I’ve been unpacking non-stop for the past week, doing my best to create a new home + studio workspace for my photography business.
There’s still a long way to go before I will call it finished, but it’s starting to take form and I wanted to give you a little sneak peek.
We’re still renovating indoor and outside so my days are packed with to-do’s but I can see the finish line now and when Spring arrives I’ll be ready to catch my breath, slow down and enjoy the result.
While unpacking my studio gear and props I came to think about how my photography career started 12 years ago. Because I didn’t always have a big house with a beautiful studio and workspace.
With my new home I’m lucky to get a large loft studio with great light, office space for daily work and meetings, a prop room for all my styling equipment and plenty of space to teach workshops.
When I started out it was with a beginners dslr camera and a kit lens – yes, just one lens and no other gear. I bought the camera spontaneously and didn’t really have it in my budget to do so at the time. It took me a few weeks to admit to my husband that I had spend that kind of money. And even worse; I had no idea how to operate the camera. I remember how stupid I felt for having this crazy dream to become a photographer….
Our budget was very limited and it was scary to make a career change while raising three small kids. I think guilt from splurging on the camera made me work really hard to make up for it.
At the time we lived in a small house and the only place I could think of to use for photography was the garden shed – a tiny room connected to our garage. The shed had no heating, no water and very poor window light (see photo below). I often had to open the door to get more daylight in. Which was very cold during the winter…uhhh. Also the ceiling was not very high and I could touch it just by raising my arm.
Despite my situation I felt so incredible happy to be able to experiment with photography and pursue my passion. I just worked with what I had and I learned that you don’t really need much to make beautiful pictures. Many of my favourite photos to this day was captured in that tiny garden shed.
Here’s a few photos taken in my garden shed…
The truth is….
You don’t need a large studio with big windows
You don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to take great photos
You don’t need a room full of props, and things for styling
It’s nice to have – not a need to have.
You can succeed as a photographer with very little space and very little gear.
Why? Because photography is NOT about the camera you shoot with, the space you have or the props you collect. Great photography is about creativity, passion and the willingness to play, experiment and use what you have.
The perfect workspace and the perfect camera will never make up for the lack of skills or inspiration.
I can’t believe it’s only been four years since I left my garden shed. It feels like so long ago and so much have changed since. It’s been a wild journey and when I look back I’m so thankful for every step of my path.
It’s the journey that is the fascinating part of life; it’s when you live, learn, grow and become wiser.
All the ups and downs are part of reaching your dreams. Even the struggles are important and valuable because those are the lessons that will spiral you forward much faster and every set-back often leads to a better solution.
So if you’re thinking that you need a perfect workspace, beautiful props and an expensive camera to start your photography dream, I’m here to tell you NOT to worry about that. Don’t hold back because you don’t have the perfect circumstances.
Just start with what you have and remember that creativity and your artistic abilities will beat equipment anytime!
It’s taken me 12 years to get to where I am today from when I took my very first photo. Many days started early, hours before the kids got up. I had to make the most of my time if I wanted to built my business while running a household and taking care of my family. If you told me back then that I would be moving into this beautiful house today I would never have believed it.
Luckily, our mindset grow as we grow. When you take action and start to see results, you become more brave and dream bigger dreams.
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It’s official now: I’m moving. Most of my stuff is already in boxes. The old house is sold a long time ago and the renovation of our new home is on fire.
I’ll be the first to admit it; following big dreams can be overwhelming. Scary. Emotionally draining. Every day, from morning to evening there’s so much to do. I have to remind myself to take it one step at a time and enjoy the process.
As I wrap up my wonderful memories I prepare for a new chapter of my life. I’m so ready. Excited for the new adventures ahead. This is truly dream come true.
In just one week I will be sleeping in our new place; a historic yellow villa with dark green windows. The house was built in 1909 for a Danish National architectural Exhibition. The purpose of the exhibition was to displayed individual works by architects, artists, and craftsmen.
During the years, the villa has served as a private music-oriented school for kids, and for the past 44 years it was the home and studio of a famous architect couple who specialised in restoring old historic buildings, including Copenhagen’s Round Tower.
Restoring and renovating a house like that comes with a bit of pressure, and though my husband and I have renovated several homes during the past five years, including our countryside cottage, this is our biggest project ever.
What I truly love about our new home is the atmosphere. Even though it’s located in the city center of Aarhus – Denmarks second biggest town – it’s so quiet, calm and full of kind vibes.
Needless to say, I’m thrilled to move in and experience how it will be to live and work in this place.
Sometimes BIG dreams takes a long time to accomplish. When we first saw the house a year ago this move seemed almost impossible. We actually gave up three times during the process. But with determination, a whole lot of bravery and a lot of hard work we managed to make it happen.
I still have to pinch myself. Is this really happening? I guess I will believe it when I wake up in my new bedroom, plant flowers in the garden, cook in the kitchen, sip coffee in the backyard or take out the trash – you know, everyday life.
One thing I’m particularly excited about is to host some amazing in-person photography and styling workshops in our new home.
The June workshop sold out in just two days. The good news is; I will host two more in-person workshops in 2022 and registration opens on Sunday February 27.
I’m also opening up enrollment for The Lifestyle Photography Academy. This is an 8-week online course focusing on everything related to photography, visual storytelling, styling, and photo editing. So if you cannot travel to Denmark, this is the perfect chance to work with me.
Workshop Dates 2022:
April 4 – The Lifestyle Photography Academy 2022
June 21-22 – Mindful Still Life Workshop – SOLD OUT!
Sept 21-22 – Mindful Still Life Workshop – NEW
Nov 5-6 – The Christmas Edition Workshop – NEW
Registration opens Sunday February 27.
I hope you can make it if you feel like joining one of the programs.
Four weeks ago, we finally moved into our 100 year old cottage and what a joyful experience it was. The cottage is our new second home; a place to unplug – a place for silence, nature, slow living and no rush.
I’ve done my best to capture a series of before and after photos, and I hope you will enjoy seeing the transformation we made. Restoring the cottage was a heart-driven project my husband and I did together – flipping and designing homes is a shared passion. But this has been our biggest project so far. It took five months and of course, there’s still a few things missing – like the staircase to the wine cellar and a few lamps here and there.
I call this phase 2 because phase 3, which is the final phase is converting the barn/garage into a guest house and workout/wellness space. Did you miss phase 1? Read about it here >>
Almost everything in the cottage has been changed and renewed with respect for the original style. On the outside we have changed most of the windows and doors which has truly lifted the overall look.
We kept the original windows as you see on the main building and then we found new windows that matched to install on the attached building. The old windows got a new extra layer of glass on the inside so we will be able to keep warm during winter. Then we painted the house white to give it a clean fresh look and make it stand out as a contrast to the nature that surrounds it.
On the back side of the cottage (as seen above) we created a large wooden patio and to soften the square layout I planted different kinds of grass on both sides.
The idea is to move wild nature as close to the patio as possible and create a cozy sea-side atmosphere. I’m excited to see how the grasses will grow and evovle because I have absolutely no experience with them so far.
In the living room (above) which is the main room in the white cottage we decided to keep the wooden floors and restore them instead of changing them. We sanded them down and gave them a white lime wash treatment.
We also changed the staircase. We cut off a big chunk of it and painted it white to make it more light and less dominating in the room. The front of the living room has the most beautiful view over the fields and the ocean. Very close there’s a small harbour with boats coming and going – very peaceful to look at. The best thing about the view is that the neighbour’s horses are coming for a visit making the scene look like a fairytale land.
The cottage is heated with electrical radiators and a wonderful old fireplace. An electric radiator is never pretty nor very economical so we changed them in to new models and put a cover over them.
The dining room (below) was a fun makeover to do. When we took over the cottage it was a bedroom with built-in cabinets, but we decided to make the most of it and turn it into a dining room. This is the black wooden side building you see when you look at the house from the out side. It was added to the cottage about 15 years ago by the previous owners. By turning it into a dining room we made the cottage seem much more spacious.
We took the cabinets out and painted the back wall with a vintage blue chalk paint. The room demanded some kind of unique lighting and we decided to go for two big crystal chandeliers which took me about four hours to put together – piece by piece. (Can I get a high five…haha..)
I absolutely love how the hall turned out. This is the section that connects the old cottage with the black wooden building. I’m amazed at how big of a difference it made changing the doors and the tiles. I really opened up the space. We also painted the hall with a light beige chalk paint to make it more warm and welcoming.
On the photo below you can see the new patio through the glass doors. If you look closely you can also see that we put up a natural wooden fence. Even though the cottage comes with a lot of land and we are the owners of the tiny road that passes by the house, this is the best way to keep an eye on our dogs and keep them safe.
We bought all the furnitures especially for the cottage, because the last two houses we sold was sold with ALL the interior inside. Therefore, we had to start all over and buy everything from kitchen supplies to bedlinen, and garden tools to decorative props. My husband and I carefully planned every room using mood boards.
While we waited for the cottage to be ready we stored all the furnitures in a warehouse storage facility and all the boxes with the smaller things was pilled up in my studio at home. A lot of coordination, a lot of planning and a lot of mess was a part of this process.
The only thing I forgot to consider was how to storage our shoes. And when you live in the countryside you need many different shoes and boots. Luckily, I found a local Brocante shop and was able to get my hands on this beautiful old cabinet you see in the above photo. This is now how we keep our shoes in the cottage. Works perfectly.
When I first saw the cottage I immediately spotted the opportunity to create a small working area in the hall. And when I by coincident found this old vintage table on Instagram I knew it would fit wonderfully. It’s lovely to sit there and work, edit photos and write blog posts while looking out on the garden, the horses and the sea. Notice how much of a difference it made to change the window.
Let’s move on to the kitchen. We wanted a bright and airy feeling, with a Scandinavian country vibe, exclusive yet simplistic at the same time. We ended up with a hand crafted kitchen with a marble table top and a brass sink. The knobs looks black in the photos but they are made of rustic matte brass and in reality they are more golden than they appear in the image.
The kitchen lamps are my favourite lamp of all time; the Jiedel lamp from France, designed by Jean Louis Domecq. They are vintage from 1950 but newly restored by a company in Copenhagen. I love them so much that I also put them in the bathroom.
We wanted to keep the kitchen open and simplistic and therefore we decided to avoid hanging cabinets on the upper wall. Instead, I found an old kitchen shelf for $20 that I painted to match the kitchen color.
In the photo above you can better sense the true color of the handles. The knobs are made of antique brass.
The wine cellar was my husbands idea. And what a HUGE asset this is to the cottage. At first I thought it was a crazy idea but he ran with the idea and made it happen.
In the old days, the cellar was functioning as the “fridge” because back then they did not have access to either electricity nor a fridge. So all food was placed down below the kitchen.
The cellar was so tiny that you couldn’t stand up in your full hight. And the worst thing was; it was dark, cold, wet and full of woodlice! And not just a few…. imagine the walls completely black covered with thick layers of woodlice. It was so awful that the first time I saw the cottage I ran and said to my husband “I’m NEVER going to buy that house!”
Luckily, my dear husband convinced me otherwise. The bug exterminator went down to clear the basement twice and since then it has been completely free of any little creature. We renovated the basement with new floors and digged down and improved the ceiling height. Now we can stand up straight which is nice and we even have space for a bar table and some chairs down there.
A nice detail to the wine cellar is the tailor made glass hatch that you can walk on. It took some time getting used to – a little scary to begin with. My dog Conrad still doesn’t trust the glass will hold him and he will avoid walking on it.
The bathroom was completely transformed as well, the only thing we re-used was the toilet paper holder. It fitted in perfectly with the brass shower and brass water tap. One of the drawer sections is a hidden cabinet and behind it is a washing machine.
Let’s move up stairs. Below you see before and after photos of the bedroom. It was original a hall way with two tiny rooms. We took down all walls and opened up the ceiling to make the most of the space.
In the photo above with my dogs you can see how this room looked the first time we visited it. And in the first photo below you see the narrow hall way.
The bedroom was totally chaos for a couple of months and it was hard to imagine that it would turn out great – but it did in the end. I love the white, summery feeling is now has.
The wall behind the bed we created to hide the chimney. On the other side of the wall is our dressing room with a day bed.
There’s one more room upstairs (see below) and that’s our snuggle/TV room. To make the most of the room we put in a sofa bed, so during daily living it’s a useful space for entertainment but when we have visitors we can easily turn this room into a spare bedroom.
So that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the cottage. Our next and final phase is to flip the barn/garage (see below) into a space for wellness, workouts, creative work and guests. Hopefully, it will be ready before Christmas.
With love, Christina
To see more photos follow along on Instagram @christinagreve
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