Inspirational Mood Boards: Scandinavian Design

Janet Ramin - Scandinavian furniture has seen a strong resurgence in the past decade. Its simplicity and timelessness attracts many admirers around the world. There are different periods of Scandinavian furniture of course, and here, for this month’s Mood Board, we'll visit the early Scandinavian period from late 18^th century to the early 19^th century. 

The late 1700s saw the ascension of Gustav III to the throne of Sweden and during his reign, Sweden experienced a transformation of its art and design fields. Gustav spent time as a young man at the sophisticated French Versailles court. When he returned to Sweden, he hired architects and artisans trained in the French style to update his court and residences. Soon, the small isolated country with a provincial look became a trendsetter for the rest of Scandinavia and Europe.

When craftsmen started to build French-styled furniture and accessories, they incorporated their own Scandinavian characteristics of simplicity and austerity; out of the merging of the two styles came the elegant and simple Scandinavian style. Much of the gilt and excessive sculptural motifs were removed or pared down - but the graceful bones of the French Louis XVI style remained. Another uniquely Scandinavian feature was the choice of cool color schemes, reflective of their long wintry season. Pale blues and greens, along with whites and soft grays, abound in many interiors.

In the first mood board above, French neoclassic motifs are applied to the chair, stool, and console table.

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Classic Decorating Is All About Tablescapes

(David Hicks tablescape)

David Hicks, British superstar interior designer, coined the phrase “tablescapes” back in the 1960s. Tablescapes are creatively composed accessories set on a table, each piece specially chosen until the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Hicks has long since died, but his design flair and attention to detail still inspires designers of today. The attention to detail led Hicks to compose miniature design scenes on tables so meticulous that his tablescapes became mirrors of his overall design concept. The classic tablescape shown in the photo above alludes to the Greek classical décor behind the table. The simple but elegant ceramics and earthenware – a staple of Greek interiors – is a beautiful way to complement the surrounding room. 

When arranging a tablescape, the guidelines that designers pay attention to are

• the focal point, 
• the various heights, 
• scale, 
• the number of items on the table, 
• how the accessories harmonize with the other items, and 
• the overall color scheme.  

With his classical tablescape, Hicks employs an overall neutral color scheme to complement the classical theme – varying shades of cream and beige and touches of muted sage green and malachite to prevent it from being boring. Hicks also paid attention to the heights of the items, mixing up accessories of low, medium, and tall heights to provide interest on varying eye levels. The scale is limited to small and medium sized items so that they don't overwhelm the background artwork on the walls. Finally, the bouquet of flowers provides the focal point for the whole tablescape as well as softening the hardness of the surrounding vases and bowls.

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