Design magazines are famous for creating spaces that exude beauty – but not practicality. White, expansive couches with ornate gold fixtures and marbled tiles gloss over many of their pages, an inspiration to us all. Yet, modern life often makes interiors unachievable. Piled with chores, guests and kids’ mess on a daily basis, it’s pretty hard to keep that white linen couch clean. Scandinavian interiors impacted the scene with a different aim: to make the messy modern. A popular power in the world of design, their simple and often cost-efficient tones allowed white walls and your favourite kitschy finds to become beautiful. Take a look at these six stunners to see what all the fuss is about.
Our first interior in Warsaw, Poland is a cosy nest for a couple of two. White-walled and wooden-floored, its structure allows the little things to add to a clean, spacious look. The living room offers us the first glimpse, with a powder-blue couch and striped rug making first impact. Wooden furniture and monochromatic prints complement their tones, without appearing same-same. Green leaves and simple, framed illustrations evoke simplicity. White lampshades hide beside the walls.
From the couch, the little things take greater force. Rows of hanging pot plants become features, a standing bookcase a cabinet of knowledge. Amidst a deck and windows swathed in white, a powder-blue chair offers a seat to take it in.
A desk needs no introduction, in common white and wood elements. The most minimal of markers, a trio of wooden frames highlight a place for work, while harking back to the lounge. Potted plants and small white ornaments are magnified in white cushions and a lampshade, on opposing sides.
Simple yet lived-in, the bedroom is a canvas of white pocked by wood. Undesirables in lighting, a heated rail and blinds become one in white. A wooden chest and cane basket hold personal items, while green frames each corner. Four monochrome prints reflect on the study and lounge, mimicking the wardrobe’s compartmentalisation. A mirror relaxes to the side.
The kitchen’s light and breeze is retained, despite its many elements. White cabinetry, windows and blinds are matched by light wood in benches and floors. The perfect Scandinavian backdrop, they allow pops of black to surprise in an oven and chair, while green and chrome talk to one another.
Two perfect circles round off an all-white bathroom, briefly joined by a wood bench and mirror rims. Circles join more circles in standing basins, chrome magnifiers and an oval bath, all grounded by large-format charcoal tiling.
Our second space is much more kitsch. Dotted in a variety of textures and tones, a Scandinavian framework makes it clean and stylish. In the central area, light wooden chairs, floors and chests provide a perfect canvas. A stencil chandelier is fixed by a block of black, as a grey rug opposite mimics its shape. Grey and khaki meet with potted plants which hang, sit and hide amongst the wooden. Terracotta pots, books and monochromatic prints are lit by simple French windows.
The study and TV areas mark their spaces by plants. In the study, a small-leaved potted plant drapes over the ceiling, partially obscuring a drop-down light. In the TV room, potted plants sit on library shelves and a TV cabinet, giving prominence to the TV and central wall. Light wood grounds the plant and finer ornamental detail, making the busy look basic.
White spaces oscillate between over-piling and minimalism. A barn-door entranceway houses a heap of clothes, chequered and multi-coloured, on grey floral tiles. The TV room corridor, by contrast, features one potted tree against a white brick wall, as glass baubles and a green tray sit to the side. Both spaces suit the tone of the home.
The bedroom is a jumble of grey, white and light wood, illustrated and framed by more potted green. Innumerable in its decorations, its clean white walls and ceiling create breathing space, with no detail rising more than halfway. Wide French windows and simple blue-grey curtains greet a black-stencilled chair and lightly-patterned grey rug.
Our next two-bedroom is a lot less ornamental – but not less patterned. The lounge shows a myriad of undertones and shapes in collaboration. Classic white walls and wooden floors open up to a grey couch and curtains, mottled rug and different-coloured cushions. A range of cubed and circular art pieces adorn the central table, while a standing lamp hovers beside a print. The look is monochromatic, mixed with the muted.
The kitchen provides a solid background for the smaller space, in simple white cabinetry and benching. A fridge and bench inlet framed in black show allegiance to the table, while not detracting from the main living space. Scandinavian chairs (Selig Z Style chair in the living and the Salt Chairs at the kitchen counter) really drive home the style.
The bedroom’s white light glows over charcoal, popping up throughout the room. Draped in bedding and a rug, its tones play in an abstract art piece and window sill. Pops of green and white kitsch both stand out and blend into white blinds and an exposed brick wall.
The second bedroom warms up with a wood-panelled feature wall and floor. A beige padded headboard and striped duvet set it apart, with matching tables and a rug in supporting roles. Features charcoal in the first are turned black in the second, with each bedroom comparing and contrasting. A bright blue seascape centres the space.
Our fourth contender looks a lot simpler – and it is. An L-shaped block sofa carries matching cushioning, while abstract prints shine in the same hue. White fixtures in window joinery, a light and side table are made different by abstract sparks – turquoise table legs here, terracotta pots there. A golden trumpet and beige woollen rug add warmth, while French windows mirror the shape of the prints.
Inject a bit of pastel with our fifth home for inspiration. Not content with charcoal and wood, a proliferation of patterns add pizzazz to the white-coated living room. Cushions sidle next to each other in a variety of detailing. Three frames gradate from minimalist lines to coloured crescents, all framed in light wood. A stencilled standing lamp is reflected in cane chair-backing and side table grate. Yellow pops on the table below a branched bulb light, dangling elusively from the ceiling. Grey and white stripes set the scene.
Our final space is a masterpiece in monochrome. Black and white adorn cushions and prints, before nestling into grey. The living room holds their colouring in black stencil and wooden frames, while natural green and a rustic bucket add the living. A silver bauble chandelier takes it into the modern day.
The kitchen makes monochrome its guiding principle, with black dotted in all the right places. Drawer and cupboard handles, ovens and a benchtop all go back to black, while a faint outline in the tiles combines the two opposing shades. A chrome fridge and plumbing quell their differences among green and wood elements.
