You may have read and heard the term Scandinavian design thousands of times and maybe you have wondered – just like me – what makes Scandinavian design different from other types of interior design genres? What is the difference ? Does it look good and does it have vibes that I might want to have in my home? Could I recreate this fashionable look in my home on a budget?

I present below some of the background and origins of the Scandinavian design trend highlighting some fun facts that I found especially interesting about it. If you are familiar with this trend and know what’s it is all about you might be more interest in Scandinavian design specifics.

In this post

• What characteristics does Scandinavian interiors design have?
• What color palette it uses?
• What are the unifying features behind Scandinavian interiors?
• How you can recreate this style in your home?

SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN – ALL ABOUT THE BASICS

Scandinavian design has become one of the most popular trends in interior decorating and furniture design around the world. These days Scandinavian style, Nordic design are always on the featured, trending and popular style and decoration lists on social media. It seems like the whole world has fallen in love with these simplistic, elegant, clutter-free, practical yet beautifully styled interiors.  Scandinavian designers managed to reach out to people all over the world and shape the trends in global design with their love for well-lit, natural, affordable spaces and stylish , innovative furniture and accessories.

WHERE does Scandinavian design come from?

Scandinavian design is a design movement that originates from Scandinavia. Big surprise there .

Scandinavia is the geographic region of Europe that is comprised of three Northern European countries: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Norway and Sweden share the Scandinavian peninsula while Denmark, located just to the south of Sweden, occupies the land known as the Jutland peninsula. Beyond what is technically referred to as Scandinavia there are two other Nordic nations Finland and Iceland and some autonomous territories like the Faroe Islands and Greenland, that are sometimes included in the broader definition of Scandinavia, but it is more correct to use the term Nordic Region when referring to these countries altogether. the term Nordic design is used when referring to the design and decoration style originating from this broader Nordic region.

Norway, Sweden and Finland are vast nations that all share a unique blend of Nordic design, culture and history that goes back many generations. Popular trends that originated in the Nordic region and became popular globally, beside the Scandinavian interior design are: the fitness trend called Nordic Walking and the literature genre Nordic Noir, that can be familiar from Stieg Larsson’s international bestseller The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. 

WHEN it all got started? 

The Scandinavian design movement has emerged in the early 20th century, more precisely around the 1930’s, but it only gained widespread recognition with the establishment of the Lunning Prize in 1951. The Lunning prize is a design prize that was awarded to eminent Scandinavian designers, two each year, from 1951 to 1970. The award was given to support craftsmen and industrial designers from the Nordic region who came up with original and unique, Scandinavian styled creations. The prize itself consisted of $400 and the opportunity for each winner to exhibit in New York.

As for exhibitions, between the earliest exhibitions where Scandinavian design was presented the Stockholm Exhibition in 1930 was a pioneer, followed by the the 1947 edition of the Triennale di Milano, but the most influential was a design show organized by the editor of House Beautiful magazine: Elizabeth Gordon. The Scandinavian design show traveled the US and Canada from 1954 to 1957 under the name “Design in Scandinavia: An Exhibition of Objects for the Home”. This design show was important first for taking this modern, minimalist design out of the geographic borders of Europe and making it well-known internationally, and second because it promoted the concept that beautiful design can be accessible for everyone.  

Scandinavian design was viewed as a novelty at that time and was often referred to as democratic design, because of its aim to appeal to the masses through products that are stylish, accessible and affordable. The ideological background of Scandinavian design was the emergence of a special type of Nordic social democracy after WWII that led to the development of a philosophy behind the style that remains relevant even in our days. The socially based idea is that beautiful furniture and home decor products should not be reserved only for the wealthy but they should be accessible and affordable by the masses. Design should improve the life of everyone not just a selected few. These considerations led to the emergence of a new level of functional elegance for the domestic environment. 

WHO were the people behind the formation of the Scandinavian style?

One of the founders of Scandinavian design ideology is  Ellen Key ( 1849-1926) who was a Swedish  writer and philosopher. Her books and writing cover topics from family life to ethics and education. In her essay, Beauty For All (1899), she describes a life that consisted of fewer but finer things, arguing that things that are functional and beautiful all at once could result in changing society for the better. 

The Scandinavian style has an enduring popularity in architecture, interior decorating and textile design but the most recognized personalities come from furniture design. The Scandinavian region has produced several of the world-renowned furniture designers over time. Today many well-known international designers who do not come from Scandinavia are also recognized as Scandinavian style designers but the designers who have pioneered Scandinavian design principles in furniture creations are: Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, and Eero Arnio.

• Hugo Alvar Henrik Aalto (1898-1976) was born in Kuortane, Finland and graduated the Helsinki University of Technology with a degree in architecture in 1921. As an architecture graduate his design activity ranged from large scale city projects to smaller furniture designs. His influence on the Scandinavian design style is prominent mainly due to his work in furniture designing and his patented experimental method of woodworking.  Some of the furniture designed by Alvar Alto is so modern that it is hard to believe that it was created almost a century ago. His furniture pieces manufactured of bent plywood and laminated wood are widely copied and used even today in corporate design, public spaces and domestic environments.
• Arne Emil Jacobsen (1902- 1971) was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1927). Although an architect by formation he is most recognized today for his work in furniture design. Jacobsen’s furniture design is characterized by modernist perfectionism and a meticulous consideration of details. He was definitely ahead of his time in furniture design and not only. He participated in an award winning project of designing the house of the future and experimented with new techniques to bend plywood and to use plastic and foam for chairs. Between the most well-known and most copied pieces of furniture designed by Arne Jacobsen are: the Series 7 chairs, Model 3107 chair, the Ant chair, the Egg chair, The Swan chair and the Drop chair. These chairs and armchairs a widely used as accent pieces today both in private houses and in public spaces.

Alvar Alto and Arne Jacobsen represent a classical Scandinavian look. Although the form, technique and material of the pieces are innovative, the style and the color palette is a seamlessly integrating in the larger spectrum of Scandinavian style designing. Some recognized Scandinavian furniture designers have taken a different approach with colors and the New Nordic design takes much from these classics.

• Verner Panton (1926 – 1998) was born in Gamtofte, Denmark studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Art graduating in 1951. He started his career working at the architectural practice of the above mentioned Arne Jacobsen but after 2 years he moved on to establish his own architecture office and create his own signature style. Besides his innovative, futuristic architectural proposals he became famous mostly for his furniture designs. He was experimenting with the use of modern materials like plastic and in 1960, Panton designed the world’s first single-form molded plastic chair the Panton chair. His prominent furniture pieces are the : Cone chair, The Panton chair, the Amoeba chair, Heart Cone chair. His pieces are so futuristic looking even for our days that they have been selected for several sci-fi movies and imitations/ originals are used globally in public spaces, receptions, hotel lounges, offices and modern homes.

• Eero Arnio (1932 – ) was born in Helsinki, Finland and studied at the Institute of Industrial Arts in Helsinki. Arnio started his own office in 1962 and through his work he became not only a defining personality in Scandinavian design but also one of the influencers and innovators of modern furniture design.  He uses simple geometric forms and creates from them surprising furniture novelties. His experiments with fiber glass, plastic and foam allowed him to create futuristic, bold, statement furniture. Eero Arnio has created some of the iconic pieces of Finnish furniture design including the Ball Chair (1962), Bubble Chair (1968) and Pastil Chair (1968).

PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON SCANDINAVIAN DESIGN

WHY is Scandinavian Design so Influential and Popular?

The keys to understanding the popularity of Scandinavian design are hidden in it’s stylish, affordable and neutral characteristics. Scandinavian design is simple and beautiful and the interiors are bright, calm and cozy. It is most probably this stylish comfort that made Scandinavian design so popular. 
This trend in interior, furniture and textile design is discoverable worldwide also because it has an underlying neutrality. For example if we take interior decorating, Scandinavian style is simple, clean, cheerful and limited in color so it becomes appealing to both men and woman. Simplicity and functionality combined with style are appreciated by people of most nations around the globe, which makes Scandinavian design a favored choice irrelevant of country or geographic location. The lack of fuss and the no frills in accessories make this style work with just about  anyone’s rooms and spaces. It is functional and very achievable for any budget. 

Is Scandinavian Style Here to Stay?

Right now, it seems that the word can’t get enough of this minimalist, practical yet beautiful design. Scandinavian design continues to spread its philosophy and cleverly functional objects well into the twenty-first century.
 The growing lifestyle trends of shopping less, optimizing our belongings to only what we need now is a good match to the “less is more” mentality behind the Nordic design. Designers of passive houses and environmentally friendly homes embrace this style for its simple elegance, beauty and use of natural light and natural materials. With minimal ornamentation but maximum style Scandinavian interior decorating, furnishing and product design are setting trends globally and remain sought after internationally by homeowners and designers. However, as all trends that do not go out of style Scandinavian design is changing from its traditional forms adapting to the modern tastes. There is an emerging trend recognized as the New Nordic that combines the traditional design characteristics with the fresh and contemporary colors, materials and design practices. 

Credits, further readings and resources:

Photos: P1: Alexander Cho, P2 Scandinavian Design, P3 Avant Scene + Fritz Hansen, P4 Desmeki + Pamono, P5 Finnish design shop,