Scandinavian Living Room: Furniture, Materials and Colours That Fit the Style

Short answer: A Scandinavian-style living room usually combines light wood, a pale and low-contrast palette, soft textures, simple low shapes and closed storage that keeps surfaces clear. In our range that means oak tables, chairs and storage, pale sofa colours such as Snowdrift, Sesame and Parchment, and warm touches from walnut, chenille and rattan doors. We do not describe our furniture as Scandinavian design. The pieces below fit the look because of their materials, colours and shapes.

People are drawn to this style because it feels calm, bright and lived in. It is easier to get right when you pick a few materials and repeat them than when you chase a label, so this guide works from the materials and measurements of our pieces.

On This Page

1. What makes a living room look Scandinavian?
2. Which woods and finishes suit the style?
3. Which sofa and chair colours fit a pale palette?
4. Which shapes keep the room simple and low?
5. What storage keeps surfaces clear?
6. How do I add warmth without losing the calm?
7. Our recommendation
8. Explore our living room collections

What makes a living room look Scandinavian?

The style is a set of habits rather than a single product. These five points are general advice, not a product specification, and they are the lens we use for everything below.

• Light wood: oak or a similar pale tone on tables, chair legs and storage.
• Pale, low-contrast colour: creams, soft whites and light greys, with texture doing the work that colour does in other rooms.
• Simple shapes: clean lines, round or softly curved forms and low seats that keep sight lines open.
• Clear surfaces: closed storage so remotes, cables and clutter stay out of sight.
• A little warmth: a second wood tone, a soft fabric or a natural material such as rattan.

For a wider look at colour pairings, our neutral living room colour palettes guide covers warm, cool and earthy options in more detail. This article focuses on the furniture itself.

Which woods and finishes suit the style?

Oak is the light, airy choice and walnut is the deeper, warmer one. Most of our wood pieces come in both, so you can pick one as the main wood and use the other once. Dove is a paler third option on our Aurora credenza, Altitude cabinet and Themis shelves, and the Altitude cabinet also comes in black wood.

Our tables and chairs use ash wood or wood veneer, stained in an Oak or Walnut finish. Veneer is a thin sheet of real wood over a stable panel. For example, our Vela lounge chair has solid ash legs, stained with a satin finish, and seat and back shells made of 10 mm ash veneer laminated plywood.

Which woods and finishes suit the style?

The specification for the Stella media unit lists a melamine finish, so look at the product page if wood grain matters to you. Our Hubbel lounge chair has solid ash legs in Oak or Walnut, and our Naos lounge chair has ash arms and legs in Oak or Walnut, with the wood set by the fabric colour you choose. Finishes can change, so check each product page before ordering.

Which sofa and chair colours fit a pale palette?

Choose the pale colours first, then add texture. Our product pages list these pale options, with the Martindale abrasion count for each fabric. A higher Martindale number means the fabric resists more rubbing before it wears.

• Gaia sofa: Snowdrift and Sesame in Aquaforte (78,000), and Silken Sand in Performance Natural Weave (18,000).
• Ciello sofa: Snowdrift, Sesame and Limestone in Aquaforte (78,000), and Dream Grey in Performance Plain Weave (90,000).
• Atmosphere sofa: Parchment in Performance Textured Weave (54,000) and Cloud in bouclé (15,000).
• Mira chair: Snowdrift and Sesame in Aquaforte, and Cloud in bouclé.
• Vela lounge chair: Cloud in bouclé.
• Naos lounge chair: Parchment, paired with oak arms and legs, in Performance Textured Weave.

Texture matters more than colour in a pale room. Cloud bouclé and a textured weave read as soft and tactile, while a smooth Aquaforte reads as clean and quiet. Bouclé is machine washable, but we advise spot cleaning it to maintain its look, and its Martindale count of 15,000 is the lowest of our fabrics, so it suits lighter use.

Pale colours show marks sooner. Our product pages describe Aquaforte as water-resistant and stain-resistant, and in our own assessment Aquaforte suits pets well, so it is a practical way to keep a light sofa in a busy home. Our sofa colour guide and sofa fabric types guide explain undertones and fabrics in more depth.

Which shapes keep the room simple and low?

Scandinavian-style rooms tend to avoid heavy, boxy silhouettes. Round, curved and low pieces soften a room and leave the floor and sight lines open.

Which shapes keep the room simple and low?

The Cassini sofa has a 45-degree wedge module that lets you curve a sectional instead of turning a hard corner. Our Cassini sofa guide covers the layouts. The round Eclipse has no corners to walk into, which suits a room where people move around the table. Our coffee table guide shows how to size a table to your sofa.

What storage keeps surfaces clear?

Closed storage is the part of the style that is easiest to copy. Doors hide routers, game consoles and cables, so the wall stays calm.

• Aurora credenza: 32.1 x 15.0 x 18.5 inches (81.5 x 38.2 x 47 cm) per unit, and you can combine one, two or three units. Two units are 64.2 inches (163 cm) wide and three are 96.3 inches (244.5 cm). It comes in oak, walnut and Dove, with adjustable shelves and built-in ventilation. Doors come in solid, slat, rattan and chevron styles, and the product page shows the combinations on offer.
• Stella media unit: 22.4 x 15.7 x 15.7 inches (57 x 40 x 40 cm) with a door, in Oak or Walnut. It works as a single unit that you expand by adding more units, and you can order it without the door for an open, low surface.
• Mensa credenza: a single piece, 52.8 x 16.3 x 26.5 inches (134 x 41.5 x 67.3 cm), with closed doors, four height-adjustable shelves and cord management slots, in Oak. It assembles in 15 to 20 minutes.
• Altitude storage cabinet and Themis shelving: our Altitude storage cabinet is a closed cabinet with two doors on a magnetic push latch that slides between open shelves, in Oak, Walnut, Black Wood or Dove, and our Themis shelf comes in Oak, Walnut or Dove and holds 50 lb (23 kg).

Mix closed and open storage so a few objects stay on display. Our credenza and media unit guide compares widths, doors and cable handling.

How do I add warmth without losing the calm?

Warmth comes from a second tone and from touch, not from more objects. A few ideas, all drawn from what we sell:

• Use walnut once. Keep oak as the main wood and add one walnut piece, such as a Hubbel or Vela chair with walnut legs, so the room looks planned.
• Add rattan. The Aurora credenza has rattan doors, which add a natural, woven texture.
• Choose a soft fabric. Performance Chenille (48,000 Martindale) is soft and textured, and Aquaforte Velvet (more than 200,000 Martindale) has a velvet feel in warm tones such as Crumble and Chocolate.
• Mix wood and metal. Our Mira chair has a black powder-coated steel frame with solid ash arms stained a walnut colour.
• Add a washable rug. Our washable rugs are machine washable, and a rug one step lighter or darker than the sofa grounds the room.

Our pairing guide shows how to place the sofa, chair and table together, and our home decor trends guide shows how to try a bolder note with one chair or table.

Our recommendation

• Light and airy: a Gaia or Ciello sofa in Snowdrift or Sesame, an oak Tessella or Eclipse coffee table and an Aurora credenza in oak with solid doors, or in Dove.
• Soft and textured: an Atmosphere sofa in Parchment with a Vela chair in Cloud bouclé, plus a round Eclipse table.
• Warm Scandinavian-style: oak as the main wood, one walnut chair, an Aurora with rattan doors and a Crumble or Chocolate Aquaforte Velvet accent.
• Small room: a Vela or Hubbel chair, an Ombra or Arca table and a Stella media unit keep the footprint low.
• Not sure: order free swatches of two palettes and compare them against your floor and walls in daylight. Our swatches page has them.

Explore our living room collections

• Sofas
• Lounge chairs
• Coffee tables
• Living room storage
• Washable rugs

Product specifications can change. Check the current dimensions and finishes on the product page before ordering.