Relaxed Rustic: Bring Scandinavian tranquility and nature into your home

Inspired by nature, these beautiful interiors show how you can bring the natural world into your home whether you live in the country or the city.

Relaxed rustic interiors are about embracing the pared-back lifestyle of living in the country, taking nature as the main point of inspiration. Use colors, textures, and details to create a home in which to unwind—a retreat from the rest of the world. Niki Brantmark explores various takes on this simple, informal style. The graphical look is striking, reminiscent of exposed landscapes: think whitewashed ceilings, rugged stone surfaces, and striking black features, softened by cozy soft furnishings and fresh plants and flowers. Savanna style introduces warmer hues, featuring painted wood and reds, oranges, and browns in textiles, furniture, and collectibles. Nordic interiors take in the best of the Scandinavian landscape—clean white backdrops against sleek designs—while those inspired by forest and mountain streams are filled with rich, deep greens and blues, combined with traditional patterns and features, such as log burners, wood paneling, and woven rugs. The stunning photography for this book takes in locations across Scandinavia and the United States, and all evoke an ideal, rural life, adapted to modern living.

Niki Brantmark runs the daily interior design blog My Scandinavian Home, which was inspired by her move to Sweden from London over ten years ago (myscandinavianhome.blogspot.se). The blog is extremely popular, with over 450,000 hits per month from readers all over the world. Niki has a background in marketing and communication, and was featured in Design Bloggers at Home by Ellie Tennant (RPS). She is also the author of Lagom: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life and The Scandinavian Home (CICO Books).