Top 5 tips for Creating a Scandinavian Interior
For those of you hoping to capture the “hygge” (which translates roughly to “cozy”) vibes of the Danes or just slightly obsessed with the functionality of the Nordic-inspired décor, these tips will hopefully help you start putting together a Scandinavian interior of your very own.
If you’re still maybe a bit new or unclear, here are the essential characteristics of the Scandinavian décor scheme:
- Strategic lighting with an emphasis on natural light
- Minimalistic furniture
- Functionality Focused
- Clean lines
- Neutral, muted colors
- The color contrast between pieces (either art, accents or furniture itself)
Read further as we give you our tips for how to achieve the Scandinavian interior style.
LIGHTING
The Nordic countries, since many of them experience twenty-four-hour darkness in the winter months, try and enjoy sunlight as much as they can.
To get the vibe, leave your windows undraped, no window shutters, no blinds, allowing for the fullness of the sun to illuminate the room unhindered. Simple, white light fixtures are also a great way to capture this “bathed in sunlight” look as well, for day time.
To stay with the natural light theme in the evening’s, the use of candles is widespread, and there are lots of beautiful holders that can add even more charm to your home paired with the soft glow of candlelight. Or if you prefer warm-toned yellow light lamps are a great way to capture the “candlelight” atmosphere.
COLOR PALETTE
If you want a Scandinavian look, you want to look for neutral tones such as greys, whites, and muted blues or earth or sepia tones, usually in the brown to green region.
When arranging your room, you also want to focus on layering the colors, as well as providing contrast for maximum cozy vibes.
For example, you may have a white table that is very stark on its own, but it can be warmed up with warm reddish-brown tones of a few chairs and then further contrasted with a grey table runner or maybe some vases.
MINIMALIST PIECES
When getting pieces for your room, you want to focus on clean lines, minimizing the number of pieces, and maximizing functionality. The overall effect is a tidy, organized space that is also very homey.
If you’re not sure where to start looking for pieces that capture the simplicity of minimalism, OZW furniture is a great site to start getting ideas for pieces you may like.
FUNCTIONALITY
Above all, to capture the Scandinavian interior, the room must be functional. Optimizing with shelves and drawers is a great way to not only add interest to your space with contrast but also allows for the tidy, “everything in its place” atmosphere when done right.
Functionality also refers to how people will move through and use the space. Leaving lots of open space is just part of the minimalism, integral to this style, but it also is essential to think about the flow of traffic and how people will be using the space.
For example, in Nordic homes, fireplaces are often in a corner, not centered in the room. Therefore the furniture is arranged around the heat source while also making it easy for people to engage one another. So, think about how your space is used when arranging your pieces.
ACCENTS
The last of our tips is accents. These help incorporate contrast and accents help soften the starkness and make it cozy without making space feel too busy.
For example, if you have your lovely grey toned couch with a black end table, a great way to accent the room is to add a vase, maybe blue or a few creamy white pillows.
Plants and fresh flowers are also widely used in Nordic countries to bring that pop of color and life into a room.
Draping the couches and sitting areas with cozy blankets, adding pillows or throws will also soften the sometimes starkness of the clean-lined, simple furniture.
Since walls are typically kept white in this style, maybe also consider having a gallery wall as an accent.
Your overall color scheme may just be the neutrals, but you can create a central focal point with a lovely eye-catching wall of vibrant art to breathe life into the room.
