Sep 23

Sep 23 May Sissel's Moody, Eclectic Boho Home

Today’s Home Tour is with May Sissel, (or Sissi as she is known to her friends) or Sissigal on Instagram. May’s Norwegian home is a rustic, dark delight, a great move considering it is a small apartment. She could have gone for a light, bright interior, typical of Scandinavian countries, but she chose black.

While we are seeing a move towards lighter colours in interiors, painting a room all one dark colour, can actually make it look larger, because it blurs the boundaries between, say the ceiling and the walls, and coupled with rustic material, you can have a very cosy relaxing space.

Read on to find out more about May and her design choices.

I am Sissi (that’s actually a nickname- my real name is May Sissel). I am fifty years old and live in a small town in Norway called Moss. I have a daughter and a grandchild (whom I adore!). Apart from being a full time” home decorating enthusiast”, I have a full-time job working with children’s’ mental health and wellbeing at an institution. I also have a part time job working with adults struggling with addiction and psychiatry.

The small apartment I currently live in and live to decorate, came to me while I was going through a break up and was in search of a smaller place to live. My apartment is about 60 sqm, which I find big enough for me. The fact that I also have a big outside space helps a lot. I love to spend summer days out on my patio, looking out on a great lake called Vansjo.

My apartment is small so when I started the fix it up and decided on wall colours, I figured out that no matter what I did it would never look spacious and big. That’s why I could realize my dream of a warm, rough interior design. I refer to it as my” black cave” and that is the kind of feeling I was going for when I decorated it.

I`ve always loved the cosy and warm feeling dark interior gives you, and this was my chance. I would describe my style as rough and bohemian. I love mixing styles.

I didn’t have a great budget with which to do any work, so I painted (all) of the walls and DIY furniture for the patio. I had a lot of furniture when I moved so they got a new background to rise from. I shop a lot at flea markets and such. I mix old and new furniture and decor and out comes a full-blown dark, eclectic style.

I choose things with unique style and“personality” before the decor that is trending right now. Who knew that the flower pot I bought in 1989 would be this great in my apartment now? I like the thought of things getting new life again.

My interest in interiors is something that I always had, and when I was young(er), I dreamed of studying to be an interior architect. I had my child at a young age, and as a single mum there was no time to realize the dream at that moment, but my passion for interior design never stopped growing.

I am enjoying making my home the way I want it to be and am not afraid to try something new. I love spending time in my home and it is important to me that my home feels warm and cosy. At the same time the interior designer within gets a lot of inspiration from Instagram and I spend a lot of time decorating and trying out the inspo so there it is always fun when I can go crazy trying out a new style. If it doesn’t work, I can always repaint the wall or find a new place for a furniture or item.

I am so happy that I started posting interior pics from my house and find that people follow and hopefully like what they see. If my followers get as much inspiration from me as I get from them we can keep inspiring each other to try something new as well as make our homes feel warm and cosy. How many black walls people decide to paint, is however up to them.

With all the inspiration and creativeness out there I don’t think I ever be finished with my home but I am excited to see “what’s next”.