Achieving A Scandinavian Interior On A Shoe String Budget

Scandinavian design is wonderful and is personally one of my favourite interior design concepts. Think minimalism, simplicity, clean lines, pastels and neutrals coming together in a beautiful harmony is making this look so popular and so easy to recreate, even with only a minimal budget.

De-clutter

This is the first and probably one of the most important steps of creating a Scandi feel to your home. It may seem hard to get rid of certain things that you’ve either grown attached to or think you will one day find another purpose for, but do you really need to keep all of those empty candle jars and do you really want every single one of those keepsake holiday tea towels on display? Minimalism is at the heart of Scandinavian design and if you prefer a busier interior then this may not be the trend for you!
The best thing about de-cluttering? It’s a perfect way of earning yourself a little extra cash to put towards your dream interior — you’d be surprised what you can make from the odds and sods dotted around the home.

Three places to sell:

1. Online — You can use Facebook marketplace or Gumtree to sell anything completely free of charge. Great for selling things like unused children's toys, clothes, furniture that you have no use for, even artwork or decorative items that you’ve fallen out of love with along with more bulky appliances like washing machines or fridges.
2. Auctions — If you think you may have come across something that may be of value, then ALWAYS take it to a local auction house to be looked at. Auction houses will offer free valuations so at least you will know if it’s worth something before trying to sell it. Auctions are also a great place to get rid of things in one go, the prices may not be quite as much as you’d get elsewhere, but it is certainly a lot quicker and easier than selling online!
3. Car Boots — In the summer, car boots are normally every Sunday and I guarantee you’ll have one close by! This is the place to sell the remainders of what you have left, its amazing what people will buy so NEVER throw anything away before hand!

Always choose quality over quantity

I’m a firm believer quality over quantity in any interior. The price tag for certain products may seem higher to start with, but if you invest in handcrafted pieces made from high quality materials they will always outlive the cheaper alternative and you won’t be sending your chest of drawers to landfill two years down the line (remember that article I wrote about how we can save the planet by making sustainable furniture choices 🌎!)
Why buy new when you can buy vintage? Vintage pieces can be purchased incredibly cheaply and can also be a great way of investing your money! You can find vintage gems in lots of different places — online, in store, auctions or even fairs. Here’s a few budget friendly pieces that we have listed on Intique to give you an idea on how little you can purchase these design classics for:

1. A wonderful 1960’s Danish teak sideboard — £160.00
2. A Danish style teak corner cabinet — £174.99
3. A superb Danish teak wall mirror -£99.99

If you do choose to buy brand new Scandinavian furniture pieces (and I am definitely not talking Ikea) then your bank balance may not be looking quite as healthy as if you were to buy vintage, but we would always recommend going through a certified retailer such as BoConcept, Habitat or Hay.

Re-purpose tired looking pieces

To achieve the Scandinavian look, you don’t necessarily need to buy Scandinavian furniture. Up-cycling is a big part of the Scandi lifestyle — if you have a tired chest of drawers, then a lick of soft pastel paint will transform it, allowing you to incorporate existing furniture into your new interior. If you have a chair that’s looking a bit tatty, then you can find hundreds of different Scandi inspired fabrics online to spruce it up! If you have any old woven baskets, fill them with a nice big Swiss Cheese Plant (check out my blog on how to look after your house plants!) These are all great ways to be budget friendly, make it your own and have something that’s completely unique!

Get those walls painted!

“To have a Scandi interior, white walls are a must”. This isn't true at all, you just need colours that will bring light into the home. In places such as Stockholm and Oslo they will only see 6 hours of sun a day in the winter months, so its essential to have chalky colours which will make their home feel light and fresh, even if outside its dark and dull. You could use pastel pinks, chalky whites, soft greys or pale blues, here’s three of my personal favourite colours:

1. Farrow & Ball Skylight 205 — This is a powdery blue with some earth in it, and that warms up the colour.
2. Donald Kaufman Color DKC-67 — This is one of those great whites that reflects light and changes constantly.
3. Sherwin-Williams Sleepy Blue SW 6225 — one of those Swedish blue-grays that’s like an overcast sky.

Reflect the light

In a region that’s deprived of light for six months of the year, its crucial to create a light and airy living space to take them away from the darkness that’s outside. Mirrors are hugely popular in Scandinavian homes to reflect the light into the darker corners, plus they have the added effect of making a room appear larger, so if your home is a little smaller than you might like, add in a mirror or two and see how it transforms the feel of the size of the room!

Lose the carpet

Most Scandi homes feature wooden floorboards as opposed to carpets as the countries of Scandinavia are dense with forest meaning that timber is the best raw material for flooring. White or oak floorboards also help to create the simple, minimalist feel associated with Scandinavian design. It is often thought that wooden floors will automatically make a room feel cold, but paired with a nice rug, whether textured and fluffy or woven and pattered, your room will be feel warm and cosy, encompassing the Danish concept of hygge (which I will go into in more detail below!)

Lets get cosy

If you have been paying attention to interior design trends over the past few years, then you will have heard of the term hygge. This is a Danish concept, essentially meaning well-being, cosiness & contentment which the Danish people live by. When you come home from work and its snowing outside, it’s important to make you night times cosy and relaxing. Luckily there’s a few easy (and cheap) ways of doing this.

1. Candles — Who doesn't love a good candle? By lighting a candle you can instantly make a a room feel cosy in a matter of seconds. If you buy nice looking ones, then the jars make great storage too!
2. Blankets — A house is not a home until it has a blanket.
3. Dimming lights — these are a perfect way to create a warm atmosphere

At sunset, Scandinavian homes are transformed into a cosy womb-like oasis. Add dimmer switches and plenty of candles to create a warm atmosphere. No wonder the Danish are widely considered to be one of the happiest populations in the world — they’re always surrounded by comfort and cosiness!

Sofa bed, designed by Alvar Aalto

Think multi-functional

Scandinavians are the masters of combining form with function. They’ve released some wonderful designs which solve two different problems, saving space and saving money! Why not have a sofa bed for when friends stay over and use your spare room as an office as well as a bedroom? Or when buying your coffee table, buy one with storage underneath to hide away all your remotes, coasters and magazines? There’s thousands of clever, multi functional and well designed pieces out there, and let’s face it, we all get a bit of a kick when showing off some cool feature of of furniture (you can’t come into my home without my girlfriend showing you the “exciting extending flap” on our coffee table!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article and feel ready to give your home that Scandi sparkle. I would love to see what you’ve done with your own homes, or see those clever multi functional pieces of furniture that you may have, you can catch me anytime at james@intique.net 😁

I’m James Broad, a lover of all things vintage and Co-founder of Intique, a marketplace with personality selling vintage and antique furniture with character.