Saturday morning at Sagåsen 59 starts with the smell of coffee and pine. You slide open the terrace door, step out onto the sun-warmed timber decking, and Lake Mjermen stretches out below you—glassy, still, catching the early light. The only sound is a woodpecker somewhere deep in the birch forest behind the cabin. This is what you drove an hour and fifteen minutes from Oslo for. And it never gets old.
This three-bedroom chalet sits on a 1,439-square-metre plot in Hemnes, Østfold, with a south-facing aspect that means the sun tracks across the wraparound terrace from mid-morning well into the long Nordic evening. At 73 square metres, that terrace isn't a token gesture—it's an outdoor room. Part of it is covered, so a summer rain shower doesn't cancel the barbecue. The rest is open to the sky, and in July that sky stays light until nearly midnight.
The main cabin was built in 2014 to a warm, traditional Norwegian standard—horizontal timber cladding, solid wood floors lacquered to a honey tone, and a woodburning stove that becomes the undisputed heart of the room come October. Large windows on three sides mean the living space never feels closed in, even on grey November days when the lake goes silver and the forest goes rust-coloured. The kitchen flows directly from the living area, fitted with integrated appliances—dishwasher, fridge, oven, ceramic hob—and enough counter space to actually cook properly, not just reheat things.
Up the kitchen staircase is the loft space. Timber walls, a sloping white ceiling, a large skylight that frames the stars on clear nights. Children claim it immediately and with complete authority. It works beautifully as sleeping quarters or a reading retreat when the adults want the main floor ... click here to read more