If You Squint, The 1950s Origins of This Oslo Home Are There — But Its Redesign Is Tailor-Made For Modern Living

Dining area of an open-plan space with built-in dining bench with storage, light wood table, black chair, double pendant lights, exposed wood ceiling and rafters.

"When I saw the house, I said, 'What did you buy?'," says interior designer Astrid Kvistad of her initial response to her clients’ newly purchased 1950s home. The space was low-ceilinged, dark, and very awkwardly arranged.

But the decision had been a deliberate one. The house, set within an orchard, had been sold by an elderly couple to the young family of four, and the previous owners were keen that the property wouldn’t be broken up or overdeveloped, hoping instead that it would live on as a modern family home, making the most of its generous garden.