Scandinavian Kitchen Design: How to Achieve the Look for Yourself
We are all familiar with the clean look of Scandinavian kitchen design. It incorporates a minimal and modern aesthetic with warm textures and organic layers to create a space that is attractive and yet comfortable.
The Scandinavian style has become a dominant theme of modern interior design. While it might seem like a new style trend, the Scandinavian design aesthetic dates back many decades.
The popularity of the Scandinavian look dates back to the 1950s with the rise of modernism. Nowhere is the look of Scandinavian style more appreciated than in the kitchen.
It is the place where so much family life resides and where the comfortable style of the Scandinavian look shines.
Scandinavian Kitchen Ideas
We have rounded up some Scandinavian kitchens of various styles from ultra minimal to warm and cozy. Take inspiration from these pictures and find ways to incorporate Scandinavian style into your own kitchen.
Scandinavian Kitchen Cabinets
One of the most prominent features in your kitchen design are the cabinets. Scandinavian kitchens use the style of their cabinets to complement the simple and functional kitchen designs.
Their cabinets have an unadorned look with little ornamentation. Use cabinets that have a flat panel or Shaker style door.
Add simple hardware or opt for push-open cabinets. Paint the cabinets in serene earthy colors and incorporate elements of natural wood into the cabinet design.
Rustic and Organic Textures
In Scandinavian design, there is a strong focus on incorporating materials from the natural world. This includes wood, stone, and glass decor.
If your kitchen style tends toward the rustic, a Scandinavian style kitchen is the ideal backdrop for you to incorporate your look.
This Scandinavian design kitchen in Minneapolis has a variegated stone backsplash. The gorgeous colors of this Scandinavian kitchen backsplash blend with the flat panel white oak cabinets for a light but warm and textured look.
Earthy Color Palette
The best Scandinavian kitchen design reflects a love of the natural world through their use of color. These colors can be light and neutral and play off the reflected light in the room, or these colors might be more saturated. Whichever way you lean, the colors should reflect earth tones that are calm and soothing.
Note the colors in this Scandinavian kitchen design. The designers used an earthy forest green for the Shaker style cabinets and paneled backsplash. They added in wood tones to give the design texture and incorporated brushed brass hardware to give the kitchen just a bit of extra shine.
Warm Layers
Scandinavian kitchen decor should include warm textures as Scandinavian design prioritizes comfort over style. In the best Scandinavian kitchen designs, you can achieve both. In this modern Scandinavian kitchen in Denver, the designer has brought in cozy elements that look and feel warm. These include a fireplace, a sheepskin cushion cover, and a colorful rug.
Scandinavian Kitchen Lighting
The Nordic countries are located high in the Northern hemisphere and experience dark and cold winters. Their style uses all the available light to make their interiors bright and cozy. Use both natural and artificial light to enhance the beauty and warmth of your kitchen.
This means keeping window coverings to a minimum or removing them altogether. Also, add artificial light sources so that you can brighten the interior when all the available natural light is gone.
Minimal Upper Cabinets
The minimalist Scandinavian kitchen design aesthetic has a serene and soothing look. You can achieve this look by minimizing the visual distractions in your kitchen by eliminating the upper cabinets in your space. In order to do this, be sure to add enough storage in other places so that your kitchen can remain uncluttered.
This designer added a bank of lower kitchen cabinets as well as a wall cabinet of the same style on the opposite wall to ensure ample storage.
Comfortable Seating
Scandinavian kitchen designs embrace the concept of hygge in their designs. This is the Danish word that embodies the idea of coziness and living in a comfortable way.
Get the hygge look in your kitchen by adding spaces where your family can relax, read, and doze. This might be a snug breakfast banquette or a cushy window nook.
Dress it up with plush pillows and a warm lamb’s wool throw. If you don’t have the room for these additions, add a Scandinavian kitchen table with comfortable seating around it where you can gather for food and games.
Function Over Form
Make sure to think first about the functioning of your kitchen before you consider the form. This means thinking about the layout, the storage, and appliances before considering which style will look the best.
In this modest sized Scandinavian kitchen, the designers ensured a workable kitchen triangle and ample seating to allow this kitchen to function best.
Bold Accents
Don’t be afraid to add personal touches that make your kitchen your own. Add interesting statement lighting or some textile that you love.
This can keep your Scandinavian style kitchen from looking too stark and impersonal. After all, style should be personal rather than look like it came straight from a magazine.
Vintage and Antique Decor
If you prefer a more rustic Scandinavian kitchen over a modern Scandinavian kitchen, consider adding some vintage or antique furniture and decor into your space.
Find a scratched and dented table to use as a Scandinavian kitchen island. Or, use it as a central table and mix it with some mid-century chairs. This mixed look creates a more nuanced and authentic overall kitchen style.
Black, White, and Wood Accents
While earthy colors like blue and green do not look out of place in Scandinavian kitchen design, the heart of the Scandinavian minimalist kitchen design including Danish style focuses on neutrals.
Keep the majority of the color scheme white including white walls and often white cabinets. Add in pops of black to create contrast in the room. Warm up these contrasting tones with wood tones in the decor and cabinet accents.
The Art of Display
Practical style is important in Scandinavian kitchen style. Use a small shelf instead of upper cabinets. Display items that you use every day including plates, glasses, and utensils.
Curate this collection if you are looking to create a minimalist style. If you are looking to create a Scandinavian farmhouse kitchen style, your exposed collection can be more broad. Include colorful art, jars of spices, and plants.
Natural Accents
Scandinavian design reflects the beauty of the natural world in its use of foundational materials such as wood, stone, and natural textiles.
You can warm up your kitchen space by incorporating natural accents including live plants, branches, bowls of pine cones and nuts, fruit, berries, and leaves. Place them on your counters or tables or add them as part of your shelf decor.
Mid-Century Modern Styling
Scandinavian style came of age during the modernist era. Therefore, it makes sense that most Scandinavian kitchen designs feature mid-century styling. This includes flat fronted cabinets, mid century lighting, and sculptural chair designs.
Scandinavian Style: Will it Last?
Scandinavian style does have a more timeless quality because of their use of natural materials throughout their design, their focus on quality craftsmanship, and the homage this style pays to Nordic history. This style has a classical look but it is also organic. This means that while Scandinavian kitchens have a certain look, the style is revamping itself in new ways so that it is always fresh and exciting.
Inexpensive Ways Get a Scandinavian Kitchen Style
The best way to incorporate Scandinavian style into your kitchen is to change your color palette to reflect neutral colors and those that reflect nature like earthy blues, greens, and browns.
This could include painting your walls and cabinets and adding new colored home decor. Add in other organic textures like wooden cutting boards and green potted plants and plant cuttings.