That doesn’t mean the house doesn’t need work. The previous owner, who has become a good friend and regularly pops in to check on the garden, lived there for decades and made a few changes in recent years. Bodill and her two children, now in their teens, moved into the basement for a year while the main three floors were rewired, rearranged and straightened. ‘All the ceilings and floors were crooked,’ she says, explaining that everything was restored as carefully as possible to ensure no character was lost.
With the building work complete, Bodil was able to start bringing personality to the house, starting with this Art. She began her career in the art world – deciding to move into interior design while sourcing pieces for people’s homes (which she still does) – and has amassed an impressive collection over the years, including works by Keith Tyson and Damien Hirst.
Instead of drawing inspiration from art, Bodil focused on creating the right backdrop. ‘If you do your job well as a designer, art will dissolve,’ she says. ‘I put a lot of art into it the hallway Because it’s very neutral, but also because I think hallways need art.’ The first-floor sitting room was similarly restrained, painting the walls a creamy white to showcase Keith Tyson’s ensemble, an exquisite chandelier by Stuart Hagarth using thousands of Spectacle lenses, and a mix of old and new furniture. ‘I think I have a sense of displacement now that I’ve lived abroad longer than I have in Norway,’ says Bodil. So if you look around this room, there are French, Italian, Moroccan pieces as well. I don’t think my style is fully Norwegian anymore, I think it’s more eclectic.’
This shift away from the typical Scandi aesthetic is also reflected in some of her bold color choices. If you look up as you walk through the front door, your eye is immediately drawn to the blue-green glaze that frames the study door; Venture upstairs and you’ll find a dressing room in the most exciting yellow. ‘All mine houses There was a yellow room,’ adds Bodil. ‘There’s somewhere you can go if you need to feel the sunshine.’
It keeps the holiday spirit going Bedroompainted in warm terracotta inspired by trips to Tuscany and Morocco, while her daughter’s blue bedroom is an homage to island life (especially the film Oh Ma). The driftwood-style bedside table is one of a handful of pieces Bodill designed for the home, following in the footsteps of his father’s family, who all made furniture. She also designed some textiles dotted around the house. ‘I was always looking for fabrics that I couldn’t find, so I decided the best way to solve this was to make my own,’ she explains.
