Scandinavian Living Room Design: How to Create a Stylish Style

A Scandinavian living room is a unique look that anyone can achieve by following a simple style guide. This minimalist yet comfortable style is suitable for anyone and blends in perfectly with many modern homes.

The Scandinavian style and living room design are a perfect match. We can’t think of a better place to enjoy a warm and comfortable design that provides a cozy meeting place for you and your family. Homes & Gardens calls it “the perfect combination of form and function” that is both pleasing and functional.

Designing a Scandinavian living room starts with a few important elements. We’ve gathered some different Scandinavian-style living rooms to show you how to start incorporating these elements into your home.

Choose a Unique Scandinavian Style

Not all Scandinavian living room styles look the same. In fact, there are rustic Scandinavian living room designs, minimalist Scandinavian living room designs, bohemian Scandinavian living room designs, and designs originating from various Scandinavian countries.

Overall, Danish design tends to be more modern and stylish, while Swedish design incorporates more elements of folk art into its designs. Some Scandinavian styles are more suitable for your lifestyle and suit you better than others.

Comfortable Focus

What better place to feel comfortable in the living room than in front of a fireplace or wood fire? To create your own warm Scandinavian living room from scratch, be sure to include a fireplace or wood-burning stove in your design. Add a basket of firewood near the fireplace for easy replenishment.

Open Floor Plan

Many Scandinavian-designed houses have open floor plans with common areas such as the living room, dining room and kitchen all connected. They are located in a centralized location and can be accessed by everyone in the home.

There are advantages and disadvantages to an open floor plan. Highlight the positives by making each area unique and clear. Use area carpets and unique light fixtures to create a visual separation between each area. Use a universal color palette and furniture style to connect the various areas together.

Light, Neutral Base

Scandinavia is known for its grey skies and long, dark winter days. Because of this, their designs tend to be light interior colors to reflect all the natural light that comes from the outdoors and give the house a cheerful look.

Start with light, neutral tones, such as warm whites and grays. White, cream, or light beige walls are a great way to get an authentic Scandinavian style. Also, add light-colored basics, such as sofas and feature chairs. If you have small children or pets and want to avoid white furniture, use gray or beige in light to dark tones. If you don’t know where to start looking for good neutrals, check out Benjamin Moore’s Hygge Paint palette for inspiration.

Add Earthy Highlights

If you like color, feel free to add a pop of color to your Scandinavian design living room. Colour infuses your home with warmth and a unique personality.

Focus on colors that reflect the natural world, such as burnt ochre, slate blue, forest green, and earthy brown. You can choose to use fades for a softer interest or a deep saturated tone. Check out Sherwin Williams’ Rejuvenation palette or Benjamin Moore’s Cosy Cabin palette to get a head start. Both feature a rich earthy palette that blends together in a seamless way.

Add Different Textures

Furniture and décor in neutral colors are essential in a Scandinavian-style living room, but they are never one-dimensional. Conversely, even if these rooms are in a neutral color scheme, the layered textures throughout the Scandinavian design will be of great interest.

Focus on natural textures such as wool, cotton, wood, stone, leather, wicker, rattan and jute to create the most authentic Scandinavian-style living room. This means combining wool blankets, leather chairs, wooden furniture and décor, and stone accents to create interesting focal points and comfortable seating.

Functional Furniture

Scandinavian design follows the slogan “less is more”. This means that you should avoid excess furniture and décor as much as possible and focus on the furniture you need to create a pleasant flow and look in your room.

If possible, buy furniture of the best quality that you can afford. This will ensure that you can keep your favorite pieces year after year. Plus, instead of squeezing the room with Scandinavian living room furniture, feel comfortable with the space in between.

Natural and Artificial Light

Winters in Scandinavia are long and dark. Capturing all available natural light and layering warm artificial light inside is one of the best ways to create a bright and comfortable interior space.

Minimize the use of curtains or eliminate them altogether. If you need curtains for privacy, use light-colored natural fabric curtains and make sure you can pull them away from the window to reveal the entire window.

Make sure your modern Scandinavian living room has plenty of layered artificial lighting sources, including table lamps, ceiling lights, and task lighting.

Floor Features

If the floor is cold, it will be difficult to create a comfortable and pleasant room. Most Scandinavian living rooms don’t have carpets and prefer wooden floors. Choose light-colored woods for the most authentic Scandinavian look. You can also paint the floors white to brighten up the room.

Scandinavian design favors large areas of carpets. Add a neutral wool rug or jute rug to give the room a texture. You can also take advantage of the rug option to inject some warmth into your living room.

Declaring Characteristics

Scandinavian design matured in the modernist era, so it is perfect for modern and medieval furniture and décor. Choose a piece of furniture, lamps or décor with a unique style to create a modern Scandinavian living room design with a modern twist.

Natural Decoration and Greenery

The décor of the Scandinavian living room includes objects found in nature. Display plants and cut greenery, as well as bowls with pine cones, fruits, flowers, shells, bare twigs to add extra texture and soften the sharp edges of the living room design.

Add Contrast

To create a more dramatic Scandinavian living room design, add some contrast with dark neutrals and wood. This can make your room look more personalized. Paint the walls with two contrasting colors or add some natural wood paneling

Scandinavian Living Room Starter Kit

Here are some furniture and decorations that will help you create a Scandinavian-style living room.

Claremont Terry Sofa

A sofa like the Claremont is perfect for a Scandinavian living room design because it has textured terry trim and is off-white in color. The wooden bottom edge gives the sofa some interesting contrasts.

Bayliss Armchair

The Bellis armchair has a classic medieval shape. The soft leather and back pillows give the chair a comfortable and structured style.

Carson Sleigh Coffee Table

The Carson Sled coffee table style is clean and minimalist, which is perfect for Scandinavian style. It has an open bottom, which is perfect for tucking into a storage basket to keep clutter out.

Bouwhuis Plain Weave Rug

A rug like this provides the perfect base for your Scandinavian living room. It is made of cotton and wool and has a comfortable and sturdy soles for the feet.

Abstract Wall Art

This wall of art from Line2Form is available for digital download and can be printed in a variety of sizes. This set is perfect for a modern or minimalist Scandinavian living room design.

At Last

Scandinavian living room design is an accessible design style that everyone can achieve. Start cutting back on your décor and excess furniture, investing in something simple, neutral, and quality that you can keep and cherish for the rest of your life. This will give you the foundation to build a classic and timeless design.