Building your own home from scratch can be a daunting task to say the least – not everyone has what it takes to see such a project through. When you do, however, the result can be the home of your dreams.
Marta Vesth from Telemark, Norway is one the special few who took this challenge head on, and is now reaping the benefits of her hard work. Alongside her boyfriend and father (and their little pug), Marta drew up and built their stunning house from scratch two years ago to create an open, light and easygoing home for themselves.
Having faced a chronic illness when she was 13 years old that forced her to spend most days in bed, Marta began to appreciate the importance of making her surroundings pleasing. As interior design was a hobby she could manage even from bed, it became a very big and important part of her life.
The benefits that come with building your own home are endless even if you ignore the financial perks associated with the investment. Perhaps the most obvious direct benefit is that you get exactly what you want (if your budget allows it, of course). This means that your personality can shine through your home without any restrictions.
“I am a very positive and upbeat person, and I hope our space reflects that,” says Marta. “I am also a fan of order and systems, and THAT definitely reflects our space.”
The clean, straight lines of Nordic design and the way it blends perfectly with soft smooth elements of nature, like wood and plants appeals to Marta, and you can see this all throughout her home. To her, “Nordic design feels really easy and light.”
As with decorating any home, a project like this can sometimes come with a tight budget. That doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to create a home that you love but, as Marta found, it can often be very difficult to separate big dreams and ideas with realistic ones. “There’s lots of compromising when you dream big and have crazy ideas while building a house on a budget”.
Despite having to rein in her ambitions, Marta still enjoyed planning the project. “From all the big things like the layout to the small details. That really is the fun part.” She says. “Also it is a privilege to get to see the things we drew on paper turning into a house we were going to live in.”
While Marta adores ‘big designers’ like Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton and Hans J. Wegner, in everyday life she loves to include brands like Hay, Muuto, Ferm Living and Menu throughout her home. “It would be almost impossible to leave behind our Bolia DT20 table“.
Two years on, Marta still absolutely loves her home – most of all the bathroom. “It’s simple, practical but also warm and inviting. I use the bathtub every single night and the atmosphere really winds me down,” she explains. “The other reason is because this is the room with the most hours of planning. We wanted it to have a “spa-feeling” to it, but still go with our nordic style like the rest of the house.”
Here, Marta gives her 5 top pieces of advice to anyone looking to building their own home from scratch:
- Start planning early. It is so much easier to change something before the building starts.
- Creating built-in solutions can make rooms feel very deliberate and complete. We created built-in shelves and a shower in our bathroom, and built-in solutions for closets and storage. We had to pay more for some customized solutions, but the end result was worth it.
- If a compromise feels totally wrong, see if there are other things you can sacrifice instead – or you may regret it for a very long time. When we built this house, I gave up the ceiling I wanted to save time and money. I still regret that to this day.
- Trust your heart! It may sound like a cliché, but it’s so important. Pick designs and solutions you love, not what’s trending or what other people think. In the end, it’s you who’s going to live there.
- Try to stay positive. It’s so hard at times, and you are going to want to give up, because you can never really prepare on how tough it is. But remember, in the end all the hard work will be so worth it!
If you’re inspired by Marta’s beautiful home and want to see more, you can head over to her Instagram @martaovesth.
