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New York studio Space4Architecture has brought natural light into a townhouse in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens neighbourhood by adding a staircase topped with a skylight. More
For this week’s lookbook, we have picked ten Scandi-style living rooms from the Dezeen archive that play with textures and showcase natural materials, elegant accessories and muted colours.
Scandi style is a term used to describe designs from the three Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Denmark and Norway – but has also become a catchphrase that denotes minimalist interior design that uses plenty of natural materials, especially wood.
Wooden floors are traditional in Scandinavian homes, where they are often matched with wood details such as panelling and classic mid-century modern furniture.
Scandi living rooms often feature white or pale walls, which are common in the Nordic countries where the long, dark winter months mean people tend to choose light colours for their interiors.
Many of the ten interiors below also play with textures, adding fluffy throws to simple sofas, tactile rugs to wooden floors and rattan and leather seating.
This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous roundups include L-shaped kitchens, interiors that use internal glazing and inviting courtyards.
Gjøvik House, Norway, by Norm Architects
Located an hour outside of Oslo, Gjøvik House comprises six interconnected blocks with interiors featuring mottled grey walls, earthen textiles and warm wooden panelling.
Pale grey hues were used for the living room, which has a soft Bollo chair designed by Andreas Engesvik for Foglia and a modular sofa in a neutral grey tone.
According to the architect, the spaces were designed to have a “cosy and inviting feel, where you can truly hibernate while taking shelter from the frigid days of Nordic winter.”
Find out more about Gjøvik House ›
TypeO Loft, Sweden, by TypeO
The living room area of creative studio TypeO’s guest loft in southern Sweden features floor-to-ceiling glazing that opens up onto a large balcony.
A coffee table by Isamu Noguchi for Vitra matches the wooden floor and beams and is complemented by Ligne Roset’s Togo armchairs in black leather. Sculptural decorative details add an art gallery-like feel to the bright living space.
Find out more about TypeO Loft ›
20 Bond Apartment, US, by Home Studios
Design firm Home Studios filled the 20 Bond Apartment in New York with bespoke furniture and vintage finds, including a leather Safari chair by Danish designer Kai Winding.
An entire wall is taken up by a bespoke shelving unit that the studio made from oak wood and brass, adding another Scandinavian-style feature to the room. A rattan table and a pink resin side table by Sabine Marcelis add a tactile touch.
Find out more about 20 Bond Apartment ›
Sculptor’s Residence, Sweden, by Norm Architects, Menu and Dux
Norm Architects, Menu and Dux collaborated on this installation that was designed to resemble the “eclectic living quarters of a creative.” Muted brown and beige hues lend the interiors an earthy, organic feel, which is contrasted by the elegance of the black marble table and black sculptures.
Menu’s Hashira floor lamp adds a subtle nod to Japanese interiors, and its sleek surface offsets the knobbly texture of the brand’s Eave Dining Sofa Bench.
Find out more about Sculptor’s Residence ›
Villa Weinberg, Denmark, by Mette and Martin Weinberg
Wienberg Architects collaborated with fellow Danish architects Friis & Moltke to overhaul the 1940s Villa Weinberg. The result is a warm, inviting home lined with oil-treated oak walls.
The wood-clad living room also has a simple wooden coffee table and poufs for lounging on, as well as a built-in leather-clad bench. A rice lamp and sheepskin throw add texture to the wooden interior.
Find out more about Villa Weinberg ›
Solviken, Sweden, by Johan Sundberg
Scandi living rooms tend to have very neutral colours, but in this space in a Swedish holiday home, two comfy sofas in a calming seafoam green create a bright focal point in the room. The hue is picked up by a painting at the end of the large, open-plan kitchen and living room.
Small unpainted wooden coffee tables match the floor and the wooden storage cabinets alongside one wall.
Find out more about Solviken ›
London townhouse, UK, by Daytrip
Design studio Daytrip’s renovation and expansion of an east London townhouse includes a living room with white walls, a wooden floor and furniture in muted colours.
A textured “Banana” sofa designed by Danish Cabinetmaker, contrasts with the glass Trebol side table by Oscar Tusquets Blanca.
Numerous ceramics and sculptures surround the open fireplace and add life and interest to the sleek white interior.
Find out more about London townhouse ›
Lyceum Apartments, Sweden, by Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter
The Lyceum Apartments in Stockholm are located in the Old Technical College’s Pharmaceutical Institute and feature light-filled rooms with clean designs and historical details.
In the living room, a curved white sofa contrasts against the angular shapes of Pierre Jeanneret’s wood and cane Easy Chairs, Soft beige curtains match the neutral hues of the rest of the room.
Find out more about Lyceum Apartments ›
Sommarhus T, Sweden, by Johan Sundberg
This summer house by Johan Sundberg features a green sofa and a matching armchair. Both are from Danish brand &tradition and match the verdant greenery outside the large glass windows.
A practical wooden table holds globe-shaped glass vases matching the slightly uneven glass lamps in the ceiling. The entire room is clad in pale wood, including the spruce floors, creating a calm, peaceful interior. The fixed furniture in the home was made from oak.
Find out more about Sommarhus T ›
Birkedal, Denmark, by Jan Henrik Jansen
A circular holiday home on the island of Møn in Denmark features a playful living room with white-panelled walls and a floor covered in small white pebbles collected from the beach.
A built-in curved sofa has brown leather seats that have been made cosier with added throws and pillows, and a small circular side table provides space for books, magazines and snacks.
Find out more about Birkedal ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing colourful interiors, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.
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The minimalist, utilitarian interior of this store in Copenhagen by local studio Aspekt Office provides a neutral backdrop for the colourful clothing and homeware that it sells.Located on Niels Hemmingens Gade where it meets the city’s pedestrian shopping street Strøget, the OCE concept store occupies a building that dates back to 1736.
Products are displayed across white and coral-coloured shelves in the home department
OCE stands for objects, clothes and experiences, in reference to what’s on offer in the lifestyle brand’s roughly 50 Chinese stores and its growing number of European outposts.
Terkel Skou Steffensen and Hans Toft Hornemann of Aspekt Office were asked to create an interior for the brand’s Copenhagen store that would help to attract Scandinavian customers.
The steel storage units blend in with the white walls
“The design requirements for the new store were clear and concise,” said the studio, which has provided creative direction for OCE for several years.
“OCE wanted us to create a Nordic atmosphere and add a Scandinavian look, feel and expression to their brand, to be able to attract Scandinavian costumers. That was paramount.”
An oak-panelled service counter provides visual warmth within the otherwise industrial space
The studio decided to divide the store into different zones, one dedicated to fashion and the other to homeware.
Upon entering at ground floor level, customers are greeted by an oak service counter that provides a warm counterpoint to the all-white interior while effectively splitting the area in two.
Clothing is hung on simple white rails
“In general, we have worked with as few colours as possible to make [OCE’s] colourful products stand out and take the primary focus,” said Steffensen and Hornemann.
“To obtain the essential Scandinavian look and feel, we have worked with carefully selected materials. Scandinavian design is a design movement characterised by simplicity, minimalism, functionality and beauty, and we had to mirror that in OCE’s new store.”
Snarkitecture creates billowing all-white pop-up store for Valextra in Milan
In the home department to the right of the counter, the interior was kept “sterile and raw”, with products displayed on simple white and coral-coloured steel shelves.
On the other side, the fashion department sees clothing hung on white steel rails and changing rooms concealed behind grey wool curtains. A grey linoleum floor, designed to resemble concrete, was used throughout to create a calm and relaxing atmosphere.
Grey wool curtains separate the changing rooms
Several of the shop’s display tables are topped with a speckled, terrazzo-like material that is created from recycled yoghurt pots by UK company Smile Plastics.
“Since the store is very small and compact, we made it our mission to utilise even the tiniest little corner,” explained the studio, which has transformed the previously unused space under the stairs into an exhibition area with built-in shelving.
“In this way, we highlight the stairs of the store and lead people to the first floor.”
A staircase with traditional turned wood spindles was painted white
The store’s minimal white interior was also designed to be respectful to the surrounding architecture.
“The store is located in a pedestrian area, surrounded by historical buildings with bricks facades and stucco decorations,” the studio explained.
“Another common feature of these buildings are the large, high windows that allow in as much light as possible, but also allow you to see the beautiful surrounding edifices,” it added.
“We wanted the shop to have a look that blends in homogeneously, no dramatic pops of colour, no discontinuity with the neighbouring interiors that you can see through the windows. The soft palette blends in with the surrounding environment, the materiality chosen is simple and discreet, yet modern and fresh.”
The oak counter separates the homeware from the fashion department
Other designers who have attempted to capture a Scandinavian aesthetic in a retail setting include Ulrika Bernhardtz, the creative director of lifestyle brand Arket, who designed the brand’s Copenhagen store using an all-grey palette.
In London, architecture firm Farrells conceptualised the interior of a mixed-use shopping and dining development to reflect Japanese and Nordic culture, while the Soho store of clothing brand Eytys references Swedish brutalism and postmodernism.
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From a mini-fridge to a folding desk and a concealed make-up mirror, this compact London apartment designed by local firm MWAI features a variety of space-saving solutions.Commissioned by a busy, professional client who works internationally, the architects were asked to transform a 37-square-metre, one-bedroom apartment in a Mayfair mansion block into a minimalist “pied-à-terre”.
Top image: an open-plan area includes the kitchen, living room and workspace. Above: neutral colours were used throughout
“We thought accommodating sleeping, living, dining and working in a 37-square-metre apartment while also delivering the feel of a spacious interior was a very challenging brief,” said the practice.
“We decided we should not look at it like a residential project but rather like a hotel suite, where all functions are carefully and discreetly planned to provide a functional response to business and leisure travelling needs.”
The apartment’s built-in storage includes a folding desk
Finished in a palette of natural materials like wood and stone, the apartment features an abundance of bespoke, built-in storage.
According to MWAI, the main challenge was to maximise the limited amount of useable space in the apartment. Restricted by sloping ceilings, the apartment had a poor existing layout and was in need of renovation.
Walls in the bedroom are painted grey
In order to create a more efficient footprint in the London apartment, the practice began by removing and replacing all of the walls, floors and ceilings.
Particular attention was paid to minimising the footprint of the bathroom and kitchen by placing them into the centre of the plan, sandwiched between the living room and bedroom.
The bathroom walls are finished in waterproof cement
A wet room is now accessed from the bedroom, with a pivoting flush door used to separate the rooms.
Freaks Architecture divides tiny Parisian pied-à-terre with mobile storage unit
The bathroom walls are clad in a waterproof cement polymer render, providing a textured finish that is enhanced by recessed lighting. Sleek industrial fixtures and sanitaryware were chosen to offset the textured walls.
The kitchen conceals appliances and features sleek hardware
To maximise floor space in the kitchen, the architects concealed units and equipment, including a mini-fridge, behind panels in the wall lining.
A kitchen island accommodates the hob and oven and also doubles as a dining table.
Light flooring runs throughout the apartment
A wall of bespoke storage is built into the bedroom, including a make-up cabinet with a concealed mirror and clothes steamer.
In the living room, custom-made cabinets with an integrated folding desk are installed along one wall and furnishings are kept to a minimum. A simple fireplace made from Vicenza stone acts as a focal point for the space.
The stone fireplace is a focal point
Other architecture firms that have created clever, space-saving solutions for compact apartments include Ukrainian firm Ater Architects, which hung curtains in place of walls in a Kyiv flat.
In Madrid, Spanish studio Husos Arquitectos designed a 46-square-metre plywood-lined apartment that features a vertical garden and sleeping pod.
Photography is by Billy Bolton.
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Spanish firm Plantea Estudio has layered “light and warm” materials such as plywood and chipboard to create the interior of this Madrid street food restaurant.Called Zuppa, the eaterie is located on one of the city centre’s main streets, the Calle de Atocha, and occupies a commercial space that was previously home to an Indian takeaway.
The informal dining area features steel frame furniture (above) and a central oak table (top image)
The 127-square-metre restaurant offers a menu of street food and homemade soups, which can be taken to go or eaten inside of a small, informal dining area.
Plantea Estudio restored the original storefront, which had been altered by the previous owners, and installed bespoke pivoting doors with frames made of plywood and iron, and topped with marble handles.
Built-in benches are paired with wooden stools and steel tables
For the interior, the firm said it selected materials in “light and warm tones” to create a feeling of continuity and make the space appear larger.
Although similar in colouring, the materials were chosen for their different textural qualities, with micro-cement and plywood boards forming the walls and floors while chipboard was used to panel the ceiling.
Plantea Estudio transforms defunct erotic cinema into contemporary art-nouveau theatre
“The light from the outside envelops them in such a way, that the limits between one and the other blur and the space is expanded to the maximum,” explained the architects.
The space is anchored by a large communal table
In contrast to the soft beige tones of the walls and floors, the studio installed furniture and fittings made from black lacquered steel with “geometric and precise” forms.
Much of this was designed specifically for the project, including a large communal table made from solid oak and finished with a sanded steel top.
Placed in the centre of the space, it helps to channel the flow of customers between the two entrance doors.
High tables in front of the counter feature marble tops
Two built-in, upholstered benches run along the walls on either side, paired with rows of lacquered steel tables and oak stools.
In the space beyond, two high tables with a steel base and grey Ruivina marble top sit in front of a serving counter made from these same materials and illuminated through integrated lighting.
Here, customers can eat their food either standing or seated on one of the bar stools with their oak veneer seats.
A soap dispenser and marble sink are mounted to the bathroom walls
“All of these elements are introduced into a space where the floor and walls are finished in the same colour, so it looks like they are ‘floating’ in a warm atmosphere,” Plantea Estudio director Luis Gill told Dezeen.
“The materials that are touched by hand are kind and solid, always pleasant.”
The illusion of objects levitating in space is carried through to the toilets, where a marble sink and soap dispenser are suspended from the walls.
Plantea Estudio built custom plywood doors with marble handles
The interior’s neutral colour scheme chimes with paint brand Dulux’s choice of colour of the year for 2021 – a “reassuring” earthy beige called Brave Gound.
Dulux argued that this “elemental” shade reflects “our growing desire to align more with the planet and looking towards the future”.
Plantea Estudio, which was shortlisted for emerging interior design practice of the year at the 2019 Dezeen Awards, has previously transformed a defunct erotic cinema into an art-nouveau theatre.
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Multidisciplinary studio Frama has finished this bakery in Copenhagen with off-white walls and terrazzo floors, allowing the bread loaves and pastries on offer to take centre stage.Juno the Bakery is situated in the city’s Østerbro neighbourhood, taking over the ground floor of a five-storey residential building.
Top image: the bakery’s entryway. Above: a steel-framed counter features in the service area
The popular bakery was originally located a couple of doors down in a shop unit that measured just 35 square metres, but staff had come to find it too difficult to work in such constricted conditions.
This new location – which is a much more generous 120 square metres – has been designed by Frama with an open layout that fosters a “natural dialogue” between customer and staff areas, bringing the art of baking to the forefront.
A glass box on top of the counter displays baked goods
“The vision for the new Juno spaces was to create a seamless interlink between the traditional craft of baking and a contemporary culinary experience,” said Frama’s founder, Niels Støyer Christophersen.
“Having more space to move is something that we’ve all looked forward to for a long time,” added Juno the Bakery’s co-founder, Emil Glaser.
“Now, in the new space – which has a really thoughtful plan for production and movement – we can all be more efficient and more comfortable. It’s really amazing how much of a difference a few more square meters can make.”
Customers can gather to eat around a cork and marble dining table
Inside, the bakery is loosely split into three different zones. Beside the entryway is a service area where customers make their orders. It’s anchored by a steel-framed wooden counter, atop of which is a glass box where bread loaves, buns and Danish pastries are displayed.
Adjacently lies a seating area, dressed with one of Frama’s Sintra dining tables – featuring a chunky cork base and a slim, round countertop crafted from yellow-tinged marble. Steel versions of the studio’s geometric Triangolo chairs have also been scattered around, along with a couple of strip lights.
Oak doors inset with glass look through into the baking room
Full-height oak doors inset with expansive panels of glass allow customers to peek through to the baking room, where goods headed for the oven are kept on silver-metal trolleys.
The room’s large windows also mean passersby on the street will be able to get a glimpse of the bakers at work.
Walls in the baking room are clad with limestone tiles
Walls here have been clad with Mediterranean limestone tiles, unlike in the customer-dedicated areas of the bakery where surfaces have been painted a shade of eggshell white. Grey terrazzo flooring runs throughout.
“When approaching the project we delved into an in-depth material case study, to understand what could coexist with the crafted baked goods and as well compliment them in tones and textures, according to the many artisanal processes they undergo,” added Christophersen.
Frama uses neutral tones for Beirut concept store The Slow
Outdoors, there’s an extra seating area. There are plans to eventually connect the old and new sites of Juno the Bakery, allowing even more room for customers to eat-in.
The bakery also includes an outdoor dining area
A minimalist aesthetic permeates all of the furniture pieces, skincare items and interiors created by Frama, which has been established since 2011.
Other projects by the studio include The Slow, a pared-back concept store in Beirut that features lime-washed walls and concrete display fixtures.
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Norm Architects has completed Archipelago House, a pine-clad holiday home on the coast of Sweden that’s designed to embody both Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics.Copenhagen-based practice Norm Architects created Archipelago House, which is located just north of Gothenburg, for a couple and their four children.
It’s a stone’s throw away from a holiday home that the mother of the family frequented when she was younger.
Top image: the interior of Archipelago House. Above: the exterior of the home is lined with pine wood
Archipelago House comprises a quartet of pine-wood volumes that stagger in line with the site’s rocky terrain.
Each of the volumes features gabled roofs, subtly mimicking the form of the boathouses which appear along the nearby seashore.
The kitchen features oakwood cabinetry
“We like to consider the spirit of a place and integrate a new building structure more or less flawlessly into its surroundings,” partner at Norm Architects Frederik Werner told Dezeen.
“The building should look natural to the site and put the focus on the beautiful surroundings and the life unfolding in the place rather than the building itself,” he continued.
“It is important for us that architecture does not feel alien to a site – especially in a place like this where there is a perfectly harmonised small village on the shore with other wooden houses around.”
At the heart of the floor plan is a double-height lounge
Inside, the practice has used natural materials to devise a sequence of muted, pared-back living spaces that nod to traditional Scandinavian and Japanese aesthetics.
Handleless oak cupboards feature in the home’s kitchen, at the centre of which is a jet-black breakfast island with in-built drawers. Stone tiles have then been used to line surfaces in the bathrooms, which have been finished with dark-wood vanity cabinets.
Furnishings in the lounge were designed by Norm Architects and Karimoku Case Study
The influence of Japanese design can be observed most clearly in the home’s double-height lounge, which is dressed with furniture that Norm Architects has produced in collaboration with Karimoku Case Study – the sister brand of Japanese manufacturer Karimoku.
This includes a pebble-grey sofa, stone-topped coffee table and pair of armchairs that boast arching backrests upholstered in creamy fabric.
Archipelago House is the third project that the brand has worked on since its launch in 2019, joining the Kinuta Terrace apartment block in Tokyo and the Blue Bottle Coffee cafe in Yokohama.
Japanese lanterns appear throughout the holiday home
The home’s living area also has a delicate cone-shaped lantern that was created bespoke for the project by Kojima Shouten, a Japanese brand that has been making lanterns for over 230 years.
Crafted from washi paper, the lantern’s peaked form is meant to act as another reference to the architectural form of Archipelago House.
Johan Sundberg builds Swedish holiday home that takes cues from Japanese architecture
More squat lanterns that balance on four-legged stands appear in the home’s tranquil sleeping quarters. Here there are also book-like storage boxes that Norm Architects designed alongside Danish brand August Sandgren, where inhabitants can tuck away their personal trinkets.
Book-style storage boxes hide the inhabitant’s belongings
Beyond the home’s dining room lies an expansive outdoor deck where the family can play games or enjoy alfresco dinners with views of the adjacent sea and small, rugged islands.
“Nature plays an important role in our soft minimalist approach, where we believe that buildings should be a functional backdrop and structure for human engagement,” added Werner.
“It might be a romantic relationship with nature – but after all, that is why we want to escape the city once in a while and reconnect with nature in our holiday homes.”
The home includes an outdoor deck
Norm Architects was established in 2008 by Kasper Rønn Von Lotzbeck and Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.
The practice’s Archipelago House joins a number of getaway homes in scenic Sweden – others include Summerhouse Solviken by Johan Sundberg Arkitektur, which is raised up on steel stilts, and Villa Vassdal by Studio Holmberg, which boasts minimal plywood interiors.
Photography is courtesy of Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects.
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Coarse plaster walls offset glinting stainless-steel display fixtures in this restrained store that architecture studio Case-Real has designed for Aesop in Shinjuku, Tokyo.The Aesop store occupies a glass-fronted retail unit in Shinjuku, a buzzing, tourist-heavy ward of Tokyo populated with bars, eateries and neon-lit billboards.
Case-Real used just two materials to create the store’s simple interior
When it came to designing the store’s interiors, Case-Real wanted to capture both what it describes as a sense of “artificial chaos” that permeates Shinjuku and the natural quality of Aesop’s skincare products.
The locally based studio decided to use two contrasting materials that it felt reflected the dichotomy of natural and artificial – plaster and steel.
Plaster covers the store’s walls, while steel has been used for display fixtures
All of the store’s gently curving walls are coated with coarse beige plaster, which leaves behind a textured surface finish.
The same plaster has been applied to a section of the store’s facade, creating a simple backdrop for Aesop’s logo.
Aesop’s creative director selects significant moments from the brand’s first book
Paint in the same beige hue has been washed across the ceiling and floor.
A counter where customers can test products is also made from steel
Shiny stainless steel has then been used to craft a series of lengthy display shelves that bend in line with the walls and several low-lying cabinets where extra stock can be hidden away, complete with steel handles.
The metal has additionally been used to make the store’s service desk, as well as a long counter inbuilt with round washbasins where customers are invited to test out products or observe demonstrations from staff.
A border of steel has also been created around the entrance doorway.
Plaster gives the walls a rough surface finish
The only other feature that Case-Real has incorporated in the store is a chunky plaster bench seat supported by cylindrical steel legs.
It has been placed directly in front of a window that looks onto the busy streets of Shinjuku, allowing customers to quietly sit and people-watch.
Plaster also appears on the store’s facade
Case-Real was established in the year 2000 and is led by designer Koichi Futatsumata. Four years ago, the studio designed the interiors of another Aesop store in the Japanese city of Sapporo, covering its walls with locally-sourced volcanic stone.
The studio’s Aesop Shinjuku store is shortlisted in the small retail interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards. It will compete against projects such as the Pinocchio, a tiny 4.5-metre-wide bakery in Yokohama, and the Glossier pop-up in Seattle, where products are displayed amongst grassy mounds covered in wildflowers.
Photography is by Daisuke Shima.
Project credits:
Design: Koichi Futatusmata, Yuki Onita (Case-Real)Construction: &SLighting plan: BRANCH lighting design (Tatsuki Nakamura)
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