Inside Homes - May 2016

HOME LIFE Real Estate News and Open House I Inside Homes and My Washington

1SHIVR 2SV[IKMER Norwegian Ambassador K책re Aas moves into his newly renovated residence for the first time since taking his post in the Fall of 2013.

BY VIRGINIA COYNE PHOTOGRAPHS BY TONY BROWN

HOME LIFE | INSIDE HOMES

n a mild late Apr il evening at the Norwegian ambassador’s residence (across the street from the Naval Observatory) upbeat melodies from the rhythm and blues band One Nite Stand float past the modern Slåke saddle chairs in the living room into the adjacent dining room, where guests nibble smoked fish canapes while gazing upon Edvard Munch’s acclaimed yet ambiguous painting, “Vampire,” in which a red-headed woman is depicted either tenderly kissing a man’s neck or feasting on it. The notes carry through the french doors onto the g packed side garden where Norwegian Ambassador Kåre Aas is greeting guests, including fellow envoys who’ve come to congratulate him on moving into his newly renovated residence for the first time since taking his post in the fall of 2013.

The renovation, the first major overhaul since the Georgian-style structure, which originally also served as the chancery, was completed in 1931, coincided with Aas’ transfer to Washington from Kabul and was spurred by the need to install an elevator to comply with his government’s mandate that all buildings feature universal design and access by 2024.

Most of the work, Aas says, was inside the walls where the electrical, plumbing and air conditioning systems were upgraded; but the interiors got a facelift, too, and he played a key role in choosing the neutral paint colors and also picking out furniture and bringing in new works of art on loan from the National Gallery of Norway. He was aided by Oslo-based designer Ane Wierli Nilsen of ACK Arkitekter and locally, Pamela Rodriguez-Morrison of Morrison Architects.

“I really wanted to combine the new Norwegian designers with the old pieces that were already here,” he says.

The result is undeniably modern. Streamlined chairs

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OPENING PAGE: Norwegian Ambassador Kåre Aas stands in the newly renovated living room, which he furnished with a mix of modern, streamlined sofas and chairs and older wooden pieces.

PREVIOUS PAGE (clockwise from top left): Mokasser’s “Whole in One” chair provides a pop of color in the wood-paneled library.

Mia Hamburg’s “Shuffle” table sits beside it and Kjell Torriset’s painting of a cloud, one of seven in his “Shape of Faith” series, hangs on the wall; More of Torriset’s cloud paintings hang above a sideboard covered with silver souvenirs Aas has collected in his travel; The ambassasdor spends rare free time in the sitting room of his private apartment on the third floor. Edvard Munch’s “Ibsen at the Grand” hangs in the living room.

THIS PAGE (clockwise from top left); Aas’ silver collection includes cups made of artillery shells from Afghanistan. He insisted on a long, narrow dining room table to facilitate conversation. Edvard Munch’s acclaimed “Vampire” is above the sideboard; A desk once belonging to Norway’s King Harald V, who used it to do homework as young boy while in exile in Washington during World War II, is the centerpiece of the private office on the first floor. Hans Dahl’s landscape painting “Rowboat with Hay” hangs above two Slåke saddle chairs upholstered in green fabric in the living room.

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and sofas, contemporary paintings of clouds by Kjell Torriset and wiry LED light fixtures mix with older wooden pieces that had already been in place, such as 19th-century oils of nordic fjords and seven sketches, woodcuts and paintings by Edvard Munch, Norway’s most famous artist.

The rooms are expansive and the ceilings tall, giving the eclectic mix space to breathe and making it feel airy and cohesive.

The wood-paneled second-floor library is filled with books from the ambassador’s personal collection as well as silver pieces acquired on his travels, including cups with intricate carvings made from artillery shells found in the streets of Afghanistan. In the corner is a playful surprise: a pink Mokasser “Whole in One” chair, designed by Christian Sæther and Nora Furuholmen, and Mia Hamburg’s “Shuffle” table with interchangeable parts, an adult version of a child’s stacking toy.

A large, wide dining table was also replaced with a new, attenuated version. “It was very important to me to have a narrow dining table,” Aas explains. “It seats 24 people but I really wanted it to be narrow so that it’s easy to have an exchange of views, a discussion.”

One of the Ambassador’s favorite topics of conversation is his posting as Norway’s ambassador to Afghanistan. An avid art collector, he befriended and then commissioned a street artist there to create several pieces that he showcases in his private quarters on the third floor. It is in these rooms, now transformed into a formal apartment with a private entrance, where he feels most comfortable and truly at home. That’s where he displays photos of his family, watches “House of Cards” and English soccer on television and spends a good deal of time reading. His current book? “The Son,” a crime novel by Norwegian author Jo Nesbø.

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