One of the popular styles is the Scandinavian style in the interior of the kitchen. It is not surprising that many people liked this design of the kitchen space. It is practical, concise and allows you to furnish even a small room. Despite the simple geometric shapes and cold colors, the kitchen in the Scandinavian style looks very cozy and warm, and the use of only natural materials gives it a special zest.
Features of the Scandinavian style:
- Space. Even in the conditions of a small kitchen in the Scandinavian style, you can feel the freedom of space. All this is achieved through the use of straight lines, bright lighting and white color.
- Maximum light. Since the length of daylight hours in the Scandinavian countries is short, their population prefers to compensate for this with light tones and good lighting.
- Natural materials. Wood, stone, glass are used.
- Practicality. There should be nothing superfluous, everything is concise, minimalistic.
Color
The main color in the Scandinavian style is white. It is everywhere – furniture, walls, ceiling, decor. Light gray, light blue, light green and other cold shades are also used.
Visual color “warming” is not used in Scandinavia. The warmth of the interior is provided by numerous wooden elements or under the tree. The color of chocolate is also used, for example, in the decoration of the worktop of a kitchen set or a dining table.
Bright colors are present in the Scandinavian kitchen as accents and details: cushions on chairs, flowers, a vase, a picture. But there are not many of them.
Floor
A “warm” floor must be installed in a Scandinavian kitchen. In cold climates, it provides additional heating, creates a sense of comfort and home comfort. A solid wood floor is laid on top of it.
In the conditions of modern apartments and houses, which are not in such a harsh climate, warm floors are not necessary, and parquet boards are laid instead of wooden boards. Parquet most accurately conveys the texture, texture and color palette of wood.
Among the cheap options for flooring, laminate or porcelain stoneware with an imitation of “wood” is used.
The color of the floor covering is chosen darker than the color of the walls. It’s practical and looks good.
It is very rare to find tiles in a Scandinavian-style kitchen, especially with a glossy surface. If desired, it can become an alternative to a wooden coating, but the color scheme should be chosen correctly. The colors of the Scandinavian interior are suitable for tiles of light, cold shades or black and white tiles laid in a checkerboard pattern.
The walls
The walls in the Scandinavian-style kitchen design are decorated with white materials or the color of natural wood. The wall is plain. Drawings or patterns are mostly absent, but can be used as decoration of one wall, for example, near the dining table.
The wall covering must be smooth, matte, monochromatic.
Traditionally, the wall is sheathed with wooden lining. At the same time, the boards are not painted, but simply covered with colorless varnish to emphasize the naturalness and naturalness of the design. If this option is not to your liking, then the tree is painted in one of the stylish colors.
Departing from the classic Scandinavian style, wall decoration can be done in any way, but with observance of stylistic features. Plain tiles, wall painting, wall panels or structural plaster are used. The main thing is to comply with the requirements for color and simplicity of design. It is undesirable to glue wallpaper in a Scandinavian kitchen, the gluing joints will be visible and disrupt the integrity of the picture. If you choose them, they must be smooth, washable and without patterns.
An apron in the Scandinavian style is made of natural stone or brick. It can have a natural color, be painted to match the color of the wall covering or be a shade darker. Also, for the apron, tiles with an imitation of “brick”, less often mosaic, glass or wall panels imitating brickwork or wooden boards are used.
Ceiling
Finishing the ceiling in the Scandinavian-style kitchen is done according to the same principles as the walls. The ceiling must be white and perfectly flat to create the effect of a single whole with the rest of the environment. As an exception, the transverse ceiling wooden beams remain, they can be left in their natural color or painted to match the rest of the ceiling surface. A similar technique is also found in the design of the kitchen in the style of Provence.
The classic ceiling is whitewashed or painted. If it is difficult to perfectly align, then a modern kitchen in the Scandinavian style allows finishing with stretch or suspended plasterboard or slatted ceilings. Such designs have more advantages, if only due to the fact that they allow you to install spot lighting.
Furniture
The kitchen and dining room or living room in the Scandinavian style are often combined, which leaves its mark on the furniture.
The furniture has a practical, restrained design. The facades of the kitchen set are made in a minimalist style – smooth surface, straight lines, functional and inconspicuous accessories, light colors. Closed shelves hang on the walls, narrow pencil cases or cabinets are installed in the corners. Tabletops have a color that contrasts with the rest of the furniture – wood, chocolate, black.
The presence of hanging cabinets depends on the dimensions of the room. In a small kitchen in the Scandinavian style, the upper part of the kitchen set is missing. Instead, open racks for dishes or rails for kitchen utensils are hung. So the room will look more spacious.
A window sill can be an element of furniture. It is made wide enough to serve as a bench or table.
A kitchen island, a transforming table or, which is used more often, a bar counter serves as a divider between the kitchen and the living room. They can be used as a dining table. This is an excellent method of zoning the room.
A large dining table is placed in the dining room, capable of accommodating all family members. It is wooden with a preserved texture, has a U-shaped shape. Small square, rectangular or oval-shaped tables are chosen for small-sized kitchens. Classic Scandinavian table – made of solid wood. In addition, a glass table will look harmonious in such an interior.
The main requirement for chairs is comfort and soft seats.
Windows and lighting
The more natural light, the better – the main principle of the Scandinavian interior. In the kitchen, light is of great importance, as it is important when cooking and eating food, so the windows here are large in a wooden frame made of simple solid glass, that is, imposts and bindings are often absent in such a window opening.
Panoramic windows are often used in Scandinavian kitchens, so if you are building a house according to your own project, be sure to add such a highlight to the room. This will make eating much more interesting, especially if there is a beautiful scenery.
Do not hang curtains or other window decorations in Scandinavia, so as not to interfere with natural light entering the room. In sunny countries, you can’t do without shading. In this case, Roman or roller blinds of neutral colors are hung on the windows.
To provide maximum lighting in the kitchen, spot lighting on the ceiling and illumination of the work area and apron are used.
The main source of lighting is hanging lamps on long cords with shades in the form of balls, cones or original shapes. They are made in a minimalist style, high-tech style, loft, classic. The lamps are suspended above the kitchen island, bar and dining table. The longer these zones are, the more lamps are installed above them, optimally from 1 to 3.
Decor
Decor in the Scandinavian-style kitchen is used to a minimum. Practicality prevails here, in which there is no place for extra entourage. Bright textile accessories and useful things act as decorative elements:
- white tablecloth with contrasting stripes, checkered;
- towels, potholders, napkins of saturated bright colors;
- magnets, notebooks, slates on the refrigerator;
- a watch in the style of minimalism of a square or round shape with a dark case and a white base;
- black and white photos;
- paintings, portraits, abstract paintings;
- colorful ethnic rug on the floor.
The dishes are made of white ceramics or transparent glass, and the kitchen utensils are made of wood and stainless steel.
Natural or artificial skins, fur, laid out on chairs, windowsills or as rugs will help emphasize the coziness of Scandinavian cuisine.
Another element is dried tree branches, they can be used for the most incredible purposes: standing in a transparent vase or lying in the corner of the kitchen, used as a railing for kitchen utensils or hanging lamps.
If you want to put indoor plants in the kitchen, then they are placed on shelves, on kitchen tables or on the floor. The windowsill must remain free of flowers and other decorations, since, as mentioned above, it is an element of furniture.