How to Get That Modern Scandinavian Look

kuva This may seem like a silly question but if the windows dont have treatments doesn't that make the house even darker during those long dark winters?

olldbobbi The chairs in the first picture - my father, an amateur carpenter who never used a power tool in his life, built very similar chairs from just a picture. This is a little too spare to be my style but it is really well done. Very interesting, Samantha!

strudelbaum The sauna is a Swedish invention??! What an incredible statement! The swedes have tried to copy the real Finnish sauna for years and never even got close. Just click: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna to get get your bearings straight.

midmodfan Well, as a German married to a Dane (since 26 years, btw) I have to say that the pure Scandinavian style does exist, but so does the 'Granny style'. Not all Scandinavians are born with a taste for modern furniture or architecture.

The lack of window treatment is not only a question of taste or preference, but also a statement: we have nothing to hide. It's common throughout Scandinavia, but also in the Netherlands, just to name a few. Many people have lit candles on their window sills in the winter and most have shades in their bedrooms to keep the sun out during those bright summer nights.

drjosiepc1 I like this style very much; simple lines, the warmth of wood, the use of light reflecting off white, the simplicity of window treatments. In the States we often overdo all of the above: we want to cover the floor with carpets, decorators want us to use too saturated colors too often, we seem to like overstuffed furniture, and can't wait to close off windows with multi-layers. Scandinavian style is not opposed to window treatment or eclecticism in style; they like using the different piece of furniture here and there.

retromomma love it all! just sold that dining table featured though on craigslist-this article made me a bit wistful. more scan stylebooks please!

edgedale Have a question about the white wall paint especially with close deciduous trees (like photo number 1) in that my paint looks green and the room feels as tho underwater. What shade of white would resist this so that the room looks crisp and awake rather than so muted?

Samantha Schoech Ok, strudlebaum, I stand corrected. The Finns may have started it (about 1,000 years ago), but the Swedes took to it with gusto and it's become a big part of Swedish culture.

heih The word Sauna is Finnish. The Swedes call it Bastu. Only a Finn would be offended right?

strudelbaum Sauna has its roots in Russia, where it came from when the original Finns traveled west from the Volga river and settled on the piece of land now known as Finland.

I have been to a Russian sauna in Buryatia, south of the Lake Baikal - almost a 100% image of a typical Finnish sauna. So - who invented what?

There are 5 million people in Finland and they have 1 million saunas...

dancingfish I thought Teak would be more prevelent.

bergstromnan I was raised on the modified Scandi and mid-century vibe of Seattle in the 50's and being half Swede, I love the look and function. Love light to mid-color wood. My grandparents had wonderful glass and fabric that has been handed down through the family. I have painted my own home with light gray walls to play off of a mix of color and fabric. Orange Dala horse is in a bookcase as well. I change window treatment with the seasons - currently white Marimekko curtains I got on sale.

elanor Are the windows all doubleglazed to keep the warmth in? I would love to have no curtains, but in NZ they are necessary to keep the house warm in winter months.

cupofcoffee The sauna is a Finnish invention. Even the word is Finnish. For thousands of years, it's been part of Finnish culture. Not Russian. Fact check much?

midmodfan to elanor: sure, the windows are at least double glazed. Today, building codes in many northern European countries require triple glazed windows in newly built homes. Nobody has single pane windows in Scandinavia, except maybe in an old summer vacation house that is not being used during the cold months.

ylvapylva The Sauna is a Swedish invention that disappeared when the country became Christian. The church did not like the tradition of men and women bathing together. The Finns took over the tradition and kept it alive. When the church power lost it´s grip over Sweden we started taking sauna baths again. So yes, it is a Swedish invention from the beginning.

heih To ylvapylva. :D Thanks for keeping the spirit alive. Random facts from Wikipedia: Sweden was Christianized from Norse paganism in the 11th century. In the 1800's the sauna culture was altered the way you said. Records and other historical evidence indicate that the Finns built the first wooden saunas in the 5th or 8th century. On a list of Swedish inventions I couldn't find Bastu or Sauna or when they built their first one. ;) The Swedish Wikipedia keeps talking about Finnish saunas.

The way I understood it was that Saunas are originally Asian steam bath inventions, improved by the Finns and brought over to the nordic countries. Remember Finns used to be nomads (just like American Indians) until they settled on land between Sweden and Russia.

Swedes were first to sell Saunas (not as Bastus for some reason) when world demand grew after the War. This is probably where the misconception comes from that the Sauna is a Swedish invention. Finns are a bit slow on their moves when it comes to exporting their culture or innovations.

For the record it is not Swedish at all if you take a look at history, and it is not originally Finnish either, if you want to be finicky. However the modern sauna the way it is today is a Finnish invention and has a long tradition that the Finns have kept alive. The Finns were the ones who developed the Saunas further, not the Swedes. They were just too slow to market them to the world. But honestly, the world doesn't really care where the word or the invention came from.

Let's all be friends.

Reina Gamett I love Scandinavian design. Speaking of sauna, I grew up in Finland, and have lived in Las Vegas. NV area past 10 years. We are in the process of building our own sauna. The people in Vegas think that we are little out of our minds, considering how hot the summers are. However, once a Finn, always a Finn...it is hard for them to live without a sauna :). Here is a ink for our building process: http://thegamettgang.blogspot.com/2013/02/campout-continues-while-sauna-is.html?m=1

Planika Fires We chose to do something like that

heih @Reina Gamett I hope you exported one over from Finland (that's what my Finn-Swede friend did) since the local ordinance is that you are not supposed to throw water at the stones because the heater/stove cannot handle the water being electrical and all (according to one very sensitive and officious sales rep we talked with). ;) I like the Tulikivi and Harvia stoves. And yes Vegas in the summer is like a sauna itself! You must be a Finn by heart to do something like that. :D

Reina Gamett We bought the sauna kit and the stove from canada. Www.saunafin.com We had terrible time with the building inspectors. They had very hard time with the concept of mixing water and electrical stove in the same room....but our contractor did great job educating them and after a lot of back and forth they finally relented and signed off on our sauna. It has been the best thing ever and has come quite the hot spot (no pun intended) in our neighborhood!