Nordic notes

A dilapidated 1950s bungalow is now a contemporary home, boasting a vaulted kitchen and living space filled with Scandi inspiration and vintage heirlooms

- Louise O’Bryan

HOMEOWNERS Ingrid and Joe Dahl-Fisher, with their children, Lexie and Casey

LOCATION Berkhamsted

PROJECT Remodelled and extended three-bedroom, semi-detached 1950s bungalow

BUILD COST £92,100

VALUE Undisclosed

WORDS AND STYLING Louise O’Bryan

PHOTOGRAPHY Siobhan Doran

A run-down bungalow might not seem the obvious choice for a young couple expecting their first baby, but Ingrid, who is originally from Norway, and her husband, Joe, saw it could become a beautiful, contemporary home, with the bonus of a large garden backing onto open fields. The couple worked with an architect to reconfigure the internal layout, creating three bedrooms and adding a striking angular extension at the rear.

Ingrid, Joe and their new-born baby lived in the front section while work began at the back to give them an open plan kitchen-diner and living area. The stylish new space was finished in January 2018, with a cosy log burner the last feature to be installed.

MUCH-NEEDED SPACE

“Having moved to Berkhamsted from London a few years ago, we knew this was where we wanted to settle and start a family,” says Ingrid. “Our old home was a two-bedroom barn conversion with a small garden and not ideal for our growing family, so we looked for a house with potential to improve and extend.”