Scandinavian Kitchen Ideas

Scandinavian in a kitchen

Scandinavian kitchens are unfussy on purpose. No ornate detailing, no heavy cornices, nothing that collects dust for decorative reasons — the style came out of a movement that wanted well-made things ordinary people could afford, and the kitchen is where that shows most plainly. Flat fronts, a simple worktop, and open shelving holding things that actually get used.

The part that distinguishes it from generic pale modern kitchens is warmth in the timber and warmth in the light. A white kitchen with cool LED strip under the units is a contemporary kitchen. The same kitchen with a wooden worktop section, a couple of matt pendants and 2700K bulbs is Scandinavian, and the change costs almost nothing.

Layout and furniture

Flat or shaker fronts in white or pale wood, handle-less or with a slim bar. Keep the wall units light or replace some with open shelving where the storage allows. A simple worktop — laminate is entirely acceptable in this tradition, which was never about expensive materials — with a timber section for warmth.

Where there is space, a table rather than an island: Scandinavian kitchens are eating kitchens, and a small round or oval table with mismatched chairs suits the style better than a bank of stools. A pendant or a row of them over the table, hung lower than instinct suggests, around 70 to 80 cm above the surface, which is what makes the space feel intimate in a room full of pale surfaces.

Keep the counters mostly clear. One wooden board leaning at the back, a plant, a bowl of fruit.

Colours, materials and finishes

White, pale grey or soft sage on the cabinetry, with birch, ash or oak on shelving, the table and any worktop section. A plain splashback — square white tile or a continuous surface — rather than anything patterned. Hardware in black, brushed steel or timber.

On the open shelves: plain ceramics, wooden boards, glass jars, enamel. The style tolerates visible everyday objects in a way a stricter minimalism does not, provided they are things that get used. A textile — a linen tea towel, a small rug or runner on a hard floor — adds the softness the room needs.

Lighting

Warm task light under the wall units, at 2700K to 3000K rather than the cool white usually specified for kitchens, and pendants over the table on a dimmer. That is the whole scheme. The pendants are close to a signature of the style and are worth spending on if anything here is.

Daylight matters as much as in any other room: keep the window over the sink clear, and if the kitchen is dark, a mirror or a gloss-free pale splashback bounces more light than an extra downlight will.

What goes wrong in this room

• Cool LED strip under the units. It turns a warm palette grey and is the fastest way to make a Scandinavian kitchen look like a showroom.
• Open shelving used as storage. Shelves hold things worth looking at that also get used; the rest goes behind a door.
• Pendants hung too high. Low over the table is what makes the room feel intimate. Most people hang them 20 cm too high.
• Ornate detailing. Raised panels, decorative cornices and heavy plinths belong to a different kitchen entirely.
• Assuming it has to be expensive. This tradition is explicitly about affordable, well-made things — laminate worktops and simple fronts are in keeping, not a compromise.

Kitchen questions, answered