Summary of period style –Scandinavian country (17th to late 19th century)
Scandinavian country
(17th to late 19th century)
The Scandanavian country style suits the Nordic climate. Interiors let in as much light as possible during long, dark winters, while readily-available wood is used for warmth.
You can mix both looks in one room if you’re careful; a streamlined sofa can sit comfortably alongside a gingham check curtain. Look at the room sets next time you go to IKEA and see how it’s done.
Style
- rustic, farmhouse, peasant
- light, bright whitewashed rooms
- simple painted furniture with folk art stencils
- bleached wood floors
- unfussy window treatments
Get the look
- Flooring - floors should be bare floorboards. The wider the planks the better. Choose roughly chopped boards for that peasant look. You could paint them off-white with a whitewash, or use a lye treatment, where lye is applied to the floorboards to draw out the yellow of the pine, and then is oiled to a milky white finish.
- Patchwork - add striped or rag rugs and patchwork quilts for the beds.
- Furniture - paint wooden furniture in faded primary colours. Add simple stencils in contrasting colours of hearts and roses. Make seat pads out of checked fabric.
- Beds - furniture shapes should be plain and simple. Cot beds and day beds are typical.
- Walls - walls should be plain white and preferably of bare plaster or painted tongue and groove.
- Fabrics - choose small gingham checks, sprigged florals in bright colours.
- Curtains - hang plain muslin instead of curtains or hang simple curtains from a wooden curtain pole.
- Lighting - choose plain wall sconces in tin, brass or dull gold.