We met up with Hege Morris from Norway – a hugely talented interior designer who is married to a Scotsman called Craig with whom she lives in France with five year old son Magnus – talk about cosmopolitan!
Hege’s beautiful home in Charente has been featured in magazines. And we love her style – a blend of French and Norwegian. She loves to do DIY, her simple hook idea – bang a nail in and glue a diamond on the head and voila – genius!
We asked Hege to tell us more about her, her home and her style.
TGLF: So, first of all how did you come to be in France and in particular Charente?
We were teaching English in China at the time when we started talking about going camping in France. Summer 2003 we went and loved it! We visited loads of places, had brilliant food and fell in love with France. Back in Scotland again, I started a French language night class and we started searching for a house. We went back to France a few months later. We started our search in Carcassonne, but ended up in the Charente as we saw a cute picture of an old barn in a property magazine we bought. We went to see it, put in an offer and it was accepted. Three months later our Scottish house was sold and we’d left our office jobs. We didn’t know what the future would hold, but we had lots of fun renovating. There was no septic tank or electricity and there was dust everywhere, but the sun was shining, so we didn’t mind.
When Magnus was born in 2007 we felt like the barn was getting a bit small for us. We were both working from home, so we decided to build a new house. It was finished summer 2010. It was great to be able to work closely with an architect and the builders and get what we wanted. Our house is only a 5 minute drive from where the barn is, so we’re still in the same “commune”.
TGLF: With your love of design and DIY – is your home constantly changing in small ways even though the big renovation jobs are finished?
Yes, our house is constantly changing… too often according to my husband… 🙂 There are so many things I want to try and if I’m styling something then things have to be moved.
TGLF: Where do you take your inspiration from?
I get inspiration from so many places, but mostly from magazines, Pinterest and blogs.
TGLF: What are your favourite DIY projects?
My favourite ones are the ones that just happen without being planned.
TGLF: Where are you hoping to move to and why?
We are hoping to move further towards the coast as we love going to the beach, but also because of more opportunities with work.
TGLF: Are you excited about starting to decorate and put your mark on a new home all over again?!
Of course! It’s any designers dream to start again!
TGLF: Do you like to shop at the brocantes? If so, do you have a favourite bargain?
Yes, I love it! It’s hard to find bargains, but there’s a mirror I have that has got to be my best find. I got it for only 2€!
TGLF: Do you think there is a way to “Frenchify” a look for a home?
Yes, sure! Just by adding little things like for example a cluster of vintage frames hung up in some rough string, or some vintage items or an old chair.
