Have you ever come across Scandinavian designs? There’s something so simply minimal, quaint, and awe-spiring about them. They manage to speak volumes without being loud or saying much. These designs are based on three strong pillars – functionality, simplicity, and clean lines. They, somehow, always leave you with a warm feeling in your heart, an intense admiration for the attention to detail, and the delicate touches each design consists of. Place a well-designed Scandinavian product into your home, and it seamlessly merges with its surroundings, adding to the harmony of a living space. And we’ve curated a collection of exquisite designs that promise to do exactly that! From a coffee table that finds a balance between Scandinavian and Japanese design elements to a Scandinavian-styled minimal cat litter box – these products designs are an authentic embodiment of Scandinavian design philosophy, while also retaining its minimal and warm aesthetics.
1. The Cloth Coffee Table
Characterized by its curved bookstand that works as the table’s centerpiece, the Cloth coffee table’s curvy personality is echoed throughout its build. The bookstand also finds a balance between boldness and elegance, offering a weighty centerpiece that helps ground the coffee table, without dominating the available tablespace. Featuring softly bold elements like an undulating table edge that mimics the look of a live edge, the Cloth coffee table keeps a dynamic profile without dominating the room.
2. Maxia
Maxia’s exterior holds onto the traditional look of a caravan, but smooths out its edges and rounds its windows to give the caravan an elevated, more seasoned look. Maxia’s front window slopes from the caravan’s roof down the curved front facade, lengthening the feel of the interior and offering fuller views of the outdoors through the dual-pane panoramic window. With an aim of transforming their caravans into, “the most beautiful places in the world,” Hobby designed Maxia for hygge-style living, outfitting the interior with comfort and simplicity in mind. Available in two different lengths that inspire two different layouts, Maxia 660 WQM is the longer of the two and accommodates up to four adults with full kitchen and bathroom areas.
3. The Plico Chair
The Plico Chair got its name from the Latin translation, “To fold.” Built using Scandinavian design flairs and minimal ornamentation, the Plico Chair’s frame is crafted from solid oak wood for a natural look and sturdy base. The rear legs of the Plico Chair fall back, allowing a natural recline for the cushion to rest. Upholstered in linen canvas, the cushion also evokes a subtle comfort with organic tones and lasting protection from inevitable wear and tear. A natural leather hide strap extends from the rear legs to the front of a chair to create an armrest propped up with a center wooden peg. Designed to be disassembled for easy storage, the Plico Chair features exposed brass fitting and visible joints, enhancing its already elemental aesthetic.
4. The A-part bench
Cleverly named, the A-part bench (a play-on apart) is a bench that allows you to regulate the distance you want to retain between yourself and the person sitting next to you. The bench is designed to literally help you bridge the space, meet up with a friend you have been dying to see while having them respect the distance you need so you can focus on the happiness of meeting up. As the designers explain, “The importance of bridging this distance, in parts, is double. People maintain the safe distance between them, but in the meantime, psychologically, they feel that they have a goal and they will gradually return to their lives before the pandemic.”
5. The Notes Shelves
Designed by Julien Renault for Cruso, the NOTES Shelves is “an invitation to play with compositions and colors”. The artfully crafted slabs of light oak slide into a steel frame, creating a clean and minimal wall-mounted shelf that provides a wonderful storage space, while also allowing you to proudly display your favorite objects and artifacts. The shelves are so simple to set up, that you can do it by yourself at home, with the help of a standard tool (which is provided along with the shelving unit). The NOTES Shelves’ edges have been uniquely sanded and rounded, making them soft and smooth to touch.
6. Kork Kafeware
Kork Kafeware was designed to encourage people to take a break from their daily struggles and enjoy me-time. Functionally, it gives you the best of both worlds, stainless steel is durable and cork is heat-resistant. The eco-conscious range includes a French press, espresso maker, goose-neck kettle, and coffee grinder which is all you need to enjoy a perfect cup at home. Kork uses the inherent qualities of cork and polished stainless steel to create a natural, functional product designed to last a lifetime. Cork is a sustainable alternative to plastic and offers unique insulative, elastic and lightweight properties to the design.
7. The Cove
The Cove is a minimalist Scandinavian-styled litter box that complements your home decor. Made from non-toxic recycled plastic, the litter-box comes with a simple, clean, off-white design that integrates a scooper along with a dust-pan and brush into its form. The box comes with vertical walls that prevent litter from accidentally spilling out, or the tray being overturned, along with a silicone base that keeps the tray from accidentally slipping or moving around the floor. Designed as much for humans as for cats, the Cove’s integrated scooper docks securely within the box, and comes with a sturdy silicone grip for easy scooping as well as a carefully designed scoop mesh that cleanly and efficiently sieves through the litter to collect the cat waste.
8. The Polestar SLR
The Polestar SLR is an apt example of a passion project that just evolved and bettered over time. In fact, designer Arthur Martins claims he isn’t done yet! The Polestar SLR (short for Salt Lake Runner) was designed to see how Scandinavian minimalism would manifest on an automobile’s outer body. The advantage of choosing a salt lake racing bike lies in being able to sacrifice a few details for the sake of visual authenticity. The Polestar SLR has minimal ground clearance, basic suspension, and doesn’t really steer because it doesn’t need to. Martins claims that he’s working on a street-legal version with further detailing. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the exercise!
9. Departo
Arguably, many folding chairs are conceived with the concept of portability but their design anomalies leave them high and dry. Departo folding chair however offers a high-quality seating solution conjured up with unification of aesthetics of two cultures. The utilitarian chair is built with Scandinavian design inspiration and focuses on Japanese materiality realized with the steel frame and ash wood legs. The rounded wooden backrest of the chair complements the comfy canvas seat while the leather handle allows for easy carrying. Provided in light ash and dark ash colors, this hand-crafted foldable seating solution is a brainchild of Departo founders Glenn Pushelberg, George Yabu, and Yuichiro Hori and is priced at $295 apiece.
10. The Automatisk
The Automatisk’s design showcases the watch face in its simplicity, with a 316L brushed steel body, and two overlapping metal plates with an anodized finish sitting right under the hands. Available in silver, plum, olive, black, and a matte grey finish, the watch face uses an interplay of colors to look bold, while luminova markings make sure the time is visible both in the day and at night. The watch comes with a date window at its 6 o’clock position, maintaining its sense of balance and symmetry, while the linear markings and the smooth gliding second hand provide a minimalist appeal.