The point of interior design is to make your house feel like home and to make your home a place that has a positive effect on your quality of life. Practicality, comfort and minimalism, the main properties of Scandinavian style, achieve exactly that purpose. Interior trends come and go, but a few have managed to remain at the top of the list for as consistently as Scandinavian design.
Entering the Scene
Scandinavian furniture has been around for quite some time now, as early as the 1930s. It started gaining popularity and recognition in the 1950s and 60s, and it has never left the designers scene since then.
It all started when modernist cultural and aesthetic movements started breaking from the conservativeness of previous eras. Scandinavian design movement has emerged as a result of the tendencies in the modernist aesthetic movement to simplify forms and focus on functionality.
Furthermore, Scandinavian design, or Scandi, aims to produce beautiful, aesthetic, functional and quality products that are not only available for the rich. This is why you can find relatively affordable Scandinavian designer furniture made with outstanding craftsmanship and why it is often referred to as democratic design.
Characteristics
Scandi style is not really simple to define. Being as popular and wildly used as it is for decades means that it has been evolving with the times, and today it has gained a wider, more nuanced meaning.
Though minimalistic, Scandinavian and minimalistic designs are different styles, established more or less on the same principle. The main difference is in the materials used in the production of the furniture. While minimalism uses metals, Scandinavian design is recognisable by its use of wood and soft colours and textures.
The climate of the Nordic countries (the cold, the dark, the winter) have influenced the materials and the shades of the style. The warmness, the comfort, and the light colours of the furniture oppose the cold and the darkness (due to the shortness of daylight) of the North. It’s a form of a compensation, which creates a positive, feel-good and inviting atmosphere, attractive to different people with different tastes and different lifestyles.
Unsurprisingly, much more than a trend in home design, Scandi has become a part of many people’s way of life. The pale, neutral colours in combination with natural materials, such as wood and the sense of spaciousness, accentuate the aesthetics of Scandinavian designer furniture and make certain pieces look like a piece of art, giving them the leading role in the entire composition.
However, the colours don’t always have to be light, pastel and pale, and some people even break away from the minimalism in some creative ways. But, the consistency of the style is always in the functionality and simplicity of the furniture, the light wooden floors, and above all, the use of natural materials like wood and fibres.
Scandinavian Furniture and Accessories
Scandinavian furniture is made of natural wood and natural fabrics with basic geometrical shapes, gentle, clean lines, subtle curves, and tapered wood legs. The lack of bulkiness and the empty space under the furniture pieces make them minimalistic and extremely appealing.
The accessories, such as cushions and carpets, will often feature contrasting colours to the pastel colours of the furniture and the light colours of the wood floorings. In fact, contrast plays a very important part in Scandinavian design.
Contrast can protect your room from feeling sterile, or even boring, so even though pastel colours are very important, restrain, moderation, and balance are vital in Scandinavian style.
Why Should You Consider Scandinavian Style for Your Home?
With all that being said, it’s safe to conclude that Scandinavian design, though a modernistic aesthetic movement, with time has become a classic. What’s more, it’s undoubtedly a style that feels contemporary at any given moment.
– Easy to Achieve
It’s fairly easy and affordable to design a room in Scandinavian style. Due to the abovementioned simplicity of the style, achieving the vibe is a matter of combining and blending the furniture, the accessories and the colours of the room. Due to its minimalistic and clutter-free nature, you won’t need too many things to help you achieve your goal.
– Spaciousness
Lastly, unlike pieces from other furniture styles that can come off as unwieldy, Scandi furniture is compact, which means it saves you space, apart from giving you visual depth.
– Comfort
As a result of the brightness, the simplicity, the functionality and the spaciousness, Scandinavian interior design gives off a sense of calm, while the sharp contrasts to the natural colours add a warm happy feeling to that calmness, making your home the comfortable safe haven it should be.
– Quality furniture
Whether you are looking for Scandinavian designer furniture online or in a physical store, finding quality pieces shouldn’t be hard since they are generally designed with sturdiness as a priority. Simply, as always, make sure to check the manufacturer and the designer.