Scandinavian Interior Filled with Color and Living Plants

In this apartment in a condominium on the outskirts of Stockholm, the predominant palette is not traditionally Scandinavian blue-green. Yet the room is not at all dark—thanks to proper color proportioning.

The apartment is located on the first floor of a building constructed at the beginning of the last century. It features atmospheric mansard roofs, high ceilings, and quiet inner courtyards. One of these can be accessed through the panoramic terrace doors of the living room.

The bedroom window also opens into a courtyard, which means that natural light in the apartment is not abundant. To preserve and enhance it, the clean ceiling planes were visually expanded by wide white cornices. The same principle was applied to the high baseboards, also white.

Thick textiles at windows were replaced with unobtrusive blinds. Ceiling and floor lamps were chosen for their lightweight construction, with transparent shades or without them at all—maximizing light output.

The living room, combined with the kitchen, is multi-functional and includes several zones. Therefore, the walls were covered with basic gray wallpaper to avoid overloading the space.

The velvet sofa, trendy now, in the center of the room separates the living room from the dining area, while the kitchen zone is highlighted by contrasting white cabinets and a marble-like countertop. The kitchen cabinets extend to the ceiling, creating a convenient and spacious storage zone.

In the darkest part of the apartment—the hallway— a wardrobe was arranged. This made an already narrow corridor even more cramped and tight. To correct the dimensions of this inconvenient space and add some dynamism, the wardrobe was draped with velvet fabric that complements the sofa in the living room.

Dark walls and furniture are balanced by white: in addition to the ceiling and kitchen, this includes doors, window frames and niches, radiators, picture frames, and black-framed artwork. Alternating contrasting planes make the room brighter and more rhythmic, emphasizing the depth of various saturated blue-green tones that envelop the living space.

To give the eye a rest from color, the bathroom is designed almost entirely in neutral tones. But the blue-green theme continues here—through a pleasant curtain with a plant pattern.

There are also many living plants in the apartment, seemingly even more than furniture. Even though the oily leaves and stems add glossy tones to the main palette, it’s probably better to give a couple of planters to neighbors. What do you think?