Scandinavian design is simply beautiful, in my opinion. Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish designers are inspired by their local forests, mountains and organic forms of snow, ice and greenery in their surroundings. They have dark, cold winters and light, bright summers - so their furniture reflects this and creates a warm atmosphere in their homes.They made the most out of limited resources and strived to deliver solutions with the most economic use of materials.
Form Follows Function
"Form follows function" - This belief truly is the back-bone of scandinavian design. Through hands on craftsmanship they have experimented and evolved their style over the years (see this link for a timeline of their unique forms over the years). Their aesthetic is all about creating a cheerful, welcomign home; they would layer a range of patterns, colours, textures and organic forms. Every part of their design either holds a human quality or natural form. These elements are important to encourage the home dwellers emotional and psychological wellbeing.
Between the 1930s and 1970s was when scandinavian design really found itself with simple, understated, well-made products that have long been preferred over conspicuous consumption of status symbols or showy grandiose effect (credit to Scandinavia Design website for this information). Some of the most well known founders of Scandinavian design include names such as Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen, Borge Mogensen, Hans J. Wegner, Verner Panton, Poul Henningsen, Maija Isola, etc.
Scandinavian design is known for its focus on durability, functionality and reliability; and also less tactile values such as simplicity, equality, joy, courage, and daily pleasure. They believed everyone should have the ability to create a beautiful, warm home environment and their furniture was usually affordable for anyone who wanted it. Ever heard of Ikea? Yup, they got started in Sweden in 1943, a 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad founded the company. And since 2008, Ikea has become the world's largest furniture retailers.
Other great scandinavian companies include: Muuto, Hay and Ferm Living. If you love scandinavian design like I do, then check these websites out. And don't stop there, see if you can find any others that you love! I'd love to hear about them in the comments, so please share.