One of the most common mistakes made in the interior decoration is not fully grasping the idea behind the style you are trying to bring to life. You see, your home, your sofa, your reading nook and your bedroom contain items you spend your time with for most of the day, which is why even the slightest alteration might make a serious impact on your lifestyle.

As of lately, Scandinavian minimalism has taken the world of interior decoration by storm but in order to fully incorporate them into their household one first needs to fully understand them. Here are a couple of pointers on everything from Hygge to Lagom.

What Is Scandinavian Design?

Scandinavian is a broad term.

First of all, Scandinavia is a region consisting of four different countries, which, although similar in culture, all have their own distinctive traits in all aspects. For the sake of the article, we will closely focus on Denmark and Sweden as homelands of the two most predominant Scandi design trends: Hygge and Lagom.

Hygge & Lagom

In the introduction, we mentioned interior design being all about lifestyle and the Hygge trend is probably the best example of how this works. In a region where snow and cold winds reign during the greatest part of the year, the indoors stand for the place of warmth and coziness. Needless to say, this is what the Danish principle of Hygge is all about.

As for the Lagom, this décor principle mostly revolves around space and functionality, which is why it wouldn’t be a far-fetched to say that the Lagom is minimalism at its best. Seeing as how the feeling of coziness in no way excludes the idea of practicality, these two styles can easily be combined in any way you see fit.

Decorating With Texture & Textiles

What is the first thing that crosses your mind when you think of the word “cozy”? Probably something soft and even wooly, which is why your first step needs to be adding some texture to the room. Start with rugs, blankets, cushions, and curtains but also explore options like wall hangings. This, of course, heavily depends on the layout of your home, which means that those who have an open plan might even want to use curtains as room dividers and fake walls.

Utilizing Your Loungewear

Furthermore, it is usually great to remember that whenever you’re in the room, you are its focal point, which is why your own apparel serves as the reflection of the Hygge. Therefore, you need to update your loungewear by getting some new slippers, waffle bathrobes, and even booties to wear inside. When not worn, most of these items should probably be hanged on display (on a DIY wall-rack or some similar solution). In this way, they become the accessories in your household.

Choosing The Right Color Scheme

A lot of people see a conflict with the idea of indoor-coziness of Hygge and the cold color palette of Lagom, however, these two things don’t necessarily have to be mutually exclusive. As you might have guessed, the optimal coziness comes from contrast, so instead of trying to make your entire household appear warm and fuzzy, you might want to focus on making an island principle. Hygge heavily rests on the use of accessories such as blankets and candles, so why not make your reading nook or your sofa into a cozy island amidst the sea of cold greyness.

To get there, however, you would have to prioritize a bit and declutter your home as much as you can. The best way to do so is to either donate, sell or place in a storage unit all the items you haven’t used in the past year or so.

Finally, the best thing about decorating in Scandinavian style is that it is so intuitive, that you won’t have to do that much research in order to feel competent enough for the job. All you have to do is have these two key principles (coziness and practicality) in mind and make the decisions that fulfill both of these criterions.  Happy decorating!