New Scandi Chic
New Scandi chic: how to give your Scandinavian interior a fresh look
Scandi? Seen it all before: white, grey, black and lots of wood. Not quite. There's been a change of direction, and it's refined and colourful. Find out how Scandinavian designers are shaking up the design scene, now in the Connox Magazine.
We all know that Scandinavia knows a thing or two about design. But to be honest, the so-called Scandi style had started to lose some of its excitement. Fortunately, many design brands clearly feel the same way and are bringing more colour into play with wonderfully fresh ideas.
1. Bold colours combined the lagom way
2. How to mix materials the Scandinavian chic way
3. Metallics add glamour
4. The unexpected meets the tried and tested
5. Core values remain
Bold colours combined the lagom way
Until now, the Scandinavian look was dominated by white, light natural tones, pastels and black. Now it's time to dig deeper into the colour palette. Yellow, red, pink, orange, greens and aqua shades lead the way.
These pops of colour bring a burst of joy and replace the slightly dreamy atmosphere of the old Scandi style. But rather than throwing everything together at random, the key, as so often, is finding the right balance. Not too much and not too little: perfectly lagom and therefore perfectly Scandinavian.
How to mix materials the Scandinavian chic way
Mixing materials creates interest and gives a room depth. Combinations of hard, cool materials such as marble, terrazzo and concrete with warm, soft materials such as velvet work particularly well.
Pairing plastics with natural materials creates natural contrasts with a certain matter-of-fact quality. An exciting comeback for coloured glass brings back the spirit of the wild 1970s.
Metallics add glamour
The new Scandi chic brings metals such as copper, brass and stainless steel back into the spotlight. Brass looks particularly refined, while stainless steel adds an industrial touch to an interior. How best to use them? Lights with a metallic finish are especially striking.
Tom Dixon has long used glamorous finishes to give his designs character. Brands such as Georg Jensen, Louis Poulsen and Rosenthal have also embraced this trend material, so vases, lights and decorative objects now add a lustrous shine to the home. Creative shapes and simple lines keep the designs looking cool.
The unexpected meets the tried and tested
We know it from fashion: a simple T-shirt, unchanged for decades, makes it back onto the covers of glossy magazines when paired with statement jewellery. The same is happening in interiors.
Tried-and-tested design classics such as the CH24 by Carl Hansen & Søn are given a fresh new look alongside eye-catching printed cushions and colourful glass vases. Design objects with a hint of the exotic are particularly popular, evoking faraway places, futuristic utopias or fantasy worlds.
Core values remain
Despite this breath of fresh air, Scandinavian design stays true to itself. Values such as honest craftsmanship and the use of high-quality materials remain a priority. And it wouldn't be Scandi chic without a touch of Nordic functionalism, true to the principle of form follows function.
Personally, I welcome this colourful change of direction. It allows for humour at home and gives you the freedom to interpret the new Scandi chic in your own way. Have fun experimenting.
Living room photo with String shelving: Heimatbaum, Pepper Schmidt
