Lifestyle: 9 Style Lessons to Steal From the Nordics
To welcome Denmark and Sweden to Houzz, we’ve put together a quick guide to living Scandinavian-style in your home
The world has long been hungry for the Nordic lifestyle, with our love of design, nature, light and living the good life. But this is about much more than painting your floorboards white or throwing a sheepskin on a chair – it’s a mindset that informs everyday life. The good thing is, anybody can do it, and it’s not even a question of budgets or the size of your home. Here are our nine steps to living life like a Scandinavian.
Always buy an original
Yes, design classics can be expensive. Yes, it is easy to be lured in by the companies that sell badly produced knock-offs, thinking nobody will be able to tell the difference anyway. But there’s one thing a copied product will never do: hold its value. If you invest in a Poul Henningsen lamp (the PH3 is shown here), you can enjoy it for a lifetime and, if you want to, put it toward the grandchildren’s university fund. Henningsen designed his PH lamps in the late 1920s and early 30s and, nearly a hundred years on, they still look modern and stunning.
Yes, design classics can be expensive. Yes, it is easy to be lured in by the companies that sell badly produced knock-offs, thinking nobody will be able to tell the difference anyway. But there’s one thing a copied product will never do: hold its value. If you invest in a Poul Henningsen lamp (the PH3 is shown here), you can enjoy it for a lifetime and, if you want to, put it toward the grandchildren’s university fund. Henningsen designed his PH lamps in the late 1920s and early 30s and, nearly a hundred years on, they still look modern and stunning.
Love the light
We all know the Nordic penchant for white walls and pared-back interiors, right? Of course, that’s a bit of a cliché, and there are plenty of colourful homes in Scandinavia. But the fact remains that we love all shades of white – perhaps in celebration of both the sunlight in summer and the deep snow in winter.
The walls of this room are absolutely perfect for reflecting the light. A sloping ceiling casts light throughout the space and ends at clerestory windows (above eye level) that catch even the lowest rays in winter.
We all know the Nordic penchant for white walls and pared-back interiors, right? Of course, that’s a bit of a cliché, and there are plenty of colourful homes in Scandinavia. But the fact remains that we love all shades of white – perhaps in celebration of both the sunlight in summer and the deep snow in winter.
The walls of this room are absolutely perfect for reflecting the light. A sloping ceiling casts light throughout the space and ends at clerestory windows (above eye level) that catch even the lowest rays in winter.
Shop and live sustainably
With large swaths of our five Nordic nations covered in forest, no wonder we use wood as a prime source of materials. From stools to saunas, everything is clad in or constructed from pine and spruce, giving interiors that typical Scandi look. But it’s also about using the materials that are close at hand and that can be obtained sustainably.
As consumers, we hold enormous power in our choice of products. The smarter we shop, the better things will be. So support local companies and those that tell the story of their production process openly, and you can make little changes every day.
Discover more ways to use wood for a pared-back modern rustic look
With large swaths of our five Nordic nations covered in forest, no wonder we use wood as a prime source of materials. From stools to saunas, everything is clad in or constructed from pine and spruce, giving interiors that typical Scandi look. But it’s also about using the materials that are close at hand and that can be obtained sustainably.
As consumers, we hold enormous power in our choice of products. The smarter we shop, the better things will be. So support local companies and those that tell the story of their production process openly, and you can make little changes every day.
Discover more ways to use wood for a pared-back modern rustic look
See things in black and white
You might think we are a bit middle of the road, gently diplomatic and maybe even a tad… boring? Far from it. The Nordics are nations of extremes, with deep-running currents of emotion. We have no darkness in summer and no light in winter. Opposites attract, even in our homes. Too much white in a room, and you go snow-blind. Too much black, and there is forever gloom. But the perfect balance of black lines in a white setting is pure poetry to us – like our version of yin and yang for interiors. And it works all around the world.
Browse more ways to use monochrome in a Scandi interior
You might think we are a bit middle of the road, gently diplomatic and maybe even a tad… boring? Far from it. The Nordics are nations of extremes, with deep-running currents of emotion. We have no darkness in summer and no light in winter. Opposites attract, even in our homes. Too much white in a room, and you go snow-blind. Too much black, and there is forever gloom. But the perfect balance of black lines in a white setting is pure poetry to us – like our version of yin and yang for interiors. And it works all around the world.
Browse more ways to use monochrome in a Scandi interior
Make space for play
Children should be both seen and heard in Scandinavian countries, and as often and as loudly as possible. Playtime is taken very seriously indeed, from the little ones’ creations with Lego – which originated in Denmark – to the older ones’ cyberworlds of Minecraft, a video game invented in Sweden.
In this Swedish summer house, the space on top of the parents’ sleeping cubicle has been turned into an indoor treehouse, made secure by netting, so children can have their own place to play.
Children should be both seen and heard in Scandinavian countries, and as often and as loudly as possible. Playtime is taken very seriously indeed, from the little ones’ creations with Lego – which originated in Denmark – to the older ones’ cyberworlds of Minecraft, a video game invented in Sweden.
In this Swedish summer house, the space on top of the parents’ sleeping cubicle has been turned into an indoor treehouse, made secure by netting, so children can have their own place to play.
Live close to (and in) nature
While other European people flock to beaches and resorts in summer, the height of luxury for many Scandinavians on holiday is travelling to an isolated spot far from the madding crowd – perhaps with no running water or central heating, but preferably with good Wi-Fi, as our nations are some of the most connected in the world.
Our landscapes are deeply ingrained in us, and new architecture makes good use of advances in insulation and triple glazing to create floor-to-ceiling glass walls, as seen here in this summer house. We also like to bring nature inside, with plants in simple terracotta pots to take us through the winter months.
While other European people flock to beaches and resorts in summer, the height of luxury for many Scandinavians on holiday is travelling to an isolated spot far from the madding crowd – perhaps with no running water or central heating, but preferably with good Wi-Fi, as our nations are some of the most connected in the world.
Our landscapes are deeply ingrained in us, and new architecture makes good use of advances in insulation and triple glazing to create floor-to-ceiling glass walls, as seen here in this summer house. We also like to bring nature inside, with plants in simple terracotta pots to take us through the winter months.
Organise and declutter
We do like a bit of order and selection. After all, two Swedish words you might all know are ombudsman and smorgasbord. But it’s also about seeing everyday beauty in the simple of things, and taking pleasure in a pile of well-folded towels or running a hand along a shelf of colour co-ordinated books. This ethos is akin to mindfulness through design, and is something that can be done no matter how you live or what your budget is.
We do like a bit of order and selection. After all, two Swedish words you might all know are ombudsman and smorgasbord. But it’s also about seeing everyday beauty in the simple of things, and taking pleasure in a pile of well-folded towels or running a hand along a shelf of colour co-ordinated books. This ethos is akin to mindfulness through design, and is something that can be done no matter how you live or what your budget is.
Embrace hygge
We’ll round off this guide on how to enjoy Nordic design with a Danish word that encapsulates all of the steps above. Hygge means ‘cosy warmth’ – spending time with the ones you love, in a home that is filled with light and well-loved items that bring you everyday joy when you use them. You can’t buy hygge, nor can you get someone to create it for you. It is the Nordic state of contentment that can be found only at home.
Come see more about the Nordic lifestyle and Nordic design and architecture at Houzz.dk and Houzz.se.
Velkommen and välkommen!
TELL US…
Have you embraced the Nordic lifestyle? Share your tips in the Comments below.
We’ll round off this guide on how to enjoy Nordic design with a Danish word that encapsulates all of the steps above. Hygge means ‘cosy warmth’ – spending time with the ones you love, in a home that is filled with light and well-loved items that bring you everyday joy when you use them. You can’t buy hygge, nor can you get someone to create it for you. It is the Nordic state of contentment that can be found only at home.
Come see more about the Nordic lifestyle and Nordic design and architecture at Houzz.dk and Houzz.se.
Velkommen and välkommen!
TELL US…
Have you embraced the Nordic lifestyle? Share your tips in the Comments below.
This is not about trying to impress the neighbours or name-dropping about your latest designer buy. Living with design is simply living well, caring about how the things around you work, how they are made and how they make you feel. For us Nordics, form follows function – we design from necessity. (Though, as we all know, there’s nothing stopping our designers making functional items that are both funky and fab.)