Slow Space: 8 Principles of Good Design

1 NATURAL MATERIALS IN THEIR WHOLE, RAW AND AUTHENTIC FORM

We choose to elevate humble, timeless, local materials over the elite, new, and precious. We celebrate the intrinsic qualities of materials, including the idiosyncrasies and perceived imperfections, which make them unique and beautiful. Far from representing disorder, these qualities represent another higher order of a natural world that is constantly in flux.

2 TRACES OF TIME 

We celebrate time in the marks left by the process of making, weathering and use (and by observing something closely). Nature and weather are dynamic, unstable, and unpredictable, as seen from the deserts in North Africa to rainforests in Brazil to volcanoes in Japan. In Norway the word for weather is “vær” and the verb “å være” means “to be.” 

Therefore the whole notion of existence there is “to be in a changing, shifting, unpredictable world.” In Buddhism this observation equates to the concepts of ephemerality, transience, and impermanence in life. Buddhists believe we have more than one life on Earth so there is time enough to slow down and observe all the details.

3 SOFT EDGES AND BLURRED BOUNDARIES EXPERIENCED THROUGH MOVEMENT 

In the nordics for half of the year there is continuous twilight where the sun’s oblique angles create a moody, shifting light. The light creates space that has no distinct boundary or clear form. Nothing is in sharp relief. Nothing feels permanent. Everything is changing and experiential. 

So too with the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic where things “have a vague, blurry or attenuated quality – as things do as they approach nothingness (or come out of it).” These soft edges must be experienced through proprioception, our body’s movement through space, sometimes referred to as the sixth sense.

4 MUTED PALETTE OF MATERIALS, COLORS AND LIGHT THAT SOOTHE THE MIND AND BODY 

Natural materials, earth tones, and the colors of the sky at dawn and dusk are both familiar and achingly beautiful. They complement and balance each other and create a neutral and inclusive environment that everyone can relate to and customize in their own way. This is an easy way to bring the calming effects of nature into the home.

5 INTIMATE SPACES FOR INTROSPECTION, TO CONNECT WITH ONESELF AND OTHERS 

The word “room” evolved from the Norwegian word “rydning,” which means clearing. Space, therefore, is a clearing in the forest, an aperture in nature that humans have created and where they live, and an intimate space is one that prioritizes the individual. 

The Japanese metaphor of space as a bowl, a fluid circular shape to be filled with possibilities, is also an intimate space, focused inward to “enhance one’s capacity for metaphysical musings.” 

Many African cultures use circles to represent the interconnectivity of all aspects of one’s being, including the connection with the natural world. African circle dances reflect another form of intimacy through community, unity, and inclusion.

6 SENSORY DETAILS THAT AROUSE ALL MODES OF HUMAN PERCEPTION 

We perceive the world with all of our senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and movement. Instances where one comes in contact with the building, like the door handle at Villa Mairea by Alvar Aalto, are opportunities for deep sensory connection. This is also true in wabi-sabi, where things “beckon: get close, touch, [and] relate. They inspire a reduction in the psychic distance between one thing and another, between people and things.”

7 SIMPLE FORMS EXPRESSING AN ECONOMY OF MEANS, GRACEFULLY AND WITHOUT PRETENSE 

Folkcraft, indigenous, and vernacular buildings such as barns, smoke houses, longhouses, and yurts are both efficient and poetic. The form of these structures has evolved over time and bears the wisdom of culture and experience.

8 COEXIST INTENTIONALLY 

We promote purposeful, intimate, and ethical interactions between citizens, where the architecture focuses on people, rather than the building itself. In Japan, wabi-sabi principles suggest that no one thing should be more important than another and buildings should coexist easily with their context. 

In the Nordic Region this goes further to say no person should be more important than any other and all people are equal. This social responsibility is evident in the humanism of Nordic Design and our work at Aamodt / Plumb.

These 8 Principles of Good Design are derived from our belief that good, clean and fair housing is a human right. Read our article, SLOW SPACE: GOOD, CLEAN AND FAIR ARCHITECTURE AND CONSTRUCTION, to learn why we created the Slow Space movement and made it our mission to create homes that are good, clean and fair.

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If you are a conscious consumer, minimalist or practice slow living, then I’ve got a special Holiday Gift Guide for you with 18 ethical, sustainable, slow and minimalist gift ideas. While the holidays are supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, the over-consumption and waste can be very stressful. So this holiday gift guide focuses on fewer, more meaningful gifts, as well as some more enjoyable ways to shop for them.

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READ THE TRANSCRIPT:

Mette Aamodt: Hey folks, welcome to the Aamodt/Plumb YouTube channel where we give you tips and advice for creating a Slow Home that is Good, Clean and Fair. If you are a conscious consumer, minimalist, or practice slow living, then the holidays can be a particularly challenging time. A lot of the consumption and waste can get in the way of what we’re really celebrating, but we have got a special holiday gift guide for you with 18 ethical, sustainable, slow and minimalist ideas for everyone on your list, as well as some of my tips for slowing down this holiday season. I am Mette Aamodt, co-founder of Aamodt/Plumb Architecture, Interiors and Construction and we design Slow Homes for our clients every day.

Since my diagnosis with MS in 2002 I have been a proponent of slow living. I love the holiday season for the ‘hygge’ – more on that in my next video – but I also tend to get stressed out with all of the extra things to do, like shopping. So this holiday gift guide is going to focus on fewer, more meaningful gifts as well as some more enjoyable ways to shop for them.

Ethical Gift Idea: Haitian Hex Plates by Gift of Hope Haiti

Ethical Gifts

1. I found this bowl set at a Haitian crafts fair. It was actually sponsored by the Vassar Haiti Project, and it’s a beautiful set of bowls and it really reminds me of mid century modern stuff: handmade, carved out of mahogany. I found this site called Gift of Hope Haiti, which is a nonprofit organization that works with local artisans in Haiti to produce these beautiful home goods. This one I’m featuring is a hand card set of mahogany plates in a hex shape that I think are just gorgeous.

Ethical Gift Idea: Macrame bag by Gift of Hope Haiti

2. Gift of Hope Haiti also had this amazing macrame handbag with a mahogany handle, and macrame is super popular right now so I just thought this was adorable.

Alpaca throw from Peru by Serve Haiti

3. When looking for the Haitian bowls I also came across serrv.org, which is a nonprofit that partners with Haitian artisans as well as artisans from all across the world. This is a gorgeous alpaca striped throw from Peru.

Ethical Gift Idea: Palm nesting baskets by Kazi

4. This is a set of fair trade nesting baskets woven from natural materials in Uganda. The set is only $72 and I had mentioned in a previous video that finding ethically made baskets for storing stuff at home is really expensive. So I was really excited to find these.

Kazi’s website

Kazi was founded to create beautiful products to alleviate poverty all across rural Africa, and I got super giddy when I saw their website and this cover page because I love how it ties together a global aesthetic with a kind of minimalist Scandinavian vibe. All of their goods are Fair Trade, ethically made and made with local natural materials. That is, local to the artisans in Africa.

Sustainable Gifts

The next category is sustainable gifts, although I have to mention that almost all of these products are ethical, sustainable, minimalist and slow all at once. I put them into categories just to organize the list, but once you dig into the details you’ll find that they checked a lot of the boxes.

Sustainable Gift Idea: Bee’s Wrap for sustainable food storage

5. These are at the top of Sam Roller’s list, from our office. They are bees wax coated organic cotton cloths that you can use instead of plastic wrap to store your food, wrap up sandwiches, apple slices, things like that for your lunch. This is great because plastic wrap is one of those things that is really, really hard to do without if you’re trying to reduce the amount of plastic in your life.

Now, I did have a set of these at home and I have to admit that I didn’t properly prepare everyone in the household for how these should be cared for and so they got thrown in the washing machine, which removed all of the wax coating and rendered them fairly useless. So it does take a little bit of care and a little bit of learning to figure out how to use them, but I think that once you do, you’ll find that they’re super, super cool.

Sustainable Gift Ideas: August Sage’s Linen Napkins

6. Sarah Lueck suggested reusable cloth napkins to reduce the amount of waste with paper towels and paper napkins. These from August Sage are made of linen, which is one of the most hard-wearing natural materials. They are ethically made in a Fair Trade environment by artisan women in India. I personally don’t like to iron my linen napkins, I like the crumbly casual look and these napkins just get softer and softer over time with use.

Sustainable Gift Ideas: The Citizenry’s Farah Towels

7. One of my suggestions is Hammam style towels. These are thin cotton towels that are quick drying either on the line or in your dryer, much, much faster than terrycloth towels and they look a lot cuter hanging in your bathroom. I have been switching my towels over to these and I’ve been really, really happy with them. These particular ones are from The Citizenry and our handmade in Morocco in a Fair Trade environment.

Before we get into our slow and minimalist ideas, I have a quick question for you: which of these four categories best describes you? Ethical, sustainable, slow, or minimalist? Type that word into the comments below.

I love this time of year because I get lots of reminders of my Norwegian heritage: the darkness, cozy sweaters, candle lights and Christmas decorations all bring out hygge get for me. My next video is going to be all about hygge, slowing down the Scandinavian way, so look out for that on our channel.

Speaking of slowing down, how can we find ways to slow down during the rush of holiday shopping? Next up, I am going to talk about what I plan to do to reduce my stress and improve my enjoyment of holiday shopping this season.

Slow Gifts

8. My first suggestion is not exactly a gift idea, but it’s a way to shop for holiday gifts that I think is less stressful and more enjoyable. I love that my town has lots of little shops, but I know that they struggle. So this year I’m going to avoid the mall and online shopping, and shop local.

9. Shop vintage. I talk a lot about how shopping for pre-owned furniture is really eco-friendly option in this video, so check out more information there.

Slow Gift Idea: Plants from your local nursery

10. Grace Mathieson suggested buying plants from your local nursery. Studies have shown that taking care of plants and pets reduces your overall stress. Plants in particular improve your indoor air quality.

Slow Gift Idea: French press by August Sage

11. The next couple of gift ideas are from August Sage, whose tagline is “modern meets heritage”. I just love that because I think that that is a quintessentially slow concept. Taking old ideas and making them new again. The first item from them is this ceramic French press, which is a classic design made of durable materials, no plastic to be found. And what I’ve heard is among people who really appreciate coffee, French press is the best way to make it.

Slow Gift Idea: August Sage’s Handmade Ceramics

12. The second item from August Sage is this set of hand thrown cups and utensil holders and bowls. Each piece is unique and I love that you can see a band of the raw clay on the bottom of each piece, and a faint line where the glaze meets the ceramic.

Slow Gift Idea: Imperial Yarn Blanket

13. This old school wool blanket is another suggestion from Sarah Lueck. It’s made in the US of all natural wool from a small US company that owns its own sheep and processes the wool without any harsh chemicals.

Slow Gift Idea: Made Trade Wool Booties

14. Another wool product that comes from Made Trade are these handmade wool booties in adult sizes. They’re handmade in Patagonia, not in a factory. They’re made by individual artisans in their homes. I’ve been looking a pair of slippers that doesn’t have foam and plastic in it, and when my felt ones wear out, this is what I’m going to get next.

15. Next up is minimalist gift ideas. David Ascher suggests gift certificates to a local woodworking, ceramics or glass blowing class. This is the “teach a person to fish and feed them for life” approach. This falls into the minimalist category because it prioritizes experience over things.

Slow Gift Idea: Donate a goat through the Gift of Hope Haiti

16. This gift is for the person who really has everything or doesn’t want anything. And this I found at Gift of Hope Haiti. In Haiti, a goat is a very valuable commodity because you can breed them and you can support your family for a long time. So for $60 you will get a picture of this adorable goat and know that you have helped a family in need.

Slow Gift Idea: Nisolo weekender bag

17. This is the only bag you’re ever going to need. And if you’re a minimalist, I challenge you to fit all of your possessions into this bag. This is made by a Nisolo and it is ethically made in Mexico. It’s a waxed canvas bag with leather straps.

18. Even minimalists need some practical stuff, like a dish scrubber. So if you’re going to have one, you might as well get one that sparks joy, like these Japanese handmade scrub brushes. These are from Territory design and are sold individually so you can pick up whichever one suits you best.

I’ve just given you our holiday gift guide with 18 gift ideas that are ethical, sustainable, slow, and minimalist. I’m sure you’re going to be able to find something that you love. I have also shared my number one tip for reducing stress while holiday shopping this year, and that is to avoid them all, bundle up in a cozy sweater and scarf, and take a walk down main street, of course, sitting down for a coffee to warm up along the way. Please subscribe to our channel, give the video a thumbs up if you liked it, and share it with someone who you think might find it valuable. Next video will be all about hygge and slowing down the Scandinavian way, so I’ll see you there.

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Read the Transcript:

Mette Aamodt (MA): Hey, folks. Welcome to the Aamodt /Plumb YouTube channel. We are starting a new series on slow homes where we give you tips and advice for creating a home that is good, clean, and fair. My name is Mette Aamodt. I am co-founder of Aamodt Plumb Architecture, Interiors and Construction, and I will be your host. I’m here today with Sarah Lueck who is our Interiors Associate at Aamodt Plumb, and she’s in charge of all things interior selections and materials. Today, we’re going to talk about countertop materials. When planning a new kitchen or bathroom, countertops or one of the most important decisions. There are lots of things to consider when choosing a countertop like durability, cost and sanitation. If you’re designing a Slow Home that is good, clean and fair, you’re going to want to consider the material’s beauty, sustainability, and if it was sourced ethically. Let’s delve into some of those issues with Sarah. So, Sarah, what are some of the most popular countertops materials that you find in the showroom?

Sarah Lueck (SL): In the showroom, I see a lot of quartz composites, which is an engineered stone. There’s also a lot of imported natural stone, and there’s a lot of plastic laminates on the lower end.

MA: Why are these so popular?

SL: For the engineered quartz, it’s really about easy care. It’s not going to show any scratches or stains. It’s not going to chip, so people love that. They also love the natural stones because they’re beautiful and becomes a really gorgeous element in your kitchen, so they’ll pay a lot of money for those. For the plastic laminates, it’s also an easy care surface at a much lower price point.

MA: Do any of these options, these typical options fit into our slow homes category of beautiful, ethical and eco-friendly?

SL: Unfortunately, not. The plastic laminate is plastic. It’s formaldehyde based, it’s resin, it’s particleboard underneath. It’s horrible. I know it’s cheap, but we’ve got some other options that we’ll talk about later that are going to be better while still being affordable and low maintenance, which is great.

MA: Anything else?

SL: Engineered stone, unfortunately, it’s kind of the same story. It sounds like a real stone, but what really is happening there is the plastic matrix that those little pieces of quartz are in is horrible. It really renders the stone useless in terms of ever being able to return those materials back deeper. It can also come off when you’re cooking and cutting on the material.

MA: I didn’t know that.

SL: It’s no good. I know it looks beautiful like stone, and it performs really well, but those issues are really not worth the upside that material. So, imported stone raises a lot of questions for us. Ethical labor practices in a traceable supply chain are things we just don’t know from here. A lot of the stone that we see are coming from Brazil and India.

MA: I know that Brazil has had a lot of issues with forced labor in other sectors, in particular, the timber sector. I haven’t heard anything specifically about stone quarries in Brazil, but if you’ve heard of anything, please put it in the comments down below, so we can spread that information. India, on the other hand, who produces over half the world’s granite, has been frequently cited for abuses in their granite quarries, for abuses related to forced labor, child labor and unsafe working conditions. I’m going to put a link to a study down below on that one. I’m also going to put up a chart that shows goods most commonly produced with forced labor and child labor. The top of the list is India and Brazil, and I’m going to circle stone and timber that we referenced earlier.

SL: With imported natural stone, we also have some environmental questions. There’s strip mining, there’s issues with chemicals used getting leached to the water table. There’s the question of the carbon footprint it takes to get that stone to the U.S., so those are things that just get factored into our concerns over these imported natural stone products.

MA: That’s depressing. Is there anything we can do about this? Certainly, don’t buy granite from India or timber from Brazil, and remember that every dollar you spend is a vote for the kind of world that you want to live in. So, for our audience, is there a showroom you can go to where they can find countertop materials that are ethical, eco-friendly and beautiful?

SL: Not really, but we’ve put a list together ourselves that we can show you.

MA: The first wood butcherblock. This is the countertop material of choice in Scandinavia. Every home I went into in Norway this summer had wood countertops. It’s probably the one from Ikea that we’ll link below, which is a great, durable budget-friendly option. This image is of a typical Norwegian kitchen, and it’s from Norwegian blogger, Lil Teresa, linked down below as well. Sarah, why do we like butcherblock so much?

SL: It’s a renewable resource and especially if you get FSC certified wood as the source, it means it’s coming from a forest that’s sustainably managed, so that’s really great. It’s also an affordable option. It’s very durable, and it even has antimicrobial properties.

MA: That reminds me. There’s even a study that proves that bacteria live longer on plastic cutting boards compared to wood cutting boards. You can find that link down below. I’m going to put it there for you to read. So, what are the cons? What are the downsides of using this?

SL: A couple of the cons are you want to avoid rot. Using a drop-in sink is the way to go if you’re going to have wood around your sink area, and then maintenance is just oiling or waxing it every so often to keep the surface consistent.

MA: The next option is stainless steel.

SL: We love stainless steel. It’s an easy care material. It’s not going to stain or etch or crack the way a stone would. It’s easy to clean. It’s heat resistant. You can put a hot pot directly on the surface. You can make them to customizable shapes. You can have a custom island or an integrated sink made out of stainless steel in that island, so it’s a continuous surface, which is really cool. It’s even recyclable. At the end of its life cycle, it can return back to stainless steel in another way, which is great. It’s also a low emission product to manufacture, so those are all good things.

Now, the cons are it’s a high embodied energy material to manufacture. It’s also hard to trace the raw materials to know what the conditions are and where it’s coming from. It can also be hard to track the ethical labor practices of some of the off-the-shelf items.

MA: The stainless steel, is that something you can buy those countertops ready to go in the showroom?

SL: Usually not. If you need it to be custom to your kitchen, it is a custom product. You’d be working with a manufacturer. Actually, this sample comes from a company. We’ll give you the link to that, that does custom stainless steel countertops, and they will ship to anywhere in the country, so, that’s great. There are also off-the-shelf products that you can buy. A lot of people will get them from the restaurant supply stores. Those are actually a really affordable way of getting a stainless steel counter into your kitchen.

MA: Next on our list is U.S. sourced stone. We love stone because it is a natural material that is beautiful, durable and will last forever. Our preference is for U.S. sourced stone because it’s local, and it creates manufacturing jobs in the U.S. It also limits the amount of fossil fuel dependent transport needed for the raw material. The Natural Stone Council has created a third party certification akin to FSC certification for wood that ensures that manufacturers with this seal are producing stone in an eco-friendly and ethical way. Here are a few of our favorites. This is Danby marble from Vermont. Sarah, what’s cool about this one?

SL: We love Danby marble because it comes from one of the last U.S. marble quarries. It also has a wide degree of veining, variation in color. You can get everything from something that looks like a Carrara or Calacatta to something that’s really unique and moody and its own look.

MA: It’s also a really traditional countertop material that’s been used for hundreds of years, so we love that. Bakers really prefer it for baking because it stays very cool. Now, there are some downsides to marble, and what are those?

SL: The downside to Danby marble and really any marble is that it can stain and etch. The way that people work around this is to seal the stone. We generally try to avoid that at Aamodt / Plumb because what that’s doing is introducing a layer of plastic to the top of the countertop. We prefer to think of the stone as a living surface, and it’s going to change in patina with time and use, and we find that to be really beautiful.

MA: The next sample is soapstone.

SL: The American soapstone comes from the Alberene quarry in Virginia, and it’s a beautiful dark gray to black stone. It’s virtually non-porous, which is great. It means that it’s very hard, anti-scratch, antimicrobial. You can put a hot pot directly on the surface and it won’t do a thing. Historically, these stones were used in laboratories, and over the years, homeowners have realized that those properties work really well in their kitchens.

MA: This quarry was recently reopened due to an increased demand for soapstone because currently, the only other place soapstone comes from is Brazil. Are there any cons with soapstone?

SL: Very few. It is a more expensive stone than some other options out there, and it can also typically only be found in smaller slab sizes, which means you’re going to have more seams in your kitchen. Another material that we are really liking right now is a porcelain slab. So, this is a porcelain clay body. It’s fired to very high temperatures, which makes it an extremely strong, durable material. They’re produced in large slabs like stones, so they are cut and installed just like a stone slab would in your kitchen. It is a virtually non-porous material. It will not etch or stain. You can put a hot pot directly on it as well. It has a lot of very believable veining options out there. So, in a lot of ways, it’s very similar to a quartz composite without any of the downsides of a quartz involving additive plastics.

MA: That’s great.

SL: Unfortunately, the downside is that it is a relatively new product to the U.S., and it is also a manufactured product, so things to look out for if you’re looking at a porcelain slab are: Who is making it? Have they been doing it for a while? What are their processes? It’s going to take some digging to make sure that their product is, in fact, going to be as robust as they’re claiming. Currently, we like a product called Laminam. It’s an Italian company. We’re hoping to find a U.S. based manufacturer that’s doing similar work.

MA: Now that we’ve shown you five beautiful ethical and eco-friendly countertop materials, you tell us which one would you choose for your Slow Home. Put your answer in the comment section down below. Sarah, which one would you pick?

SL: I think I would go with a mix, the wood and the stainless. I like the juxtaposition. One’s very soft and warm, and one is sleek and cool. I think they work really well together.

MA: They do. I have always had my heart set on soapstone, and so, if money were no object, this would personally be the one that I choose. I like the fact that you can do experiments on it, such as food or chemistry experiments that we did in high school, and I like the fact that it changes in patinas over time, which I find to be very beautiful in a slow way.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

The Dark Side of Granite. Modern Slavery, Child Labour and Unsafe Work in Indian Granite Quarries — What Should Companies Do?

Hygge: Slowing Down the Scandinavian Way

Kitchen Photo, Norwegian Blogger Lill Therese

Cutting Boards of Wood and Plastic Contaminated Experimentally With Bacteria

Natural Stone Sustainability Standard

Danby Marble

Alberene Soapstone

Canadian Stone Producer Revives American Soapstone Quarry

Laminam Porcelain Slabs

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Architecture both reflects and compliments the culture that creates it.

Norwegian Architectural Theorist Christian Nordberg-Schulz was the first to define a specifically Nordic architectural identity in his book Nightlands. By his definition Nordic Modernism is freedom from stylistic dogma of the past and return to basic principles that combine openness & dynamism with an identity of place and sense of home.

These are the 7 basic principles of Nordic design and culture.

Atmosphere: Trollstigen Rest Stop, Norway. Photographed by diephotodesigner.

Atmosphere

In Southern Europe there is a clear distinction between day and night. The sun is either on or off, like a light. And when it is on it is directly overhead for most of the day creating a constant, stable lighting condition and sense of space. This strong overhead light casts sharp shadows that compliment the iconic forms of classical architecture.

In the North for much of the year there is continuous twilight where the sun’s oblique angles create a moody, shifting light. The light creates space that has no distinct boundary or clear form. It is incomplete and experiential.

Mutability: Villa Mairea by Alvar Aalto, Finland. Photographed by ÅKE E:SON LINDMAN

Mutability

In the Nordic countries the lighting conditions and the weather are constantly changing. The weather is unstable, unpredictable and dynamic compared to the South.

In Norwegian the word for weather is “vær” and the verb “å være” means “to be.” Therefore the whole notion of existence is “to be in a changing, shifting, unpredictable world” (CNS). It creates in the people a sense of openness along with a rejection of a single dogma or style. In the North you are never sure what the day may bring and so it is important to be prepared. As the saying goes “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”

This openness, flexibility and preparedness seems to me to be so well suited to our current 21st century culture of rapid innovation, population migration and climate change.

Domesticity: Scandinavian home in the forest

Domesticity

The sense of comfort, wellbeing and refuge is strong in the Nordic countries and the architecture uses “forms that do not threaten, but invite.”

The word “rom,” meaning space or room, evolved from the word “rydning,” which means clearing. Space, therefore, is a clearing in the forest, an aperture in nature that humans have created and where they will live. In the North, domestic life revolves around the home. In the South life takes place in the piazza and Italians do not have a word for “home.”

Domesticity also focuses on daily use and customs, on the practical things of life, like furnishings, utensils and lighting. These things are designed for function, not for style.

Engagement: Town Hall in Denmark

Engagement

Participation in the world is a fundamental principle of the Nordic Region. And this begins with nature. “Nature implies nearness and empathy; here one lives with and among things, as a participant in a web of phenomena.” (CNS)

There is a shared Nordic ethos of purposeful, intimate and ethical interaction between citizens. The forest, the web of life, represents this sense of community, continuity and connectedness. This social responsibility is evident in the humanism of Nordic Design.

Functionality: Stokke Tripp Trapp Kids Chair

Functionality

Functionality arises out of the tradition of custom and use and is related to domesticity. For the farmers and fishermen things need only be simple, basic, useful and essential. Nothing should be fancy but it should be well made so as to last a long time. Craftsmanship and the building tradition play an important role in the lives of the people and community.

Equity: Sverre Fehn’s Nordic Pavilion, Venice. Photographed by Åke E:son Lindman.

Equity

Social responsibility in the Nordics arises out of a different brand of individualism. Instead of “everyone for themselves” Nordic individualism says that everyone should be provide equal rights and freedoms, including women, children and immigrants. An old fable called “The Law of Jante,” whose moral is that no one is better than anyone else, still dictates social customs, workplace etiquette and public policy.

This is the basis for the Nordic Model of Social Democracy. It combines the free market and the welfare state, collective bargaining, free education and healthcare. It can be seen in examples like IKEA’s mission to democratize design by making it more affordable as well as in Sverre Fehn’s 1954 Nordic Pavilion that is open, inclusive and democratic.

Modernity: Snøhetta’s Opera Hall, Norway. Photographed by Andia.

Modernity

Modernity was embraced after WWII in both the social welfare model and design and the Nordics never looked back. They rejected the dogma of Fascism and the stylistic rules of the past, specifically Classicism. Their modern values and societal optimism were intentionally reflected in contemporary expressions of architecture and design.

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In England, the rest of Europe and the United States hygge has become an overhyped trend. Now widely branded as the Danish concept of coziness, hygge sells… everything from fur blankets to spendy candles and cashmere sweaters. And coffee-table books. And lifestyle magazines.

And, “Hygge is catnip to social media,” writes Charlotte Higgins in her long read “The hygge conspiracy” in The Guardian.

Grasping the idea of hygge

Hygge is being in and enjoying the moment, the mindful acknowledgement and gratitude of the simple pleasures of life — the food, friends, the conversation, music, even the air. Hygge lies not in buying the prettiest candle at your favorite design store. Hygge is appreciating the beautiful warm glow of candlelight on a dark night

Hygge is appreciating the beautiful warm glow of candlelight on a dark night.

Being hyggelig means being kind, caring and welcoming; with yourself, with the people around you, with the world.

We sat down with our firm’s co-founder, architect Mette Aamodt, to talk about what hygge means to her personally, how she creates hygge moments for herself and her loved ones, and how you can manifest the feeling in your own life. Mette was born in Norway and lived there full time until she was four. As a kid she spent summers there and now as much time as she can as an adult. She understands hygge as a fundamentally Scandinavian concept, not exclusive to Denmark, and it is an important part of Mette’s cultural identity and approach to life. She very much likes the idea that hygge means wellbeing and thinks it goes so well with our philosophy of slowness.

Gathering around the campfire with family and friends — a perfectly hyggelig experience for Mette Aamodt.

In her article “The Metaphysics of Time, Space, Spacetime and Slow Space,” published on theSlow Spaceblog, she discusses the difference between the two Greek concepts of time: kronos and kairos. Hygge is very much kairos, or quality time.

Some excerpts, edited for brevity:

“… Society has been evolving rapidly over the last 200 years, and mechanical technology helped people overcome their inherent slowness. The Digital Revolution of the twentieth century allowed us to move information instantaneously. Faster processing allowed for faster machines. Architecture continued its love-affair with technology. Computer-aided design, manufacturing and fabrication allowed architecture to overcome its inherent slowness and the speed was exhilarating. A prolific era of image-making and rapid building created ‘Starchitects’ whose iconic buildings were consumed worldwide in magazines and social media.

“The scarcity that exists today is time. Carl Honoré, author of In Praise of Slowness, writes, ‘All the things that bind us together and make life worth living – community, family, friendship – thrive on the one thing we never have enough of: time.’

“But not all time is the same. Actually, the Ancient Greeks had two different conceptions of time — chronos and kairos. Chronos refers to chronological or sequential time. Kairos refers to a moment of indeterminate length in which an event of significance happens. A good analogy for this is when the ball drops in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Counting down — 10, 9, 8 — is chronos time: It is specific and measurable. But when the ball gets to zero, time switches to kairos. We cheer, toast, kiss one another and celebrate. No one is counting anymore. We are just living in the moment and enjoying the experience of being together.”

Hygge is noticing and appreciating tiny details, such as the whimsical play of light in your kitchen.

A conversation on hygge with Mette Aamodt

A / P: What’s your personal definition of hygge?

Mette: Hygge is a state of mind, an attitude, a feeling. The fundamentals of hygge are very connected to the idea of slowness. It’s not about the stuff, the blankets, the branded this and that. It’s definitely not a design style. It’s the opposite of that. It’s about enjoying the simple pleasures of life. It’s coziness. It’s feeling comfortable in your body and in your mind and in your space.

(Good reads: Visit the Slow Space blog to learn more about the Slow Space Movement Mette has initiated)

You have to create hygge from inside, and it comes out. Sometimes, things on the outside can trigger that hyggelig feeling — like when you have a cup of tea, and you take a deep breath, and you just enjoy. When the Norwegians go walking in the woods, they always bring chocolate with them. After you’ve been walking for a while, and you enjoy being in nature, which, of course, is part of the whole experience, then, when you’re ready for a break, you sit down on a tree stump, and you break out the chocolate and enjoy that moment. It’s appreciation.

Hygge is a state of mind, an attitude, a feeling.

Name that feeling

A / P: Do we really need to adopt a Scandinavian word to describe a feeling?

Mette: It’s important to name feelings, so you can express them to someone else. Hygge is a very common expression in Norway. When you have a common name for something, it’s easier to share it. You need a word in order to share it.

You need a word in order to share it.

A / P: You were born in Norway and lived there until you were four. Do you remember how hygge came into your life?

Mette: Well, it’s just part of the Norwegian language. I wasn’t aware of that until I was older, and Norwegian friends were talking about it as a concept. They would say, ‘Nå skal vi hygge oss’ meaning ‘Now we will enjoy ourselves.’ When I look back, I see that it was the idea of it, and the feeling of it was always there, in everyday life.

Hygge is celebrating the simple pleasures of life with friends: “Nå skal vi hygge oss” (Now we will enjoy ourselves). © Jane Messinger

A / P: Is hygge expressed differently in the United States than it is in Scandinavia?

Mette: Yes, because it’s not part of the American culture. It’s just a trend here, really. When I lived in Norway, it was just part of the way of life. A way to enjoy and appreciate what you have and make the most out of that. In the wintertime in Oslo, when there’s maybe three hours of very low sunlight, how do you make the most out of this sort of eternal darkness? You have to embrace it. The Norwegians are very good at that. You dim the lights and have lots of candles everywhere, and you have that nighttime feeling all the time and, actually, you look forward to it. It feels very comforting and warm and inviting.

A / P: Why do you think hygge resonates with people in the US and in other countries right now?

Mette: Something I read was talking about how we just need a little comfort now, especially because the hygge trend really started in the UK in 2016, the year of Trump and Brexit. You want to be able to think about the things that make you happy and that make you feel good. Many Nordic words influenced the English language and some say that hygge is the root of the word ‘hug’ because it has to do with comforting. Maybe we all just need a big hug right now.

Maybe we all just need a big hug right now.

Hygge is not materialistic. Hygge should be seen within the context of Scandinavian ideas of simplicity. And I think that is more appealing now to people than it used to be.  The idea of slowness gets at the same core of appreciating the simple things in life, creating that sense of community and connection with other people. And comfort and wellbeing. I love the idea of wellbeing. So slowing down is another way of saying it.

A / P: Can you bring about hygge?

Mette: Yes, and you can and should cultivate that feeling. Have a dinner party with friends, with good food and conversation and it will happen. You create the environment and the situation for it. You are inviting it, and then it will come.

A / P: What’s a perfectly hyggelig experience for you?

Mette: Sitting around the campfire with my friends and family. There is something nice about being outside but also having the fire and being together in a small group.

Hyggelig by design

A / P: Put hygge in the context of architecture…

Mette: Hygge is about being present and enjoying whatever it is you are doing in the place you are doing it. Whatever you are eating and drinking, just breath and feel and eat. When you are in a space just pause and feel what it is like to be there. Is it comforting? That’s really what we want for our architecture. We want to create environments that encourage people to just be present and be in the moment… and to feel hygge again. There’s only so much we can do from the outside, but, still, certain environments do make you feel more comfortable, more relaxed, more at ease. The lighting is low, the colors are muted. We want people to have a space where they can really connect with one another, and they really feel like being together in a place.

Designing for the senses and designing with empathy is all part of it. Good architecture can encourage hygge. So focusing on space and the feeling of the space, the materials and bringing nature into the space… and awaken the five senses, so you can start to feel your body a little bit more, and maybe you can start to feel a little bit more present. That’s what we aspire to do.

It’s not about the style. It’s about the space and how it feels. And different people will respond to different materials and different types of spaces. There isn’t a formula, per se. But there are things that, in general, make people feel comfortable. And that has to do with, as much as possible, bringing in things from nature — through materials and by inviting in natural daylight through the windows and doors.

It’s not about the style. It’s about the space and how it feels.

The post Hygge: Slowing Down The Scandinavian Way appeared first on Aamodt / Plumb.

With a focus on craftsmanship, materials and clean lines, the philosophy behind the style remains relevant today.

The roots of Scandinavian design go far deeper than the Hygge-mania of the past few years. Emerging in the 1950s alongside the modernist movement in Europe and America, Scandinavian modern style prioritized democratic, affordable and sleek furnishings and interiors. Clean lines, functional furnishings, and a neutral color palette were hallmarks of modernist style everywhere. But the Scandinavian design of the era was also heavily influenced by the Nordic region’s cold, short winter days and a desire for interiors to be cozy yet bright.

These practical considerations led to a new level of spare elegance and a fondness for lighter colors, simple forms and open-plan spaces. Designed to maximize light at every turn, Nordic interiors also began to favor pale-colored walls and flooring and spaces free of clutter and ornamentation. Rather than serving just one function – such as a dining room, say, that would only be used on occasion for special events – open-plan, flexible spaces could accommodate a variety of activities, furthering the practicality of their design.

“The modern movement was called ‘Functionalism’ in Scandinavia and architecture and design were intended first and foremost to be useful,” says Cambridge, Massachusetts-based, architect Mette Aamodt, co-founder of the firm, Aamodt/Plumb. Aamodt spent her childhood in Norway and is the daughter of a Norwegian architect. “Function combined with inspiration from nature creates a very warm strain of modernism that is very easy to relate to and continues to appeal to many people,” she says to explain the style’s enduring popularity.

Notable designers of the era – such as Finn Juhl, Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen – frequently used teak, rosewood, birch and ash in their furnishings, which lent warmth without being overly rustic. These designers achieved an elegant combination of practicality and sophistication that was perhaps unmatched by many of their contemporaries in other countries. As a result, many of their furnishings remain in production today.

“Scandinavian design is timeless because it is simple, beautiful, finely crafted and made with natural materials that appeal on a fundamentally human level,” says Aamodt. While her firm’s designs are unmistakable 21st century, there is an inherent Scandinavian undercurrent in its work, driven, above all, by an emphasis on quality over quantity.

Check out the Modern Barns project, which marries Scandinavian style with contemporary pops of color.

The post Why Scandinavian Modern Design Is So Popular appeared first on Aamodt / Plumb.