{"id":272723,"date":"2018-02-08T18:45:18","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T23:45:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/?p=272723"},"modified":"2024-06-11T15:55:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T19:55:00","slug":"icelandic-interiors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.1stdibs.com\/blogs\/the-study\/icelandic-interiors\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do Cool Icelandic Interiors Look Like?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The

In the kitchen of designer Sheila Bridges<\/a>‘s Reykjav\u00edk pied-\u00e0-terre, the taxidermied head<\/a> of an Icelandic sheep juts out from the Viking 3D wallpaper by Pratt\/Twenty2. The pendant light is from Rejuvenation<\/a>. Photo by Chris Mottalini<\/p><\/div>\n

While watching the NBC comedy The Good Place<\/em>, interiors-minded audiences might perk up when they hear that in the show\u2019s version of heaven, main character Eleanor (played by Kristen Bell) lives in a cottage furnished \u201cin the Icelandic primitive style.\u201d The punchline is that shallow Eleanor would prefer to inhabit a more opulent manor, and she may not even belong in this utopian afterlife.<\/p>\n

Despite Eleanor\u2019s misgivings, Icelandic design<\/a> is a reminder of paradise for many travelers. The country is one of the world\u2019s trendiest destinations<\/a> right now, with Iceland\u2019s tourism board noting that as of last June, the number of foreign visitors to the Scandinavian<\/a> island nation nearly quadrupled since 2010.<\/p>\n

If you go there for the natural beauty, taking home a piece of the country\u2019s exterior is out of the question. That\u2019s why these design tips \u2014 which reveal that Icelandic decor often reflects the landscape \u2014 are your best import option.<\/p>\n

Here, Icelandic-born architect and furniture designer Gulla J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir<\/a> and New York transplant Sheila Bridges<\/a> give us the scoop on the style.<\/p>\n

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Extract Colors from the Landscape<\/h2>\n
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A guest room at Reykjav\u00edk\u2019s Hotel Thingholt, designed by Gulla J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir<\/a>, contains the colors of the Icelandic countryside. The bed is custom, and the hanging lights are by Tom Dixon<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI went on a birthday vacation with friends to Reykjav\u00edk several years ago and was immediately enamored by the Icelandic horses and inspired by all of the creativity and natural beauty,\u201d says Sheila Bridges. When the Manhattan-based designer<\/a> returned to the Icelandic capital to create her dream pied-\u00e0-terre, it wasn\u2019t hard to settle on a palette. She simply drew from the colors around her: \u201ceverything from the North Atlantic ocean, glacier lagoons, waterfalls, volcanic rock formations and black-sand beaches,\u201d Bridges says.<\/p>\n

The inspiration manifested differently in every room of her apartment. In the bathroom, \u201cthe tile is white like the glacier caps and snow, but I used thick black grout, which reminds me of the black-sand beaches in southern Iceland. The blue and pink ombre wallpaper is a nod to the ocean, brilliant blue sky and the Northern Lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The

The living room of Bridges’s Reykjav\u00edk apartment. Photo by Chris Mottalini<\/p><\/div>\n

Wallpaper isn\u2019t big in Iceland, so Bridges brought in a professional from New York to install the bathroom\u2019s wallcoverings, as well as her own Torino Damask print in the hallway and Pratt\/Twenty2\u2019s Viking 3D motif in the kitchen. (Indeed, 3D glasses are required to fully appreciate the Viking ships therein.)<\/p>\n

In the living room (above), she opted for a deep turquoise paint that she calls New Nordic Blue. A sheepskin-upholstered<\/a> chair by \u00c1sgeir Einarsson and wooly custom throw pillows<\/a> call to mind Iceland\u2019s famous sheep (more than two per capita in the sparsely populated country), and a painting of freewheeling seabirds takes up nearly one wall.<\/p>\n

\"The

The entryway of a New York apartment designed by J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir has a natural, Icelandic vibe, with a custom stone-inlay bench and globular wall lights from Uzca. Photo by Art Gray<\/p><\/div>\n

Architect and furniture designer Gulla J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir has lived in Los Angeles for over a decade but still references the colors of her Icelandic childhood. To her, white equates to sun-bleached driftwood<\/a> or bone<\/a>, rose gold is the tone of churning magma and, like Bridges, she sees black and thinks of volcanic beaches. Plus, J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir says, \u201cthere is the moss green I\u2019m starting to use, but I\u2019ve always been more drawn to neutrals<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Borrow from the Neighbors<\/h2>\n
\"Oddsson

Vintage furnishings in the lobby of the Oddsson Ho(s)tel, in Reykjav\u00edk, designed by local firm D\u00f6\u00f0lur, include a Mario Bellini<\/a> Amanta sofa in cognac leather, 1967, and an Arne Jacobsen<\/a> Swan chair, 1957. Photo by Ari Magg<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere is a large Danish influence, which can be seen in many of the furnishings in most people\u2019s homes,\u201d says Bridges. \u201cIt is not uncommon to find Louis Poulsen lighting<\/a> or Arne Jacobsen furniture<\/a> mixed in with Icelandic designs.\u201d<\/p>\n

For J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir, her designs have been a rebellion against Scandinavian modernism<\/a>. \u201cI grew up with Danish furniture<\/a> from my grandparents but never liked it. I\u2019m more of a romantic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bring Deep Textures into Small Spaces<\/h2>\n
\"This

This niche of the J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir-designed New York apartment has a pair of Giorgetti<\/a> Hug chairs pulled up to a Mauro Mori<\/a> backgammon table. The custom mirror and limited-edition Link light are by J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir. Photo by Art Gray<\/p><\/div>\n

J\u00f3nsd\u00f3ttir\u2019s latest furniture collection is completely based on the Icelandic landscape. It\u2019s called Heimaland, which means homeland in Icelandic. Using precious metals and sensuous angles, she weds her romanticism with tactile references to crater lakes, lava flows and hilly terrain. \u201cIt\u2019s in my DNA,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her tip for small spaces is to avoid defaulting to minimalism. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid of using dark colors or a metal wall or metal tiles. A small place doesn\u2019t have to be painted white,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Bridges recommends incorporating Icelandic materials into a cozy Reykjav\u00edk apartment like her own: \u201cI would suggest adding any simple design elements that create warmth and texture \u2014 for instance, sheepskin throws or rugs<\/a>, warm woolen textiles<\/a>, fuzzy pillows<\/a> and soft, natural colors.\u201d<\/p>\n

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