Design for Interiors - Icelandic Interiors

So here is something I’ve been keeping a secret for a while.

For a student doing a project about Nordic countries whilst living in the north of England is essentially quite difficult. Whilst my classmates were photographing their own inspirations from our city and beyond I was left to go about it in a different manner. By doing a project that incorporated vast amounts of musical, literature and cultural elements, I found I was doing visual research “by proxy” with friends sending me photographs and directions of inspirations to stimulate me. I was able to put forward a vast collection from the fjords of Norway, to the winterlands of Finland and of course, what you see here.

These photographs were kindly taken by the lovely Iris, a student of law at the University of Leeds at the house of her grandparents. Remembering how open the internet can be and that this is someones home, I don’t wish to divulge in too much detail, and prefer to let the photographs do the talking.

I remember the first time I saw these photographs getting quite excited. The term “Scandinavian Interiors” mainly covers Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland (although always remembering Finland is not part of Scandinavia) so I hadn’t had any idea of what to expect from Icelandic interiors. From my own knowledge of Scandinavian design I found that the Icelandic interior style was very much a mix up of the “true” Scandinavian styles. The influx of he Swedish style comes from the predominantly use of white used throughout the house. Norwegian interiors are slightly more fresh and inspired by elements, with the water themed artworks you see in the living room. More noticeably, the Danish influence comes from the more rustic and collectively cultured items you see around the house which represents Denmark’s deep history in trade and travel relations.

It was so difficult for me to narrow down the photographs but these were the ones I felt personally most inspired by. I hope the photographs manage to inspire you too, and once again thank you to Iris and her grandparents for letting my explore their homelands. It’s been an enchanting experience :)