Ingrid’s Nordic Home

How did you find out your design style?

My style has evolved over the years, and maybe changed a bit depending on where I lived although always stayed true to the Scandinavian look. When I first lived on my own I moved to UK, and renting as a student meant that I could never really decorate how I wanted to. Now, living in Italy and owning my own home I have finally had the chance to make my home the way I want it and truly found my design style. It is heavily inspired by my Scandinavian heritage as well as hygge – I would say my home is cozy and homely yet minimal and calm. We are homebodies and love staying in, so the design style is a reflection of that.

What’s your favourite room in your home?

The kitchen! We focused a lot on creating our dream kitchen when we bought this home and it has become just that. We did a total renovation of the home, and moved the kitchen from a small room to the biggest in the apartment: it has become the heart of the home. The kitchen is minimal and classic, but with pale grey doors, a marble style top and gold details such as the knobs and faucet. It is large and in the centre we have the dining table which is adorned with a beautiful statement lamp – the PH 5 lamp from Poul Henningsen. It actually used to hang in my parent’s kitchen when I grew up so it brings lots of memories when we sit around the table.

Kitchen: Look into our new kitchen
Kitchen moodboard: Check out the moodboard

Where does your inspiration come from?

I get inspired by everyday life and things I see around me, but when it comes to my home I take a lot of inspiration from browsing Instagram and Pinterest or visiting interior shops (Ikea is a place I go regularly). I also love visiting interior fairs, we have a few great ones here in the area, and the highlight of the year is Milan Design Week in April where all the big interior brands take over the city. I live off that week for a long time and get very inspired by everything I see while wandering around town during that period.

Do you have any top tips you can share when designing your home?

Tip 1: take your time. We started planning as soon as we decided we wanted to buy the home and made a floorpan of the whole space to play around with. As we took our time, we had lots of alterations from our initial idea, but in the end we managed to get it just perfect for us. And even after we moved in we took our time with getting everything right, in fact now after almost a year we still have things we need to sort out but I find that living in the space helps you to see what you need and don’t.

Tip 2: think about storage. For me a big part was to make sure every room was utilised to the fullest and to have enough storage throughout the home to keep it clutter-free. We did some clever solutions, like for instance creating a wardrobe space with a half wall behind the bed.

Tip 3: make it fit you! We can sometimes become lost in the trends and other peoples amazing homes when designing our own, but I would say make sure you think about you and your family and not what is just trendy to create a home that truly fits your lifestyle and needs. Make it a cozy space you will be able to enjoy for years to come.

Floorplan: New home floorplan
Bedroom: New wardrobe