The old cottage by the sea....

Our new home.....before redecorating

We are in! 

After months of living out of a suitcase, me and little Miss Moo have now finally moved into our new home here in Norway....in fact we've been here for a couple of weeks now. And we love it!

It's been a long and hard journey getting here...but now that we are in, it finally feels like we can truly start our new life here in Norway!

I found this little house (No....it's not a "hytte" (Norwegian for cabin or holiday home).....it IS A HOUSE...it may be small, but it's just the right size for us!) to rent back in February....just a 15 minute walk from my mum and dads, on the utmost island here on the west coast of Norway....

Yes, it is in the sticks, and yes, it is small....and YES it is most definitely old!!

In other words: It's Perfect!!

I had to spend a lot of blood sweat and tears to get this place up to date and suitable for living, as it had been stood empty for quite a few years....but 7 kettles of paint later,it is now our home and dramatically different from the pictures I'll show you in this post.

I thought I'd share the before pictures of our new home today, so that you can all see just what a difference a few coats of paint can make , when I post the after pictures in my next post next week...

So here it is....our new home in it's unpolished and dated before decorating state:

The Kitchen

There is actually 3 entrances into the house: One through the bathroom, One that leads into a handy hallway and One that leads straight into the Kitchen, which is the one we have taken to using...

I fell in love with the old fashioned kitchen cupboards straight away, and even though the kitchen is small...(in fact it's so small that there is no room for a standard size cooker and the fridge has to go in the hallway), I could tell that this would be a perfectly cosy little kitchen with just a few modifications and some paint.....

Little Miss Moo did not share my vision of the cosy little kitchen when we visited the first time, as you can tell by the skeptical look on her face...And I can't say I blame her: it was cold and dirty....definately needed a little tender love and care!

The livingroom

The livingroom also felt a little worn and dirty, but those windows have the most amazing view (See my previous post) and the light in here is amazing....

It also has those gorgeous beamed ceilings and the retro woodburner in one corner....

Apart from giving the walls a few coats of paint to brighten the room up, the vinyl flooring needed a good on-your-hands-and-knees-scrub-clean!

My bedroom

Leading straight off from the livingroom is a room that was probably meant to serve as a dining room, but that now serves the purpose as my bedroom...

Again....this room felt a but dark and dingy, especially as the ceilings are quite low in here...but nothing a little paint and some nice lighting couldn't fix...

The bathroom

Leading off from my bedroom is the bathroom....or should I say toilet and shower room...

The old fashioned shower curtains and those pink walls really makes this room look hideous here in these pictures, and although there was not a lot I could do to modernize this room, the way it looks now is a definite improvement, just wait and see...

The hallway and stairs

I kept joking that the hallway felt like walking into a Swedish flag, with yellow walls and blue trim....

But I could tell that this space would be invaluable for storing our coats and shoes....as well as the fridge, wedged under the stairs. LOL.

The Upstairs landing

As you come up the stairs, there is a landing where I am planning on creating a little office space with a desk on one side, and a wardrobe space on the other under the eaves...

Again, this area needed a lick of paint (or 4 ) pluss some new flooring...

Little Miss Moo's room

The lovely big room upstairs is Little Miss Moo's new room...A little paint and a thorough carpet clean, and this room was ready for all her toys...

The lovely old-fashioned beds have both stayed, which was handy as I would've had to buy a new one if not. Mia loves her new room and having that big space to spread out in....

So that concludes today's tour of our new home....as it was before I redecorated. 

If you are curious to see how it looks now, tune back in next week for the "After".

It is by no means finished....and there is still the odd job or two to do....But as always, a Home is a constant work In progress....Something that evolves With Life and time, so it'll never be "done" , But then again that is exactly as it should be....perfectly imperfect❤️