Deborah TorresWhat Scandinavians lack in sunlight, they make up for in the design of their homes with the concept focusing on the bright and simplistic. This is particularly seen with their wall color. Where everything tended to be nothing but white in years past, they have since branched out to where the new style is all about color allowing residents to experiment with a vast array of brilliant new hues.
The term ‘Scandinavian’ instantly brings to mind images of paint colors in varying shades of white as the people living there try to incorporate as much light into their homes as possible with the shortness of daylight in the region. Not only are walls painted white but the design is kept to a simplistic minimalism. Residents have decided that they are going to mix things up now.
Scandinavians are adding to their clean lines and simple design by breaking up the white color on the walls with more bold, brilliant colors. They are hungry for variety with many experimenting with various new shades of turquoise, green, and even pinks.
This isn’t the first time, Scandinavians have tested the waters with color. Though, they have been whitewashed for decades, there have been various different color cycles within the area including the 70s where psychedelia came onto the scene adding unusual paint color choices and wallpaper in large patterns to the mix followed by the 80’s pastels and mottled paint in earth tones like terra cotta and navy blues as well as bright yellows from the 90s prior to the pale millennia.
The Scandinavian trend is following a new direction once again as seen at various fairs and exhibits where interior design has been shown to be flowing away from the pale neutral shades they have been famous for of violets and creams into strong, brilliant colors. Interior designs are moving into the complete opposite end of the color spectrum.
Scandinavians take great inspiration from nature with the design of their homes and paint color is not an exception. Although there is not a great deal of sunlight, the image of dawn provides a mix of colors that many residents use for their paint color choices throughout the rooms in their homes.
When they aren’t able to have the sun outside, they have created it with paint on their walls in various shades of oranges, yellows, and reds. Many are also using greens and turquoise or blues to represent the images of trees, meadows, the sky, lakes, anything pertaining to the beautiful scenery surrounding them.
Scandinavia may be in the dark a majority of the time and the people may have a limited amount of time in which they are able to experience nature, but they have found a way to design their living spaces into personal sanctuaries using paint colors directly from the natural scenery surrounding their homes. Where cold white walls were the central focus of the Scandinavian design scheme, now there is a whole rainbow.
