Simone Isaksen and her boyfriend Per-Aksel live in the village of Storslett in northern Norway. Six years ago, when she bought her house, Simone saw the potential in the late 70s home. The house was a good deal, charming, centrally located and she was especially attracted to the big windows in the living room. This last feature is even more important when you live in an area where autumn is marked by rapidly shortening days, the wettest season of the year, and which includes the first half of winter and mørketiden – the dark time – from around October through January.

Their home has three bedrooms (one of which Simone has been able to turn into a walk-in closet) as well as a downstairs apartment that they rent out. This added revenue facilitated Simone’s ability to follow her dream of opening a home goods store, Lykkehjornet (which means “Happy Corner” in English), which she feels is “the best job in the world!” One of the best parts of the house is the fact that it’s close to Simone’s shop, and anywhere else she needs to go — to the point that the couple doesn’t need to have a car. Ideal for Simone, because she still hasn’t gotten her driver’s license!

While some of us may initially visualize Norwegian style as being filled with minimalism, neutrals, and bleached wood, Simone’s home proves that not everyone adheres to that same look. Every corner of Simone and Per-Aksel’s home is fun, happy and energizing. It feels like the perfect answer to any creativity blocks you could possibly be feeling. The couple has worked hard to be budget-savvy with their updates and to banish white wherever they can. Their two cats Lilly and Sophie are perfectly at home in their colorful respite. —Rebekah

Photography by Simone Isaksen

SOURCE LIST

Living Room

-sofa: IKEA

-sofa cover: Bemz

-coffee table and chair: vintage

Dining Room

-bench: from Simone’s shop

-table: hand-me-down from Simone’s mom

-chairs: vintage

-black chair: Masters, Kartell

-vase from Simone’s shop, by Kahler Design

-wallpaper: Etsy

Hallway

-wallpaper: Flamingo Club

Stairway

-artwork: Lisa Love

Bedroom

-wallpaper: Cole & Son wallpaper, “Palm Jungle”

-side table: leca blocks

1/15 Most of Simone and Per-Aksel's furniture are formerly-loved pieces from family that they happily incorporated into their home and gave new life to. This coffee table was from Per-Aksel's childhood and it's one of the couple's favorite pieces in their entire home. "We both love colors! And our goal is to have every room colorful," Simone explains.

2/15 Simone and Per-Aksel enjoy the blush walls in their living area, where the pink hue acts as a fitting backdrop for bright jewel tones and graphic artwork.

3/15 Simone sits at her dining room table with her two beloved cats, Lilly and Sophie. Simone says her favorite thing about her home is cuddling with her cats and a cup of coffee.

4/15 Simone explains their shared love of color and patterns, "We have done a lot to get the personal touch without using too much money. Everything is painted, because when we bought it everything was white! And I think I am allergic to white at the moment. Just one more room is white right now. We have to do something about that very soon."

5/15 Most of the dining chairs were saved from a burn pile at Simone's aunt and uncle's home! The dining bench is from Simone's shop and her mom sent her the dining table when she was done with it, via boat, which she then painted to better fit her style.

6/15 "We love to have neighbors around us so we love this place. It's close to everything! People, friends, work and shops. Do not need a car, and that's fantastic for me because I dont have the driving license," Simone shares.

7/15 The brick wall is actually wallpaper! Simone loved the look and carried it from the dining room into the kitchen.

8/15 The mixing of patterns and colors extends to the kitchen, where Simone explains, "I love to mix old stuff with a little bit new and modern. It's more important for us to have unique things that are hard to get/find than new things that everybody has."

9/15 Simone and Per-Aksel's modern kitchen is more subdued than some of the other corners of the house, but still has pops of color to be found.

10/15 "The most challenging thing about our home is making it 'our own' without spending too much money. So much I would like to do... like the living room needs new walls or the stairway needs like -- everything! But we have learned to settle down with what we have and make the best of it," Simone shares. "Not think about what we could have had all the time. I think if I had a different style, it wouldn't have worked with all the issues."

11/15 For Simone, and Per-Aksel, their choice of infusing color into their home is not only for style, but for inspiration, "[I] couldn't be creative without colors. Colors give me, and us, energy."

12/15 In one of the few places you can still find white in Simone and Per-Aksel's home, colorful art serves as a placeholder until its soon-to-come color-filled makeover.

13/15 "I am thankful that I can do whatever I want in this house..." Simone admits. "And that's such a motivation!"

14/15 Simone explains her love for her newest wallpaper addition, "This summer we put up this wallpaper in the bedroom. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. [I] think it goes so good with the black walls."