Since your home is the best place for you to relax and enjoy being yourself or with friends, making it neat and presentable is of utmost important. You have two choices in doing this. First, is for you to decorate your own home; second, is for you to hire an interior decorator. The latter may be quite expensive as professional interior designers put a good price for their skills and expertise. But if budget is not an issue, then this option is good for you because it releases you from any stress related to decorating your home.

On the other hand, if you are in a tight budget, then your option is for you to decorate your home. This saves you money and allows you to express your own creativity in your own space. But what if you don't think you are creative enough to decorate your own home? Perhaps this is now the time that you learn Scandinavian home designing.

Scandinavian interiors are considered to be one of the best among hundreds, even thousands of home designs available across the globe. It is a blend of Norwegian, Danish and Swedish artistry that has remained in-demand in the market despite the evolution of time. If you are using this design for your home, you have to learn every aspect and principle behind the designs.

4 Fact Scandinavian Style Furniture and Design Furniture Principles

Walls, Ceilings and Floors 

In Scandinavian interiors, walls, ceilings and floors are made of hardwood for a classic look and natural brightness. Since Scandinavian design is all about class and elegance, using hardwood as the main material for decoration is significant.

Furniture Seats 

Normally, ash, pine, or beech wood are used in crafting Scandinavian seats and other furniture pieces. These types of woods are durable and adaptable so versatility is not an issue even if you are not adapting a purely Scandinavian interior decoration for your home.

Cushioning and Colours 

Scandinavian colours are mostly pastel - light hues of beige, light blue, cream, white and other light colours. In some cases, rich colours like orange, green, and red are used with designs that need diversity. Throw pillows and cushions are usually made of stripe or chequered linen and cotton. Floral patterns are also used as variation.

Lighting and Accessories 

In Scandinavian interior decoration, lighting is an essential aspect. Since the sun doesn't shine much in Scandinavia, the home decoration is made to be bright with the use of chandeliers, mirrors and lamps.

Scandinavian design is all about being calm, simple, pure and yet being fully functional. Scandinavian design emerged in the 1950s and became popular again from the 1990s. It is characterized by simple design, minimalism, functionality, and generally low-cost mass production as evident by the huge superstores in IKEA.

One of the principle tenets of Scandinavian design is that of symmetry. The informality occurs with the simplicity of the furniture and the sparseness of the look but symmetry is also important, but as simple as two candleholders put side by side or two chairs, either side of a chest of drawers or writing bureau. Painted furniture is central to this design so purchasing a couple of chairs at auction and applying a couple of coats of paint and you will be well on your way to creating this look within your home decor.

White is one of the key colours for Scandinavian Design, it is not all about blue and white stripes. However, it is becoming more popular now to add in injections of colour - be it black, grey, yellow, or injections of any colour - it is the whole simplicity of the design that makes it succeed as a Scandinavian look. Bare wood is important to the Scandinavian look, as is paint.

Texture is also important and you can achieve this with chunky knitted cushions in plain earthy colours.

To add interest to the walls, wallpaper panel pieces depicting Norwegian scenes are perfect for bringing Scandinavia right into your home decor, they bring the cleanliness, the freshness, the whiteness, the flora and fauna of the Scandinavian countries right into your home. As they can be used singly or with other panel pieces, you can add as few or as many to your interior as you wish. They range from simple woodland scenes to scenes including magpies and even a play on the domestic dog with 'slipper wolf'. You can also inject colour into a white scheme with the coloured geometric designs.

And remember, Scandinavian design is not just about the home decor, it is also a way of life that exemplifies simplicity and efficiency. Tidiness is key but if your interior decorating follows the William Morris rule 'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, nor believe to be beautiful', you will be living an uncluttered life. Each piece in Scandinavian design should be there for a reason and should add to the whole style of the room.