Inside the creative mind of — Karoline Nygaard Petersen
Karoline, who works as the Creative Lead at Montana Furniture, lives and breathes colours and creativity. It is no surprise that her approach to interior design reflects this playful philosophy.
A playful approach to living
Karoline, Creative Lead at Montana Furniture, often uses her home as a creative playground to test out new ideas and combinations before bringing them into a broader design context.
She is not afraid to combine bold shades and contrasting elements, often drawing inspiration from geometric forms and repetitive patterns. Squares, in particular, play a recurring role in her creative universe. At the same time, functionality remains an essential part of her design philosophy. For Karoline, aesthetics and practicality go hand in hand, and she enjoys creating visual expressions that are not only beautiful, but also serve a purpose.
Karoline’s vibrant home has been photographed by Helena Schütz, @thejnr.
Karolines's three favourites
If Karoline had to pick three colours from Montana’s colour palette that represent her as a person, she would go with Parsley, Ruby, and Rosehip.
One thing Karoline noticed after moving back to Oslo from abroad was just how green the city is, and Parsley reminds her of the scenic colours that now surround her every day. Karoline also loves pink, and to her, Ruby is the perfect shade. The colour contains both warm and cool tones, and it has a complexity that she is particularly fascinated by. She is also a fan of bright colours, and she describes Rosehip as an intense colour that can add new dimensions to different styles.
A personal interpretation
The colourful Kevi chairs are a perfect example of how Karoline likes to explore and test her creativity at home. By repainting the chairs in different colour combinations, she gave the classic design a new and highly personal expression, turning functional furniture into playful design statements.
Karoline's advice – Don't take it too seriously
Karoline believes that neither people nor interiors should be taken too seriously. For her, creating a personal home is about surrounding yourself with objects and colours you genuinely love and allowing unexpected combinations to come together naturally. She sees personal belongings as the key to making a home feel interesting and authentic, and she is often drawn to contrasts and imperfect pairings. In her view, spaces become more inviting and relaxed when everything does not match too perfectly.
I don’t take interior design too seriously. It’s not so important if it’s perfect, I feel much better when it isn’t.
Design and function
For Karoline, functionality always comes first. Every piece of furniture in her home is chosen with a specific purpose in mind, as she has little interest in objects that serve only as decoration. Furniture should be used and lived with — not simply admired from a distance. Living with a small kitchen, Karoline expanded her storage needs into the dining area, where she incorporated a Montana System solution that combines functionality with a colourful, personal expression.
Karoline describes her home as playful and unpretentious. She chose Montana solutions throughout the apartment to meet both functional and aesthetic needs – including the small TV bench beneath the Frame TV, which perfectly hides the TV box while maintaining the clean expression of the space.
Karoline sees very few limitations when it comes to combining colours, which is why her home features a vibrant mix of shades and tones. However, she has a particular fondness for red, a colour that appears throughout the space in various details and elements.
Experimentation and creativity
Just like with the Kevi chairs, Karoline uses her home as a space for experimentation and creativity. In her bedroom, the Montana nightstand emerges from a playful combination of colours, where she challenges the traditional perception of the Montana System by curating a distinct shade for each individual component. This exploration of the Montana System offers a deeper look into its many possibilities – and hints at what the future of the system could hold.
While this particular composition is not available for purchase, it reflects the creative freedom and individuality that define the Montana universe.
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