by Magnus Nordstrand

All interiors and styling by Kvistad