Scandinavian style is a style that combines aesthetics and functionality and has a focus on vintage design. Let’s see how it comes about, what its characteristics are, and how to furnish a Nordic-style home room by room using vintage Scandinavian furniture.
How Scandinavian style was born
The Scandinavian style originated in the countries of Northern Europe. It is a type of furniture designed not only for an aesthetic factor, but also and above all to be functional.
In Scandinavia, in fact, the climate is particularly cold and harsh and there are few hours of sunshine during the day. This is why homes must be furnished to be cozy, bright, spacious and above all warm, to get through the cold winter months and give a sense of joy and liveliness despite the absence of light, according to the Danish philosophy of Hygge.
Although it is a type of furniture designed especially for cold mountain environments, the Nordic style is perfect for decorating any type of home, to bring some of that warmth and feeling of welcome, well-being and joy for small things that this style can give to any place in the world.
Let’s find out together what the features of this style are and how to adapt them to every room in the house.
Scandinavian style is synonymous with quality and hospitality
The keywords of Scandinavian design are quality, integration, reliability, beauty and craftsmanship.
Furnishing your home with a vintage Scandinavian style means choosing high-quality, handcrafted furniture designed to make the room feel cozy, spacious and bright.
Any Nordic-style room should be organized to convey calm and warmth through the choice of furniture with soft, simple lines and a clean, uncluttered design, with a few essential decorations devoted to functionality, such as blankets and candles.
Minimal, functional and essential style
As we have mentioned, spaces in a home furnished in the Nordic style should be spacious, bright and uncluttered. For this reason, furniture is chosen yes for its beauty, but also and especially for its functionality.
Scandinavian furniture has a minimalist style , simple geometries and are designed to have a large capacity while taking up little space, or to be foldable and easy to store, particularly when it comes to chairs, stools or side tables. They are also extremely versatile pieces of furniture, their style is in fact perfect for any room in the house.
In this way, a sideboard with showcase is perfect as a kitchen cabinet, but it can also become a bookcase for the living room, as well as a nightstand for the bedroom can be transformed into a coffee table for the living room.
The focus on vintage design
Coziness, minimalism, and functionality connect to another key characteristic of Scandinavian style: a passion for design. Northern Europe was the birthplace of some of the greatest interior designers of the 20th century, such as Bruno Mathsson e Aino and Alvar Aalto, and even today homes are furnished with a special attention to detail and style.
It is no coincidence, then, that most Scandinavian homes are furnished with vintage furniture , rare and unique pieces of high-quality Scandinavian design with important economic and historical value.
The fabrics and materials to choose
The choice to furnish with vintage furniture is directly related to the type of materials and fabrics used in the Nordic style.
In Northern Europe, the connection with nature is very much felt, and the deep respect for it in the home is reflected in the brightness of the spaces, the presence of many green plants, the attention to ecology, recycling and reuse, and the use of natural materials, especially wood, often left in their raw state, for furniture.
The Scandinavian house is made of wood, which is ideal for both furniture and hardwood floors, but also materials such as stone and metals such as iron and brass.
As for fabrics, these are also natural and often in their raw form. Favorite Nordic style fabrics include wool and cotton, and some homes have no shortage of faux fur details that evoke warmth and coziness.
Of course, respect for nature also blends with modernity, which is why in a home furnished in a vintage Nordic style, there is still no shortage of furniture complements made of plastic or made of special, modern and colorful materials, which give an extra touch of style and character to the room.
The colors of vintage Scandinavian style
There is a tendency to think that the Scandinavian style is aseptic and cold, because light colors such as white, chosen for their brightness, predominate in a Nordic-style home.
This is actually not the case, especially when it comes to decorating with vintage furniture. The colors of the Nordic style are many and range from light wood tones to darker shades and even warm, bright colors such as red and yellow.
The main reference is always nature with its colors, which in the vintage Nordic style are also combined with furniture elements in shades of blue, black and dark green, and the cool tones of metals such as steel.
Scandinavian style decorations
A home furnished in vintage Scandinavian style cannot lack decorations, which are essential to personalize the room and give it character.
Like every element, decorations in the Nordic style have their own specific function, which is why the most commonly used are candles and plants, perfect for adding color to the room and making the atmosphere more lively and welcoming.
Then there is no shortage of handmade woolen blankets , which are very useful for beautifying the room and for warmth on the coldest winter days. Last but not least, to furnish and decorate the room should not miss the lamps, among the decorations that most combine functionality and aesthetics.
Lamps are indeed essential to make spaces brighter, and at the same time they are perfect for giving the room character and style, especially when it comes to modern, colorful and vibrant 60s and 70s style design lights.
Decorate the house in vintage Nordic style
Decorating the living area in vintage Nordic style
The living area is the heart of the Scandinavian home, the room where we welcome guests and spend pleasant moments in the company of our loved ones.
For this reason, the kitchen, living room and living room are characterized by the presence of numerous seats, chairs, stools and armchairs, but also and especially low tables and extendable tables where everyone can sit together.
A large sofa in the living room should not be missing, as well as bookcases e sideboards to be enriched and personalized with plants and candles that give liveliness to the room.
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Scandinavian teak sideboard with sculptural drawers
2.050,00 € -
Danish coffee table attributed to Børge Mogensen for Søborg Møbler, 1950s
1.570,00 € -
1960s String-style freestanding modular bookcase
1.640,00 € -
Scandinavian teak bookcase, 1950s/60s
1.240,00 € -
Scandinavian teak double bookcase with black uprights, 1960s
1.960,00 € -
Scandinavian rosewood entry cabinet by AB Glas & Trä, Sweden, 1960s/’70s
920,00 € -
“String” bookcase by Nisse Strinning, 1950s
1.870,00 € -
“String” bookcase by Nisse Strinning, 1950s
1.870,00 € -
Scandinavian oak chest of drawers, 1960s
570,00 € -
Scandinavian teak shutter highboard from the 1960s
2.780,00 € -
Pair of Swedish mahogany bedside tables, 1950s
1.180,00 € -
Scandinavian white Deco chest of drawers, 1930s/’40s
670,00 €
Furnishing the bedroom with vintage Scandinavian furniture
Also in the bedroom the watchwords are functionality and coziness. The wooden bed can also be a storage unit, and there should be no shortage of nightstands, sideboards and chests of drawers where you can store your belongings.
The bedroom can also be a space intended for study and work, so it can also be furnished with a desk vintage combined with a chair to create an environment where you can work quietly in smart working.
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Scandinavian rosewood entry cabinet by AB Glas & Trä, Sweden, 1960s/’70s
920,00 € -
Scandinavian oak chest of drawers, 1960s
570,00 € -
Scandinavian white Deco chest of drawers, 1930s/’40s
670,00 € -
Scandinavian vintage chest of drawers with black legs, 1960s
760,00 € -
Vintage Scandinavian teak sextinaire, 1960s
1.300,00 € -
Desk with teak flap from the 1960s
1.670,00 € -
Danish teak sexton, 1960s
1.270,00 € -
Small mahogany desk from the 1950s-60s
870,00 € -
Arne Wahl Iversen Desk 1960s
4.110,00 € -
Teak and leather chair, Denmark 1960s
460,00 € -
Desk model “ND93” by Nanna Ditzel for Søren Willadsen
6.990,00 € -
Oak TV cabinet by Arne Wahl Iversen 1960s
960,00 €
The Scandinavian-style bathroom
Every room in the house can be furnished in vintage Scandinavian style. Even the bathroom, which, like the other rooms, should be functional, cozy and uncluttered.
Here we can leave ample room for the dressing tables and the dressers, to side tables and nightstands and magazine racks that bring order to the room.
To make spaces larger and brighter, the ideal is also to choose one or more mirrors wide, which give light and visually expand the space.
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Swedish mirror by Lars-Göran Nilsson for Glas & Trä Hovmantorp, 1970s
640,00 € -
1950s Mid-Century Mirror
610,00 € -
“Model 315” dressing table by Svante Skogh for Slutarp 1960s
910,00 € -
Swedish teak mirror from the 50s-60s
390,00 € -
Scandinavian teak mirror from the 1960s
430,00 € -
Scandinavian 1950s mahogany wall mirror
390,00 € -
Scandinavian 1950s-60s teardrop mirror
520,00 € -
Rectangular mirror by Kron
410,00 € -
Scandinavian mirror with teak frame
360,00 € -
60s-70s square teak mirror
470,00 € -
Danish Aksel Kjersgaard rectangular teak mirror
556,00 € -
Swedish Scandinavian mirror
380,00 €
Furnish Nordic-style home online with Casafika furniture
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