This beautiful penthouse apartment studio (styled by Emma Fisher, and photographed by Henrik Linden, via Alvhem) has the most beautiful round windows, which let in such an abundance of daylight. The apartment includes a sofa area, dining area, open-plan kitchen, and a bedroom with a home office.

All these functional areas are included on a relatively small layout, yet the interior still looks spacious and not crowded. If you are looking for more inspiration on how to decorate even smaller spaces, have a look at my post about inspiring small studio apartments.

A penthouse apartment with exposed wood beams

The exposed wood beams in both the ceiling and the lower parts of the penthouse add so much character to this interior. The round window in the open-plan kitchen is so impressive and the width of the sofa (it’s the Ikea Soderhamn sofa with a Bemz customer cover*) was picked out to fit the space exactly. The white and natural color palette of the main furniture has been contrasted with some black elements which complement the grey kitchen with the white marble countertop in a nice way. 

The small niche in between the sofa and the kitchen is used for an extra bench, which can be used when more people come over, but its main purpose is decoration. The art print on the wall turns this wall into its own little area and I’m sure the table lamp looks so nice when it’s on at night.

An L-shaped kitchen with grey cabinet fronts

The kitchen has been built into an L-shape in the middle of the penthouse where the ceilings are the highest. I believe the cabinet fronts are the regular Ikea Bodbyn ones in grey, enhanced with white glossy metro tiles and a white marble countertop.

A round dining table combined with a round mirror

On the other side of the sofa, a round dining table fits perfectly underneath the angled roof, resulting in a cozy and intimate dining area. The round mirror on the wall complements the shape of the dining table and reflects some extra daylight in this corner.

Bedroom and home office behind a half-wall

Just like in any small apartment, you have to carefully pick and choose where you place your furniture and how you plan your layout. More so even with penthouse spaces, because you have to take into account the lower ceiling heights and exposed wooden beams, which though beautiful, can be a little bit difficult to plan a layout around.

The head of the bed has been placed underneath the lowest part of the ceiling. Since you are rarely standing up where you sleep, this is the perfect spot for a bed. The home office has been placed right in front of the round window, which gives you a beautiful view while working from home and you also have some extra height in this area.

Ikea pax with a reflective mirrored surface

The big Ikea Pax wardrobe is fully covered in mirrored surfaces, which makes this element blend into the space. The mirrors on the Pax doors have the added advantage that they reflect the small penthouse space and add the same time multiply the already abundant daylight in this room.

A bathroom with white tiles and grey grout

The bathroom has been covered with white subway tiles with grey grout, which has a nice effect on the space. The straight lines of the tiles contrast with the angled lines of the walls and windows, which contrasts even more with the round shape of the bathroom mirror.

Underneath the window, where the ceiling height is really low, a small Ikea Eket module was placed for some extra storage. When you live in a penthouse with angled walls, you have to optimize every nook and cranny available and take any storage opportunity you can get.

styled by Emma Fisher, photographed by Henrik Linden, via Alvhem

This white studio apartment with light grey walls has light purple decor pieces and textiles as the red thread (or shall I say light purple thread) throughout the interior design. The white floor makes the studio apartment seem more spacious as it reflects the daylight coming from the big windows.

By selecting a white sofa (it’s the Ikea Soderhamn with a Bemz custom cover*) and a white fluffy area rug, the perfect white base is set for other elements like the small wooden coffee table, the wooden lounge chair, the desk, and a plethora of light purple and purple shade variations that brighten up this apartment. These natural elements warm up this palette with cool undertones and the purple shades in the soft furnishings add a point of interest to the space.

I have recently updated a blog post full of small studio apartment ideas if you are looking for other inspirations on how to design with a small layout. Go check it out here.

A living space with light purple shades

From the light purple duvet cover* to the throw with different shades of purple on the sofa, the light purple lampshade, and even the flowers, this apartment is filled with light purple interior design pieces that make the decor interesting and characterful. Even the wall art has some light purple elements in it, which complements the blue hues and undertones in the light grey walls.

A purple shade mixture in the sofa area

The dark purple shades in the blanket combined with the pale purple in the art prints and the light purple in the lampshade elevate the look of this white fabric sofa. Combining a white floor with a white area rug and grey walls can easily feel too clean and minimal, yet by working with natural wood tones in the lounge chair and coffee table and by working with accessories all on the purple spectrum, you get an interesting and cohesive look that works cozy and inviting at the same time.

A light purple duvet cover for an elegant effect

The light purple duvet cover really is the key to giving this bedroom area this cool and effortless look. The beautiful light purple shade is combined with white textiles and wood tones in both the little bench behind the bed and the peg rail on the wall. These wood tones warm up the palette in the same way as in the sofa area, while the light purple adds points of interest.

A home office with a slight purple tint

This studio living space even has a little home office corner, where a purple shade combination could not be missing of course. The muted purple shade on the HAY Matin table lamp (€ 184*– $192*) works nicely with the light purple bin underneath the desk and the olive green and beige details in the print complement the purple shades perfectly.

A purple chair in the kitchen

In the kitchen, which has been decorated in white and natural colors, a vintage chair that has been painted in a darker purple shade ties the look together with the living and bedroom area. This lovely medium purple shade draws all the attention since the rest of the chairs and the dining table is picked out in light wood and the kitchen itself is mainly white. The light purple vase on the window sill with the deep purple hydrangeas is a lovely finishing touch to this setting.

Styled by Studio In AB photographed by Mariah Sahlander for Bjurfors

Dining table in front of a bay window

A bay window is one of those much sought-after elements in an apartment, but how to make good use of it is often a bit of a challenge. The owners of this beautiful Scandinavian apartment utilized the bay window as a dining area with CH24 wishbone chairs and a beautiful oversized avocado plant.

The antique piano is a real eye-catcher in the living and dining area and complements the warm wood of the dining table and chairs. The sofa area is decorated with touches of pink in the throw pillows, the blanket, the pouf, and the rug, which adds a warm touch to the already warm atmosphere in this cozy apartment.

Grey kitchen cabinets and white tiles with black grout

The kitchen is a simple Ikea kitchen (with the grey Ikea Bodbyn fronts) combined with a marble worktop, finished off with subtle brass door handles. The white tiles with the black grout give this kitchen a finished look and the black stove and exhaust add a classic industrial touch that complements the tiled wall.

Pink details in the bedrooms

The pink used in the living room comes back in both of the bedrooms of this apartment as well, which is a nice red thread. In the guest room, the pink curtains (though the way they are hung gives me anxiety) and the pink vintage chair add character and warmth to this slightly awkward layout. The round mirror on the wall above the vintage desk reflects the light and makes this small bedroom seem bigger.

In the main bedroom, the small pink detail in the art print ties this room together with the rest of the interior.

Styled by Lindholm, photographed by Johanson for Historiska Hem

A balanced and subtle Scandinavian interior design

Light gray paint colors can be a great substitution for white walls. Using classic gray paint is a great way to add depth and character to a Scandinavian interior design. Light grey will reflect the daylight in a similar way white walls do, which is great for living spaces that don’t get a bunch of natural light.

If you are looking for a similar light grey shade for your walls I suggest you try out Ammonite* , Cornforth white*, or Dimpse* from Farrow & Ball, but I elaborate more on that down below.

Light grey walls in the living room

The warm gray of the walls goes beautifully with the warm tone of the elaborate rattan lounge chairs next to the sofa. Those chairs are true eye-catchers on the white fluffy area rug and the warm gray comes back in a darker tone on the vintage mirror cabinet, which has green undertones. The mirror on the cabinet door reflects the daylight coming in from the windows, which is a great Scandinavian design trick for creating more natural light in your home.

The chairs and the vintage piece make for a great mixture of interior design styles in the living space and the green undertone of the cabinet is enhanced beautifully by the green plants in the living room. The classic gray of the walls combined with the different elements in the interior, the white of the window moldings, and the white-washed wooden flooring have a sophisticated effect in this light-flooded living space.

Light grey walls in the bedroom

Scandinavian interiors usually have a neutral color scheme, especially when gray paint is used on the walls. The light gray wall color in this bedroom is enhanced by a mixture of warm textiles and throw pillows on the bed and a set of beautiful brass wall lamps to add a point of interest to this Scandinavian style minimalist setting.

Even though it seems like the same gray paint was used both in the living room and bedroom, the natural light and the textiles make the gray paint color in the bedroom seem slightly warmer. The wood tones of the wing doors between the bedroom and living space add another beautiful warm element to the room.

via Alvhem

What light gray paint colors are best for your walls?

When it comes to picking out the right gray paint colors for your space, you should first analyze the main influencing factors in the room and in the wall colors. A Scandinavian interior design usually starts out from a neutral color scheme anyways, which makes it easier to pick out a grey color for your interior.

The darkness of your gray walls depends mostly on your personal preference and your lighting conditions. While a light grey will reflect the light similarly to the way white walls do, dark grey walls will have a characterful effect (see a great example here,and here). Note that darker colors will typically make a room look smaller, so a small space might benefit from a light gray paint color.

From which direction is the natural light hitting the room?

North-facing rooms tend to expose cool undertones in the paint, which is why it makes sense to pick a warmer grey paint color. South-facing rooms on the other hand can benefit from cooler grey walls.

What’s the element with the lightest color in the room?

One of the reasons the light grey walls work so nicely in this apartment is because the window and door frames are painted white, making them pop out of the wall color. Do you have Scandinavian interior elements in your space that you want to highlight in a similar way? Then pick out a light gray paint, it will make the white moldings stand out in a beautiful and crisp way.

Light gray paint colors that fit with a Scandinavian interior design

Farrow & Ball Ammonite* is a subtle light grey that is neither too warm or cool and it tends to add a calming feel to your home.

Farrow & Ball Cornforth White* is even a bit lighter and thus even more subtle as Ammonite, yet has the same calming effect, just more subtle.

Farrow & Ball Dimpse* has subtle blue undertones which is a great subtle tone for a room that gets a lot of warm daylight and would benefit from a cooler tone.

This beautiful Scandinavian interior has grey walls throughout, which gives the space a very soft look that is enhanced by the light wooden flooring and the natural colors in the furniture and accessories. The bedroom and living room have both been painted in a different shade of grey, each combined with a different selection of furniture and accessories either contrasting or complementing the color on the wall perfectly.

How to make grey walls work in your nordic interior

A grey wall color works great in Scandinavian interior design, as it complements the light flooring that is so characteristic in a nordic interior. While a dark grey wall like in this beautiful apartment can have a very characterful effect, a lighter grey wall color like in this interior makes the rooms look brighter and more spacious.

You can go with a cool, warm, or mid-grey tone for your walls, depending on the light that hits the room, the furniture you already own, and your personal preference. Below I give some suggestions for wall colors, but keep in mind this is very subjective, and the way wall colors look can differ from room to room.

Grey living room walls combined with a blue sofa and natural elements

You might notice that in the living room the light grey walls are a little warmer, which makes the contrast with the blueish-grey sofa even more apparent. This blue element really stands out in this interior and gives it a fresh touch.

Black accents like the FLOS 265 wall lamp* and the black rattan sideboard add a lovely contrast to this otherwise light palette and the natural wood of the Herman dining chairs by Ferm Living* combined with the cork cabinet add a warm element in the dining area, which is reflected in the asymmetric mirror on the wall.

Grey bedroom walls combined with beige textiles

The cooler grey wall paint in the bedroom forms the perfect base for this cozy bedroom. The grey wall color is matched with grey linen curtains* and a grey fabric lamp, while the rest of the accessories are warming up the room. The dark beige duvet cover* combined with the beige and white textiles on the bed and the beige art prints on the wall cause a lovely play between warm and cool, which has been finished off with black accent pieces in the floor lamp and bedside tables. The custom-built wardrobe has an off-white paint color, which matches the color of the doorframes. 

While in the living room, your eye goes straight to the blue-ish grey sofa, here the attention goes to the beige bedding, as those are the elements that contrast most with the cooler wall color.

Which grey wall paint do you pick to achieve this look?

While it is hard to tell the exact color that the decorator has used in this apartment, you might want to try out a mid-grey tone if you are looking to achieve the color in the living room. Farrow & Ball Worsted*, or Purbeck stone* for a lighter grey might work well with the furniture in the living room. The grey wall paint in the bedroom looks cooler, but not blue, so a cooler grey like ‘Lamp room grey’* might be worth a try. 

When it comes to picking out a grey wall color, you need to refrain from going too extreme on the warm-cool scale, as the paint color can easily turn out more beige or blue depending on the light in the room. When you buy paint, always buy a sample first*, as natural light in the room influences how the color will work in the room. North-facing rooms will have a cooler light coming in for example, so it’s always important to test, test, and test. 

Styled by Grey Deco for Alvhem

The Jotun Lady color chart is always a great source of subtle wall colors for the Scandinavian home. I often get emails with questions about the wall colors in the interior inspirations I post here on the blog and I’m always happy to point to the Jotun colors for inspiration. The brand recently released the styled images of their new color chart and they are absolutely amazing, just like every single year. These inspirations make me want to paint every single room in my apartment.

Newly built homes are always a bit more of a challenge to make cozy and inviting, but this modern loft interior in a newly built Swedish building shows us that it can be done. The loft apartment has a modern interior with a beautiful dark grey kitchen, black accent pieces, and these gorgeous black metal window frames that let in an abundance of daylight.

What makes this loft interior so unique?

Black accent pieces match the black metal window frames

Loft-style apartments typically have windows just like in this interior, which makes living in a loft so comfortable. To not let the black of the windows stand out too much, many black pieces were added to this Scandinavian interior, the impressive black artwork above the white sofa being the true eye-catcher in this industrial loft apartment.

While the black furniture pieces and objects finish everything off, the rest of the furniture pieces have been picked in light and natural colors, enhancing the natural wood flooring. It’s this natural palette that forms the basis for the black accent interior design and keeps everything balanced.

A kitchen with dark grey cabinets and a marble countertop

The dark grey kitchen cabinets in combination with the grey marble kitchen countertop and the subtle chrome door handles fit this loft apartment perfectly. The kitchen shares a space with the living and dining room and by keeping the cabinets low in the living area, the layout of the kitchen looks very spacious. The owners picked a white exhaust cover that blends into the wall, making the kitchen design more bottom-heavy and thus lighter-looking.

The hallway flows over into the kitchen as well, and on this side, higher cupboards are used to optimize storage space. I imagine this would be a shared storage area for kitchen and hallway items. The natural stone countertop visually separates the dark grey kitchen cabinets from the white walls and adds a lovely natural texture to the look.

In this beautiful loft, a grey kitchen was built with upper cabinets, making use of the high ceilings in the space, but in a lower-ceiling apartment, it’s better to adhere to a bottom-heavy setup.

The grey wardrobe in the same material as the kitchen cabinets

While the general color palette of the bedroom is a lot lighter, with a greige wall color, the grey wardrobe cabinets add some contrast to this room. The door handles are from the same range as the ones in the kitchen as well, tying the design together.

The living space with the kitchen and the other rooms in this modern interior design has been designed with an eye for detail and in a modest Scandinavian style, that enhances the base features of this modern industrial building.

via Historiska Hem

An open-plan apartment can enlarge smaller floorplans and natural light can flow freely into each space without obstructing it. There are some obvious disadvantages of connected rooms, however, I find a glass partition a perfect solution to combine the best of both worlds.

Create a division with a glass partition wall

The glass allows the natural light to flow into the open spaces, yet the door can be closed to separate the rooms in a high-quality fashion without having to build a solid wall that makes the space look smaller. You can even place a curtain behind the glass which can be closed for complete privacy when necessary and the glass divider wall will also offer sound insulation in case you need it. You can see a beautiful example of a curtain behind a glass partition in this bedroom I wrote about a while back.

If you live in a small studio apartment and are looking for some inspiration on how to visually divide the functional areas, have a look at this post where you can see some beautiful studio apartment examples with creative separators. Check out this blog post if you want to see more applications of glass partitions and glass room dividers in different apartments small and big.

Other room divider ideas and ways to visually separate the different functionalities in the apartment

Different shades of Grey walls for a calm and serene look

I think the interior design in this Scandinavian apartment is relatively modest, yet the warm gray walls in combination with the light fabrics and furniture look very calming and serene to me. The black metal frame around the glass partition adds a lovely texture and contrast to the space and I love the way it frames the bedroom when looking in from the living room.

Other than adding a serene touch to the interior design, the different shades of grey on the walls also contribute to separating the different functional areas. The deeper grey color above the bed contributes to separating the bedroom from the rest of the open-plan apartment.

Art prints and area rugs visually outline areas with different functionality.

The gallery wall above the bed provides a visual separation between the bed and the wardrobe and the area rug contributes to outlining the bed in the space. The dining room is small yet fits well in between the kitchen and living room. By adding some picture frames on the wall the dining area is visually separated from the rest of the space, even though it’s all one room. The area rug underneath the sofa visually separates the sofa area from the rest of the space.

via Alvhem

I’ve heard brown is the new beige and while I still love the way beige can add such a calm and serene vibe to any room, brown has a similar effect, yet it can be much warmer and characterful. Both the living room and bedroom in this bright, light-flooded Scandinavian home have been finished off with shades of brown and I love the way it ties both rooms together.

The sheer beige curtains* in the living room warm up the natural light coming from the windows and the white linen sofa combined with the white fluffy area rug add the perfect base for the brown furniture pieces and accessories. Beige, terracotta, and brown textiles are added both on the sofa and the bed, which combined with the deep wooden furniture warms up the space even more.

While brown and beige play the main role in both the bedroom and living room, the kitchen has a different look. Here the white tiles and cabinet fronts are contrasted with a dark green-grey wall, which adds a lovely touch of contrast to the interior as a whole.

Styled by Grey Deco for Alvhem

What is an eclectic Scandinavian interior?

Scandinavian interior design and eclecticism might not be the obvious combination your mind goes to when thinking about styles to combine. With its clean lines, light color palette, and nordic cultural influences, a Scandinavian style couldn’t be more different than the eclectic interior design. Yet opposites attract and I think it’s exactly the contrast between the two styles that work well. Take this gorgeous apartment for example, where eclectic home decor adds character and personality to the otherwise clean look of the Scandinavian interior.

An eclectic dusty pink bedroom

While the living room of this characterful Scandinavian apartment interior has a few interesting pieces, the bedroom is definitely the most eclectic room in this home with its bold color choices. With its dusty pink walls, sculptural bed headboard, vintage art pieces, and blue sideboard, it has a very characterful and cozy look that I’m sure was carefully thought out and experimented with. 

A subtle eclectic living room with a built-in bookcase

While the living room has been designed more modestly, here the vintage dining table and chairs forming the dining room combined with the large-sized artwork on the wall also look very personal and interesting. The vintage pieces really draw attention in the room and I love the addition of the Valerie objects wall lamp in this setting. The big corduroy pouf serves as a coffee table as well and the blue vintage lamp on the stool next to the curtains is a lovely addition.

via Historiska Hem