This House Tour is a special one, Last August Katja and Minna's old rental was featured in a House Tour since then they've moved and are now homeowners, they also agreed to let us all in again!
Name: Katja and Minna (+ cat Lissu)
Location: Oulu, Finland
Square Footage: 699square feet + basement
Years Lived in: Two and half months
Rent or own: Own
Describe your style: Simple and comfortable with lots of second hand purchases.
Katja's Blog: Nestled In
What's your favorite free/found item?
We've recently been given some beautiful art as gifts so those definitely.
What's your favorite purchased item?
Right now the tiny sideboard/dresser thing that we have in our livingroom, it was a second hand purchase and we love the shape of it.
What has been your biggest obstacle in decorating/design?
Money and time! We've been working on a tiny budget to get this renovation done. When we bought this apartment in December last year we had to do quite a lot of renovating in quite a short time and with a seriously small budget. Thankfully Katja's father helped us with the renovation a lot - we couldn't have managed the kitchen and bathroom renovations without him!
Is your design style organic or planned?
When doing the renovation we obviously had to do some planning, but mostly it's just working with what we've got and trying to make the best of it. Also we like to do little changes here and there when the mood strikes, like changing the cushion covers, moving furniture around, etc.
What is your favorite spot in the house?
The livingroom! In the center, it feels like the heart of the house. Also, now that summer is almost here, the two tiny yards we have! We can't wait to start spending time there.
How has your style changed in the past 5 years?
Our decorating styles were quite different when we first met but living together has really made us find a new style together. I think our style is getting more simple and airy than it was before we met, before Minna was into more bulky furniture and Katja into more frilly and romantic things.
What is your favorite resource or store?
Thrift stores, relatives, Ikea, Etsy.
What is your biggest decorating/design pet peeve?
Those really huge houses they've been building everywhere in the past few years, it's not the most sustainable way to go.
What has been your favorite design trend?
Wallpaper! It's such an easy way to make a big impact. We had fun with it and went with quite cheery patterns and colors for our kitchen wall and office wall.
What is the biggest influence on your design/decorating style?
Blogs, Flickr, magazines, art, friends.
What in your home dictates how you design/decorate?
Our home is in a rowhouse building built in 1959 and the rooms are quite small. There's a small kitchen and a livingroom downstairs and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Like I said, the rooms are small, so just trying not to over crowd them is important.
What is the simplest thing you have done that has made the biggest impact?
Re-doing the kitchen and bathroom definitely made the biggest difference but maybe that's not so simple... I have to say paint. We painted most of the apartment with a nice light grey color, it's a good base for decorating and we wanted a change from the white we had in our previous home.
all photos courtesy of Katja and Minna.
I've been following the progress of Katja's home as she decorates and makes changes and I have loved to see the process of it all. I think the color palette is wonderfully calm and the additions of color such as the cushion covers and wall paper in the study make a great impact.
ReplyDeleteIts really so very well furnished with all kinds of accessories and funiture.It will be very great decision to work out with this.
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