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Four Swedish home design trends for spring

The Local Sweden
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Four Swedish home design trends for spring
The Formex design show in Stockholm. Photo: TT

Swedish interiors are world famous and this weekend the largest design fair in the Nordics, Formex, is taking place in Stockholm. Interior Designer and blogger Angeline Eriksson has had a preview of the top home trends it is showcasing in 2015.

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Nordic and Neat are the two buzz words you need to know in 2015.
 
"During restless times of war and health epidemics around the world, we have a need to make our home a place where we can feel secure. Everything has its place without being boring or impersonal," explains Formex's event manager Christina Olsson.
 
But while Nordic Neat appears to be the most popular trend, there is also a heavy influence of bold, refreshing colours that is not typically associated with Scandinavian design, and an overall feeling of cheerful 1950s optimism.
 
Materials are a key focus as sustainability is no longer a futuristic concept but a reality of our times. Traditional Nordic handicrafts are re-imagined using new techniques and colour.
 
These ideas are realised in three other trends: Nordic Essence, Nordic Motion and Nordic Folk. Here are a few examples of each future fashion.
 
Nordic Neat
 
Nordic Neat is the desire to create order and clarity, to sort, to study and to celebrate the ordinary in new and exciting ways. Contrasting colours are common, with welcoming red and turquoise paired with cream, beige and brown.
 
Linda Brattlöf of design house Garden Glory for example has taken a household item - a water hose - and made it clean, fresh and chic.
 
Colour choices range from 'white snake' to 'gold digger', with 'Caribbean Kiss' the new turquoise shade for 2015. Linda Brattlöff is a rebel who has refused to accept ugly as an option and turned an eyesore into the talk of any garden party. When asked about her designs she proudly states: "Yes I'm reinventing the wheel. And don't we need it!"
 
Also on show at Formex 2015 are her chic mailboxes that look like Chanel clutches.
 

Photo: Anastasia Vetoshnikova
 
Nordic Essence

Nordic Essence is about designers doing new things with new building materials -  dealing with waste from other industries, reworking them and creating something new.

Patrick lu, a product and interaction designer and Mattias Chrisander, a product designer and furniture maker, have teamed their collective education and experience to launch Mùk.

"Mùk is Cantonese for wood", explains lu, who has Chinese heritage but was born and raised in Sweden. Mùk takes the waste of building materials and moulds them into various shapes, in the fashion of paper mache.

"We're always thinking of fun ways to use materials", says lu.

At Formex, the Mùk team is showcasing 'Fiber', a multifunctional lamp made of either fiberglass waste or discarded sawdust, with an adhesive used in the muolding process. Using either a notch or leather strap, Fiber can be hung or attached to shelving. It can be laid on its side, set upright from the shade or used as a flashlight.

"But our favorite thing about Fiber is the simple, clean design," states Chrisander.


Photo: Anastasia Vetoshnikova

Nordic Motion

Nordic Motion is about creativity and humour. Inspired by Sweden's sporty lifestyle, it looks at clever solutions for newer materials with sharp accents and bright, bright, bright colours. 

With over 100 years of design experience, the Eva Solo Company knows a few things about kitchen design. Launched in Denmark in 2014, the appropriately named 'Citrus Press', looks at a design challenge that has been attempted by many. Eva Solo believes that they have perfected it. In the shape of a lemon, the exterior is silicone for a firm grip and the interior nylon for easy cleaning.

The design ensures that Citrus Press always sits upright. The pips are retained by a rim, which allows the juice to flow through small grooves.

"It's about making life easier in the kitchen," explains spokesperson Ulrika Ulrika Görefält.


Photo: Anastasia Vetoshnikova

Nordic Folk

Sweden is steeped in tradition and there is barely a Nordic design show without handicraft-inspired work on offer. The trend this year is traditional meets super modern. Designers borrow from the past to create exciting new designs full of colour and creativity. 

One example is the work of Swedish graphic designer My Floryd Welin, who launched My Floryd Welin in 2012. Welin borrows some of her graphics from traditional hand painted Dalarna horses and from Swedish traditions like Midsommar, blueberries and lingonberries, painting them on kitchen stools, serving trays, coasters, napkins and ceramic coffee and tea sets.

Her work has a prominent 1950s vibe and Welin says she's also deeply inspired by "fika", the Swedish coffee break ritual.


Photo: Anastasia Vetoshnikova

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