Elements of Scandinavian Design

 I have lots of love affairs and Scandinavian design is one of them. I developed this passion in my teenage years when I discovered a book in our local library.  Just to put you in the loop, it was a new book then.  It  is  hard to believe that one event can impact one's design aesthetic for life, but that's the case because  I've woven various elements of  mid century Scandinavian design into every home I've  had.

Here's my take on  the elements of  mid- century modern Scandinavian design and how I've interpreted it in my own home. 

Form

•  function is the priority, and then  form is pared back to its simplest statement 
• materials are chosen for their beauty and longevity
• the lines are clean and  minimal , often with sinuous curves or  very "boxy"
• craftsmanship is flawless
• 360 degree design -  looks good from every angle 
•  prominent use of wood , followed by  plastic and metals
• emphasis on nature and organic forms; bring natural materials in

Scandinavian furniture design

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Scandinavian furniture natural tones

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White furniture on light wood

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Check out  other iconic furniture designs in a previous post . So many well known furniture came from Scandinavian designers.

Colour/Light

• emphasis on magnifying natural light
• white and off- white interiors with blue or blue gray or black
• muted  tones,  restricted to neutrals 
• simple or no window treatments

Colour in Scandinavian Design

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 White colour scheme with light wood

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Neutrals with natural wood

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Shape

•  geometric  patterns, free form / organic and florals

organic patterns

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 Bold geometric patterns 

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Love the hint of blue with the black, white and gray in the  geometric rug.  The pop of blue with the throw is inviting and also creates a sense of warmth in the room. 

geometric patterns

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This is such a crisp but inviting room that is made interesting by using a range of textures and patterns.  I love how the striped rug anchors everything.

Lassen Accessories

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 Texture

• wood is highly valued and  used extensively for floors,  walls and furniture
• natural materials in textiles: linen, wool, cotton, hessian, fur (sheepskin)
• glass, pottery is used for many accessories

Texture in Scandinavian design

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This image shows a simple room with  many natural material in one small space: wool, felted wool, fur , cotton and possibly linen.  And great art to anchor the space,.  Wouldn't you love to sit on that chair?

Natural materials in textiles

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Another chair holding  a selection of cozy textiles that you can choose to cuddle up with. 

 Texture in accessories

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There's nothing like a matte inky black vase and natural elements to draw your attention to a corner or an interesting piece of furniture.  This one is so sleek next to the roughly carved  stool. A great mix. 

Knits in Scandinavian  design

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 Nothing is as inviting as knits on a bed.  All that texture, light colour and cuddle potential.

Space 

• uncluttered,  room to rest the eye
• easy to move around

Open design

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 And here's my  always in transition, uniquely Newfoundland,  mid century Scandinavian look at Christmas!

Scandinavian colour scheme

I like minimal window coverings in a south facing window when privacy isn't an issue, hints of black and natural toned birch with lots of white and gray.

Scandinavian design  with a twist

Christmas decorations without the traditional red or green and my new Kubus 4 candle holder  that is quickly becoming my favourite accessory next to  pillows from my sister who knows just what a room needs.    

Mid Century Danish modern hand crafted

Natural elements Christmas

Margaret Ryall

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What elements of Scandinavian design do you have in your home? 

Arranging vignettes: Do you know your design letters?

 Are you challenged when it comes to arranging  accessories? Do you look at details in  decorating magazines and marvel at how everything  looks just right? Many people think the final touches are the most difficult part of home decor, but they don't have to be.  There are all kinds of tips and tricks of the trade. 

One of the simplest design tips I can offer is the use  of  letter formations to organize interesting accessory vignettes. I'm calling on my background in visual art and floral arrangement to offer you this advice.  Other decorators may have different ways of describing their approach. 

The most useful letters for designing vignettes are ....  A, V,  O, C, L, and M.  

Here goes...

A

Niche Interiors

This is a very tight A line of design.  The visual height is always through the middle and the base is wider, but the bottom width can vary.  My eye wants to see something slightly taller than the dish - a sphere  would be lovely here. Perhaps the owner is like me,  always looking for just the right object to finish a room.

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Another A with a tall vertical.  Because this is a monochromatic scheme the overall A shape is more evident.  Are you noticing how the height is usually a piece of art?  It  could also be a sculpture, a mirror,  a  tall vase of twigs or flowers or photos hung on the wall.  The base can also  be much wider and the height much less than these examples. 

V 

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The reverse of A is V. In a V the lowest point is usually in the middle of the arrangement.  Sometimes thinking about it as a check mark is helpful because one side is usually taller and one is shorter.  A V line of design doesn't  have the height through the middle that an A line of design does. Sometimes only these two shapes are presented in vignette discussions, but there are so many more ways to think about it.  

C

 Lucid Interior Design Inc.

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 You don't often find C lines of design and they are the most obvious when there's only one object banked by something that is circular as with the mirror and twigs.  Your eye just wants to make that sweep.  But sometimes it is the placement of objects that creates a C sweep with the largest object placed at the beginning of the C as in the photo above. 


 o

 Joni Spear Interior Design

 Some designers may argue this is a classic V formation but I would disagree because the mirror causes the eye to move in a circular fashion around the display.  The lamps are taken in with that sweep.

 

 Rachel Reider Interiors

 Another  symmetrical O line of design.  The base is set so broadly that your eye just wants to do the circular movement around the objects. The three rounded shapes  add to the circular movement.  

Another very strong O line of design.  It is even more obvious when you have a narrow base. 


L 

  CNW PRODUCTION

Urrutia Design


The requirement for an L line of design is a very tall object placed on the edge of the design with a broad base.  Of course you can also reverse the L.  If the hurricanes were taller I would call the  vignette above a V. 

M

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You don't often see the M line of design used, but it works well when you are displaying collections where you have several heights with dips in the middle and you start with shorter objects on the ends.  

W 

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If the shorter objects are on either end it is an M, but when you start with taller objects on the ends and it is also high in the middle  it moves into a W.  

What line of design do these vignettes follow? 

1.

2.

3.

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1.This is  an A because of the wide base and the tall height through the middle. 

2.  Whenever you see a  lot of objects of similar heights spread out and starting and ending with a shorter object it is an M.  The more objects there are it can turn into a long zig zag of Ms. 

3.  Oh so tricky.  Without the curved object to the right it would be an O line of design, but your eye stops on it making it  a C. 

 

And there you have it.   Keep your eyes open when you see arrangements and observe the  lines of design  used. Then start arranging! 

5 Tips for painitng small spaces

 The one topic I've written about on my blog that gets attention from thousands of decor happy readers is decorating small spaces.  I think that is because rooms and homes today are smaller than they once were.  People living in condos or apartments must be conscious of using every trick in the book to enlarge their living spaces. So stay awhile and see how colour can solve some of your small space dilemmas.  Perhaps in these suggestions you will find a treatment for your small space.

Use one colour everywhere

This might seem like an extreme solution but it isn't really.  Using one colour all over a room makes the different planes blend together  to give a more unified look.  You can even use the same colour on the floor and ceiling if you wish.  Since your eye continues to move  freely around the room you have no sense of the boundaries of it.

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If I could change one thing about this room above, I would paint the trim a soft pink too to keep the eye moving. Painting  trim white creates vertical and horizontal lines that your eyes automatically go to and follow. You can see the difference in the room below where the trim is painted out.  The room has an unbroken field of colour that is certainly expansive even though a dark colour was used.

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More blue, but the trim is painted a coordinating colour that is closer in value to the walls decreasing the emphasis on  the trim which seems to just blend in.

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Use cool colours 

 The rooms above are using the same colour almost everywhere, but they  are also utilizing another colour trick. Cool colours like blues, blue grays etc. make the walls of a room recede thus making the space appear larger than it actually is. Blues are an excellent choice for small bathrooms, laundry rooms, spare bedrooms, etc.  When walls recede you tend to notice the furnishings rather than the  "box" that contains them.

There's nothing like a cool lavender with white and light grays to expand a space.  

 

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Use a dark colour on the walls

That's right, a dark colour!  Would you ever think that would work?  It does because  the corners disappear in the shadows and your eye moves around easily. Darker colours are often perceived as  visually deeper. There are  decorators who take the opposite approach to keeping walls light in a small space.  And the final trick with dark colours in small rooms is to paint them in a semi-gloss or gloss to reflect light.  This approach is not for the faint of heart,  but it can be quite stunning.   If you're afraid to go really dark choose a mid value gray or taupe.

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Use a colour you see outside

Blues and greens give the impression that the room continues beyond the windows. You can paint the walls an outside colour or use one  in your fabric choices.  I love the freshness of the room below. It certainly is reminiscent of  plants.

House Beautiful

Designer Christina Murphy uses green to great effect  to visually extend this room by connecting it to the view outside the window.  Keeping a simple colour scheme is also visually enlarging.

 

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Everything about this room invites the outside in and blends the two together. Lighter floors always enlarge a space.  There are no dark hardwoods in my life, I like light and airy all the way.

Keep walls and furniture a similar colour 

 When you keep the furniture and walls close to the same colour you are blurring the lines between them. As a result the mass of the furniture is decreased and the overall volume of the room is increased.  If you don't wish to have all the furniture the same colour consider having at least  the bigger items like armoires and chests close to the wall colour so they will begin to blend into the room and widen it out.

Jennifer Brouwer

I also want the cabinet for the TV to be a lighter colour, but it is undeniably a focal point in the room  and every room needs one. I'd also skip the dark wood rods which your eye travels to automatically because of the contrast, but I also understand why the decorator chose them (all the woods in the room are dark).   Overall I love these two rooms.  They are warm and inviting.

Laura Bielecki

I equally love the cool minimal look  of this room, but it isn't for everyone.

Paint a Focal Wall

 

 I'm not a large fan of painting a focal wall.  I think sometimes it works to great advantage, but most times it is a less than creative solution in a space. This strategy  can work wonders in a small space, Don't be afraid to paint an accent wall a darker receding color thus  making the space look larger.

Harrell Remodeling

 And there you have it.  The only thing left to do is decide which of these solutions will work in your space. 

 Happy painting.

How does your garden grow?

Gardens have always beckoned me since I was a girl.  I love the colours, lushness, meandering paths and hidden surprises.  I like looking beyond  or through a  garden to the haphazard backdrops and surprising framings worthy of a painting.  Everyone who views a garden sees it in a slightly different way, just as everyone who reads a poem takes  a slightly different message from it.

Whenever I find a garden  that appeals to me, I always ask permission to photograph it.  Sometimes I keep the photos in my art file, and other times I  share them.  This  well textured garden in King's Cove, Bonavista Bay, NL, lovingly tended by Veronica and Kevin Mahoney was meant to be shared.

 Come along and visit Veronica and Kevin's garden through my eyes.

 Gardens need surprises at every turn. And depending on the vantage points the same spot should have a variety of looks and feels.

 I am definitely attracted to the partially hidden aspects of a garden that you catch by looking through structural elements.  In this case a sparse grove of aspen trees provides interesting framing for the bed beyond.  You can catch a glimpse of a cozy seating area.

 Moving to the left a little brings you to one of my favourite aspects of this garden. A bench nestled in the bank of tree trunks provides a shady spot to sit and look at the plantings beyond.

 A second seating area is hidden beyond a bed of shrubs and perennials.  The lamppost provides a strong vertical focus where almost everything else is the same height. Variety in heights is important for an interesting space.   While the garden has a well tended look it also  meanders  from the cultivated edges to wilder land behind it. This transition really works and makes the garden appear much larger than it actually is. 

 

 And here's the seating area you can just barely glimpse in the photo above.  I like the fact that the colour of this seating doesn't fight with the red bench beyond it.

 

Moving behind another bed and looking the opposite way reveals two more interesting features: a bird bath and an anchor.  At least our  truck blends into this shot.  I didn't have the heart to ask hubby to move it a second time. He's sitting in his favourite spot waiting patiently for me to finish shooting.

 

And how is this for a vantage point?  Even the church on the next property is a part of the garden!

 

Looking toward the house from the bench. Yes,  I love  that bench!

 

 An interesting plant hanger built by Kevin.  There's a second one by the step.

Because the house is on a high hill you have a great veiw of King's Cove harbour and several of the houses surrounding it.

I am such a sucker for looking up when I take shots.  This is a big reward.

 

 When you look up you are greeted by a stunningly refurbished house. The two patios provide interesting views of the garden.

Another bed of perennials creeps up the hill toward the back of the house to a third sitting area just outside the back door. Aren't the variety of stone walls interesting? Here's a closer look.....

 Following a stone path beyond will bring you to the fourth seating area at the top of a hill behind the house.  This provides a totally different feel and view of the whole area.

 

 You can look right out the bay as far as the eye can see.  The houses beside the property actually become part of the composition of the garden.  How great is it to have a yellow  building with  red trim next to your property!  It is such a strong focal point and  it adds additional colour when the blooms disappear. .

While heading down the path again, I was treated to a close up view of  numerous butterflies sailing around a false spirea. 

 

Thank you Veronica and Kevin for allowing us to visit your garden.  

5 garden planning tips  from this garden visit:

1. Consider  what lies beyond your garden and use it to advantage.  It might not be yours, but it can be part of your composition. 
2. Use meandering paths to connect different parts of your space, and use the same treatment for all of them: crushed stone, brick, slate etc. This continuity adds cohesiveness to the composition.
3. Always keep parts of your garden hidden from view and lead the visitor to them by using meandering paths and plantings. 
4. Have several seating areas to provide choice during different parts to the day or  to provide different viewing vantage points. 
5. Have a strong mix of flowering shrubs and perennials if you want to be a carefree gardener. 

Lighting your dining table

The right lighting can make a room sing, but often our rooms are  off key. When you have a house of a certain age (30 years for me) there comes a time when you know you have  to update your look. When I started to change the lighting in my home, I began with the two over my tables because they would have the most impact.

Kitchen table 

When you're buying lighting to hang over a table you should consider these  factors:

 Height of ceiling

A taller ceiling  often requires  larger fixtures; many new home builds in my area now have 9 foot ceilings.

Size and shape of table

Your fixture should complement not overpower your table.  You can also have lighting fixtures that are too small for a table.  I am particular about  what shape fixture I mount over a round table; I like to repeat the shape with a circular format, but that's just me.

Height of homeowners

It is a fact that tall homeowners have a greater chance of continually bumping into lights hung too low over a table when they are setting or removing dishes.  Some people are so tall your would never mount pendants high enough!

Height above table

The specifics of how high to hang your fixture can be confusing because you will find a range of suggestions depending on which sites you consult.  Don't let that deter you.  My adage is "Common sense prevails".

 I tend to think in terms of a range while taking other factors into account including: personal preference, the height of the homeowners, fixture size, style of fixture, ceiling height, task to be illuminated etc.  Read on for examples.

Light Planning and Styling Guide 

The general recommendations for  hanging a fixture over a table is 28 - 32 inches above the table if you have an eight foot ceiling.  This graphic from wegotlites recommends 30 inches from the table for an 8 foot ceiling.   I placed my kitchen table pendant  at 32 inches from the table top so I wouldn't continually bump it when working. It works most times, but when I reach in too far I still bump it.

Art by Mike Gough 

My dining room pendant is 34 inches from the table.   Being able to view my art collection to best advantage in very important to me, so  I moved the  dining room pendant up an additional two inches from the hanging height in the kitchen  so visitors can  view the art over the buffet without disruption while sitting in the living room.  You may not find this consideration in any lighting guide!

Another set of guidelines recommend measuring  from the floor  to the bottom of the shade and suggest 60 - 66 inches as reasonable.  Most tables are 30 inches high.  That would put the height from the floor  to my kitchen  shade at 62 inches, and my dining shade at 64 inches, both are within this guideline.

If you have ceilings higher than eight feet, go up 3 inches for each additional foot above eight feet.

 Size of fixture

 For most applications the diameter of your light fixture should be at least 1/2 the width of your table or even up to 2/3 the width of your table.   My kitchen fixture is exactly one half the width of the table at 18 inches in diameter.  That's the proportion I like.  I could have gone with a diameter of up to 24 in. without it looking too large.  My dining fixture is only 16 inches  in diameter, but looks larger.

Sizing based on room dimensions

Light Planning and Styling Guide 

There is another guideline for determining the size of your fixture. Add the length and width of your room together ( eg., 11 feet +14 feet ) and convert the sum to inches (25in.) and that should be the diameter of your  fixture.

 Of course that is not a hard and fast rule, but it will provide a light fixture that is a focal point for the room.  This formula works better for a statement fixture  in an entrance or stairway.  You can see how it could get out of control in a dining room.  Eg. 15 feet + 20 feet would give a fixture diameter  of 35 in.  That's the width of most dining tables. 

Function of fixtures

The illumination given off by drum shades  is soft and calming,  but  bright enough to provide lighting for an entire room.  When a large drum pendant is hung over a table it not only anchors the vignette, but if placed on a dimmer the fixture can provide brighter light for any tasks done at the table and softer light while dining. While I don't have anything against chandeliers, I don't have any in my own home.I'm definitely into clean lines and a very sparse contemporary feel.

I am planning another post about lighting selection for various rooms as I get ready to replace the fixtures in my summer house.   Stay tuned.  

What variables do you consider when hanging a light over a dining table?