What kind of interior do you associate with the mention of the Vikings? Something huge, brutal, Log walls, a massive wooden table and the same crockery.
And the reality is that no ethnic elements, except, perhaps, an ornament, are actually present in the Scandinavian interior.
And the reason is simple: the northern inhabitants most of all appreciate the sun, which they have so little and nature, which, although stingy, is unrealistically beautiful.
And in general, it is difficult to call a Scandinavian interior authentic only because it was formed not on the basis of the heritage of their ancestors, but thanks to the will of the Swedish king Gustav and the work of artists, designers and architects of the first half to the middle of the last century.
Let’s start with a high-ranking person 🙂 King Gustav borrowed elements of the fashion trends that prevailed 300 years ago and based on them an interior without excessive luxury, but with massive and rather elegant furniture, turned out. All this was framed in light-colored walls with windows devoid of complex textile decorations.
The interior turned out to be rich, but moderately luxurious, everything as it should be for a person of royal blood.
However, it cannot be said that such an environment was inherent in every house — only the nobility.
The houses of more ordinary people did not stand out in any way … until, at the beginning of the 19th century, the work of the constructivists instilled in artists living in the harsh climate of the Scandinavian peninsula the idea of the triumph of simple forms. Fascinated by her, they began to create furniture, paintings, interiors filled with light, natural shades and simple lines.
And already at the exhibition of architects, the works of Arne Jacobson and Alvar Aalto conquered everyone with their brevity, a sense of light and color, warmth and comfort. It was then that the very Scandinavian style was formed, which still enjoys extraordinary popularity.
I have identified five striking distinctive features of this style for myself, which I am ready to share with you.
INTERIOR COLOR and LIGHT
This feature in the Scandinavian style is perhaps the most striking. Contrary to popular belief, white is far from the only interior color in the Nordic countries. The color of snow and ice, indeed, is basic, however, the nature of the Scandinavian peninsula is rich in a lot of other natural shades: yellow and orange flowers, blue water, gray stones, calm greenery, honey woody tones.
All of them are perfectly combined with each other and create a unique and rather warm aura.
As for natural light, they try to make it as much as possible, because windows in houses take pride of place. If the house is of an old construction, then the windows are the same size as ours, but they are devoid of curtains, and where they are, they serve rather as decoration.
In modern houses, they try to make southern windows large, almost on the entire wall.
The motives of the Scandinavian countries are extremely simple and understandable, but the authentic ornaments themselves are represented in the interior only by textiles. But there are works of artists filled with the colors of this fabulous land and made in a primitive technique. Here, mainly, natural motifs sound: vegetation, flowing water, the sun so beloved by the northerners …
SKELETAL OBJECTS
The modern Scandinavian interior is furnished with light furniture and almost the entire environment seems translucent, like ice. Achieve this effect with the help of skeletal silhouettes. Furniture, chandeliers, decor — all this is done from wire, vines, plywood cuts.
If wire chandeliers seem unattractive and cold to you, then you simply do not know how to decorate them. The fact is that the wire is just a frame on which you can stretch a fabric lampshade, it can just be a cover made of natural fabric. The play of light and shadow will do its job when the light is turned on and the ceiling will be covered with a beautiful and cozy colored mesh.
IMPORTANT: lamps for such chandeliers must be exclusively LED.
By the way, skeletal decor can be made independently from items that have gone out of use.
Another interesting detail is the love for glass elements and it is conditioned by the same desire to make the interior decor inconspicuous.
FREE LAYOUT
The love of the inhabitants of northern Europe for the light provoked a love for space. Therefore, only intimate areas are separate rooms in Scandinavian homes. And the entrance hall, living room, kitchen and dining room are usually combined into one large space.
Although the countryside expanses in the northern latitudes are endless, it is still not customary to build large houses — only as much space as is needed for a comfortable life. Pathos is not in favor here.
And if the area of \u200b\u200bthe internal space of the house is small, then all the standard methods of visual expansion are applied to it: combining (already mentioned above) and optimization.
The latter technique allows you to place as many functional areas as possible in a limited area. But in the Scandinavian countries they manage to do everything in such a way that even the layering of some zones on others does not hide the area, but expands it. Truly amazing!
Here they actively use the technique of the absence of overlap under the roof vault and, due to the additional height, they can afford to equip the mezzanine — the second level of the interior.
INTERIOR DESIGN IN SCANDINAVIAN STYLE, PHOTO
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