Walking in to our first airbnb in Stockholm I immediately knew I had fallen in love - with Scandinavian design.
The apartment was light, bright and airy. It was minimalist but cozy. It had clean lines but was still interesting. Everything in the space was functional and had a purpose. The walls were mostly white and the wood furniture was light. Simplistic perfection. For a couple with a one year old I could not believe how their place looked! Did they have a secret dungeon where they kept all their baby's clothes, diapers, toys, and mountains of stuff? The only sign a child lived in the apartment was a perfectly stylish wooden high chair that sat at the kitchen table. Seeing this apartment really inspired me to simplify. And made me realize how calming a minimalistic lifestyle can be. And I had no idea I had such a great appreciation for Scandinavian design! I could have spent weeks - months - years in that apartment. Just a short distance from the IKEA Flagship store, I felt like we were living in a showroom with their best pieces.
Throughout our time in Stockholm, Cara and I visited a number of interior design shops. It's definitely a good thing I had only my backpack. And currently don't have a place of my own. And had no way to get furniture home. I fell in love with every store we went into. Many of them had a similar theme to the apartment. Simple and practical, yet so fashionable!
We were also able to see the evolution of Scandinavian Interior Design at the Nordic Museum. As I mentioned before, there was an entire floor dedicated to interiors from the past 400 years - I mean how lucky could we be?! We didn't get to spend a ton of time at this museum during our museum-a-thon time in Stockholm, but I was totally that annoying person taking a picture at every single sign. As an aspiring Interior Designer it was fascinating to learn - and see - the evolution of their design. Starting out with just the basics to being influenced by Royal flair to adapting to apartment living to having only practical, useful pieces. So many different phases! What we now think of as Scandinavian design made its debut in the 1950s. In this post World War II era people were looking for pieces that had both quality and beauty. Swedish birch, elm and oak - along with mahogany and teak - became popular materials in furniture production. It was also important at this time to make furniture and decor that was affordable for all. One quote from the exhibit that really stuck with me:
"The main idea was: a beautiful home creates good people - good, happy people create a better society." I couldn't agree more!
In the countryside where I am staying now, the style and architecture definitely has a different feel from city life in Stockholm. Out here there is one common theme: red. Every. Single. House. Is. Red. It is crazy! Now this is not for a lack of creativity. It is Swedish tradition. This color red, called Falu Red, has been used in Sweden since the 16th century on wooden houses and barns in the countryside. It was intended to imitate brick buildings and make the poorer farmers and their houses appear wealthier. The paint (all the same color and type) is made from water, rye flour, linseed oil and materials from copper mines in Falun, Sweden. Wooden red houses with white trim and blue doors - it is just as you picture the Swedish countryside.
I loved exploring the design themes here in Sweden/Scandinavia and can't wait to see more from other countries in the coming months.
Thanks for reading!
The best Airbnb ever!
Swedish countryside.
Scaninavian Style.