Falling in love with the view... then rebuilding everything
Renovating a century-old apartment in historic Stavanger, Norway
Back in 2021, when Hanna and Oliver first found the apartment, they immediately fell in love with the view. Located in the old parts of Stavanger, Norway, (called Gamle Stavanger or “Straen”), it had beautiful surroundings and a short distance to the rest of the city. Since this is an old wooden building - dating back to 1907 and deemed protection-worthy by the municipality (and even UNESCO) - they knew some work was needed. It wasn’t until the first layers were removed that they realized just how much.
The old walls and floors made it a cold place to be - especially in the winter - and the staircase was not possible to get up without acrobatics, which didn’t feel like a long-term solution. Even the roof hadn’t been touched for decades (the apartment occupies the top two floors of a 4-storey house).
Originally, the idea was to make some minor upgrades, to be able to live there as a small family, but that plan went out the window pretty fast. However, they also soon realized how much potential there was in the building, if they were willing to put in the work.
The apartment was originally 54m² (581ft²) with 1 bedroom and a cold loft for storage. Together, we ended up redesigning the entire apartment into a spacious 87m² (936ft²) apartment, with two bedrooms, a flexible home-office space on the top floor, and an extra living room.
We started by removing some of the walls and the unnecessary corridor area, and relocated the kitchen and the bedroom.
Since it was important to keep the shape of the roof for historical and cultural value, we decided to build a new staircase and use the old one for storage.
The central position of the staircase makes the upper floor feel connected, and we added a new bedroom here. This was actually the original layout of the top floor, from over 100 years ago, but it was most likely not used as a bedroom at the time.
Since the upper floor was very dark, we added three skylights to maximize the natural light. We wanted the bedrooms, as well as the in-between-space, to feel like a good space to be in itself.
We opened up the floor over the kitchen to bring the natural light down into the rooms below, and to visually (and acoustically) connect the top floor with the rest of the apartment.
The bathroom is the only room that we left untouched - it was the only room that had recently been renovated when we found the apartment (and we love the view from the bathtub).
Oliver and Hanna worked on the renovation every evening for half a year - together with a couple of brilliant carpenters, plumbers and electricians for the technical side of things - and the end result is absolutely stunning. Crazy good job. Let me know what you think in the Forum, and see more pictures below!
Structural & Layout Changes
-
Removed multiple interior walls to create open living space
-
Opened up ceilings and raised first floor height by ~40cm
-
Rebuilt entire floor structure for level surfaces and better insulation
-
Added load-bearing beam to compensate for previously removed structural wall
-
Installed a new staircase to access renovated loft
-
Created two new bedrooms in the loft per original 100-year-old plans
Insulation & Energy Efficiency
-
Upgraded all walls, ceilings, and floors with modern insulation
-
Passive warm floors—no underfloor heating required
-
Installed three new roof windows (approved after 1-year wait)
-
Added air gaps and vapor-permeable membranes for ventilation
Smart Interior Design
-
Moved kitchen location thanks to raised floor with pipe fall
-
Open loft space above kitchen for visual connection between floors
-
Built-in bookshelf under stairs for storage
-
Reused and refurbished materials: second-hand kitchen, solid wood doors and furniture from the local second-hand marketplace
Technical Upgrades
-
Entirely new hidden electrical system
-
Philips Hue lighting in 1st floor ceiling
-
Wall-mounted commodes and concealed storage solutions
-
Integrated cooking fan in the cooktop
Finishing Touches
-
Built-in wardrobes with seating between bedrooms
-
Matching staircase and flooring using sample-based oilin
-
In-wall TV installation and sensor lighting on staircase
Cost & Sustainability
-
~1.2 million NOK total / ~115.000$ ( excluding own labor)
-
Most furniture second-hand (or discounted 75%+)
-
Parkett, new windows, and heat pump purchased with grants and deals
-
High energy efficiency: 22°C all year with just one heat pump
Thanks for checking out the project and I hope you liked the Youtube-video! Below are some affiliate links that you can check out if you're interested. This means I may earn a small commission on those products, at no extra cost to you - thanks for your support!
Shelving System / Regal: https://adtr.co/166p6k
Lamp: https://adtr.co/12nwqn
Dining chair: https://adtr.co/um8y08
Sofa (similar): https://adtr.co/6lijv2