Own House, a book on Wenche and Jens Selmer's 1963 Oslo home

Norwegian architects Jens and Wenche Selmer finished their own house in Oslo in 1963. Built from a simple, carefully chosen palette of materials, it carries the restraint Wenche in particular was known for. Trosterudstien 1 won the Sundt Prize three years later and is still counted among Norway's finest post-war homes. For photographer and editor Marte Garmann, the Selmers' granddaughter, it was also the setting for childhood memories: mattresses on the floor, wooden blocks and homemade bread at the kitchen table.

Her 160-page book, Own House, opens with a short essay and then her photographs, taken in 2024 just before the house was sold to private owners. She had only 48 hours, which she says kept her fully present as the light moved through each room. The pictures show an open plan where rooms run into one another, along with quarry-tile floors, hidden storage and plenty of brass wall hooks, used for everything from Christmas decorations to drying rolls of film.

The Selmers' pencil drawings of the pine-lined interiors appear too, alongside a letter they wrote about the house in 1966 and recollections from Garmann's aunt Elisabeth. The house itself is now privately owned, so the book is the way in. It's published by Jøss Bokstudio, and it suits anyone who loves Nordic modernism told from the inside.

Our summary of a story from Wallpaper*, published 28 October 2026. Read the original

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