When summer is packing, the days are getting shorter and the first frosts are setting in, we want to curl up in a cozy living room. Perfect for combining cocooning evenings with a stylish interior, the Scandinavian decor is required more than ever.
Refined, modern and cozy, the Nordic decor has taken its place with style in our hexagonal interiors for a little while. Ultra popular with iconic designers such as Arne Jacobsen or Alvar Aalto but also by our favorite brands at low prices – Ikea, Maison du monde, Zara home… -, this light decoration with a very wooden spirit enchants every room in the house but more particularly the living room, central room in which we gather for long winter evenings.
In the Scandinavian countries – Norway, Sweden, Denmark – winters are harsh, days short and evenings long. So we have developed the Nordic art of arranging interiors to make living spaces with a warm atmosphere and suitable for replacing for months with sleeping nature. A direct manifestation of hygge, this Danish art of living of cultivating happiness by wrapping yourself in a plaid in front of a fireplace (to make it short), Scandinavian decoration is right on trend. Today, rather than going out to the limit, we prefer to enjoy the security of our interiors, get together as a family and happily binge-watch the latest Netflix news over a cup of chocolate. What if now's the time to pimp our living room for a designer cave to hibernate in? Scandinavian decor, instructions for use. Follow our guide in 8 lessons and draw from our suggestion box.
1. Neutral and natural colors
The Scandinavian decor is inspired by nature. Its experts therefore recommend working particularly with the overall color, which will then accommodate the furniture and accessories that will occupy the space. If white, ultra bright and refined, is obviously the flagship color of the Nordic style, you can also expand your color palette by opting for powdery or nude pinks, ecru, eggshell, beige or pale gray, the main thing being to offer the space this soft and zen spirit specific to rest.
For floors and walls, from the bedroom to the kitchen via the living room, the trend is natural. Sanded parquet floors, painted white, zenified surfaces … the idea is to bring in as much natural light as possible into the room, then to replace it when night has fallen. Exit then heavy trinkets, accumulation of objects, dark walls, black furniture and suffocating paneling. We lighten, we lighten!
Note, however, that some like to break the monochrome with a warm colored wall clashing with the more monastic ensemble. Midnight blue, mustard, gray, in paint or dressed in plain wallpaper or with geometric or plant patterns, for your walls, glean decorative ideas on Pinterest, this mine of decorative inspiration that will convince you (or not) to break the original Scandinavian tradition to move towards more modern trends.
2. A designer and cozy sofa
The nerve center of the Scandinavian living room, the sofa should invite relaxation and cocooning as a tribe. Instead of ultra stylish but often uncomfortable trendy benches, we prefer large soft sofas that combine cozy seating with a sleek look. To this big sofa, if you have the space, you don't hesitate to add a pretty Eames-type armchair or even a chaise longue in which you can sit solo to read a book on your own. On the design side, we fall for the wooden compass feet which refine the line. For the covering, while many like the softness of the fabric, some opt for leather, natural and easy to wash (Scandinavian decor and maternity do not always go well together).
For more practicality but also style, we do not hesitate to cover this central piece of furniture with a multitude of soft cushions and "fluffy" plaids that we choose in pure cotton, velvet, linen or cashmere. , very soft fabrics which, combined with the wood or the metal of the sofa structure, will underline the nature and zen effect of a no-frills decoration. The sofa is the new bed.
3. Light to the millimeter
What could be worse than a pretty room spoiled by the sadness of a big cold neon? We work on the lighting of his Scandinavian living room like a cocooning goldsmith. An XXL pendant lamp – in cane, bamboo, fine wood or wicker – stacked above the sofa and the coffee table will form a cocoon around the lounge area. To this direct lighting, we add a multitude of small discreet lamps with small wooden or stone plinths in which we plant large filament bulbs, subtly stashed in the library between two books or on a pretty table with metal frames. We do not skimp on the candles either, which will give the room that cozy and comforting atmosphere specific to Scandinavian decor.
Our favorite :
Hanging lamp in woven bamboo, Sinnerlig, 49.90 euros, IKEA
4. Nesting tables
Ideal solution to the design x practicality combo? The coffee tables that fit into each other are the favorite piece of furniture in the Scandinavian living room. There are plenty of them in small inexpensive brands that compete in talent to offer a range of stylish and accessible furniture. Stock up on ideas. In marble and gilded metal, all in wood compass feet, nicely retro …, choose from the very wide range of living room coffee tables. And study your needs carefully, because you often feel so good in your Scandinavian living room that it turns into a winter dining room for the whole family. Small but practical, your tables should be able to satisfy all members of the tribe when they want to eat on them. But rest assured, unlike the good big living room coffee table (or the real dining room table) which weighs down space, they allow you to have a maximum of space by combining elegance and lightness.
5. An accumulation of Zen frames
Who says light and zen decor does not say cold decor, so make way for accessories. Starting with those who will dress our walls. Stock up on natural or painted wood frames, and play with the accumulation of different materials, shapes and colors. Result? A touch of extra warmth and originality for our cocoon piece that subtly plays with contrasts. To stay in the natural and soft spirit of Nordic decor, we prefer to fill them with clear posters or photos, with geometric and abstract lines. As for the photos of landscapes and natural settings, it looks like small windows that overlook the sleeping nature.
6. Plants to vegetate the monochrome
In this pretty shades of beige, pink and white, wood, bamboo and wicker, do not forget to place these touches of greenery which will add vegetal to your natural decor. Cacti in pretty white or cane pots, ficus in two-tone or monochrome wicker baskets, indoor shrubs or hanging plants, bring plants, wood and green color into your winter living room. Do not forget either the wall shelving solution, in wood or metal which, ultra discreet and skillfully placed so as not to weigh down the whole, will harmoniously receive comforting knick-knacks and drooping plants for a beautiful greening of the walls. Designer products to shop at big brands at low prices.
7. Furniture with raw and vintage materials
In a living room with Scandinavian decor, vintage furniture, and more precisely 70's, will ideally find its place. The must ? A gently retro sideboard, on which to put dried flowers and soft frames, and in which to cram all these papers and other little brothels that pollute the zenitude of the place.
In 2020, when it comes to Nordic-inspired furniture, we are also falling for cane. From the reading armchair to the doors of a mottled chest of drawers and plant pots, it's time for organic. Bamboo, wicker, woodwork …, the furniture is available in shades of ecru that subtly matches the white of the floors, walls and fabrics.
Our favorite :
Vintage sideboard in mango wood, 599 euros, Maison du monde
8. Soft materials
If the Scandinavian decor and its appeal to light dictate to ignore the curtains on the windows, on the other hand, we do not skimp on the accessories in soft fabrics that we will have everywhere. For the cushion covers, we fall for a soft fabric, in a pastel color. You can also opt for geometric patterns that add character to a decor that is sometimes too "fluffy". We can't resist these new cushions and other chunky knit poufs that recall the knits of our childhood. Modern, addictive and regressive, these flagship products of Nordic decor made in 2020 add a little extra childhood to our Scandinavian living room.
On the carpet side – the essential of the "Nordic spirit" -, white will obviously have the favors of the most numerous, but the Berber still holds the road, like the synthetic fur which, from the ground to our chairs, sometimes a little chilly, does not no more warming up our furniture and, above all, gluing us to our home sweet home. Go out ? To do what ?