Can I ask a favor of you? Would you mind answering a couple of questions?
How would you define "Scandinavian"?
What elements in my home would you consider Scandinavian (if any)?
Yes, this has to do with the book proposal. I'm adding to it a bit and as a Swede I'm suffering from a bit of "home blindness" and can't really objectively see which elements are Scandinavian and which ones are just "me".
Thank you! Oh, I mean Tack!
88 Comments
I’m British and live in France so for me:
Scandanavia = Sweden-Norway-Denmark-Finland, whiteness, snow,un fussy-design, clean lines, calmness
Elements in your home that represent Scandanavia = White, Calm , Ikea , non-clutter
It’s simple: the dominance of white and the spots of strong colours. I love it!
It’s also tipically nord-european, if not scandinavian, the maintaing the original – I might call – simple vintage style of bathroom and kitchen. In middle/south Europe, they are the first rooms you invest money in and refurbish when you buy a new house.
I hope it helps.
As a finn my definition of scandinavian is: Clean lines, colours like white and black, light colored wood, glas, design classics, uncluttered, lots of light and air (uncluttered).
Designers like Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, Louis Poulsen and brands like Artek and Iittala.
Hope it helps!
I’m with everybody else on the definition of Scandinavia – and would also add the attention to “everyday beauty”, like putting fresh flowers on the table. As for elements of it in your house, it’s definitely the organization – ordning & reda – that makes your place seem Scandinavian…and in that case you’re veeeerrry Scandinavian 🙂
Scandanvia – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark? and Iceland? Beautiful people, clean, sensible, modern, clever, expensive, cold, brilliant and buildings with great insulation.
Polsa, open sandwiches, smorgasbord, smoked salmon. Whales, Vikings, Hagar the Horrible, Volvo, Ikea, Bjorn Borg, Abba 🙂
Your Home – Spotless, white, great style, junk all hidden, friendly, welcoming, fun.
Cheers from an Aussie who has visited all the above countries.
I’m British, living in The Netherlands (via Italy, Ireland and France on the way). I scribbled down the first words I thought of when I read this question, they were:
cool, calm, clean lines, pale wood, natural (and unfortunately) IKEA.
I think your living and dining areas are the most Scandinavian elements of your home. The kitchen and bathroom remind me of similar rooms here in the Netherlands so maybe they are more Northern European in style.
I hope this helps, and congratulations on the book.
As a Swede I would say that Scandinavian interior design to me =
– light and AIRY
– uncluttered
– light coloured wood like birch and white oak
– fresh colour spots of apple green, sunny yellow, strawberry red and summer sky blue
…and, I have to add, I also think that a lot of us have traditional (in my case Swedish) elements in our homes like dalahästar (dala horses), old handwowen rugs (trasmattor), handcrafted items and so on. I think that we, more than other countries, try to combine the best of the past and the present and present in a fresh clean package.
/Anso
I am from Spain, and Scandinavian as Pauline said “Scandanvia – Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland”.
And in your house: white, simple and clear lines, wood, natural materials, touch of natural colours and that special light of summer and candle light in winter.
Ibb
When I was 13 we spent 6 months living in Denmark. My impressions from then are: bag your own groceries, grocery shopping every day, mid-century modern furniture design, modern sleek stuff, people’s homes looking super sleek or very rustic, topless beaches, herring, salmon, crackers, smorbrot, meatballs, etc, riding on ferries, blue, white, beige, light woods, reds and some greens. Blond hair, fair skin, blue eyes, language that sounds like clicking.
today when I think Scandinavian, I think of my Finnish friends, all things modern and sleek, Ikea, rustic cottages, lots of white with small bits of color, smorbrot fishy/cracker food, meatballs/frickadeller, healthy blond people with fair skin and blue eyes, etc. Fashion forward, sometimes to the point of weird, lol. Design forward, sometimes to the point of being cold.
your home: I’d say all the white with bits of color. Your clogs. Your furniture preferences design-wise. And now I’m stuck. I live in Germany now and and having a hard time differentiating the rest of your house! =)
For me, “scandinavian” means…
-contemporary furniture and art, purity and simplicity of lines
-less is better, uncluttered, organized
-almost everything clear or white, whith few color
-nature, flower, wood…
and even if there are other country who share this way of life (Japan for the purity, and Greece for example), Ithink the scandinavian quality is the light and brightness.
And for me, your house is all this ,in the way to keep all beautiful and simple, comfortable but not ostensible…
I am very impatient to have your book ! Good luck !
MC (France)
Hi! I´m from Portugal and for me, the scandinavian style is all about white, light wood floors and furniture, naked windows and design functionality. So, when I see your house I have to say that is scandinavian for sure, but… with a very personal touch!
Good luck with your book. I´m looking forward to see it!
I forgot…for me, you (and scandinavian) are much more involved with respect and care for the earth in a frugal simple way (compost, bycicle, not so much high-tech, repurpose candy boxes for example…)
Have à nice day,
MC
Light, blue sky, wooden floors, white furniture, candles, simple.
like many others the most scandinavian elements in your home that i see are the dominance of white and wood as well as good organization. but there is also the importance of what the danes call “hygge” (i’m not sure if it’s the same in swedish) which is like cozy and you can see this in your candles, flowers, blankets, pets, etc. good luck with the book! 🙂
A lot of homes that go for label themselves as Scaninavian looked unlived in and not accessable. Nothing that would translate to real living with kids and pets and busy lives. Your home always looks comfortable. I think that is where a lot of people miss the mark with Scaninavian design…and then what everyone else said..
white
a place for everything
purposeful design
simple
lovely
Hi, i’m writing from Italy.
For me Scandinavian means linear, useful, easy, fresh colors, clever employment of space and of course my honeymoon… 🙂
crisp
fresh
clean
pure
white – with colour highlights
bright
simple yet carefully considered
clean lines in design
well planned and well used living spaces
unhurried in life
pale timbers
kind to the earth
relaxed and calm (but very noisy at the tennis!)
Hi, I’m Scottish and live in Hungary via Germany and Canada. I agree with all of the above; I think Emmas’s list says it all. Looking forward to your book!
Hi,
I’m writing from Germany. Scandinavian Interior means for me:
Brightness
Calmness
untreated Wood
and most important:
Light!
Your clean and uncluttered home seems for me much more Benita-like, than classic Scandinavian.
I would have to agree with the others who have posted:
Light, white and airy, clean and simple, uncluttered.
Light woods, painted white floors, unpretentious, simple window treatments that let the outside in, lots of candles on the dinner table, fresh flowers, white interiors, homemade accessories, comfortable furniture and photos of family and pets. In other words: Benita’s home! xxx
I agree with you all, I haven´t got much to add, but I miss one little thing: the Larsson house is a good example of contemporary Scandinavian design. I´m also Swedish, but my home is decorated in the traditional Swedish style of the Gustavian period, which is a completely different thing, still bright, white, airy but more traditional.
Borrowed pics from the UK as examples:
http://www.swedishinteriordesign.co.uk/images/home_final.JPG
http://www.swedishinteriordesign.co.uk/images/frontpage-3.jpg
I echo the lists above. I think of long winter nights and the need for light: light woods, bright clear colors, candles and fairy lights. The summer is a time for soaking up as much of the outdoors as you can: picnics on summer green grass under white cloud-mottled blue skies. I try not to think about the funky smoked and jarred fish. 😀
For me, “scandinavian” means Seeden, Ikea, winter, white & wood.
From your house, I find the plain white almost everywhere is the most “scandinavian touch”.
Also, those bizarre comments with funny caracters with ° on top of vowels 😉
Good luck for your book !
Fernanda from Brazil here. I agree with everyone else, and think Emma’s list above sums it quite nicely. Scandinavian contemporary design is all about functionality, clean lines, uncluttered, Earth-care, and a good mix of tradition+modern. I think your house shows this mix well added to the fact that despite the clean-organized-decluttered look, you feel that people really live in there (contrary to other ‘clean design’ we can see in magazines everywhere).
Good luck on the book.
Scandinavian style to me is good clean lines in design.
Form and function in balance. Lots of clean crisp whites, pale floors, and bold pops of color used throughout. The contemporary homes I think of as Scandinavian are very family oriented- airy and open.
Your home is bright clean crisp and white with great uses of color. I love that you have used clear colors.Its warm and family friendly. Hope this can help and good luck!
Carol
simple, clean, very practical and pretty
oooh and herrings. my fridge is full of herrings from my last trip to the swedish store 😀 (and I fell in love with them while in Malmö)
I´m from Buenos Aires
For me Scandinavian means economy. Restraint. Funky colors here and there. White. No ostentation.
If you are planning on selling your book in the United States- well then, it wouldn’t matter what you said you’re style is- we’d believe it. Of course there are the obvious “know it all” interior designers here that know all the specific styles and such- but for the most part, we are just a big interior designing melting pot and whatever looks good, looks good.
I did notice right away your style was very European and I wasn’t surprised when you mentioned you worked at IKEA- and the white- all the white is a dead giveaway- but the average person who buys your book will not know if something is Scandinavian or not- over here in the states anyway- just looks balanced- flows together- clean- organized- European.
I have seen lately over here in the states a beautiful mixture of your “Scandinavian” style mixed with antique old America, the straight lines with floral, and so forth. So yes, you might be influenced by your culture, but overall, we all come back to what we feel comfortable in- so how can we label our style into one category? Some things about your house I absolutely love, and other things not so much- I look at your blog for ideas- and I really enjoy it.
I love how you implement color- with all that white you need some of those bold greens and yellows- and your flowers of course. What does your yard look like?
I agree with Anso the most. Also my parents visited Sweden and Denmark a couple years ago and the impressions of what was “scandinavian” was the bench with a back they saw in many houses. The light in the kitchen window – pendant lights. Of course the Swedish clocks. My mom says I’m drawn to Scandinavian things – and she refers to my color choices lately which are red, yellow, orange, green, and white. Does that help?
I’ll be repeating most of the other comments:
Clean lines
Light woodtones
Airy and bright
Cool crisp light flooding in
Family gatherings
Folk arty fabrics or plain light colors, a bit muted maybe
Outdoor living with simple furniture
Living in the US. To me, the difference between Scandinavian design/style and just plain white furniture is INTELLIGENCE. By that I mean that Scandinavian design tends to avoid rare woods, slow-growing woods, dangerous varnishes and eco-hostile materials in general. It also takes into consideration the functionality of each piece; you rarely see a Scandinavian bookcase that is purely ornamental and does not work. Nor do you see an extremely pretty sofa that is impossibly uncomfortable. To me, an expat for many years, those traits signal “Scandinavian” even more than white walls, large windows, glass bowls and tulips.
As an American who adores your blog, Scandinavian means (at least to me, clean simple lines, with lots of white and small pops of color.
To me, the colors in your home seem very Scandinavian, the boat room seems very Scandinavian & all the fabulous little containers seem very European (I don’t think I’ve ever seen ice cream, candy, etc, come in the fabulous little containers you have). Here it is nearly all cardboard and cheap plastic, which makes repurposing a non-option most of the time.
Scandinavian is a geographical and an ethnological term, but it also a way of life. I think you mean the second one. Scandinavian, from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, but not from Finland on the strict definition. Cause Finnish is a completely different language.
But as a way of life I think we can include Finland in Scandinavian. I spend a year in Finland, this is why I say that. Actually Scandinavian way of life include words like :
White, wood, light blue, yellow, deep green.
Love of nature, forest, lake, sea…
Design, family, light…
From France, what I see is a simple way of living, with family, in a white, clean, light, pure, warm and design interior. With nice furniture, from Gustavian style or Ikea, doesn’t matter, it’s the same searching of pure lines at different period, and with different budgets.
Despite longs dark winters, light is very present in my idea of Scandinavia. Cause even during the darkest moment of the winter, with white snow the light is completely different, and the landscape looks so clear even when with no moonlight. And of course the interiors are full of very nice lights, lampshades, candles… I was looking at the windows, and the interiors looks so comfortable and warm. The light during spring and summer is also beautiful, the days have no ends, and this is fabulous. I loved it.
I also think of the little cottages on a lake or sea shore… I dreamed of having one of my own, on a island clause to Turku in Finland… It is the perfect place to live clause to nature, as I suppose Scandinavian people love. I think I can write more and more about Scandinavia. I really adore your blog, cause I think it shows perfectly the Sacndinavian way of life.
Lots of love from south of France.
Scandinavian: I think that because of the long dark winters, most Nordic people like light colours [white, white, white!]with bright colours in accessories to liven it up. Cleanliness [goes with white – it has to or everything looks dingy] I have never visited a Scandinavian country [would love to]but think that they are more in tune with ‘organic greenness’and creativity. Your home shows all the above tendencies.The touches of creativity help avoid the coldness of austerity. I am English and love both Scandinavian styles [particularly Gustavian]and English country – oh and French country too. Love your blog and know the book will be a big success – can we pre-order now? best wishes!
I think of Scandinavian as being very clean style, even the Gustavian style looks clean, I suppose because white is a theme. It also often times has a cottage feel to it, even in your modern style home it still feels warm and almost like a cottage. I also think of organic style, green, plants, and in general healthy living. I think of Scandinavians as being very active even in the cold winter months. A little snow never scared a Swede!
It’s really ideal living.
(I love your blog and am excited at the prospect of a book!!!)
Scandinavian means to me (from germany):
simple solutions
lightness
incomplicated, but classical design
a small amount of bright colors in the combination with white white an white
calmness
wood but not too dark
Clean lines with an elegant yet utilitarian look and features. Scandinavian design is always smart, ahead of the curve, bold and timeless.
And on a side note – What is it with the Swedish, you guys are so smart, everything that comes out of Sweden is so GOOD! It lasts, it looks fantastic, it works, its brilliant – I LOVE EVERYTHING SWEDISH!! You have to be so proud.
Scandinavian is . . .
– unpretentious
– accepting challenges or trying circumstances rather than lamenting or complaining
– intelligent (and modest about intelligence or expertise)
– simple modern and bold graphic style is used in ordinary things like milk containers all they way up to high end goods like handmade jewelry.
– candles for every day use, not just birthday cakes!
– comfortable
– balance between work and personal time
– accommodations for babies, toddlers, and children taken into consideration everywhere rather than expecting small children and parents to cope. For example an adult environment such as an art or history museums will have excellent kids activities or a gallery for young visitors and a kids environments such as a playground will have comfortable adult seating and possibly even coffee for purchase nearby.
I’m in the US. Scandinavian to me is clean lines, functional/utilitarian design that is somehow still beautiful, clever use of natural materials, white/lightness, and incorporation of nature somehow. I think your whole house is very Scandinavian (at least according to my definition). It’s very clean, minimal, and simple, there’s a functional place for everything, you use lots of white and light colors, and you incorporate flowers or other natural elements into all your rooms (I count unobstructed views of the outside in this). Good luck with your proposal!
The use of white is predominant in your home. Simple, clean lines and a natural theme.
I’m from California and to me, Scandinavian style is practical and modern with clean lines and lots of light. Little pops of color here and there, but dominated by white and wood tones. Nothing fussy and overdone but very utilitarian and sleek. That is what Scandinavian means to me.
I am from Malaysia, the first Scandinavian style introduce to me is Ikea. After I get to know more, Scandinavian style means :-
– White, Brightness, Calmness
– untreated Wood, but light colour.
– Bright colour normally introduce as focus point.
– clean line design, functional and practical
– A lot of features light instead of one ceiling light like most asian used to do
I grew up in a very Scandinavian-American community in North Dakota (my grandfather was an immigrant from Denmark). Since everyone else has mentioned the color white and modern design, I thought I would mention the great emphasis on winter celebrations, and mainly Christmas Eve. It is extremely cold in the northern plains, which explains why the Scandinavians were probably the only people willing to settle there, so it is important to make winter as enjoyable as possible. I do not know if that completely the same in Scandinavia as it is here but from reading your blog, it seems that Christmas is an important time for you and your family.
I agree 100% with Anso so no point repeating! I’m from Ireland by the way..
A couple of features that really struck me in Scandinavia (Sweden in particular): the ease with which modern furniture and home goods are balanced out by more traditional pieces, especially in wood which adds warmth. Also fresh flowers and tealights lit everywhere! There’s a crispness that strays from being too cold, which I think is the case in your house, because of a sense of humor with color and print. Things are really well designed and serve their purpose perfectly. Smaller houses are OK because they have ingenious storage to avoid clutter.
(ok, also the emphasis on white with spots of color everyone keeps mentioning…)
Putting my bias aside (my boyfriend is Norwegian), I think Scandinavians have superb characteristics in many ways. The logic, diplomacy, technology, style, aesthetics, modernity, class, peacefulness, etc. in Scandinavia strike me as unrivaled anywhere else.
I agree with everyone above – clean lines, simplicity, lightness, no clutter. The thing about your home is, it makes me feel like I am inhaling the freshest, greenest grass and the most beautiful flowers in a big breezy meadow somewhere in Sweden. haha I know it makes no sense, but I am trying to say your home is THAT FRESH and THAT SCANDINAVIAN 🙂
I’m writing from France (Normandy, the Viking country !) and for me Scandinavian style is white, lights, candles, wood, simplicity, nature, natural style, Ikea, Jacobsen, design and red houses with pontoons !
Et pour conclure en français, votre maison respire le bon goût scandinave: la blancheur tonifiée par des vibrantes touches de couleurs, un intérieur simple et chaleureux et un sens de l’organisation qui me fait pâlir d’envie !
I’m writing from France (Normandy, the Viking country !) and for me Scandinavian style is white, lights, candles, wood, simplicity, nature, natural style, Ikea, Jacobsen, design and red houses with pontoons !
Et pour conclure en français, votre maison respire le bon goût scandinave: la blancheur tonifiée par des vibrantes touches de couleurs, un intérieur simple et chaleureux et un sens de l’organisation qui me fait pâlir d’envie !
Mostly I think of light woods and clean lines. I also think of quiet.
I am from and still live in Canada. I have grown up with many Scandinavian influences as many Scandinavians emmigrated to the British Columbia coast in the last sixty years. My Mother’s preference was for Danish furniture which she has had for around forty years and the English Country of her childhood so that it is what I grew up with. We had Danish friends who shared a lot of recipes and taught my Mum to make coffee. We inherited their 1950’s teak sofa and chairs and my Mum had them buy for her textiles and pewter. My best friend in school was a Swedish speaking(only) Finn and her house was all about clean lines, functional design and connection to nature. I am particularly fond of traditional Swedish Design as seen in Carl Larsson’s home and paintings. It all seems to value light, clean lines, calmness, functional beauty and inviting warmth. Chez Larrson has these qualities.
When I think Scandanavian, I think Pippi Longstocking, and The Children of Noisy Village. I also think of fair haired, tall people, braided rugs, white and one color embroidery, farms, and IKEA. In design, I think of clean lines, lots of white, openess and airiness, pops of color, organization, and like Marie from Buenos Aires said, no ostentation. It’s liveable, likeable, and comfortable.
In your home, it’s white, pops of lovely, clear colors (nothing too muted, subdued or washed out- I like Martha Stewart, but a lot of her paints are muddy or dirty toned, and not happy and cheerful). Sensible organization (a place for everything…), frugal reusing/repurposing of items. Your house seems calming and comforting without losing personality (for example: the bird picture you had in the living room, the boat picture you have now, the cat pillows, your son’s room, items collected over time that tell your story).
To me, Scandinavian style is about simplicity and designing around light. Part of why I love your style so much is that I live in a place with a long rainy and dark winters.
I love the comments that this post has generated!
minimal in both the number of elements and the elements themselves
blond natural woods or painted (muted finishes)
wood handcrafts
wooly textiles and colorful graphic prints
unadorned windows for maximum light
candlelight
for me scandinavian is white furniture, a lot of wood inside and the outside of the houses is scandinavian, too. Scandinavian is also for me plainness of style. Maybe I’m wrong but that’s what like most. And Swedish people allways had been nice to us. Also the color combo white and red is typically scandinavian for me.
All the pieces are found in your house. Maybe that’s a reason why I like it so much.
To me Escandinavian means:
White;white: white.
Light wood
Painting floors
Airy
Simplicity
Fresh flowers
Clean lines
Empty of unussble things
1. How would you define “Scandinavian”?
clean white or light design, wood, blankets,some red, simplicity,minimal and functional.
2. What elements in my home would you consider Scandinavian (if any)
Most of it, but particulary things like:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/2436160641_c05b28169d.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2176/2314644615_b59b57782b.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2150/2240031782_29320866db.jpg?v=1206458548
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2417/2268124127_111d28fc4a.jpg?v=1225278672
Ljuset i huset! Inga mörka, tjocka gardiner som täcker fönstrena, och inte heller heltäckande tunna gardiner. Som ljusälskande svenskar bör är dina fönster stora ljusinsläpp.
Scandinavian, to me as a Brit, means light-filled, clean wood floors, spare and elegant furnishing, and careful design. You tick all those boxes, I think. x
I’m in Canada and I can’t think of anything other than what’s already been written but I do think of Scandanavian as synonymous with stylish.
I made a comment here earlier today and was just reading all of the other comments that has been submitted during the day and I just have to squeeze in and say WOW… I have been online since 1996 and I STILL get astonished over the way people connect on the Internet, big subjects aswell as small… Cool! 🙂
Clean, white, light colored wood. Minimal, everything has a purpose, no clutter.
I think all the white in your home is scandinavian.
My ignorant American summation of your style, and Scandinavian style in general, in one word: CLEAN.
But when I read your blog, I am not consciously thinking, “This is a blog by a Scandinavian person” or “This is a blog about Scandinavian style.” I just think, “This is a blog by someone who has fantastic, clean, organized design sensibilities, written in a friendly, simple, entertaining style, who happens to be Swedish and a former IKEA employee.”
Usually the only time I think about the fact that you’re in Sweden is when I see items you’ve labeled or magazines or other text not in English.
(In fact, you might be amused to know that, inspired by one of your posts,” I recently bought a brush to use for cleaning my kitty litter scoop, and I’m seriously considering labeling it “Kattlada” just for fun.)
Hello from the Czech republic. Thank you and all discussants for a lot of interesting suggestions. Speaking of “scandinavian design” calls me back Alvar Aalto’s vases first and IKEA next. However it is not as long ago I found another scandinavian style – and completely new for me. It probably is a contemporary version of gustavian style (I must study it thoroughly :-)) Just things like these – white wooden floors, white furniture, plenty of decorative things, flowers… And lamps on window sills, too. This is now – for me – typical scandinavian 🙂
Hello from Tasmania. For me, Scandinavian is a very broad term, and perhaps Modern Scandinavian is a more descriptive title for me, as I’m not so fond of gustavian style, which I also think of when I hear the word.
Anyway to me Scandinavian means, in addition to what most people of have said above, that magic light, it seems very unique to your part of the world and makes everything look very beautiful.
Scandinavian (in a modern sense) = white, clean, uncluttered, unpretentious, a few elements of high design
In Chez Larsson = all of the above. Your home is a great inspiration for those of us who want livable, un-fancy decor with elegance and room for personal expression and celebration of family.
Like everyone says – the open, airy, brightness of your home seems typically Scandinavian. Also, fresh flowers, tea light candles and wide window sills/ledges. Basically, as they say in Denmark, hygge!! (fika in Sweden I think??)
Hi Benita
I’m from Australia, sending you best wishes for your book…. i think the use of predominately white with pale wood (floors etc) and chrome are key to what i think of as Scandinavian style… additions of plain harmonious vibrant colours or geometric patterns (green & white spots on fabric) are true to style… attention to detail… uncluttered / organized…. **combination of old with new (wooden chest of drawers with modern wall paper)… stylish but mostly plain-ish (non fussy) lines in furniture…i think something about the light quality is unmistakable too 🙂 HTH… love your blog 🙂
All of it looks Scandinavian to me, but perhaps it is all you as well. I think the white simplicity, lack of clutter, cleanliness and a tendency to the modern. I absolutely love how organized you are. I am Scandinavian and I am not a whit organized, clean, clutter-free…must have skipped a few generations.
Erin 🙂
Clean, unfussy, multi-purpose, simple rather than busy patterns, lots of light, use of greenery.
Open floors
Saturated colors
Clever solutions
Hi, I’m from Thailand
To me, Scandinavian style means;
::light woodtones
::clean lines
::simplicity
::form & function balanced design
Yes, this is all exactly what Benita’s home looks like!
Love you blog:)
I’m Portuguese and I recently moved to Sweden. I think it’s amazing how Swedish people make their homes cozzy and pleasant because they spend so much time inside.
The white and wood colours everywhere, the taking off the shoes in the hall, the seasonal flowers and decorations, the tons of small lamps everywhere (specially by the windows)… Basically a house that is live and livable.
Hoppsan, I think I’ve been Swedified!
creating light to compensate for the utter darkness in the winter is what I think of as ‘scandinavian’. white, bright colors in punches…
oh, and orderliness… be it stereotype or not (and lemme tell you, my Scandinavian father is CLUTTERY), we in the US think of northern Europeans in *general* as tidy, kind of, um… *anal* people. Haha!
Writing from California I would have to say, all of the things that other mentioned (uncluttered, modern, and clean lines) and also candles (especially in interesting holders) and textiles in traditional colors or textures.
If you want more specific feedback you might want people to look at your flikr photostream and comment on specific photos. If I have a moment today I might just do that.
Light-filled rooms
Fresh white surfaces
Geometric patterns a la Marimekko
Streamlined, organic forms
Sleek furniture from velvety rosewood
Gustavian belly clocks and bureaus nodding to the past
one thing Scandinavian brings to my mind (aside from the color white, wide plank wood floors and general simplicity) is the way the seasons have such an impact on the home. use of candle-light in the dark months, and the open-ness and freshness of the summer months. the star in the window at christmas, the bulbs blossoming in spring, the cozy cloud-like duvets which give way to crisp light bedding… things like that.
Three words that describe Scandinavian:
*White
*Sterile
*Timeless
Det är såklart både modernt, enkelt, ljust men även(svenskt) vår historia med den gustavianska erans kritigt målade möbler, rutiga och randiga tyger hissgardiner och så klart arvet från Sundborn och den Larssonska familjen. En historisk tillbaka blick, kanhända är intressant?
Men vad kul! Vi kan ju nästan vinka till varandra 🙂
Some typically scandinavian chairs, at least in my opinion,can be seen here:
http://blogg.mobelhuset.net/2009/05/08/sitt-vitt/
Five white and one black sheep
Hi!
Just wanted to add that Scandinavia only consists of Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Finland and Iceland are part of Northern Europe, not Scandinavia. But as this is a book about interiør (most likely) and not geographics that is probably not as important as the stilistic parts of the term ‘scandinavian’. Which is I think: white, use of wood and nature inside, simple andpractical.
Good luck on the book and you blog makes me want to be more organised every day 🙂
I agree with many of the others – clean, light, painted wood, modern, red houses in the snow. I am writing from Australia but I have a Swedish grandmother so have always had a fondness for many things Scandinavian.
Congratulations on getting an agent, that is a difficult thing in itself, and on the book proposal. I have a NY agent too, who found me the same way yours did. My proposal is in, now I’m waiting. Good luck with your proposal.
How exciting! I still have a lot of work to do on mine 🙂
I’ll add you to my reader so I can hear the good news when it comes!
Hi Benita! People have given you so many great comments! I would ditto what a lot have already said . . . here are some other observations of Scandinavian style:
use of cobalt blue > perhaps bringing element of water indoors?
open expanses of floor
utilizing light by reflecting it
glass objects
design > there is an elegance to the simplicity
Best wishes with your book from your friend in Seattle, USA!
Hej Benita! Jag är svenk men har bott utomlands sen jag var liten. Ett väldigt svenskt (skandinaviskt?) koncept som du själv refererade till är att man kan bli hemmablind. Jag har ofta förklarat den termen för vänner här i USA när de undrar hur jag kom på att jag skulle ändra på något hemma. Många av dina suveräna ideer verka komma från att du jobbar konstant med att inte bli just hemmablind, utan i stället försöker se hur du kan ändra, förnya, och förbättra. Inte riktigt svar på dina frågor, men kanske något att arbeta in i din proposal. Lycka till!
To me, Scandinavian style is like a ship, everything has it’s place, there is a regard for form and function. I think the simplicity of the style allows for “smooth sailing.”
I imagine, lots of white, touches of color and light being incredibly important.
Keeping a space light, easy to clean and having less is more.
I see stripes, natural material, very much like a ship, lots of white, navy, wood and great details.
pve
To me Scandinavian means light, white, wood, simplicity, organisation and funcionality.
All good things that portuguese people should pay attention to. I am from Portugal.