Our tips for adopting the Scandinavian style at home
Scandinavian style has come in from the cold to warm up our homes and is becoming increasingly popular. It's as up-to-date as ever, and goes perfectly with the new minimalist trend. Discover our tips for inviting the Nordic spirit into your home while keeping your decorating clean.
What is Scandinavian style?
Originating in Sweden, Denmark and Norway, the Nordic style a found its way into our flats in the 1950s and 1960s. Deceptively simple, it is distinguished above all by pure, even geometric furniture that fulfils its functions with elegance and discretion - which does not prevent it from adopting soft lines, through rounded backs, curved armrests or slightly sloping tubular legs.
The colours are sober, to rest the eye and to enlarge the space. In the Nordic palette, pure white, beige and light grey are the main colours, with one or two pastel colours used sparingly. But the Norwegian or Danish style is also warm and close to nature: Scandinavian interiors can be decorated with a few green plants and, above all, with furniture or objects made of blond wood, which can be combined with a touch of metal.
The right elements to give your rooms a Nordic style
You don't have to change everything to recreate the inspiring atmosphere of a Scandinavian flat at home. From furniture to decoration, here's how to transform your home easily and inexpensively.
Scandinavian lighting, a real must-have
If you want to give a Nordic touch to your rooms, there is nothing like well-chosen lamps. Very characteristic, Scandinavian lamps are recognized by their graphic and unadorned shapes: whether they are round, conical or cylindrical, they go to the essential and bring you a functional as well as decorative lighting.
For a dining room in the air of time, you can place above the table a pendant light in the form of a dome, preferably in white metal for maximum clarity.
In the living room, prefer a Scandinavian ceiling light: both elegant and discreet, a simple light disk will diffuse a large light throughout the room.
As for intimate spaces, such as the bedroom, they of course require a soft and subdued lighting: often provided with a triple foot in raw wood, the Floor lamp Nordic invites itself there quite naturally, accompanied by a lampshade in clear fabric, which prevents any glare.
Graphic and cosy rugs
Mixing black and white, combining dove grey with a touch of pale yellow or favouring pastel blue, Scandinavian rugs are an undeniable asset for a successful decor. Soft and fluffy, they also provide the comfort you need to feel good at home. Their geometric patterns are very varied: between triangles, rhombuses and abstract lines, they give modernity to any interior.
For a cozy living room or a cosy master suite, you can choose a shaggy Model . Short-pile Nordic rugs are ideal for high-traffic areas such as the hallway or the children's room, where baby prams and small cars roll along much more easily! And to decorate the floor of the terrace, kitchen or bathroom, think of plastic Swedish rugs: rot-proof, they are ideal for adding character to wet areas.
The inimitable charm of Nordic chairs
Immediately recognisable, Scandinavian chairs add style to any office, kitchen or dining room. What sets them apart?
Their one-piece shells, with their beautifully rounded shapes, and their attractive pine or natural oak legs, often simply varnished and sometimes reinforced with metal braces.
To surround the dining room table, choose chairs with plastic seats that are easy to clean. In other rooms, you can opt for fabric-covered seats, possibly upholstered and with armrests. This will give you maximum comfort for relaxing, reading or talking.
A clock on Danish time
After lighting and furniture, all you need is a strong decorative element to complete your new Nordic interior.
Both useful and aesthetic, Scandinavian clocks are an eye-catcher, whether you place them in your living room or in your kitchen.
Simplistically, they are often reduced to a square or circular dial, with no edge, or on the contrary to a bottomless frame, equally minimalist. In terms of materials, clocks alternate between wood and metal, unless they are combined to create a contrast in keeping with the times.
As for the numerals, with two simple hands, they are alternately modern, Roman, or absent, for those who appreciate very contemporary clocks. Enough to allow you to improvise a minimalist decoration in the purest Nordic spirit!
