Nomadic Nordics: How a Generation on the Move is Changing Our Homes
In Scandinavian countries, young people leave home early but buy property late. This means they need furniture that's easy to ship and move
In the Nordic countries, there’s a long gap between leaving Mum and Dad’s home and buying a first property. People in Denmark and Sweden on average leave their parents’ houses at ages 21 and 19.6 years, respectively, according to European Union statistical office Eurostat. And they aren’t moving straight into a home they own, but tend to rent and often move frequently for work, travel and studies.
In Denmark, the homeownership rate for people in their 20s has dropped significantly over the last few decades. “The Danes are getting older before they buy a property,” says Lise Bergmann, financial property analyst at Nordea bank. “In 1981, 58% of 25- to 29-year-olds lived in a property they owned. Today, this figure has dropped substantially, down to only 27.4%.” The reasons are many, including postponing childbirth and staying in increasingly child-friendly cities to raise kids rather than buying a home in the suburbs.
In Denmark, the homeownership rate for people in their 20s has dropped significantly over the last few decades. “The Danes are getting older before they buy a property,” says Lise Bergmann, financial property analyst at Nordea bank. “In 1981, 58% of 25- to 29-year-olds lived in a property they owned. Today, this figure has dropped substantially, down to only 27.4%.” The reasons are many, including postponing childbirth and staying in increasingly child-friendly cities to raise kids rather than buying a home in the suburbs.
A global nomad
Blogger Christina Thaisen knows what it feels like to pack your whole life into moving boxes. “It’s always a challenge to find furniture that we can bring along,” she says, just days after she moved into yet another lodging in London, where her day job is operating the lifestyle blog The Unexpected Compliment.
“I don’t like the idea of buying furniture that is just a temporary solution, but unfortunately that’s difficult to completely avoid when you are renting,” says Thaisen, who together with her boyfriend has moved from Copenhagen to different homes in London. The couple’s personal belongings have been packed up a total of four times. That meant it wasn’t always possible to bring their favourite things along to the next destination.
“On our third move, we had to get rid of our relatively new kitchen table, since it was going to be far too big for the new kitchen area,” she adds. “That got us to thinking even more that the things we buy need to be able to be used later on.”
Blogger Christina Thaisen knows what it feels like to pack your whole life into moving boxes. “It’s always a challenge to find furniture that we can bring along,” she says, just days after she moved into yet another lodging in London, where her day job is operating the lifestyle blog The Unexpected Compliment.
“I don’t like the idea of buying furniture that is just a temporary solution, but unfortunately that’s difficult to completely avoid when you are renting,” says Thaisen, who together with her boyfriend has moved from Copenhagen to different homes in London. The couple’s personal belongings have been packed up a total of four times. That meant it wasn’t always possible to bring their favourite things along to the next destination.
“On our third move, we had to get rid of our relatively new kitchen table, since it was going to be far too big for the new kitchen area,” she adds. “That got us to thinking even more that the things we buy need to be able to be used later on.”
It has also been important to Thaisen to choose timeless furniture which is also flexible and multi-functional. “We have, among other things, bought a String bookcase, pictured, which can be put up as one large bookcase or divided into sections if the wall area dictates that,” she says. “Also, our sofa is a modular sofa that can be adjusted according to whichever room it’s going to be in.”
Thaisen has three tips for those who move often and want to decorate their homes without upsetting landlords or spending a lot.
1. Decorate with art, pillows, rugs and knick-knacks that mean something to you. It gives your home a personal style.
2. Lean pictures rather than hanging them on a wall. It looks nice if they are on a dresser, or if you can let them lean against the wall on the floor.
3. Fill your house with green plants, flowers and lighting, which gives an immediate feeling of life and cosiness.
And it’s people like Thaisen that manufacturers and designers increasingly pay attention to, shaping the way of how furniture is designed, used and transported.
1. Decorate with art, pillows, rugs and knick-knacks that mean something to you. It gives your home a personal style.
2. Lean pictures rather than hanging them on a wall. It looks nice if they are on a dresser, or if you can let them lean against the wall on the floor.
3. Fill your house with green plants, flowers and lighting, which gives an immediate feeling of life and cosiness.
And it’s people like Thaisen that manufacturers and designers increasingly pay attention to, shaping the way of how furniture is designed, used and transported.
Four Nordic designers that are rethinking furniture
1. Flexible combinations by Margrethe Odgaard
Danish designer Margrethe Odgaard, pictured, was one of the 19 collaborators for the IKEA PS 2014 collection On the Move, which was a trailblazer in addressing a need for this kind of furniture. “I designed a rug which has a pattern type that can be connected together, which means that the pattern can continue on unendingly,” Odgaard says.
1. Flexible combinations by Margrethe Odgaard
Danish designer Margrethe Odgaard, pictured, was one of the 19 collaborators for the IKEA PS 2014 collection On the Move, which was a trailblazer in addressing a need for this kind of furniture. “I designed a rug which has a pattern type that can be connected together, which means that the pattern can continue on unendingly,” Odgaard says.
“The rug makes it very flexible to live in tight quarters, while at the same time being able to add an additional rug if you later move into some place larger. In various home styling magazines today, we see a lot of spectacular apartments. In my opinion, it is incredibly thoughtful that for the IKEA PS 2014 collection, more focus during the design process has been placed on the person and not only the decor. It’s about real peoples’ problems and real peoples’ wallets,” the designer says.
2. Flexible furniture by Staffan Holm
Swedish designer Staffan Holm has created the shelving unit Lift for Hem, pictured below, which is delivered as a flatpack in Europe and North America but can be put together and taken apart as many times as the customer needs. “You don’t need tools and it should take around two minutes to put it together,” Holm says. “The main brief behind the design was that it should be easy to assemble, but also be an elegant process and without the customer needing specific skills.”
Swedish designer Staffan Holm has created the shelving unit Lift for Hem, pictured below, which is delivered as a flatpack in Europe and North America but can be put together and taken apart as many times as the customer needs. “You don’t need tools and it should take around two minutes to put it together,” Holm says. “The main brief behind the design was that it should be easy to assemble, but also be an elegant process and without the customer needing specific skills.”
Holm sees a tendency towards customers daring to buy big design items online without sitting or lying on them first, and thinks this brings about the need to seriously rethink transportation costs and the environment. “I think the concept of flatpack is being increasingly included in the design process in various studios,” he says, “but intelligent installation, sustainable manufacturing and reuse and recycling are probably even bigger considerations.”
3. New sustainability by Petrus Palmér
Petrus Palmér, the CEO of Hem and one of the founding members of Swedish design studio Form Us With Love, also focuses on the need for customers to easily be able to take their furniture with them when they move.
“The idea of easy assembly is a big part of our design philosophy,” Palmer says. “It serves several purposes: low shipping costs, a comfortable experience when assembling the product and the ease of transportation, and an inspiration for the designer and R&D team, who are geniuses in creating innovative solutions. Therefore, for each item we have to weigh up the easy assembly solution against whether this has improved the value of the product, if it serves the intended purpose, and if it doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the design.”
Petrus Palmér, the CEO of Hem and one of the founding members of Swedish design studio Form Us With Love, also focuses on the need for customers to easily be able to take their furniture with them when they move.
“The idea of easy assembly is a big part of our design philosophy,” Palmer says. “It serves several purposes: low shipping costs, a comfortable experience when assembling the product and the ease of transportation, and an inspiration for the designer and R&D team, who are geniuses in creating innovative solutions. Therefore, for each item we have to weigh up the easy assembly solution against whether this has improved the value of the product, if it serves the intended purpose, and if it doesn’t interfere with the integrity of the design.”
The Key tables by GamFratesi from Hem are specially designed to be assembled or dissembled in 30 seconds without tools.
“Sustainability in design can be achieved in so many different ways,” Palmer says. “For us it means creating designs that people want to live with for a long time and will want to take with them when they move. Therefore it is important for the design to be timeless. Our customers already have acquired the basics. When they buy something they do so primarily because they identify with the products. They are building a home rather than catering to basic needs.”
“Sustainability in design can be achieved in so many different ways,” Palmer says. “For us it means creating designs that people want to live with for a long time and will want to take with them when they move. Therefore it is important for the design to be timeless. Our customers already have acquired the basics. When they buy something they do so primarily because they identify with the products. They are building a home rather than catering to basic needs.”
The Levels light was created by Form Us With Love for Hem and is easily transported. The three metal parts stack inside one another when not hanging from the ceiling. Available for shipping in Europe and North America only.
The Bento chair from Hem has a single bolt joining the legs to the seat, and a backrest that simply slides on for a total construction time of less than a minute. It’s a process that can be reversed and repeated when the need arises.
That there is a movement towards considering things such as weight of materials and packaging among designers is undeniable, Palmer says. But having the thought process behind the assembly as an added quality is still quite new.
“Considering weights, materials and shipping costs is not only a trend but a necessity, due to the direct effect on costs,” he says. “However, when tackling this criteria from a design perspective, seeing the delivery and the assembly as an experience, you could argue this as a trend.”
That there is a movement towards considering things such as weight of materials and packaging among designers is undeniable, Palmer says. But having the thought process behind the assembly as an added quality is still quite new.
“Considering weights, materials and shipping costs is not only a trend but a necessity, due to the direct effect on costs,” he says. “However, when tackling this criteria from a design perspective, seeing the delivery and the assembly as an experience, you could argue this as a trend.”
4. Takeaway objects by Åsa Persson
Young Swedish designer Åsa Persson, pictured, left, with fellow student Linda Anjou, is familiar with the needs that arise from moving. “I have moved six times within the Stockholm area,” Persson says. It’s for this reason that she has designed the eye-catching Take Away lamp, below. With its extra-long cord, it can easily be moved around and used in different ways in the home. The lamp is still a prototype, but will be produced in future by Ateljé Lyktan.
Young Swedish designer Åsa Persson, pictured, left, with fellow student Linda Anjou, is familiar with the needs that arise from moving. “I have moved six times within the Stockholm area,” Persson says. It’s for this reason that she has designed the eye-catching Take Away lamp, below. With its extra-long cord, it can easily be moved around and used in different ways in the home. The lamp is still a prototype, but will be produced in future by Ateljé Lyktan.
“The inspiration for the lamp arose partially out of my personal experiences, where I have in small homes had a need for lighting and to be able to move the light around, but also out of my own self-interest,” Persson says. “I very much wanted to design a product that can make interior decoration simpler.” She is about to complete her education at Carl Malmsten Furniture Studies in Linköping, Sweden.
Take away
“I see a large need for moveable furniture – especially that which can be used in multiple ways,” she says. “Furniture that is both functional and moveable, but at the same time is decorative when it’s not in use. The designer also believes, however, that there should by all means be a place for giving one’s home decor a personal touch: “Not everything needs to be new. For example, my home consists of furniture that I got from my parents’ home.”
Thaisen shares that view. She believes that it’s important in the middle of all the moving chaos to hold on to those things that really have personal meaning. “Some of our things we have also inherited from our grandparents. They are there to create a personal style that we can always feel at home in – regardless of where we live.”
Thaisen shares that view. She believes that it’s important in the middle of all the moving chaos to hold on to those things that really have personal meaning. “Some of our things we have also inherited from our grandparents. They are there to create a personal style that we can always feel at home in – regardless of where we live.”
Houzz talked to an experienced Nordic nomad to find out more about life on the go. And we also spoke with four Nordic designers who are creating products that are easy to use wherever you lay your hat.