She has won countless interior awards over the years, and has been on Instagram since 2012. Her account inspires followers with delicate colors and lots of wonderful interiors.
Ever since Maren Baxter (33) was little, she has had an enormous passion for art and interior design. She has always liked to be creative and liked to sit in her room and draw, paint or sketch ideas for how to change a room. I always volunteered to clean my sisters’ rooms, then I could also refurnish and surprise them, she says.
Maren is educated as a graphic designer but currently works as an interior stylist/designer, Influencer and artist. She lives in Flekkefjord, a small idyllic southern village in Norway with her boyfriend Erlend.
She is painting for an art exhibition that she hopes to finish during the year. She dreams of creating something herself and has many other creative and exciting projects in the making.
Styletalk, like many others, were inspired by her Instagram account and asked her some questions.
Styletalk: How do you make your interior style fit together so well in a room? Is there a lot of planning?
Maren: The most important thing for me is to create a personal and unique style, then you automatically enjoy your home better than if you follow trends. When I start styling a room, I always start by deciding on a theme and colors. Then it immediately becomes much easier to know what to look for in stores, shop online or just use products i already have in drawers and cabinets.
Repeating colors and shapes in the styling creates balance and a nice composition. I like to think of one shape, several colors, or one color, several shapes. I love shopping at second-hand shops and then the tip is to think “do I like this shape?”. If you like the shape you can always paint or spray-paint it in the color you want.
Styletalk: What do you do with the interior gifts that are not quite “your style”, but you feel you have to keep since you got it from your in-laws or an aunt?
Maren: I must admit that I rarely get interiors in gifts from family or friends as they are probably a little afraid to buy wrong since I work so much with interiors myself, but I love a “challenge”, so if I get gifts that is not completely my style, I work around it and make it fit. But the thing is that I always see opportunities in something that can result in a little too much second-hand purchases and too many ideas and projects in my head.
Styletalk: Is your clothing style different from your interior style? Or do you think they are similar?
Maren: I would probably say that my clothing style and interior style are similar. I love to coordinate clothing style and interior, and often take pictures of my stylings where I am part of the picture. I like to look at a picture as art where nothing is a coincidence.
Styletalk: Do you and your boyfriend always agree on style and colors, or does he completely trust you in terms of your creativity?
I am extremely lucky to have a boyfriend who allows me to do exactly what I want. As long as I do it myself, which suits me great as I love to use my hands, paint, build and create myself. One of the most fun things I know is to build furniture and create interiors yourself so that it fits the desired dimensions and design.
Styletalk: How do you deal with clutter? Do you have any clever tips on how to keep it tidy?
Maren: I have learned to deal with clutter better now than when I started with interior design. At first I was quickly stressed when there was clutter around me, but now I have almost gotten used to it since there is often a lot of chaos when I do styling.
My first tip for keeping it tidy is to always put things back in the right place when you have finished using it. Organizing is a great tip! I have made several shelf systems in indoor and outdoor storage where I store interiors and other products in transparent boxes, then I easily see and find products. Are drawers and cabinets starting to get full? Sell away what you do not need on Finn, Tise or various used and sales pages on Facebook. I usually have a garage or pop-up sale where I sell away a lot, then I get rid of a lot while I make money!
Styletalk: What inspires you? And do you have an interior guru?
Maren: There are many extremely skilled interior gurus out there, but I must admit that I do not have a special one as I constantly change the style and expression, i get inspired by new things and get new ideas all the time. Something I am inspired by is the surroundings around me, nature, colors, travel, art, atmosphere and evocative images, still life of both food and interior. If I am looking for inspiration online, I mostly use Instagram and Pinterest.
Styletalk: You are going to decorate a room, and have to choose between black and white interior or colored interior, what do you prefer? And why?
Maren: Then I will probably have to choose a colored interior! Although I am also very fond of the classic styles, there is something about colors that strikes me, gives me both energy and calm.
Styletalk: Describe your style in three words?
Maren: This question is always difficult to answer as I have a style that is constantly changing, depending on the mood and where I am there and then, a bit like the expression can change in my art. But I would say artistic, innovative and timeless.
Styletalk: Finally, can you tell a “funfact” about yourself?
Maren: I always have a creative project going on, otherwise I get stressed when I don’t get an outlet for all the creativity. I love to change style and renew, almost more often than people change underpants, hehe! And I paint the living room 2-3 times a year, when the body screams for change.
Follow Maren Baxter at:
Instagram: @marenbaxter Blogg: marenbaxter.com Snap: mar-bax
