Swedish interior style - or Scandinavian minimalism - is snow-white kingdom with light beige wood and variegated textile splashes. This is a style that originated in the northern latitudes, where the polar night lasts for several months, and every ray of light is equated to a gift from God. This is why Swedish interiors in the Scandinavian style are so snow-white - this color helps to capture and reflect the minimum of natural light that penetrates the house.
Swedish interior style: features
The features of the Swedish style in the interior reflect the asceticism inherent in the northern peoples, accustomed to constantly struggling with the harsh climate and surviving despite frost, barren soils, polar days followed by polar nights. The achromatic color scheme of the interiors symbolizes the sparkling snowy landscape, inclusions of emerald and blue - coniferous forests and the sky, light beige tones - the warmth of wood. Swedish style can be safely considered an environmental trend
in design: there is no place for synthetic materials, only natural textures and natural shades.
Swedish interior style is airy and light . The set of furniture in the premises is minimal - despite its small size, a city apartment in the Swedish style will never seem cramped, it is filled with fresh air and invisible cleanliness.
We put the rules into practice
So, the first step in decorating the interior design of a small apartment in the Swedish style is to paint the walls white or a pastel color palette. This well-known design technique allows you to visually expand the space and create a magnificent backdrop for any design. Instead of paint, it is quite possible to use light-colored wallpaper with a delicate pattern.
But in order for the Swedish interior in the photo to not look hospital-dull, it is necessary to use several bright accents. This could be a dark floor covering, bright textiles, or several decorative elements in a contrasting color.
The Swedish style in the interior in the photo involves the use of racks, arches, shelves and other decorative and functional elements that can replace impractical interior walls.
In almost every small Scandinavian apartment, you can see a podium. Using this design, the space is divided into zones and an additional niche is created for storing things.
If the apartment has niches, nooks and blind corners that have not yet been used, you should think about how you can use these places. Perhaps you can build a wardrobe from an inconvenient niche, and place a computer desk in a nook where unnecessary things were previously stored.
Swedish kitchen interior design also implies functionality and convenience, which is what we see in the photo. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to the window sill. And instead of the usual place for indoor flowers, make a comfortable tabletop out of it. The window sill located in the room can be easily converted into a place to relax, where you can dream and read a book while contemplating the city at night.
Numerous shelves and racks are the first sign of a Swedish apartment interior. Scandinavians are very fond of open structures on which they can store personal belongings, books, CDs, and even use them as a stand for a cup of coffee.
Small apartments are simply created for multifunctional, transformable furniture. In a small room, you can always place a folding sofa, a coffee table and a pull-out bar counter. Such furniture is comfortable, practical and does not take up much space, which is important in a Scandinavian interior.
Swedish home interior begins with a comfortable hallway. In this part of the home, it is customary to use miniature, preferably hanging, racks and bedside tables for storing shoes and outerwear. All furniture for the hallway should not take up much space and have narrow dimensions.
Swedish style decoration and textiles
The Swedish interior style is recognizable by its perfectly white and smooth walls - this is finished in the form of matte painting with water-based compositions. No milky or beige tones - only crystal white without any texture. Sometimes finishing with Scandinavian wallpaper is acceptable - white panels with stylized images of green branches, leaves, pine needles.
Quite often, Swedish interiors contain fragments of brickwork
- this can be terracotta-colored clinker tiles or white, gray or black tiles, the size of a brick.
The ceiling is also painted in a white shade identical to the walls, decorated with a massive ceiling cornice, and sometimes with a stucco rosette in the center. Built-in lamps in the Swedish style are practically not used; most often the room is illuminated by a ceiling chandelier of a modern, laconic design made of stainless steel, copper or painted metal. Ceiling, floor and table lamps in a Scandinavian home are always spectacular focal points of the interior composition due to the shape and texture of the metal.
Floors in the Swedish interior style are deck boards or piece parquet made from light beige softwood: pine, spruce, larch, cedar. A sharp contrast between the floor and walls is unacceptable; the color scheme of the design is nuanced. In Sweden they do not use any complex types of flooring: only herringbone and deck patterns. The skirting boards are high and straight - Euro type, painted white - not to match the floor, but to match the walls.
Windows in the Scandinavian design style are large-format openings with white sheathing that divides the glass plane into equal squares. Curtains are practically not used in Swedish interiors - the windows should be open as much as possible to allow light to enter the room. If there are curtains, then these are light curtains of a flowing style made of fine wool, linen, and white cotton. Accents in the Swedish interior style include fabric upholstery of upholstered furniture, decorative pillows and floor textiles in the form of colorful striped runners, woolen carpets and round rugs with catchy patterns.
Sleeping room
Swedes prefer minimalism and functionality in clothing and furnishings. The bedroom is filled with cleanliness and freshness. The main element of the decor is a white wooden bed covered with a plain pastel-colored bedspread. You can stick textured wallpaper on the central wall, thereby highlighting it. The floors are covered with traditional long wooden boards, which are varnished or white painted. The dressing table and bedside tables can be painted white, or you can leave the natural texture of the wood and cover them with a light varnish. The bedroom should be located in a quiet place in the house.
A wooden floor, an elegant wicker chair in the corner, straw blinds - these elements create a warm, cozy and calm atmosphere in the bedroom.
A beautiful floor lamp, table lamp or exquisite candlestick will decorate the interior and become an additional source of lighting. It’s good to put a small intricate vase on the dressing table, and a bright fresh flower in a clay pot on the white windowsill.
Article on the topic: Minimalism style - simplicity and convenience (+50 photos)
Scandinavian style furniture
The Swedish interior style has an original feature - it contains cabinet furniture made from the same wood as the flooring - that is, it practically merges with the floor. The design of the furnishings is simple and absolutely functional - not a drop of decoration or carving - all facades are perfectly smooth
. This feature allows you to successfully imitate Scandinavian furniture using plywood and particle boards.
Slight unevenness of tone, knots and sapwood - minor wood defects are welcome; in the Swedish interior style, everything should have the most natural and natural look. At the same time, Scandinavians love to fill their homes with high-tech things. For example, knotty facades successfully coexist with a hinged door opening system for a sliding wardrobe. A floor lamp can stand on a homespun rug woven from leftover wool yarn.
Living room design in Swedish style
The Swedish style of the living room implies a minimum of furniture and the formation of a free and voluminous space that is not overloaded with details. Typically, the living room is combined with a kitchen and dining room, forming a studio-like space. A compact sofa with rectangular outlines, covered with gray or ornamented textiles, a simple dining table without frills, metal chairs of an original shape and a kitchen set in white or wood tone - that’s the whole decor. A fireplace or stove adds a touch of coziness.
Bedroom decoration in the Swedish spirit
A Swedish-style bedroom is as simple and laconic as other rooms. The bed for the bedroom is chosen as simple and discreet as possible, with a regular rectangular headboard. The bedspread should be white or gray, the pillows should also be in achromatic tones. Is it just a woolen blanket
can be decorated with a characteristic northern zigzag or snowflakes composed of blue-gray rhombuses.
The wall to which the sleeping place adjoins is usually decorated with posters and pictures, taken in a thin black frame. In Swedish interiors, open storage spaces are often found: cabinets and racks without front surfaces, wall shelves . The dressing room can be separated from the bedroom by a narrow partition that hides a single rod with clothes hung on hangers. The rest of the items are simply stored in boxes or wicker baskets.
Swedish style in kitchen design
A Swedish-style kitchen is most often a tandem of terracotta, gray or black glossy ceramics used to cover the work wall with white furniture fronts. The kitchen floor in the Scandinavian style is never tiled - it remains wooden, as in other rooms. The front surfaces of the wooden kitchen set are coated with white glossy varnish.
White kitchen in Scandinavian style
– this is the optimal solution for a small apartment when the kitchen space is quite limited. The light colors of the Swedish color scheme will help to visually expand the walls and make a small kitchen more spacious and comfortable. You can give your kitchen a Scandinavian ambiance by using laminated or white-painted MDF. It is better to order a kitchen countertop from light golden wood of ash, oak, birch or beech.
Swedish interior style is a practical and functional design option that allows you to create comfort in your rooms with minimal means. By visiting the Westwing shopping club, you can learn even more about the features of interior decoration in the Scandinavian style, as well as find original accessories for your home.
Materials
- light wallpaper on the walls;
- natural finishing materials - wooden floors, ceramics (bathroom, kitchen);
- natural wood furniture of simple design (bedroom);
- the absence of lush curtains and curtains, instead of them there are light blinds on the windows;
- colored bedspreads without large patterns;
- small rugs on the floor;
- an abundance of small decorative pillows that create coziness;
- floor vases;
- dim small paintings for wall decor.
The color scheme is not limited to white. Swedish style in the interior actively uses all shades of pastel colors. The house is finished and decorated using bright blue, lilac, scarlet, and emerald colors.
Scandinavian style is laconicism in clothing and household details. The same principle is used in home decoration. Swedish style will appeal to those who value comfort, tranquility, and simplicity in the interior. It creates freshness and spaciousness in the room and speaks of the good taste of the owners. Man intuitively strives from urbanization to the bosom of nature, to natural materials, to purification and health. This is what attracts many people to the Scandinavian style – naturalness and simplicity.
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