Victor Grennan | September 25, 2024 | 0 Comments
Image by: Annie Spratt
Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland & Norway: these 5 Countries make up the Nordic region, and their fundamental love for simplicity has become a powerful influence in the world of architecture, particularly in recent years. You can see it in the architecture all around us, interior designs, garden designs and even food. From the city centre hustle and bustle to the open countryside, you will find the same Nordic style shining bright. Describing this Nordic movement as just a ‘style’ would be a disservice – it’s more so a feeling, a vibe, a mindset, and it is truly starting to become a part of our everyday living. Even my favourite coffee shop down in the small town in Whitstable sells books on the simple Nordic way of life. In Scandinavia, they have a word to describe this very concept: Hygge.
Photo by Julian Hochgesang on Unsplash
Hygge (pronounced hue-gah) cannot be translated into one singular word, but rather encompasses a feeling of cosy contentment through the enjoyment of the simple things in life. This could be as simple as lighting a candle, spending time with loved ones, snuggling under a blanket, or enjoying a cosy evening by the fire on a cold Winters Day.
Most of this simplistic living originates back to Japanese design, where the past has influenced most modernists to this day. Alvar Alto is one of the most famous Scandinavian designers and responsible for influencing a lot of what we now know as the Nordic style. But it is not only the modernists and traditional Japanese that dictate the Nordic look. It seems to be a combination of this, along with their own traditions, their way of life, the natural surrounding landscape, old architecture and the harsh natural elements that influence the Hygge lifestyle. Without having to research the great Nordic minds of the past, I found it described quite well and simplistically in Signe Johnsen’s book, ‘How to Hygge’.
People love the look and feel created by this philosophy, and I ask myself: why? I believe the driving force behind it all is a person’s Mental Health. In this day and age, we all need calm and clarity in our lives and we are far more aware and willing to acknowledge our mental health and express our desire to be happy, which seems more easily achieved when aligning yourself with the Hygge mindset.
So, how does this translate itself into a particular design style? It’s simple. Nordic Design is bright, simplistic, functional, wholesome, earthy, bleak, cosy and natural. Combining these fundamental elements makes us feel good and that is its appeal. It is crucially important when you are designing a Nordic style space that the outcome retains this combination. It is far too easy to create something sterile and devoid of emotion when attempting the Nordic look. The style is simple and therefore looks contemporary, but if too simple, can look empty and lost. It is possible to design in a minimalistic way and still retain the emotion of a space.
Luis Kalhn was a very famous modernist who produced what might be described as minimal style Architecture, but he himself described it as Emotional Architecture. Far from bland. I feel that Nordic design is very much emotion-driven, whilst still applying a no-nonsense approach, much like Luis Kalhns philosophy. I am a big fan of the Nordic design mind set when it comes to emotional spaces and I know that deep down it fills me with positive energy. There is real beauty in bleakness. It allows the nonsense to disappear, making room, allowing nature and humanity to harmonise.
It could be said that only native Nordics have true license to explain and design in a Nordic style, much in the same way they say European designers shouldn’t design a Japanese Garden, rather design in the style of a Japanese garden, but whilst Japanese design is heavily based on symbolism, I personally believe the Nordic style is an emotion open to interpretation over anything else. I believe its interpretation is open to everyone, and you either feel it or you don’t. At the very least, I think we have the right to adopt it and make it our own. It’s too beautiful not to be shared.
Photo by Lucas Marcomini on Unsplash
When creating a Nordic style garden I look to the Nordic landscape, with its large exposed rocks, snow, water, bleak grey, white and black colour pallet with intertwined green and brown plant life and the little houses, sitting so exposed and defined by the simplistic surroundings. For me, by contrasting manipulated forms and natural forms, the Nordic beauty and its simplicity is then highlighted even more so. It is more forgiving and it’s the contrast of the natural and contrived that brings the ultimate harmony.
Once I have established a nice simple plan layout of the space, I look at the dressing (plants and materials) whereby I aim to mainly use materials such as wood, natural stone and plants. My personal favourite wood is Western Red Cedar, which naturally silvers off to create a lovely exterior Nordic look, or it can be stained black. Cedar is great for creating slatted timber uprights which we see a lot in Nordic architecture and Japanese Design and I also often introduce this in my designs to create patterns, rhythm and repetition. As people, we (subconsciously) enjoy seeing patterns in our homes and gardens as the order gives a sense of calm to a space. As well as natural wood, I often utilise composite decking and wall claddings that have pale white or grey colours, offering greater versatility in terms of colour. A good example of this can be seen in our Nordic Inspired Family Garden in Whitstable which uses a combination of black composite decking and stained western red cedar timber uprights, creating patterns, rhythm and repetition.
Oakleigh Manor’s Nordic Garden in Whitstable, using black composite decking & stained cedar uprights
Oakleigh Manor’s Nordic Inspired Garden in Whitstable,
Oakleigh Manor’s Nordic Garden in Folkestone using cedar upright cladding
Using rocks and boulders emerging from a smooth paved terrace or poured concrete which, although difficult to achieve, can be incredibly effective. Or simply combining smooth stone, gravel and boulders – these elements together are very reflective of the Nordic landscape. A great example of this is our Nordic Inspired Garden in Hawkinge, which features limestone rocks surrounded by poured concrete which eminates the exposed snowy mountains you see in the Nordic regions.
Throw in some green and browns, overlaid with light floating flowers such as Verbena bonariensis, lavenders and Gaura and – there you have it. Some gardens may even have room for trees and if so, the white stems of the Betula utilis ‘Jacquemontii’ underplanted with greens, silvers and whites will blow you away. Even though olive trees are from the Mediterranean, they still have a nice green/grey colour which we associate with the Nordic look. Or, as a lovely contrasting surprise, a Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ tree would stand out as a centre piece and charm the viewer.
If you’d like your very own Nordic inspired garden, give our team a call today on 01227 750 875, or use our online Contact Form to discuss how we can bring your dreams to life.
