Scandinavian Design for a Joyful Home

We’re all spending more time at home, so make it a space where you are comfy and content. That’s why the Danish hygge lifestyle is recirculating online.

It’s all about softening your space to cultivate joy — surrounding yourself with family photos, snuggly blankets and candles. It may seem fresh, but this type of design from Nordic countries emerged in the U.S. back in the ‘50s. That was around the time Gillian Andrew’s grandparents started Bath interior design firm Garth Andrew Co., so the genre became their focus. The interior designer says it’s likely coming back because people are looking for new ways to simplify their life — and that’s why you might consider adopting the style in your home.

“If you’re tired of the all the fluff and busyness of a different genre, then Scandinavian design/midcentury modern design is a very clean, functional way to go,” Andrew says, adding that Scandinavian and midcentury modern designs overlap but also have differences.

Because of Scandinavian’s simplicity, it can easily be mixed with other interior design styles, she says. Garth Andrew Co. recently did a redesign of a local home with traditional elements and incorporated Scandinavian design in the kitchen, powder room, playroom, laundry room and upstairs hall. Andrew offers a few tips on working Scandinavian design into your home to make it a cozy, joyful place.

Simplify: Less is more, so say buh-bye to wall-to-wall carpet and poufy drapes. “One of the aspects of Scandinavian design is bare floors. A lot of people are going with hardwood floors or luxury vinyl plank tiles that look like wood,” Andrew says. “You don’t really see a lot of window treatments. You might have a little blind, but you wouldn’t have a lot of fluffiness.” Organization is important for mindfulness too, so cut back on clutter by doing a charity run or nestling things in decorative baskets.

Streamline: Overstuffed couches and cold formal pieces are out, and minimal, clean-lined functional pieces are in, especially wooden ones. “High-tech contemporary where everything is metal, cement and glass — there’s no real warmth to that. Any wood grain is going to warm up a space,” Andrew says. She uses the popular molded plywood chair by designer Herman Miller as an example. “It doesn’t have a cushion, yet the wood grain makes it really rich,” she says, adding that warmer wood tones like walnut add more richness. Some Scandinavian chairs have some cushioning, just less stuffiness. “Scandinavian design usually has a wooden tapered leg, very simple design, maybe wood arms but maybe there’s still some upholstery,” Andrew says.

Treasure Joy: “Nordic countries, it always comes to mind that those are the countries that bring out a focus on happiness, health and well-being,” Andrew says. Hygge is all about enjoying the simple pleasures of life and filling your home with what makes you happy. Andrew did that in this local home by using vibrant Scandinavian wallcoverings that ranged from a dainty botanical on white to rainbow florals and foxes. “You have this fun, colorful pattern on your walls,” she says. “It was very neat.”

Cultivating Hygge: The lifestyle is all about blissful comfort, so don’t be shy in adding the decor that uplifts you. While the wicker furniture in this garden room is traditional, bright, tasseled pillows make it welcoming and playful. “These throw pillows added a punch of color and that punch of design and pattern,” Andrew says. Especially if you go very minimal with the furniture, adding a fuzzy area rug, colorful framed art or houseplants (eco-friendliness is a part of the lifestyle, too) helps make it homey. “Colorful accents can come out in lamps, throw pillows and pieces like vases and candlestick holders,” Andrew says.