Photos: Snædís Björnsdóttir

Tranlation: Þórunn Halldórsdóttir

We at Stúdentablaðið are always curious about how people decorate their homes, especially on our campus, Stúdentagarðar, where it is not possible to paint or hammer nails into the wall. We went to visit two different students’ apartments and asked the residents about the interior design, furniture, and home decor.

Visiting Rakel Anna Boulter

Rakel Anna is a second year student in literature. She moved into Stúdentagarðar in September 2021.

Did you find it challenging to decorate the apartment to your liking and to make the room your own? Do you have any advice for other students on how one can maximize one's space and make it personal?

“I thought about it a lot and was very excited when I was waiting to move in. I had all these ideas about the aesthetic and how to best implement them in my head when I moved into the apartment. However, there were a few things I had decided on, such as having a bench against the wall instead of having more chairs. But I did not find it difficult to make the apartment my own, it came very naturally. I also have a specific style so my apartment is filled with things that have some personal connection to me. If I had to advise other students, I’d recommend putting stuff up on the walls, that really lifted my spirits. Also, put a rug on the floor. As I come from Akureyri I like to surround myself with cute things that remind me of home.”

Do you have a favorite object or furniture in the apartment that you could never part with?

“I do have some objects that I care for, but I think I could part with most of my possessions. There are some things in my apartment that I do have a strong personal connection to. Such as the paintings I have, they were painted by my uncles and are considered a family treasure. If I would have to move out I would ask my parents to care for them, so the paintings are the last thing I could part with. Besides that I think I could put all the objects that I connect to in one box. I try to be minimalistic in my approach so I can move at a moment’s notice. So I think I do own some fine objects for my home but I don’t feel a strong connection to them per se.”

Where do you buy your furniture?

“I think I have bought all my furniture from Góði hirðirinn, except for my bed and bookshelf which are from Ikea. I also bought a lot of the smaller things in the apartment from Góði hirðirinn.”

Do you have any unique objects or furniture in the apartment? Or something that carries with it a special story?

“I could go on forever on this subject but I’ll try not to. I'm a bit of a hoarder when it comes to the weirdest things. For example, I collect the little things you use to open a beer can, I also collect figurines from Kindereggs. Then there are the little doors that I've managed to hang on the wall and put on the windowsill. Then there are of course my paintings that carry with them a family connection, due to my father’s brothers having painted them.”

Do you have a favorite spot in your apartment?

“I usually sit at the dining room table when I’m studying and I think it’s a very good spot. I also love to push the coffee table away and make room for dancing, that is actually my favorite space. I even sometimes put my kitchen counter in storage, then I have more room and space in my apartment, my fish bowl as I like to call it, to grow. Then I have a quote from the Great Gatsby written on the window opposite my bed so when the sun shines through the window it illuminates the text on my wall, at that moment the bed becomes my favorite spot. The view here is also sublime, I love being on the top floor. It’s a real luxury to be so high up because I feel like I see all of Reykjavík as soon as I’m home. In the evening I can look over at Harpa and catch the light show on its front side. I think it’s very nice.”

A visit to Katrín Björk Kristjánsdóttir and Guðný Ljósbrá Hreinsdóttir

Katrín is studying to be a social worker and Guðny is pursuing a master’s degree in marketing. They moved into their apartment at Stúdentagarðar in August 2020.

Did you find it challenging to decorate the apartment to your liking and make the room your own?

Katrín: “We did not have a specific strategy when we were decorating the apartment. Our thinking is; when we see some beautiful or nice things, we buy them, often one object at a time. With time we have gradually collected things which have helped us come up with our own aesthetic.”

Guðný: “It was not difficult at all to furnish the apartment, but it took us a while. We got a lot of nice things for free, but we also like to create objects ourselves. For example, we painted the painting that hangs over our couch. By creating something ourselves we make the apartment our own.”

Do you have a favorite object or furniture in the apartment?

Guðný: “I would say the yellow frying pan. It’s nice to have a little color”.

Katrín: “Yeah, the pan turns orange when it warms up, like it's blushing. But if I had to choose my favorite thing, it would be the lamps we have in the apartment. I have a bit of a fetish for lighting and I always want a cozy aesthetic. Good lighting does wonders for the apartment.”

Do you own any unusual objects or an object that carries with it a fun story?

Guðný: “Yes, for example, we have a vase that we bought from the flea market Frú Blómfríður in Akureyri. We had been traveling around Iceland at the time, mainly in the northern part of the country. We had heard of Frú Blómfríður before so we went there and this vase just called us to it. We then ferried this vase from Akureyri to our apartment, so we can say we went through a lot to bring the vase home”.

Katrín: “ The drawing of Guðný and I is also one of our favorite things. It was taken on a phone on New Year’s Eve in 2020. Then my little niece traced the photo and colored it.”

Do you have a favorite spot in the apartment?

Katrín: “I think it’s our couch.”

Guðný: “Especially since we just got an Apple TV. I actually spend a lot of time in the kitchen but it’s not so far from the couch.”
Katrín: “It’s very convenient since Guðný really enjoys cooking, and I really enjoy sitting on the couch. Because of the short distance between the couch and the kitchen, we can be in the same place.”