Traveling to Scandinavia in early spring meant we were rolling the dice on the weather. While we faced some chilly, rainy days, the experiences my wife, Jade, and I had on my second ST8MNT sabbatical kept us feeling incredibly warm and cozy. Was it hygge? Was it the cardamom buns? The pastel buildings? Absolutely. I call it Nordic Warmth.

From Nashville to Nyhavn

Much like my first sabbatical to Japan, we faced some travel woes on our way across the globe! Our connecting flight to Chicago was diverted to Fort Wayne, Indiana, causing us to miss our next connecting flight to London. The next flight we could find to Europe happened to be departing from Nashville, so we drove all the way back the next morning only to discover that Jade’s ticket was not re-assigned to our new flight! Though we booked through American Airlines, an awesome British Airways employee (shout out to Mick) found us two seats in the exit row, which would have been absolutely perfect if I wasn’t traveling on a broken foot. So, I hid my medical walking boot, bought a cheap pair of sneakers in the airport and hobbled onto the flight to Europe. 24 hours after we were meant to arrive, we made it to Copenhagen!

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK

Almost everyone rides bicycles in Copenhagen. On our first full day, we encountered thousands of people of all ages riding to work! We visited the colorful buildings by the canal at Nyhavn, visted Rosenborg Castle, had beers at Mikkeller (a craft beer brand that has graced many of my moodboards over the years) and shopped at Studio Arhoj, HAY House, Stilleben and The LEGO Store (LEGO was invented in Denmark!).

OSLO, NORWAY

It’s hard to pick, but Oslo may have been our favorite city of the trip. It was also the coldest! We saw so much incredible art at MUNCH Museum and The National Museum. We stayed at the beautifully branded Sommerro House and explored the laid-back neighborhood of Grünerløkka. Norway is a country that has a deep connection with nature, and even in its biggest city we strolled by Akerselva River, saw locals jump into the icy fjord and walked through the sculpture park at Ekebergparken.

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

This beautiful city runs the gamut from modern to historic. We hiked up and down hills, saw the changing of the guards at The Royal Palace in Gamla Stan (Stockholm’s old town), became dancing queens at ABBA The Museum, enjoyed Fika (a Swedish tradition of taking a coffee and snack break to socialize) at Stora Bageriet and saw some incredible photography exhibits and views of the city at Fotografiska. The coolest part of our visit to Stockholm? The many art installations inside their subway stations.

Scandinavian Design Principles

From inviting interior design to function-forward urban planning, Scandinavian design is world-renowned for very good reason. My understanding of Scandinavian design can be simplified into 3 core principles: Nordic Warmth, Form Follows Function and Democratic Design.

1. NORDIC WARMTH

How do you create warmth in a sometimes dark, wet and cold environment? It’s all about savoring the beauty of ordinary life. Scandinavian design often uses the following design elements:

A. Warm, natural materials (example: Arlanda Express benches in Stockholm)

B. Hygge (example: ceramic ghosts from Studio Arhoj in Copenhagen)

C. Light neutrals with vibrant pops (example: the storefront of Flan in Copenhagen)

2. FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Scandinavian design is often described as the intersection of function and beauty. By prioritizing function and removing superfluous elements, design can be both practical and striking. More specifically, the principle of “form follows function” can be described by these concepts:

A. Practical minimalism (example: MUNCH Museum wayfinding signage in Oslo)

B. Everything has a purpose (example: Copenhagen train escalator lights)

C. The beauty of function (example: traffic barricades in Oslo)

3. DEMOCRATIC DESIGN

Designers in Scandinavia believe that great design should be accessible for all. Think of IKEA, a Swedish company whose founder, Ingvar Kamprad, said their business idea is “to offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.” The core ideas of Democratic Design are:

Hej hej!

I learned so much from my trip to Scandinavia, and I’m inspired to bring function and warmth to the design I produce. Tak to ST8MNT for the incredible sabbatical!

Hej hej (pronounced hey hey) is a friendly Danish saying meaning “goodbye.”

Tak (pronounced tack) is a Danish word meaning “thank you.”