Master Scandinavian Design with these Simple Hacks!

There is one thing we know for sure: the Scandinavian design is here to stay. 

The world has gone crazy about this simple and elegant style in their homes, the white floors, lots of light wood and an appreciation of nature. 

There are a few simple hacks that can help you master this popular design, and make your home cosy and stylish.

Incorporate Copper Details
Since this whole interior design may look bare and simple, you need to bring character with small details. A great way to achieve this is by introducing copper ornaments and accessories in your home. 

If you are feeling crafty and on a budget, you could use copper paint that is suitable for glass, and decorate your mugs, glasses, candles and vases. 

You can be creative and design these with Scandinavian-inspired motifs such as deer antlers, geometric patterns or leaves. 

You can also easily decorate tin cans with three coats of copper paint and turn them into cute, decorative pencil holders or pots for plants and dot around your home. 

For a bathroom refresh just spray paint the towel rings, mirror frame and bathroom hook.

Introduce Wood
To strike the perfect contrast to the whole white interior you should incorporate more natural wood into your home. You can do that through furniture, flooring or you can even decorate the walls with some wood art and panels. 

Another simple way is to introduce wooden branches as decoration. You can use some sturdy branches with a hook shaped piece and use them as coat hooks in your hallway. 

Also, you can use them as hanging racks, and hang a few of them in your living room or patio and have a perfect place for your hanging plants. 

Wood will bring warm atmosphere in your home because it is a natural insulator. But above all, it will turn your house into a lovely cozy place for your family.

Functional Bright Kitchen
As the busiest place in your home, the kitchen needs to be bright, spacious and functional. Like with the rest of the Scandi look, your kitchen can be painted all-white with copper and wooden details. Also, to make it brighter you should let as much daylight as possible in order to make it appear bigger and cozier. 

To respect the functionality of this design, you should make sure to have multi-functional furniture, lots of useful storage and no excess appliances and clutter.

Love the Nature
Despite cold long winters, Scandinavians adore spending time in nature doing various activities. To be even closer to the nature, they decided to bring it inside. To do the same, you should introduce plants and greenery in your home and show deep appreciation to nature and healthy life. 

Hang up your favorite flowers, filter the air with some bigger potted plants and introduce natural textures and fibers into your home. Hang some art that depicts nature and simple mimic its neutral tones in your home.

Cozy Corner Fireplace
To survive long cold winters, Scandinavians rely on their warm fireplaces that are there for heat and sometimes even cooking. Of course, with today’s technology we do not have to worry about the cooking appliances, but a nice corner fireplace is a great decoration and an artful focal point. 

It does not have to be big and in the center of the room, like in many other western countries. It should be simple, functional and simply to serve the purpose of getting your home warm and ready for winter.

The idea of moving to North and enjoying their beautiful nature and views is tempting. However, not everyone can do the same, so why not try bringing Scandinavia to us. Follow these few simple tips, and turn your home into a bright and warm place for living.

Today's post comes courtesy of Squeezed Daily's newest recruit! Very excited to introduce Lana Hawkins who will be sharing her decorating tips on what will hopefully be a regular basis. Watch this space!

Author's Bio: Lana Hawkins is an architecture student and an advisory editor at Smooth Decorator.  She enjoys writing about interior decoration and landscaping. Lana is interested in sustainability and green building, and that's where she gets most of her inspiration.

Image Credits: homedit.com | flickr.com | entrancemakleri.se | madaboutthehouse.com | cocolapinedesign.com | elledecoration.se | housebeautiful.co.uk

Living Materials - A Palette of Natural Leather, Cork and Wool.

In a world dominated by technology and mass production, it’s nice to remind ourselves we live in a beautiful, natural world. There’s nothing like decorating with natural toned leather, cork and wool felt elements to bring a lovely organic aesthetic to your interior space.

These materials add timeless beauty and warmth to any environment and create a subtle colour palette that is honest and energizes through a fresh, modern aesthetic. Robust but with a sense of softness, these products suit all forms whether furniture or decorative.

Their neutral tones looks amazing teamed with other natural elements such as light timber, concrete, stone or metal and sit beautifully against the greenery of your favourite indoor plants.

Combining these details can help to create a warmer or cooler aesthetic and add a touch of everyday luxury. Use alongside monocratic prints or dark charcoal or navy hues, to create a highly sophisticated look with dramatic impact.

You can create a lovely sense of naturalness in your home with these beautiful products below.

Anaesthetic

These awesomely Aussie made pendant lights by Anaesthetic offer a unique marriage of vintage charm and contemporary design, by incorporating both modern and traditional production techniques. Each shade is cut from locally sourced leather, then hand moulded and dyed to the desired colour. 

www.anaestheticdesign.com

Areaware

Areaware's graphic Table Tiles coasters were designed by Brooklyn-based design duo Bower. Fun and forever timeless, the set of six are made of MDF, beech veneer and cork. They can be artfully arranged and encourage playful table top mosaic building! Available through Gretel Home www.gretelhome.com

AVO

You can't go past Avo for a divine range of hand-painted cowhide rugs and cushions. Designer Brit Kleinman takes traditional materials used in innovative ways; playing with the juxtaposition between an organic shape and a striking geometric pattern to create a stunning result! Avo ships these works of art directly from the U.S to AUS. 

www.avoavo.com

Douglas & Bec 

This beautiful handcrafted mirror by Douglas and Bec doesn’t just hang around, it makes a statement! Crafted with solid bent American white oak frame with a raw russet leather strap and gold details, it is the epitome of elegance. www.douglasandbec.com

Elk & Earth 

Soft, plush and oh so Winter warm and cuddly! Offering an aesthetic high without the high price tag, these 100% Wool Felt rugs and cushions by Elk and Earth are impeccably hand-made in Nepal under fair-trade practices. Available through Dwell. 

www.dwell.id.au

Flip and Tumble

Flip & Tumble is the brainchild of San Francisco-based designers Hetal Jariwala and Eva Bauer, who bring a playful approach to sustainable design. Thankfully, they also keep their products well within reach. At $15, a nicely crafted, sustainable wool-felt plant pod is a damn good deal. Available through Upcycle Studio. www.upcyclestudio.com.au

Héctor Serrano 

The Natura lamp and vase collection by London designer Hector Serrano presents a delightful contrasting combo of textured cork with smooth recycled glass. Their warm and friendly shape allow them to integrate well into any context. Hector ships directly from London. 

www.hectorserrano.com

Keep Cup Brew Limited Edition

But first coffee! Jazz up your desk space with a Keep Cup Brew limited edition. A tempered glass reusable coffee cup with a cork band that is beautiful to hold, antibacterial and insulates your hand from heat. Perfect for the enjoying the cafe experience 'to go'. 

Available through www.biome.com.au

Ladies & Gentleman

Introducing the incredible Ovis hanging chair by Seattle based design studio Ladies and Gentleman. Swing and swoon over the simple and organic structure which encompasses a vintage design with a playful contemporary aesthetic. Available through www.douglasandbec.com 

Lightly 

Stack your books neatly and elegantly with the Assemblages Book Girth Belt designed by Cindy-Lee Davies of Lightly. This gorgeous range is inspired by the utilitarian resourcefulness of the Australian lifestyle in the early 1900s. Drawing on a saddlery aesthetic of leather girths and copper belt buckles, and the unmistakable smell of raw leather.

www.lightly.com.au

Made to Measure

Spruce up old (or new) joinery doors and drawers with these beautifully crafted handles are by Made to Measure. Tactile and rich in texture these leather knobs have a lovely stitching detail and will continue to gain character over time. 

www.mademeasure.com

Melanie Abrantis

Stunning in every way possible, these cork vases and planters by Oakland based designer / maker Melanie Abrantis are hand-turned with a she shellacked interior and finished on the outside with a natural orange oil and beeswax mixture. A glass vial is included for fresh flowers. Melanie’s products be directly to Australia. 

www.melanieabrantes.com

Noergaard Kechayas

Artful and earthy, these material pendants from Danish designer Noergaard Kechayas comes (as the name suggests) in different materials: cork, concrete, marble, oak and terracotta. Not that I could discriminate but I think the cork is my favourite, how about you? Available from Great Dane. www.greatdanefurniture.com

Norm Copenhagen

I’m a big fan of anything and everything designed by Denmark-based Norm Architects. The New Norm storage jars are absolutely no exception. There’s such beauty is in the simplicity of the stoneware base with chunky and playful cork top. Available through Design Mode International www.designmode.com.au

OX Denmarq

What could be more beautiful and elegant than blending classic Danish minimalism with the rich traditions of the Argentinian Pampas? Designed by Copenhagen-based label OX Denmarq, The Maggiz Magazine Holder's vegetable-tanned leather is sourced from free-range, Argentinian cattle. A perfect complement to reading chairs and sofas in interiors that demand timeless style. Available from Great Dane. www.greatdanefurniture.com

Patterson & Steel

It was love at first sight when I came across this gorgeous leather plant hanger by Patterson & Steel. Handcrafted from vegetable tanned leather, marine cord and solid brass hardware, your plants should be so lucky to hang from! www.patersonandsteele.com.au

Puik Art

"Time rolls on, but once in a while you need to stand still," The Clork by Dutch designer Ilias Ernst does exactly this. "It doesn’t present a full circle, it has an edge that stabilises you for the moment." Clork is the perfect size for bedside tables, a desk or shelf. Designed for Puik Art who ship directly to Australia. 

www.puik-art.com

Skandinavious

Pairing linen with leather creates a beautiful balance that I find both modern and timeless. These, Handmade Natural Leather Napkin Rings from Skandinavious are perfect for a smart-casual dining setting. They can be shipped directly from Sweden via designer Louise Vilmar’s Etsy shop. www.etsy.com/au/shop/SKANDINAVIOUS

Studiolise

Hot off the press: London based designer Ilse Crawford’s upcoming Sinnerlig collection for Ikea was released in Europe late 2015. This warm and tactile range of furniture explores sustainable design using natural materials and simple, useful forms that fit into everyday life. Great affordable design within reach available from Ikea. www.ikea.com/au/en

The Minimalist

Perfect for small spaces, the Carry Me Home is a cleverly designed tripod table with leather straps that can be tucked away when not in use. Slide it under the sofa on weekdays and bring it out to the amazement of your guests on the weekend to serve them drinks on its handy detachable top! Designed by Tero Kuitunen and made in Finland, it’s available in Aus through the Minimalist. www.theminimalist.com.au

Urban Couture

Combining concrete, leather and wood, these large boxy concrete pots from Urban Couture are individually hand made to become the perfect home decor accessory. Use this for storage, as a vase, in your bathroom, kitchen, or even in your home office.

www.urbancouture.com.au

The Icon of Finnish Design Celebrates its 80th Anniversary!

It just so happens that while Iittala celebrate their 80th anniversary today, my husband and I are celebrating our very 1st wedding anniversary! Snap!

I was fortunate enough to visit their amazing showroom in Helsinki during Helsinki Design Week earlier this year and absolutely fell in love with their products!

        

   

The Alvar Aalto vase collection has become an international icon of Finnish design and a  much-loved gift for design aesthetes around the world. Each delicate and statuesque vase is skillfully mouth-blown and hand-crafted at the Iittala glassworks in Finland.

Alvar Aalto (1898-1976) is widely considered one of the masters of modern architecture and design. He was a functionalist who developed his unique style by combining rational architecture with a vividly organic idiom. His works are internationally acclaimed and landmark many Finnish towns from the tuberculosis sanatorium of Paimio to the university campus of Jyväskylä, the administrative centre of Seinäjoki town and Finlandia hall in Helsinki, to mention only few. Aalto’s furniture for Artek and the glass vase collection for Iittala are loved by design audiences all around the world.

A true humanist
Aalto’s approach to design included a deeply practical aspect: the design was based on human needs.  

“Form is a mystery that eludes definition but that gives people a sense of well-being.”

Alvar Aalto touched upon something special when he created the simplified and free formed vase collection for the Karhula-Iittala competition in 1936. The objects were not only revolutionary in form, freeing the glass from its geometric own will, but they also left the user to decide what the object should be used for. 

“Beauty is the harmony of purpose and form.”

The vases were first introduced at the Paris World’s Fair a year later. The fair was a breakthrough for Alvar Aalto in industrial design. There are various interpretations of Aalto’s original idea for free form; for many, the shapes represent the thousands of lakes in Finland, with their winding shorelines. 

The most skilled craftmanship 
Aalto vases are mouth blown every day at Iittala, Finland. It takes 7 craftsmen, 12 work stages, 1100 °C and 10 hours to make a single Aalto vase. The skillful craftsmen of the Iittala glass factory have dedicated themselves to keeping tradition alive; every single Aalto vase is individually made.

Anniversary products
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Aalto Collection, Iittala is launching new products. The key sizes of the range will be available in nostalgic Emerald green. The colour refers to Alvar Aalto’s wife, Aino Aalto. A similar shade was present in the original Aino Aalto collection in 1932.

This could make the a perfect gift for your next anniversary (or mine)!