Even expensive things can mean nothin. But in Mix Scandi style with old and new we show how to give your home a heart with those special items that reveal your personality. A painting is just a painting. The Mona Lisa is worth how much? If you ask a five-year-old child the answer might well be “less than the price of an ice cream”.
Of course, Leonardo da Vinci’s 500-year-old masterpiece would be the most expensive work of art in history if it were up for sale. It is the most talked about painting and a tourist destination in itself. That’s because of its heritage. The portrait has an extraordinary story to it as does the artist behind it.
Travel and mixing it up – Scandinavian Home Decor with a Twist
People don’t travel from all over the world to see the painting at the Louvre in Paris because of the quality of the oil used or the special brush strokes. Nobody can get close enough to the painting to actually see the detail.
One of the many reasons the Mona Lisa fascinates people other than die hard art lovers is because so many people the world over also want to see it. People travel to Paris to see it want to be part of the Mona Lisa story.
Mix Scandi style with old and new to add value with a Story
We’ve been there, seen it in real life (“it’s smaller than we thought and you can’t see it close up”) and “we queued for ages before we got to see it”. We’ve got something to talk about other than telling friends and family that it’s a nice painting.
So it is with home decor. Mix Scandi style with old and new it isn’t about the vase, the fruit bowl, the empty chair or the whatever table cloth. These objects become much more valuable, if not expensive, when they have an interesting story behind them.
With its blank Canvas Scandi Minimalism can absorb any Object from any Culture when mixing it up
While furnishing a home with objects aim to feed the soul as well as the empty space. This article is about how to not only make the space as comfortable as possibly, but also how to make the home come to life. Scandi minimalism is the perfect background for creating a home full of stories and memories.
With its blank canvas it is capable of absorbing any object from any culture without it looking crowded or out of place. In fact, here are 6 decorative and functional items from outside Scandinavia which brighten up the minimalist home and the lives of those living in it:
1: The Fruit Bowl – Mixing it up Mediterranean Style
The bowl itself is not attractive – it’s acrylic, it has a gold fish motif at the bottom and over all looks retro kitsch. But it has something…. Those who’ve been to the Mediterranean island of Sardinia will know the colours turquoise and pink are a recurring theme in island decor and therefore the bowl is a reminder of a terrific holiday. It looks great in against the white palette.
2: The French Tablecloth – shaking up Scandinavian Home Decor
A brilliantly block coloured tablecloth from the medieval town of Saint Paul de Vence in the South of France (as shown above). The tablecloth is not just water repellant and useful but it’s also a reminder of afternoon shopping in the arts and crafts shops in the picture perfect town.
It’s also a reminder of a fabulous lunch at the famous La Colombe d’Or restaurant. Tablecloths are a great buy abroad as they’re so easy to bring back.
3: The Parisian Side Table – Cool French elegance mixing with Scandi Minimal
Hardly the sturdiest or shiniest piece of furniture, but this side table is pure French Cool with white tiled top. And with that it adds a little Scandi Boho Chic to the space. Painted white and with white tiles it is a minimalist’s dream. The table was brought to London from Paris on the Eurostar and serves as a reminder of a fun afternoon picking decor pieces in the French capital and a complicated journey with the piece on the Eurostar.
4: The Ceramic Vase Sculpture – Pomp vs. Scandi understatement
England is famous for its ceramics and particularly in the north of England. This stoneware vase sculpture was bought from a gallery in the Yorkshire town of Skipton. It’s the perfect item for our post Mix Scandi style with old and new – the buyer spotted it during a chance visit to a small gallery but didn’t buy it. Still, the thought of the piece lingered and three months later it was in the gallery ready to be returned to the potter when the buyer snapped it up. The piece is a reminder of a long drive north through the English country side and how persistence pays off.
5: The Danish Painting – From Paris – Mixing Cultures through Art and Decor
The painting of two owls (boy and girl) on newsprint and canvas by Danish artist Karin Olesen is drama in itself but nothing compared to a trip to the fashionable Marais district in Paris where it was bought. Do you get rid of a painting because of awkward memories?
Maybe, but the piece is interesting so it can stay while the memories get binned. To see how styles have mixed and merged, read also our blog Gustavian Furniture: Classic Swedish Style and Living on how French Neoclassicism influenced the popular Scandi furniture style.
How to mix it up with simple multi Cultural Decor – What to look out for
1. Follow your instinct. Then think before you buy. Do you like it first of all – enough to spend money on it?
2. Is there any use for it in your home? You see a gorgeous tablecloth, made by local craftsmen and women, but do you have a table to go with it?
2. Is it good – or is it souvenir stuff being sold to tourists who don’t know where the real gems are being sold? Check the quality and see if there are hundreds of the same piled high in the same shop. Souvenirs won’t last – they are poor quality, almost without exception.
4. Where are you as you consider buying this item? What’s the story to this piece? Where are you, how did you get there and who are you with? Those are key questions because that is what you’ll be reminded of every time you look at this piece in your home.