Marit's 44 Square Meter Sanctuary
I was honoured when Lauren asked me to contribute a guest post for the launch of her new blog. My name is Marit Helene and I’m currently studying economics and business administration in Norway. Besides being a dedicated full time student I have a huge passion for interior, fashion and beauty that I share on my Instagram account @maritheleneg and on my blog.
This blog post is dedicated to how I turned a plain 44 square apartment into my dream sanctuary. To begin with the entire apartment was white and bland, and did not reflect my personal taste nor my personality. However, after an extensive refurbishment I finally managed to create the home I wanted; classic, bright and elegant, with a feminine touch.
It is a common belief that a colour palette in light and neutral will expand your space visually. However, I have a different view on the matter. Painting one wall in a stronger colour than the others create an optical illusion that there is actually more space in the room. In addition, this strategy creates a natural focal point which makes arranging furniture easier. I therefore decided to create an accent wall in purple, which is my favourite colour. To complement the purple wall, I chose furniture and decor items in white, silver and lime.
My mantra when it comes to decorating is to include mirrors in every single room because the reflection will make the room look bigger. In fact, there is no better friend to a small space than a well-placed mirror. For instance, fitting a mirrored splashback in the kitchen is a genius idea and relatively easy trick that made a big impact in my apartment. As well as boosting the light and creating a sense of depth, it is an easy surface to keep clean. The result of incorporating mirrors in every room is that my entire apartment feels twice as big.
In my bedroom I created a small, but functional study space, which is a necessity as a full time student.
To sum up, there are plenty of tricks to decorate a small apartment to make it look and feel more spacious, for instance choosing the right colours and decor items as well as taking advantage of the natural light. The limited space ought not to be an obstacle to personalizing and making an apartment into a home.
Creating my dream sanctuary was a challenging and lengthy process, but definitely worth it in the end. Now I always look forward to coming home after a long day at university. I hope I can inspire others who seek their own chic and personal sanctuary.
Marit Helene
Connect with Marit
I stumbled upon Marit's Instagram account when I had first started my account, and immediately fell in love. Marit shares beautiful, inspirational pictures of her home, fashion and beauty and daily life. Check her out today, I can guarantee you will find beautiful inspiration.