House Crazy Sarah is not a big fan of winter, but she has always had a fascination with the homes of Scandinavia. She is about 3% Swedish according the her Ancestry DNA results, so that’s probably where her natural affinity for Scandinavia comes from.
But where exactly is Scandinavia?
Scandinavia is the land mass of several countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The term “Nordic countries” has a broader application referring to Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, including their associated territories (Svalbard, Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Ă…land Islands).
You may envision the clean, ultra-modern, no-clutter lines of Ikea when you hear the term ‘Scandinavian homes’, but the kind of homes House Crazy Sarah prefers are the traditional historic rural cottages of Scandinavia.
Rather than the modern minimalist designs of contemporary Scandinavian homes, the historic cottages are often more ornate with multi-paned windows and board and batten siding painted in deeply saturated colors contrasted with bright white trim.
Red is a favorite color for traditional Scandinavian cottages, but other primary colors are seen as well.
Even if the bitter bone-chilling cold of Nordic winters makes you shiver and shudder, how can you not love these adorable snow-blanketed cottages?
Below is the home of Swedish blogger Jonna Jinton:
If you’ve never heard of Jonna, go check out her Facebook page to get a taste of her creative genius and her celebration of the beauty of northern Sweden.
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So what could be better than a cozy Scandinavian cottage in winter?
How about a whole village of winter cottages in Scandinavia!
House Crazy Sarah has this photo as a screen saver on her laptop in the wintertime. She pretends her house is up on the hill to the left, and those two figures walking up the hill… that’s her and her sweetie taking a winter stroll.Â đŸ™‚
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