Slow design: How the Nordics can make you live better
För att fira vår lansering i Norden, skrev vi denna artikel och skickade till våra globala systersajter – den har nu lagts upp i nio länder.
The world has long been hungry for Nordic lifestyle, with our love of design, nature, light and living the good life. But this is about much more than painting your floorboards white or throwing a sheepskin on a chair – it’s a mindset that informs everyday life. The good thing is, anybody can do it, and it’s not even a question about budgets or the size of your home. Here are our eight steps to living live a Scandinavian.
Step 1: Always buy an original
Yes, design classics can be expensive. Yes, it is easy to be lured in by the companies who sell badly produced rip-offs, thinking nobody will tell the difference anyway. But there’s one thing a copy product will never do – hold its value. If you invest in a Poul Henningsen lamp like the PH3, you can enjoy it for a lifetime and still put it towards the grandchildren’s university fund. Henningsen designed his PH-lamps in the late 1920s and early 30s, and nearly 100 years on they still look modern and stunning.
Yes, design classics can be expensive. Yes, it is easy to be lured in by the companies who sell badly produced rip-offs, thinking nobody will tell the difference anyway. But there’s one thing a copy product will never do – hold its value. If you invest in a Poul Henningsen lamp like the PH3, you can enjoy it for a lifetime and still put it towards the grandchildren’s university fund. Henningsen designed his PH-lamps in the late 1920s and early 30s, and nearly 100 years on they still look modern and stunning.
Step 2: Love light
We all know the Nordic love for white walls and pared-back interiors, right? Of course that’s a bit of a cliché, and there is plenty of colorful homes around, but the fact remains that we love all shades of white – perhaps in celebration of both the sunlight in summer and deep snow in winter. The walls of this room are absolutely perfect in regards to reflecting the light, and the architects Norm have installed sloping ceilings that casts light out throughout the space which end up in small ceiling windows along the top edge that catch even the lowest rays in winter.
We all know the Nordic love for white walls and pared-back interiors, right? Of course that’s a bit of a cliché, and there is plenty of colorful homes around, but the fact remains that we love all shades of white – perhaps in celebration of both the sunlight in summer and deep snow in winter. The walls of this room are absolutely perfect in regards to reflecting the light, and the architects Norm have installed sloping ceilings that casts light out throughout the space which end up in small ceiling windows along the top edge that catch even the lowest rays in winter.
Step 3: Shop and live sustainably
With large swathes of our five nations covered in forest, no wonder we use wood as a prime source for materials. From stools to saunas, everything is clad in or constructed from pine and spruce that give interiors that typical Nordic look. But it’s also about using the materials that are close at hand and can be sourced sustainably.
As consumers, we hold enormous power in our choice of products and the smarter we shop, the better things will be. So support local firms and those who tell the story of their production process openly, and you can make little changes every day.
With large swathes of our five nations covered in forest, no wonder we use wood as a prime source for materials. From stools to saunas, everything is clad in or constructed from pine and spruce that give interiors that typical Nordic look. But it’s also about using the materials that are close at hand and can be sourced sustainably.
As consumers, we hold enormous power in our choice of products and the smarter we shop, the better things will be. So support local firms and those who tell the story of their production process openly, and you can make little changes every day.
Step 4: See things in black and white
You might think we are a bit middle-of-the-road, gently diplomatic and maybe even a tad… boring? Far from it. The Nordics are nations of extremes, with deep-running currents of emotion. We have no darkness in summer, and no light in winter, remember? Opposites attract, even in our homes. Too much white in a room, and you go snowblind. Too much black, and there is forever gloom. But the perfect balance of black lines in a white setting is pure poetry to us – like our version of interior Yin and Yang that works all around the world.
You might think we are a bit middle-of-the-road, gently diplomatic and maybe even a tad… boring? Far from it. The Nordics are nations of extremes, with deep-running currents of emotion. We have no darkness in summer, and no light in winter, remember? Opposites attract, even in our homes. Too much white in a room, and you go snowblind. Too much black, and there is forever gloom. But the perfect balance of black lines in a white setting is pure poetry to us – like our version of interior Yin and Yang that works all around the world.
Step 5: Make space for children
Kids should be both seen and heard in the Scandinavian countries, and as often and as loudly as possible. Playtime is taken very seriously indeed, from the little ones experimenting with Lego from Denmark to the older building cyberworlds with Minecraft, a Swedish invention. In this summerhouse in Sweden, the loft on top of the parents’ sleeping cubicle has been turned into a playpen-cum-indoor tree house, made secure by netting.
Kids should be both seen and heard in the Scandinavian countries, and as often and as loudly as possible. Playtime is taken very seriously indeed, from the little ones experimenting with Lego from Denmark to the older building cyberworlds with Minecraft, a Swedish invention. In this summerhouse in Sweden, the loft on top of the parents’ sleeping cubicle has been turned into a playpen-cum-indoor tree house, made secure by netting.
Step 6: Live close to (and in) nature
While other European people flock to beaches and resorts in summer, the height of luxury for many Scandinavians on holiday is an isolated spot far from a madding crowd. Perhaps with no running water or central heating, but preferably with good Wi-Fi as we are some of the most connected nations in the world. Our landscapes and sceneries are deeply ingrained in us, and new architecture makes good use of advances in insulation and triple-glazing to create floor-to-ceiling glass walls like in this summerhouse. We also like to bring nature inside, with plants in simple terracotta pots taking us through the months when there is not a green leaf to be seen outside.
While other European people flock to beaches and resorts in summer, the height of luxury for many Scandinavians on holiday is an isolated spot far from a madding crowd. Perhaps with no running water or central heating, but preferably with good Wi-Fi as we are some of the most connected nations in the world. Our landscapes and sceneries are deeply ingrained in us, and new architecture makes good use of advances in insulation and triple-glazing to create floor-to-ceiling glass walls like in this summerhouse. We also like to bring nature inside, with plants in simple terracotta pots taking us through the months when there is not a green leaf to be seen outside.
Step 7: Organise and declutter
We do like a bit of order and selection. After all, two Swedish words you might all know are ‘ombudsman’ and ‘smörgåsbord’. But it’s also about seeing everyday beauty in the simple things, and taking pleasure in a pile of well-folded towels or run a hand along a shelf of color-coordinated books. Something akin to ‘mindfulness through design’, and something that can be done no matter how you live or what your budget is.
We do like a bit of order and selection. After all, two Swedish words you might all know are ‘ombudsman’ and ‘smörgåsbord’. But it’s also about seeing everyday beauty in the simple things, and taking pleasure in a pile of well-folded towels or run a hand along a shelf of color-coordinated books. Something akin to ‘mindfulness through design’, and something that can be done no matter how you live or what your budget is.
Step 8. Embrace ‘hygge’
We’ll round off this guide on how to enjoy slow design from the Nordics with a Danish word that encapsulates all of the steps above. ‘Hygge’ means cozy warmth, spending time with the ones you love, in a home that is filled with light and well-loved items that fill you with everyday joy when you use them. You can’t buy ‘hygge’, nor can you get someone to create it for you. It is the Nordic state of contentment that can only be found at home.
Come see more Nordic lifestyle, design and architecture over at houzz.dk and houzz.se.
Velkommen and välkommen!
We’ll round off this guide on how to enjoy slow design from the Nordics with a Danish word that encapsulates all of the steps above. ‘Hygge’ means cozy warmth, spending time with the ones you love, in a home that is filled with light and well-loved items that fill you with everyday joy when you use them. You can’t buy ‘hygge’, nor can you get someone to create it for you. It is the Nordic state of contentment that can only be found at home.
Come see more Nordic lifestyle, design and architecture over at houzz.dk and houzz.se.
Velkommen and välkommen!
Living with design is not about trying to impress the neighbors, or namedropping your latest designer buy. Living with design is simply living well, caring about how the things around you work, how they make you feel, and how they are made. In other countries, design can be simply a way to make a beautiful product, but for us form follows function – we design from necessity rather than excess. (Though as we know there is nothing stopping our designers from making function both funky and fab.)