Scandinavian interiors combine the best of both worlds – a seemingly-effortless style with a functionality you can hide away - making it the perfect décor for your family home. These two Scandinavian apartments show how, by using Scandinavian principles, your home can always belong in a magazine. Make your kitchen white and bright – but secretly child-friendly. Give your kids a larger bedroom than expected – by hiding their toys under bed frame drawers. Create extra room for a lounge, dining room and study – by designing all three together. Make your interior smart and mess-friendly, by using these Scandinavian apartments as inspiration.
Our first apartment achieves a white and bright yet child-friendly interior, with the help of Scandinavian design. Opening up to an exposed brick wall, white joinery and zigzagging cream and grey rug, the lounge adds light to darker colours and more durable materials, making it harder for kids to stain. A beige sofa plays the same trick with an array of coloured and patterned cushions, as a woven ottoman relaxes in the foreground.
As monochrome photos and prints lead to the back of the room, a stunning gold-bulb chandelier reveals a dining table. Set on a classic mid-wooden floor with Scandinavian high-backed chairs, two indoor house plants to the side add a touch of nature.
To the left of the lounge, the kitchen appears all-white – but it’s up to its old tricks. White and cream patterned lino meets baby blue cupboards, while grey drops from the ceiling in Vibia Cosmos Cluster Pendants. Touches of gold in cupboard handles, shelf ornaments and stool legs maintain kid-friendly glitz, while simple Scandinavian shelving keeps the look modern. An L-shape bench and corridor mirror make the most of the space, perfectly punctuated by hanging spoons, unique kitchen pendant lights and an entrance-hung hat.
As we walk towards the balcony, large pops of green start to catch the eye. Sharing the interior’s wooden plank floor, the balcony thrives with greenery draping over the ceiling, stacked in indoor herb planters and seated on a coffee table. As white-painted rails shadow patterns on the floor, a white accent chair offers a seat beside roses and a view. A one-wall floral mural creates the feel of more green, as a few stray creepers convince our senses.
Bathed in tones of taupe and white, this apartment’s Scandinavian bedrooms continue the lounge’s feel with exposed brick and monochrome prints. Set on a differently-patterned geometric rug, patterns and textures are mimicked in an ottoman-esque woven throw and flurry of patterned cushions. Clean, white tables provide a place for books and make-up, as a bunch of white roses tie the outside in. A classic Scandinavian headboard ledge creates space, as does a circular mirror, white shelving and drawers. Pot plants and golden handles tie the kitchen in.
Hidden from the children, the bedroom’s walk-in wardrobe is perfectly designed. LED-lit from inside each cubby, each custom-made compartment is just big enough to hold luggage, jackets, handbags and accessories. Hiding away clothes less beautiful or public, cabinets from the kitchen stand high above a lounge-reminiscent geometric rug.
Taking cues from the kitchen, the ensuite explodes in beehive and geometric patterning. The central cabinet expands the space with a mirror and Scandinavian cabinets, while a block sink and basin match the toilet. Hints of light wood in ledge shelving and under-sink storage provide Scandinavian cues, while glass separates off the shower and forms a lantern light up top. A monochrome print and small potted shelving tie the rest of the interior in.
Taking on a bit more colour, the first kids’ bedroom greets the eye with an avocado feature wall. Raised on a wooden platform, this most stylish of kids’ beds references the lounge with patterned cushions and a gingham throw. White and wooden Scandinavian structuring creates a place for study, a classic wardrobe and under-platform drawers, while a steel lantern light creates shadow-shapes on the wall behind. Wooden ledge shelving alongside a golden mirror, portrait and decal add personality to the look.
Designed for the older child, our third bedroom draws in the eye with a pink wall and L-shaped window. Using the interior’s consistent wooden flooring, Scandinavian light wood peoples the bed frame, headboard and edges of a desk. As structured bedroom pendant lights illuminate the side tables, a monochrome quote mirrors two black and white prints. Striped bedding and a white leaning bookcase complete the vibe.
Keeping as white and bright as the ensuite, the main bathroom provides a twist on the tiled theme. Keeping similar black and white floor tiling, the space is made larger by using beige and white from the bottom up. Scandinavian white and wood creates a sink and towel shelf, while a potted plant and monochrome stag link to the rest of the interior.
Our second Scandinavian family apartment uses shades of pastel to keep in style. Featuring classic, easy-to-clean wooden flooring, the lounge welcomes with a low-key charcoal couch and monochrome coffee tables. Featuring a mint-painted study to the side, simple white-painted amenities tie in with a colourful typographic and Scandinavian shelving. Throw cushions in different patterns tie in the theme, as a mottled rug leads to a multi-coloured TV cabinet.
The kitchen makes the most of sharing, in block wood and white. Reaching ceiling-high and bearing chrome appliances, its cut-out corner provides a pastel-grey entrance. As grey and silver reflect off the kitchen inlet, a group of Scandinavian-style chairs find space for breakfast. Looking out to a sun-filled balcony, these multi-coloured seats create their own space beside metallic moon hangings, Scandinavian cabinetry, bold framed prints and unique planters.
Focusing on calm and spaciousness, the master bedroom lifts up high with a wardrobe structure clad in white. Perfect for storage, it detracts from its function with a beige and green headboard inlet, complete with monochrome print. A boldly-patterned sliding door separates the space, while wooden floors bear woven mats and unique laundry baskets in the same hue.
Opposite, a striped mint feature wall surprises in its link to the bedding, clothed in a handy pattern for hiding spills. Lit by black unique floor lamps and a chiffon-framed window, monochrome prints sit beside a chair with the perfect child-watching view.
Through the sliding door, baby-shade pastels and gold hearts and spots make this room a dream nursery. Peopled with panda, cloud, dog and rabbit characters in prints and cushions, a low-lying bed with nifty storage underneath brings in another pattern with stars. Scandinavian shelving in white and baby blue takes on a fun-filled twist, holding favourite ornaments and childhood toys. Lego-style kids wall décor keeps the room full of play, while a sleek wooden floor, matching woven mat and pink and white study provide room to grow.
