Scandinavian Modern

by Magnus Englund, Chrystina Schmidt

From IKEA to Workbench, Scandinavian home design is more popular than ever. "Scandinavian Living" traces the fascinating development of the Scandinavian style, and introduces the most important designers and their work, such as Poul Kjaerholm of Denmark and Eero Aarnio fo Finland. Magnus Englund and Chrystina Schmidt offer up their professional expertise while exploring some of the most interesting homes in Scandinavia. Andrew Wood's stylish photography showcases real interiors, including those owned by celebrated designers. *Explores the relaxed comfort, unpretentious simplicity, and easy elegance of the modern Scandinavian home. *Over 80,000 copies sold in hardcover.

Genres: Design, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Nim · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a hectic time in my life. I've always lived in a house with a couple of flatmates, but now especially I needed a personal sanctuary. A place where I could retreat to when I didn't feel like being among other people or lots of noise. A place where for once things were how I liked them: simple, easy to maintain and beautiful regardless of their imperfection.

That's when I heard about wabi-sabi, which lead to me reading about using some zen principles to make such a place. But principles alone won't save a person who's never decorated before. I was a different person when I last even thought of these things, and I would have striven for a very different effect.

I've been thinking about clutter, space, light, shapes and materials a lot this fall. Now I felt like staring at simple objects and calm interior designs for inspiration and relaxing after work, and this book was a good choice. The photos were good, the typography alone would've made this an interesting read for me and some interesting bits of knowledge will surely make themselves useful soon. "Scadinavian modern" is not what I'll strive to achieve, but I'll definitely lend from it a lot.


Bonus: As a Finn I was glad to see plenty of mentions of Finnish designers. Alvar Aalto I had expected, and some of the other names I knew beforehand, but most of this design knowledge is very new to me so there were lots of new or only vaguely familiar names.

[Daniel Urban-brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite furniture/interior design book. A nice overview with lovely photos. Lots of Wagner, Aalto, and Jacobson represented. Also more current stuff from Pia Wallen and Norman Copenhagen (if I spelled that right). Just a great book.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has filled my dreams with wicker chairs and sunlit bentwood furniture. I love scandinavian design and this book captures some of the best of it - both vintage and contemporary items. tasty.

[Cyndi]

Lovely photos!