Lanie Brown "When designing a chair, he sat in it." Brilliant. So, I'm not clear on the distinction between Danish and Scandinavian.

Kate Watson-Smyth Hello Lanie, I think we often use Scandinavian as a catch-all term for that style which is clean and modern with simple wooden furniture, floorboards and plain white walls. It is only when you look more closely at the countries that you start to see the distinctions. I have a piece on Swedish style coming up very soon, which is quite different to the architectural and structural style that is classically Danish. Best, Kate

Sande Wendt I had already decided that the summers are so hot and formidable here in Houston that a ice cold looking living room would actually be inviting. These rooms will serve as inspiration.

marysia4 What do you mean with "curtains don't need to keep out the drafts, as many other European houses do". I have lived in three different European countries (Netherlands, Austria and currently Switzerland) and visited many others. From my experience most European houses have good insulation.
I totally agree with the rest of the article though. I love Danish and other Scandinavian design.

Kate Watson-Smyth Hello Marysia, your comment made me smile. I think perhaps I meant British, even English houses, which are famously old and draughty and we often have heavy velvet curtains to keep the wind out - I have lived in houses where the curtains blow even with the windows closed! So yes, you are right many European houses do have good insulation as, in fact, do newly built British ones. I'm happy to put that straight!

weyeswoman So tell me this? Where do Danes put their cluttery possessions?

Kate Watson-Smyth I wonder! Perhaps they are so disciplined they don't have any? I know some, I will ask and find out for you ...

midmodfan I am married to a Dane since 27 years and live close to Denmark, so I can assure you all that they do have closets there. ;-) But Danes in general are not obsessed with owning stuff - homes are expensive and modest in size, and accumulating possessions or trying to keep up with the Jonses is not a Scandinavian habit.

So now to the Danish Style. We are considering to buy a weekend retreat in Southern Denmark. Just yesterday I was browsing some real estate web sites and I can assure you that this ideabook's sleek photos do not show how the average Dane really lives.

Instead of all-white rooms, you find a lot of wall-to-wall carpet and wooden ceilings. Most Danes have several (mostly older) Danish design pieces, you see PH lamps everywhere, Jacobsen and Wegner chairs, Mogensen sofas, typical teak furniture and so on. But they also own throws and cushions and table cloths and even some clutter, just like the rest of us.

kspollock I think the chairs make the room! just stumbled upon a treasure trove of Mid Century and Dansih style accent chairs here. Check them out:

http://www.squidoo.com/mid-century-and-danish-modern-seating

shaleesa scandinavian typically refers to denmark (danish), finland (finnish, sweden, iceland, and norway. consideration should also be taken when understanding the roots of their design. each region has a varied geography and most of their design "styles" can be connected with limited resources and consumer demand for more regional design. it wasn't just an idea made up one day to create "good design." similarly, the idea of "sustainble design" never really had a name to them in history, once again, geography played a role in this, living off the land was just the right thing to do, considering their long past of doing so due to industrialization coming late.

when analyzing design, you should look outside of the "design world" and also work to understand it in a larger context, including geography, politics, religion, etc. it's amazing how much you can learn and the connections you will find to the reason "styles" came about.

i am writing a paper about this and will share in a few months on my blog if you are interested.

http://theurbanpig.wordpress.com/

Mark I'm Danish, and I can't relate to much of this. Of course, if we're just talking professional designers and not common everyday design, then perhaps it's true. But I've never seen an all-white room with only few splashes of color, in particular the white floor and today I only know of a single person with a wood-burning stove. A liking of clean lines and relatively monochromatic color palettes seems to largely be correct though.
So can anyone tell me if this is how people imagine the inside of our apartments and houses look like, or if it is just a term to describe the style?

I consider myself a contemporary minimalist (if you can say such :D) and I think it's quite uncommon, as most people seem to have lots of small pieces around the rooms and more color than depicted in this article.

shaleesa about the lack of clutter:
historically, they fought the idea of the "designer" because they were not happy about new products constantly replacing the ones they had, like one poster said "keeping up with the jones." they demanded for product longevity and for prodcuts that would never go out of style. additionally, they call it "useful art," products that are beautiful and functional.

minnieme Oops... The lamps in the first pic above the table are Finnish...

judithesl The discussion of minimal style reminds me of a similar dichotomy in Japan; while nearly all design articles and books portray homes there as minimal as Zen temples, there's only one that shows how people really live with their possessions, piled high in Tokyo's tiny apartments.

pebblebeachcottage I have come to think of my style as "Gentle Scandanavian Cottage". I love the white, the wood, the light and the cleanliness. However I would ideally have more colour - whether it be pieces of furniture painted bright colours, wall art, fabric (throws, pillows, wall hangings, tableware, etc.) I live in Northwestern Ontario in Canada and have always felt that all the white makes sense here. Kate Watson-Smyth. I would particularly like to talk about floors. I love, LOVE the floor in the first picture. Looks warm and easy to maintain - I especially like the lack of shine. Any idea what they might be? Also, I have also done some research into white wood floors - I love the look! Are there any manufacturers that do them as I would imagine the factory finish would be a bonus. Thanks!

Sika-Design Sika-Design makes furnitures which represent the scandinavian design. The furnitures has the touch of grandma's cosy summer house, the French Provence idyll or the Swedish skerries atmosphere. The furnitures gives a twist to the modern style and gives the interior a warm look.

gemcxx I am a Canadian living in Denmark at the moment. While not ALL people are decorating in this style many people are. i walk
my dogs around the city I often peer through homes windows and admire the style.