A global field guide to design, (life)style and secret finds est. 2007
Home Tour: A lesson in understated Scandinavian style
We've been talking about Christmas all week, so let's take a brief break and consider this superb Swedish apartment.
Here in Australia, there's been a lot of discussion recently about the the popularity of the Scandi look.
It was also brought up time and again on The Block (my knuckles are still recovering from the sizeable bite marks during the finale last night), where contestants were either praised for their Aussie spin on the Scandi look, or critiqued for reproducing "cliched Scandi style".
So if you love how the Scandinavians decorate, how exactly do you pull it off without replicating a textbook-style showroom in your own home?
This is how.
Take away the furniture, the layers of neutral tones and textures, the careful arrangement of object and shape, and you have the bare bones of any apartment that could be in Sydney, Melbourne - or Hammarby Sjöstad, in Stockholm.
There is a restraint in decorating that defines the Scandinavian look, working with neutral tones and natural textures to create a style that's seemingly effortless.
The kitchen is a careful study in monochrome, working with a luxe mix of materials including marble, copper and matte black finishes.
A mix of natural tones and textures is evident in every room of the home.
In the dining room we see a crumpled linen tablecloth combined with matte black tablewear, reflecting the finishes in the kitchen. The look is completed with the addition of timber and subtle flecks of copper in the decor and handles of the sideboard.
The white-washed floors are the foundation for building layers of texture and tone. Here, we have a natural wool vintage Berber-style rug, with a pair of timber side tables - the pale timber contrasting with the matte black table top.
Notice too, the replication of shape in this home, where circles are used to break up lines and add a fluid dynamic that's so subtle, you don't actually notice it until you really study what's going on.
Here, circles are also repeated with the bowls and objects on the table, combined with a signature Scandi natural element, in this case, the organic lines of a branch.
In the bedroom, circles and layers of textures in natural linen are combined with matte velvet as a variation on the same theme.
Consistency, restraint and carefully-considered layering: a small lesson in simple non-cliched Scandinavian style.
Click here to tour more of our favourite homes.
Photography by Joakim Johansson for Fantastic Frank.
We've been talking about Christmas all week, so let's take a brief break and consider this superb Swedish apartment.
Here in Australia, there's been a lot of discussion recently about the the popularity of the Scandi look.
It was also brought up time and again on The Block (my knuckles are still recovering from the sizeable bite marks during the finale last night), where contestants were either praised for their Aussie spin on the Scandi look, or critiqued for reproducing "cliched Scandi style".
So if you love how the Scandinavians decorate, how exactly do you pull it off without replicating a textbook-style showroom in your own home?
This is how.
Take away the furniture, the layers of neutral tones and textures, the careful arrangement of object and shape, and you have the bare bones of any apartment that could be in Sydney, Melbourne - or Hammarby Sjöstad, in Stockholm.
There is a restraint in decorating that defines the Scandinavian look, working with neutral tones and natural textures to create a style that's seemingly effortless.
The kitchen is a careful study in monochrome, working with a luxe mix of materials including marble, copper and matte black finishes.
A mix of natural tones and textures is evident in every room of the home.
In the dining room we see a crumpled linen tablecloth combined with matte black tablewear, reflecting the finishes in the kitchen. The look is completed with the addition of timber and subtle flecks of copper in the decor and handles of the sideboard.
The white-washed floors are the foundation for building layers of texture and tone. Here, we have a natural wool vintage Berber-style rug, with a pair of timber side tables - the pale timber contrasting with the matte black table top.
Notice too, the replication of shape in this home, where circles are used to break up lines and add a fluid dynamic that's so subtle, you don't actually notice it until you really study what's going on.
Here, circles are also repeated with the bowls and objects on the table, combined with a signature Scandi natural element, in this case, the organic lines of a branch.
In the bedroom, circles and layers of textures in natural linen are combined with matte velvet as a variation on the same theme.
Consistency, restraint and carefully-considered layering: a small lesson in simple non-cliched Scandinavian style.
Click here to tour more of our favourite homes.
Photography by Joakim Johansson for Fantastic Frank.
