X

Is Lagom the New Hygge? Why the Swedish Concept of “Perfect-Simple” Is a Design Strategy to Live By

Ojai-based Swedish designer Isabelle Dahlin shares her secrets for creating a perfectly balanced "lagom" home.

Christine Lennon

We only recommend things we love. If you buy something through our site, we might earn a commission.

It’s been a while since hygge, the Scandinavian word for warm and cozy, seeped into our lexicon, and anyone familiar with the term can hardly look at a sheepskin or a handmade ceramic cup of hot cocoa without trying to pronounce the word. But to designer Isabelle Dahlin, interior designer and owner of three Dekor shops (in Los Angeles, Ojai, and New York) the term from her childhood in Sweden that best communicates the timeless appeal of Northern European design is lagom, which translates to “just enough,” “balanced,” or “perfect-simple.”

Dahlin’s Ojai back house is the ultimate lagom retreat, simply furnished with a clawfoot tub and a wood-burning stove.

“It’s not just a design word,” Dahlin explains. “When you order a coffee, for example, and they ask how much milk you’d like, you can say lagom, or just enough. If someone asks you how you’re feeling, you can say lagom, too, meaning just right, balanced.”

Dahlin, who now calls Ojai, CA home, has taken many of the principles of Swedish country living and incorporated them into her design practice. Her eye is drawn to simple, useful things, matte surfaces (nothing glossy or shiny), and vintage items that have a well-worn patina.

This dining room, with a vintage table, Shaker style chairs and an ornate chandelier, has the lagom mix. The antique rug is the only pattern in the room, and the warm while walls are unadorned.

Bethany Nauert

“I’m not big on material things, but if you wake up in the morning in a room you love, you’re going to have a better day,” says Dahlin. “I want a house to feel like it has harmony and balance, that there isn’t too much clutter and that the color palette is simple.”

A collection of spindle-back dining chairs around a second-hand table is lagom. Clean, white-oak floors with vintage rugs is subtle colors scattered around is lagom. Finding some chipped metal outdoor chairs and resisting the urge to paint them is very lagom. You can incorporate color and pattern and still feel very lagom, as long as you use them in a restrained way.

“A bunch of different patterns competing for your attention isn’t calming,” says Dahlin. “I like to keep a color palette simple, painting walls with Benjamin Moore White Dove, and using shades of soft blue and gray as accents.”

Tempted to paint or powder-coat these well-loved chairs? Take a lagom approach and embrace their imperfections.

Swedish rag rugs, handmade from worn-out clothing, vintage wooden bread boards, chunky handmade ceramics, an old butcher block, modern art with a folksy touch, blue and white tile—all of these things make it onto Dahlin’s hit list.

The Atwater Village Dekor & Co location embodies Dahlin’s calm and creative aesthetic.

“If you’re thinking about re-doing your living room, the lagom thing to do would be to keep harmony in mind, not to much or too little, and choose things that feel clean, calm, relaxing, and balanced,” she says. “Think about how much you need and don’t buy more. I don’t like perfection. Nothing in life is perfect. Embrace that and you’ll have a happier home.”

Dahlin at home in Ojai

How to Get the Lagom Look

1 /5

Start with a Rustic Table

A reclaimed wood table from Scout & Nimble has lagom spirit.

Cyril Dining Table, $1,099
2 /5 Pottery Barn

Add a Light Fixture with Vintage Appeal

This unfussy Pottery Barn Lucca chandelier has an antique, well-balanced, lagom point of view.

Lucca Chandelier, $699
3 /5 Article

Mix in Some Japandi Chairs

A simple oak chair from Article is quiet and calm, in a lagom way.

RUS Dining Chair, $199
4 /5 Getty Images

Layer in Textiles with Old-School Charm

Rugs of Sweden sells authentic Swedish rugs of all sizes.

Swedish Rug, from $108
5 /5 Lulu and Georgia

Choose a Soft, Calm Color Palette

This pale pink and gray Celestin rug from Lulu & Georgia is the next best thing to vintage.

Celestin Rug, from $158