The Most Inspiring Décor Ideas From Sweden

Every Swedish home begins with clean lines. Sofas, in particular, are very clean: no fussy flowers dancing across the fabric or ornately carved legs. Instead, choose a solid neutral color and simple, clean feet for your sofa—best in a natural wood. Side tables and coffee tables follow the same rules: clean, natural, and not too fussy, even when trends from other countries make a slight impact.

Textiles are from natural fibres, whether that’s the covering on your sofa or the pillow you’re using as an accent or the curtains hung from the windows. Simplicity combined with quality building blocks extends to the textiles you choose. This is a good thing to remember when buying old-fashioned throw rugs for halls—a traditional woven rag rug—always a great way to add color—should be of quality natural fibers.

If the walls aren’t white they’re probably gray and that gray is mostly likely a dove gray. It’s the perfect backdrop for those clean lines you’re going to have running through your furniture. After that, it’s all about layering up the accents. One of the few times you’ll see this rule broken is in children’s rooms, where Swedish parents let their imaginations run wild.

Accents in gentle executed primary colors running through throw pillows or blankets casually tossed over the back of a sofa are a great way to bring some color into a room, but don’t go too bright. Try a soft blue, a gentle red, or a bit of pattern, as long as it’s not too loud. Carpets, on the other hand, are often Persian-style, with intricate patterns. If they’re not Persian, they’re very modern, with blocks of color.

Clean, white, modern kitchens with wooden, marble, or granite countertops remain a favorite in Swedish home décor, often without any handles on the doors and very little kitchen equipment on display. Accents, such as flowers or a colorful bowl and perhaps a signed lithograph are often the only spot of color.

Swedes love good art and it’s rare you’ll enter a home that doesn’t have at least a few decent pieces on the wall. Monochrome has made a big comeback, either through very stylish photographs or through clean graphics. Get a few complimentary ones and line them up carefully for a clean look that will fit right in with the rest of the look.

If monochrome isn’t for you, go for colorful prints, preferably signed and numbered. Swedes love modern, contemporary art that adds a pop of color, so it’s not terribly difficult to find these sorts of pieces for relatively reasonable prices. Places like Bukowskis are where you’ll find quality and the chance to bid your budget.

White painted or bleached wooden floors help brighten rooms and give a fresh, clean look. Not always easy to keep clean, they’re still worth the effort as they go very well with the rest of the clean aesthetic of the rooms, particularly kitchens.

Again, it’s all about light, so Swedes are big on candles, lots and lots of candles. Big candles, small candles, loads of tea lights floating in a big bowl of water—anything that will bring lots of light into the room is very important. In fact, if you’re invited to a Swedish home for dinner, instead of flowers, bring a couple of scented candles. They’ll be lit immediately and your hosts will be delighted.