Firstly I just want to say that I have loved checking in and seeing all your gorgeous homes at{mine}! In case you missed it, this is the new official home of #AAHouseCrush – a place for all of us interior nerds to hang out, and for you to show me your super cool pad.
I really am spoilt for choice, but the first homes I’d like to show you guys are these two beautifully dark and moody spaces – Maria’s brand new build in Oslo, and Jo’s Finland pad. They’ve both embraced the dark side (natch) but in totally different ways. Maria’s is exuberantly maximalist, with bright accents, bold tropical prints, and quirky tongue-in-cheek accessories – explosions of ferns, parrots, and also a very familiar looking Bison Head! Maria describes her style as “Scandinavian vintage meets dark glamour”, but it’s as far from the stripped-back Scandi roots as you could imagine.
Meanwhile, Jo’s place also uses the most beautiful chalk paint hues of stormy greys, inky blues and blacks. She’s nailed the tightly restrained colour palette that I’m forever banging on about all the time, with super sophisticated results. Her decor is deceptively simple – there’s not so much STUFF – but it’s all beautifully edited, with some amazing vintage pieces. Tactile materials such as linens and seagrass add textural interest and a touch of luxury, and greenery enlivens every space. Jo is a serial declutter-er (something we could all learn from!), and she says that discovering minimalism was her biggest interiors breakthrough. She describes her style as “simple, Scandinavian, natural and vintage”. If all minimalist pads looked like this, I’d be on board!
So it’s a tough style showdown question today, but I’m going to ask – maximalist or minimalist? Click through the slideshow above to see all the gorgeous pics. I’ll also have a great Q&A from Maria as she shows us round her home in more detail later. In the meantime to help you make your decision, or if you’d just like to nose around and see more, check out at{Jo Ko} and at{Maria Aarli-Grøndalen}. Thank you so much ladies for sharing your homes with us – we’ve been very lucky to have these sneak peeks!