ノルウェーの森暮らしが
彼女にもたらしたこと。

家に生活を合わせるか、生活に家を合わせるか。さらにもうひとつ、生き方に家を合わせる人がいる。

インテリアコーディネーターをしていたI家の妻は、自分の暮らす森の家に関して、はっきりとしたイメージがあった。まず外見は（子どもの頃に描いた家のような）大きな屋根の単純なかたち。窓からの景色がすべてグリーンゆえ、壁はその補色となるパープルに。「こんな色を使ったのは初めてです」と設計者に言われたが、妻にとっては「壁は白くしないといけない」という概念がそもそもない。

窓辺に同じ紫色のソファを置き、ダイニングはなし。なぜならふだんから、朝も昼も夜も、ほぼデッキで食事をしているから。冬の寒い時でもそう。あのピーンと張った空気が好きで、だから毛布をかぶってでもデッキにいたいと思う。

ふたりは最近まで海外駐在していた。最も長いのはノルウェー。ここで考え方が変わった。訪れたのは1989年、物質的な豊かさを追い求めていた日本とは違って、人にとっての本来の豊かさを感じさせてくれた。エコだったし、エシカルだったし、地に足が着いた生き方をしている人が多かった。それがインテリアにも反映されていた。

ここにいると朝は早く起きて、夜は早くに寝る。東京にいると、まわりのざわめきが夜まで続く分、おのずと寝る時間も遅くなる。朝の目覚めも違う。エアコンを付けて寝るのとまったく違って、自然にすっと起きられる。1時間くらい、時差があるような気がする。

絵織物はノルウェーで覚えた。冬の間は夜がとにかく長く、当時はインターネットもないので、てまひまかかることをしないと時間をつぶせない。寝室のタペストリーは、ひとつ作り上げるのに1年かかった。これは、そういう時間を過ごせた、あかしのようなものだと今は思っている。

そうした、なんでもない日々を大事に考えることができるのがうれしい。

What life in the Norwegian forest brought her.

Some people adapt their lifestyle to their house. Other people adapt their house to their lifestyle. But there are also those who adapt their house to their way of life.

The wife, who worked as an interior coordinator, had a clear image of the forest house where she would live. First of all, the exterior should be simple, with a large roof (like the houses she had drawn in her childhood). As the view from the windows would be all green, the walls would be purple, a complementary color. The designer said, “I've never used a color like this before,” but the wife had no preconceived ideas that walls had to be white.

A sofa in the same purple is by the window. There is no dining room, because they usually eat all their meals, from breakfast to dinner, on the deck even in the cold of winter. They enjoy the crisp air, which is why they want to be on the deck even if they have to cover themselves with blankets.

They were both stationed abroad until recently. Their longest stay was in Norway, which is where their way of thinking changed. They were there in 1989. Unlike Japan, where people were chasing after material wealth, Norway gave them a sense of what true richness for people means.

Many Norwegians are environmentally-conscious, ethical, and have a down-to-earth way of life, which was reflected in the interiors of their houses.

Here, the couple gets up early and goes to bed early. In Tokyo, the bustle of the world around them continues into the night, so they naturally end up going to bed late. Waking up in the morning is also different: they can wake up easily and naturally, completely different from when they were sleeping with the air conditioner on. It’s almost as if there is a time difference of about an hour between the two lifestyles.

She learned embroidery in Norway. The winter nights are long there, and there was no internet at the time, so she had to do something to pass the time. One tapestry in the bedroom took a year to complete. She now believes that it is a kind of proof that she was able to spend time like that.

She is glad to be able to cherish these ordinary, quiet days.