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Love Scandinavian design? Here are some tips for achieving it at home

Lifestyle
4 years ago
4 minutes

The Scandinavian style has dominated the modern interior in recent times. With a focus on simplicity, minimalism and functionality, the design movement actually emerged in the 1950s, but has been adapted to the 21st century and taken the world by storm. 

If you’re thinking about an interior overhaul in your home and fancy incorporating this inexpensive style, here are some tips to achieve it. 

Lighting

With just seven daylight hours in some parts of Scandinavia during the winter, you can understand why good lighting became imperative at home.

First of all, try to allow as much natural light into the interior as possible. Large windows obviously help with this, but so does a neutral colour palette, furniture with clean lines and a white-dominated palette for walls and flooring — but more on this later.

Natural light must also be complemented by inside, modern lighting. Most Scandinavian modern lighting features a simple, neutral white aesthetic and the same straight lines found in Scandinavian furniture and homewares – therefore nothing too extravagant like crystal chandeliers.

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credit: lumens

Furniture, form and functionality 

In terms of furniture, clean lines are key. Sofas, tables, and chairs embrace mid-century modern tendencies with smooth rounded edges, natural hues, and bauhaus simplicity. 

A good inspiration for choosing a sofa can come from the Danish term ‘hygge’, which roughly translates to ‘cosiness’. In interior design, you can achieve hygge by surrounding yourself with soft fabrics and natural materials.

Look no further than this from Scandinavian Designs Furniture for the centrepiece of your lounge area. The sofa boasts masculine lines and shapes with a tailored appeal, creating the relaxed and cosy feel you’re after.

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credit: Scandinavian Designs Furniture

When picking furniture, there’s another foreign term to bear in mind. Lagom, in Swedish, refers to the Scandinavian aesthetic: not too much, not too little, just right. So don’t go cluttering your living areas with lots of tables and chairs.

Then, remember to choose simple and sturdy pieces that will stand the test of time in terms of wear and tear and style.

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credit: Decorilla

These simple designs often offer style in combination with versatility. Multileveled and sized wall shelving is another quintessentially Scandinavian design idea, offering space and savvy storage while maintaining visual beauty. Montana offers customisable cabinetry with an incredible selection of colour and has retailers in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Light flooring 

Wall-to-wall carpeting just isn’t a thing in Scandinavian internal design — even in the bedrooms. Instead, flooring is traditionally hardwood. The reason for this is to help natural light flow through your living spaces. In carpets, this light disappears, while sunshine reflects off wood-flooring. In the winter months, underfloor heating, especially in the bathrooms, helps keep the home warm — but in many parts of Australia, this is often an unnecessary luxury.

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credit: Apartment Therapy

Colour palette 

Remember, keeping your home as light as possible is the key to Scandinavian ambiance. So, when choosing a colour scheme, pick neutral and calm colours. 

Clean hues such as soft whites, neutral pinks, soft amber, darker blue (almost charcoal), soft icy blues, dark greens, pale putty and moss colours are the way to go here. In typical Scandinavian spaces, walls are kept white allowing for furniture and art to take centre stage.

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credit: Decorilla

Simple, but effective accents 

Decorative pieces in Scandinavian design are simple in style. For a vase, why not try this elegant number by Stelton. For cushions, go for geometric patterns like these from Olivia Decor.

Don’t be afraid to add a splash of greenery into your home. Subtle pot plants bring nature and colour into a room — but keep them away from the windows.

Scandinavians tend to keep window areas bare of coverings, but if you are to make use of the space use light fabrics like linen and sheer.

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credit: Trendir

Don’t blow the budget

The whole point of this type of design is that it’s inexpensive. Sure, splurge on a couple of stand-out pieces if you want, but IKEA and Kmart have a lot of what you’re looking for at a fraction of the price. You can even scour sites like eBay and Gumtree for second-hand mid-century modern pieces because Scandinavian furniture is built to last.

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