10 ways to make your home instantly ‘Copenhagen’

_{Some items have been gifted}

Today I’ve got some tips from ScandiKitchen’s Brontë Aurell on how to make your home instantly feel much more Scandinavian, along with some gorgeous photos of the look. This feature is taken from Brontë’s newly released coffee table book ‘North’. The book answers questions such as ‘why are Norwegians the happiest people in the world?’, ‘what is Lagom?’ and ‘how can we get a little more Scandi-style in our lives?’ The great news is that I have an extra copy to give away to one lucky reader so enter the competition below.

The book itself is beautiful to look at; the frosted cover is wonderfully tactile and the images throughout are stunning. Honestly, I really like the look of this book, and that’s before I’ve even read any of the text! When you do dig into the content, it’s inspirational, personal and captivating.Like her Viking ancestors before her, Brontë Aurell left Denmark to explore the world beyond home shores and in her travels has come to understand the fascination with her kinfolk, as well as seeing the idiosyncrasies of the Scandinavian lifestyle that locals often take for granted. Whether you want your apartment to look like it belongs in Copenhagen, long to ski like a Norwegian or eat cinnamon buns like a true Swede, ‘North’ is the ultimate insider’s guide to the countries of the north.Full of ideas, how-tos and recipes to help you experience the very best of Scandinavian philosophy, cookery, culture and design. Above all else this is a witty and evocative guide with a keen eye for the little things. Travel alongside Brontë through fjords and mountains, farmlands and cities to better understand these three nations and what makes each one so unique. So get outdoors, learn the life lesson that there’s no such thing as bad weather (only bad clothing) and you may discover your inner Scandinavian sooner than you think.

Brontë’s advice on getting the Scandi style in your own home

When you first go to Copenhagen and you visit someone’s apartment, you usually end up in awe … ‘Are they interior designers?’ you ask yourself. ‘What style!’ you exclaim, tearing up your insides as you try to forget about your own bedsit hovel with magnolia coloured walls. Then you visit someone else, and you think ‘Oh, this place looks quite like Søren and Sofie’s’. Third time around, you know: there is a ‘style’. 

Ten ways to make your apartment instantly ‘Copenhagen’

1. Rip up all carpets and sand your floors. Then paint them white.
2. Paint all your walls white. Yes, all of them, white. If there is a shade of white called ‘Scandinavian white’ or ‘Ringsted white’ or ‘Vesterbro white’, go for that
3. Paint all your skirting boards and doors white.
4. Remove all curtains and traces of curtains, because you no longer need them. If you can’t live without window coverings, add some white, stylish blinds, but make sure that, when they are up, you can’t see them.
5. Get one colourful statement chair, ideally by a designer from Denmark. Anything with the word Jacobsen or Wegner is good. Buy a woolly sheepskin from a remote farm in Sweden and add this to said statement chair.
6. Have one normal chair next to your sofa where you add a stack of books or magazines with pictures of bearded men. Leave them there.
7. Put just one green plant in the window.
8. Your sofa must be a tasteful colour or stick to black. It must also be simple – none of this ‘all the way to the floor’ business. Legs – and nothing underneath. Thou shalt not add too many cushions.
9. Add all or some of the following: one rug (can be colourful), one or two designer posters of designer things (drawings of chairs or statues). One standing lamp (tasteful, sleek). The coffee table must be in front of the sofa and it must have thin legs. Two candle holders (the metal kind, from Illums Bolighus). The bookshelf is allowed to be from IKEA, but must be ‘Is it really from IKEA or not?’
10. Hide your TV, or, don’t have one.

This handy Scandi checklist was taken from North by Brontë Aurell, and the great news is that you can win a copy for yourself. There are plenty of ways to enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below, including tweeting, following me and leaving a comment on this blog post. Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to UK residents only, winner will be contacted via email when the content closes. Competition runs from 15th – 3rd December 2017. Please allow 28 days for delivery. Photographs are reproduced with permission from the publisher.

Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience 🙂