Special Report: Scandinavian Design for the Everyday Home
When one thinks of Scandinavian design, one imagines the beautiful glassworks from Orrefors, or the poetic chair forms of Danish furniture designer, Arne Jacobsen or Finnish designer Alvar Aalto. Then there’s always the simple, chic, yet budget-conscious designs of Ikea from Sweden.
These days, the new designs are coming from smaller and younger design firms from the countries of Scandinavia. And they’re focusing their imagination on everyday objects.
Normann Copenhagen of Denmark produces whimsical yet very practical everyday items for the home. A cord holder named “Woofy” hides all that tangled mess of electronic cords in your home or office. Friendly, functional, but without the mess! Another tongue-in-cheek design, “Grass Vase”, shows off flowers in its “natural home”. All these containers are made of ceramic.
An everyday bland kitchen tool, the can opener, gets a makeover to an elegant sculptural piece. Normann Copenhagen created the “Butterfly”, ergonomically nestling into the palm of your hand. They come in different colors to match your kitchen’s color scheme and quite handy when you can’t find the tool in a drawer full of similar-looking metallic gadgets. Another boring tool, the nutcracker, is transformed by Swedish firm, Drosselmeyer. A simple squeeze of the handle cracks open any nut and its conical body conveniently holds the cracked nut pieces.
Hetta from Sweden also redesigned the simple trivet – giving us flexibility and a new look. Their ladder trivet can be flexed into different track shapes as well as their semicircular trivet can be transformed in several geometric configurations. Your table setting will get a hip lift from its usual everyday look.
Showroom Finland uses birch, walnut and other native tree barks to create flowing bowls and trays. The “Tuisku” bowl is lacquered and can hold fruits, nuts and small foods. Their “Tuohi” trays can hold any hors d’oeuvres for a party. For a decorative touch, they have also created tree décor made of birch plywood for the tabletop – completing the forest theme. These natural barks evoke quiet forests that are native in deep Finnish country.
Muuto of Sweden shows a more architectural bent in its designs. Their “Crushed Bowl” designed by Julien de Smedt captures the feel of a crushed object with its multiple-triangular sides. Made of fine bone china, it is truly functional and holds many things despite its collapsed look.
Jakob Wagner of Muuto redesigned the simple carafe. Their “Flow Jug” has two different sized spouts – a large hole to pour liquids easily into and a smaller spout to pour out a controlled flow. Add that to an ergonomic ceramic body that is easy to grasp and you have a winning design.
Good design doesn’t have to be limited to expensive pieces like furniture or crystal vases, they can be found in your everyday household products. And Scandinavia is leading the way to creating inspirational objects.
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