Scandinavian Minimalist Home Decor Style (our A-frame cabin style)

Scandinavian Minimalist is a home decor style I have loved for a long time. This will be the primary style that I will be trying to encompass as we build our small A-frame cabin. When it comes to Home Decor there are so many different styles and often styles are mixed and mashed together. Let’s take a deep dive into what this style means and how you can easily incorporate these ideas into your own home as well.

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What is Scandinavian Minimalism? 

Well in order to understand this style better we should look at the 2 styles separately. Let’s break up the two words and look at them separately and then at how they complement each other so well. What I feel is important to remember the most from this Home Decor style is that it isn’t so much about DECOR as it is about a way of life. It isn’t about having a table with the perfect Scandinavian furniture design or the perfect neutral paint color. This home decor style is about creating a home and LIFESTYLE that feels simple, calm, and with a sense of contentment.

Scandinavian Design

Scandinavian interiors include home decor items with simple and clean lines. Home Decor is thoughtful and purposeful. Taking advantage of natural light and designing homes around the movement of the sun is often given a lot of emphases.

Scandinavian Design is often associated with Nordic countries such as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Just as a side note you may hear Scandinavian design and Nordic design used interchangeably. This design style was inspired by long winters with short days. Embracing little natural light and creating spaces with cozy accents were incorporated into the home and way of life. The concept of “Hygge” that you may have heard encompasses these ideas.

Designing around Light Sources

Did you know for both homes I have designed the number one thing I based the design around was the SUN! Now this way of designing can be subjective and quite opposite depending on the family. I LOVE to wake up with the sun. So designing my bedroom to be located on the east side of the home has been incorporated into both designs. Opposingly if you don’t love to wake up in bright spaces then you may opt for a West or North facing bedroom. Living in Canada with harsh winters means that I embrace the sun and love to soak in as much as possible.

Scandinavian Interior Design does not mean you need large windows and bright white walls all throughout your home. It’s about being purposeful where the light enters. Creating a cozy reading corner by a window with mid-morning light. Or a living room with soft indirect sunlight; because no one likes watching TV with a sunbeam directly on it. And YES you can still watch TV even if you love the minimalist lifestyle haha.

So what I want you to take away from this discussion on designing around the Sun is that it is ultimately up to YOU to create a space with as little or as much light as you like. However, be intentional about how the sunlight can impact your home.

Let’s look at some tangible items of home decor that you will find in these design styles:

Scandinavian Home Decor examples:

• Wooden Scrub Brushes
• Hand made Olive Oil soaps
• Cabinets with solid wood doors that can store away “not so pretty household items”
• Sheepskin and Hemp rugs
• Raw Wooden Chairs
• Furniture with simple lines (no ornate details)

Misconceptions about Scandinavian Design:

• Homes cannot have bright colors. I believe you can still include colour in this home decor style, however, colours are usually muted, deeper and richer.
• It feels sterile or like living in a hospital. Quite the opposite is true for this style. Homes are meant to feel cozy and welcoming.

Minimalism Home Decor Examples:

• If installing family photos on a wall try installing a simple set of 3 instead of a large gallery wall. 
• A simple vase filled with florals on a table rather than a large cluttered centrepiece. 
• Getting rid of throws and “decor only” pillows. 
• Minimalist art pieces (applying geometric shapes with white plaster to a blank canvas)
• Minimalist furniture: think of a dining table with simple square or round legs as opposed to ornate and hand-turned legs.

Misconceptions about Minimalism 

-you can’t include items that have sentimental meaning. This is actually the complete opposite. Creating a minimal space means scaling back and only keeping those items that have a big significance to us.

– I have children so I could never have my home be this type of style. Again, the minimalist approach is amazing for families. Less means more time for the fun things. Think less cleaning, less clutter, fewer distractions.

How do the design styles of Scandinavian and Minimalism combine?

As you may be reading you can see examples of how these two styles overlap thus making them a great pairing. Both styles have the underlying premise that less is more. Only bring in items to your home that you truly love and that can serve a purpose in your home. When I am choosing home decor for a home with the Minimalist Scandinavian Style I go over these questions before I make a purchase:

• What purpose does it serve in the home? If the answer is No purpose then the item can remain on the shelf.
• Can the item be easily cleaned? Those who love this style usually love a clean home but don’t want to spend all day cleaning. So does the object or furniture have lots of groves or details and it is a surface that will constantly look dusty or dirty? IF the answer is Yes then again the item can stay on the shelf. 

When I tell people about this style I often hear that Scandi Minimalism is too clean, too plain, too boring for them. The reason I love adding Scandinavian elements to a Minimalist style is that Scandinavian design loves to incorporate TEXTURE! I love designing with Texture. These are the main differences between Scandinavian Minimalism and a style like Modern Minimalism. A modern style would use simple furniture but instead of having furniture with texture or raw wood, modern design would include shiny, smooth surfaces.

What is texture in the home decor sense?

Texture can literally be anything! Every item … literally everything has a different texture … smooth, shiny, rough, woven. It’s mixing these textures in a thoughtful, simple, cohesive way that makes this home decor style so desirable. Think a cozy sheepskin rug draped over a tripolina chair. It provides warmth and comfort to the chair, but also adds texture. 

Adding plaster or limewash to a wall instead of regular latex paint. Now you have a wall with texture that looks amazing on its own without needing to add a bunch of artwork or decor. 

Linen is Texture

Investing in high quality organic materials. Linen is one of the biggest ways I incorporate texture into Scandinavian Minimalism. Not only is Linen naturally made, durable, absorbent and antiallergenic… IT IS BEAUTIFUL. The weave of linen cannot be surpassed. 

Instead of buying cheap dishtowels with weird fruit or floral patterns, invest in natural linen towels that can be displayed when not in use. I love to say that linen is beautifully functional. 

What Home Decor Means to different Styles

Other design styles like the Farmhouse Style will often include home decor that includes some purely decorative items. However, when designing a home with Scandinavian style items brought into the home are both beautiful and purposeful. I like to think of a big difference between Scandi design from others is the use of creating a focal point. Farmhouse style loves to create vignettes and clusters of beautiful items together. Whereas Scandinavian homes limit the number of distinct decor pieces to focus your eye on.

I like to think of Scandinavian design as a design for all of the senses. Furniture with natural textures that you want to touch. Natural elements that invite you to sit, slow down and create a peaceful everyday life. Look at the simple style of this paper machete light fixture (so simple but so much texture)… I can’t wait to include this in the A-frame cabin. Read more about my favorite places to shop for light fixtures.

Scandinavian Minimalist items for the A-frame

So now that I have gone over what this design style encompasses I want to share how I will be bringing this style to life in the A-frame cabin.

1. Wooden Floors. I had cork floors in my last home and I loved them, but this time I will be installing pine floors and I will probably be painting them.
2. Open Spaces. The main living space with the kitchen, dining room, and living room will be an open concept.
3. A retro white fridge and a white oven rather than stainless steel appliances like our Farmhouse.
4. Neutral colors. I won’t be doing as stark of white as my Farmhouse, but I will be using light shaded neutral colours, like pale woods, light brown leather and light grey linens.
5. Industrial Style Elements. I will be incorporating industrial elements into our family home as well. Including the use of industrial materials like exposed copper piping and metal conduit for running most of the electrical elements in our home. I will also be using black color schemes on the outside of the home and bringing some black elements into the interior. I won’t be creating a high contrast between the black and white, but rather using the colour black to create depth and create a moodier vibe.

Read about the design plans for the exterior of the A-frame cabin.

Are you wanting to switch away from Farmhouse Interior Design?

Farmhouse design is a very popular style that is beginning to phase out. Farmhouse style will always be around and I can guarantee that it will be back in a few years. But what if you are ready for a change? Please don’t take this as a “you need to change your style.” But rather most of us like to change things up every so often so I want to give you some tips if you are ready to lean towards more of a Scandinavian Minimalist style. To scale back your home decor. Switching to a minimalist Farmhouse style is an easy transition. After you minimize your Farmhouse Style it is easier to incorporate more of a Scandinavian interior style throughout your home. 

Some items that you can quickly review in your home to achieve more of a Scandinavian minimalist style are:

Throw pillows. Look at your couch… how many pillows are on it? This is what caused me to switch my style. One day I had picked up a dozen pillows off the floor and put them back on the couch for the 10th time and I looked around and thought WHY!!! No one had come over, my kids were constantly throwing the pillows on the floor as soon as they sat on it. And to be honest I didn’t even LOVE the pillows that much. I scaled back. I got bigger more comfortable pillows (24”x24”) in neutral tones and it made me so happy!

Do you have a collection?

Nik Nacks – how many do you see? Do you have a bunch of Nik nacks on a buffet or coffee table? Are they simply there to “occupy space.” Are you constantly dusting them? Maybe you could switch out a bunch of small things for a couple of larger vases that maybe are vintage or can be filled with flowers. 

What’s in your closet?

Is your clothes closet bursting at the seams? Yes, what we have in our wardrobe often translates to our homes. Maybe starting with creating a simple, more curated wardrobe may be a great place to get rid of a few items. 

Thank you so much for reading. If you love what you have read I would love to have you join my email community. I love to send out design tips and ideas. 

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Has this post inspired you to be more thoughtful about the items you bring into your home? Or is there a specific room in the home that you would like me to show you how to style in the Scandinavian Minimalist design style? Is there another home decor style besides Scandinavian Minimalism that you would like me to discuss? Leave a comment below because I love to chat with you all on the blog!