Fall for the warmth of this traditional Norwegian farmhouse

When Anne Grethe swapped her minimalist house in the Norwegian city of Trondheim for a much older, traditional farmhouse in the countryside, she found her own style peace

When this cosy traditional trønderlån farmhouse came up on the Norwegian property website finn.no, Anne Grethe and her partner Mats jumped in their car and went straight to see it. And before they knew it, they were the owners of a log house dating back to 1815. “It was so different from our current home in the city, which was in the minimalist funkis style,” explains Anne Grethe, “and even though it had been through many rounds of style and design changes, I had never felt satisfied.” Anne Grethe works as a stylist for Proaktiv and runs the brand Mio (@mioboligstyling).

There’s no doubt that the couple have found peace and happiness in their old farmhouse today. Every room feels like a warm embrace, thanks to its muted colour palette. “Considering our new home’s low ceiling height, we actually took a chance when we chose dark flooring with the timber walls,” says Anne Grethe, “but I love the warmth it provides.” Also contradictory to the advice of friends and family, the couple removed the boards and insulation to reveal the original timber walls. “Everyone told us that we’d freeze,” recalls Anne Grethe, “but the timber keeps the cold out even on the snowiest of days.”

The farmhouse was in good condition when the couple bought it, but they did decided to replace the kitchen and the bathrooms. “The bathrooms were a challenge,” says Anne Grethe. “The walls were so crooked that we couldn’t find a tiler prepared to touch them.” They ended up coating the walls with Jotun’s Lady Aqua paint, before painting with the brand’s Green Marble. “If I get bored of the colour, then I can just repaint,” she adds.

There is a sense of decadence that runs throughout the house, but then it is occupied by grown-ups only. The dining room has the same warm atmosphere as the rest of the house. The table is from Cascade and the chairs from Dan-Form. Soft rugs can be found in every room, including here. Anne Grethe loves lighting, and above the table hangs one of her oldest finds from MoooiIn.

On first glance, the interior of Anne Grethe and Mats’ home is about as far away from a traditional trønderlån-style farmhouse as you can get. But look closer and you can see more of the building’s past than you might have first thought. Many a trønderlån farmhouse today benefits from the additions made by several generations as housing standards improved, resulting in their long, thin shape; the rooms naturally flow from one into the next. Anne Grethe has enhanced this sense of flow through her choice of colours and materials, as well as a few design tricks and layout tweaks, making her farmhouse a home for the way we live today too.

At first, Anne Grethe was tempted to go for a pale-coloured kitchen, but decided on a dark wooden one, which retreats into its surroundings and enhances that sense of flow. At one end of the kitchen, you’ll find the cosy yet smart living room, which leads through to the dining room.

At the other end, the kitchen has a more casual breakfast nook. With the couple’s grown-up children visiting often, the first floor is home to the guest bedrooms and bathrooms. The couple also have three dogs, who just “love” country life.

In the main bedroom, pure comfort prevails – it measures 20 sqm, with dark carpet and plenty of luxury textiles. “We haven’t bothered with curtains though as we aren’t overlooked,” says Anne Grethe. “I love waking up and looking out over the fields.” In the bathroom, the rich green shade is combined with plenty of natural materials – the wash basins are made of stone and stand on black-stained oak units.

Anne Grethe does confess to being something of a “collector”, although she keeps to her cohesive palette and chooses objects related to other materials and colours in the house already. “As a stylist, I often use a few large objects rather than lots of smaller pieces. But in my own home, I’ve gone for many and large!” she laughs. “I need to have objects that speak to me, that have a history and life.”

Words & styling: Beate Aune/House of Pictures. Photography: Anne-LineBakken/House of Pictures.