Scandinavian style interior by Danny &Lyndsay Gugger A Scandinavian-style interior was a welcome change to one of Portland’s venerable buildings. New tenant Denny says, “My wife and I live on an old street in Portland, Maine. The house was built in the mid-1800s and is about 3,000 square feet. We have 10-foot ceilings and two black marble fireplaces in the living room and bedroom. We recently moved from Wisconsin, where we also lived in a mid-1800s house.”
“In January I opened my own studiodesign, and our apartment has become my workspace. We chose to live in Portland for the slower pace of life, incredible culinary experiences, creative atmosphere, and open access to nature. Our home is on a quiet residential street, which creates a cozy homey feel around it, but we can easily walk to the Old Port or the Arts District. The city recently restored the street with wide brick sidewalks and preserved the large old trees."
“I have Swedish roots, and my wife hasNorwegian, so our lifestyle is heavily influenced by both cultures. We recently painted the entire apartment white, and the trim was white to tone down some of the heavy architectural details and draw attention to the black fireplaces. This gave us freedom in design, and we literally started from scratch, using a minimum of decorative details and a maximum of indoor plants."
In an interview, the couple said that they were inspired to create this particular design by Scandinavian simplicity and purity.
Inspiration
“About a year ago we went on a trip toLondon, Zurich and Oslo, and fell in love with the beautiful simplicity of Scandinavian and European design. We incorporated a lot of neutral details and white color into the interior of the house with green splashes of indoor plants and other natural materials"
Favorite item
"We love the dramatic black marble fireplaces against the crisp white walls. They are definitely the stars of the show."
The biggest test
“Our kitchen is very small.We are a food blogger, which means we cook and photograph a lot of food. From the very beginning, we were captivated by the amazing bright light that comes into the house through the kitchen. Good lighting makes it easy to take good pictures. After cooking, our kitchen looks like a nightmare, but it is 100% worth it."
"We also do occasional design work at home, so we really need a desk - and that's a real challenge because the best place for it is in the bedroom."
What friends say
"Our friends always admire howThe high ceilings give the space an open and bright feel. The friends who helped us move in two months ago were amazed at how we transformed the house. When we moved in, the walls were sea foam with dark green trim."
The biggest difficulty
The inside of one of the cabinets is still that nasty green color.
Handmade Pride
"Denny made the newspaper racks that hang in the living room himself."We've had a lot of great magazines since he started working for The Collective Quarterly, but we've never had a way to display them like this before. So Denny made these simple magazine racks, and now they're presented in this cute way."
The biggest excesses
"No, not really. We did everything on a budget, bought most of the things from , but avoided chipboard furniture, so our house doesn't look cheap."
Best advice
"Don't overdo the decor. It's not necessary to have something hanging on every wall."
