Denmark
November 9, 2025
Let’s be honest: Scandinavian design often looks like something your minimalist friend bought to “declutter” their life. A chair with three sticks and a seat. A lamp that looks like a UFO. A sofa so simple it makes your IKEA futon look like Versailles. And yet… these pieces end up in museums, on magazine covers, and on every “dream home” Pinterest board.
So how did the Nordics pull this off?
The Secret Sauce of Nordic Style
The reason Scandinavian design became a global phenomenon is simple: it isn’t just design, it’s a philosophy disguised as furniture.
- Simplicity that feels expensive – Forget rococo curls and gold-plated lion feet. Here it’s wood, white walls and clean lines. Your wallet might cry, but your Instagram feed will thank you.
- Function first – If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t exist. That’s why a Poul Henningsen lamp doesn’t just light a room, it makes you look ten years younger on Teams calls.
- Nature, indoors – With six months of winter darkness, Scandinavians bring the forest inside: wood, wool, stone and light. Sustainability isn’t a buzzword here, it’s survival.
- Timeless icons – Hans Wegner’s chairs, Alvar Aalto’s stools, Arne Jacobsen’s Egg (yes, just “the Egg”)… these aren’t just furniture. They’re cult members in the church of Nordic cool.
Want to dive deeper into Nordic culture? Explore our Stories for more inspiration.
More Than Furniture: It’s Therapy
Scandinavian design is powered by hygge (coziness) and lagom (balance). Translation: design that makes you feel like your life is in order, even if your fridge is empty and your inbox is full.
A Danish sofa isn’t just a sofa. It’s an excuse to light seven candles, put on wool socks, and eat cinnamon buns while pretending you’re in an Architectural Digest photoshoot. That’s therapy you don’t need to claim on your insurance.
For more on hygge, check out our guide: Hygge: Denmark’s Coziest Export.
From Showroom to Boardroom
At Best of Nordic, we don’t just admire Scandinavian design — we deliver it.
- Want to host a team workshop in a building designed by Arne Jacobsen? Done.
- Fancy a private peek inside Designmuseum Denmark or Artek Helsinki? We’ll arrange it.
- Need a corporate event with interiors that look straight out of Finnish Design Shop? Consider it handled.
And the best part? Scandinavian design isn’t only in museums and showrooms — it’s everywhere you stay. Many of the hotels we recommend for corporate events and incentive trips are furnished with iconic Nordic pieces. From stylish Copenhagen boutique hotels with Wegner chairs in the lobby, to sleek Helsinki conference spaces lined with Alvar Aalto’s timeless designs, your team won’t just visit Scandinavia, they’ll live Scandinavian design.
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🇩🇰Denmark: The World’s First Design Hotel
One highlight we often arrange is a visit to the Radisson Collection Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, widely recognized as the world’s first design hotel. When it opened in 1960, it was not just a place to sleep but a total design concept: Arne Jacobsen created everything from the building’s architecture to the cutlery in the restaurant. Most famously, he designed three chairs specifically for this hotel — the Egg, the Swan, and the Drop — pieces that began life in the Royal Hotel lobby and went on to conquer the world of design.
Room 606, preserved in its original form, is a living time capsule of Jacobsen’s vision. Walking into it feels like stepping back to the moment when Scandinavian modernism was born. At Best of Nordic, we can arrange exclusive access for your group to experience this masterpiece firsthand — the place where global design history was made.
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🇸🇪Sweden: The Icehotel, Jukkasjärvi
Scandinavian design isn’t always about wood and steel. Sometimes it’s about ice. The Icehotel in Swedish Lapland is rebuilt every winter with fresh blocks carved from the Torne River. Artists and designers collaborate to create suites that are as much art installations as they are hotel rooms. Sleeping on reindeer hides in an ice-carved bed? That’s peak Nordic cool.
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🇳🇴Norway: Juvet Landscape Hotel
Tucked into the dramatic fjord landscape, the Juvet Landscape Hotel is a study in minimalism and nature. Its glass-walled cabins let the outside world become the main design element. You might recognize it from the movie Ex Machina, but nothing beats standing there in person, watching the Norwegian wilderness wrap itself around modern architecture.
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🇫🇮Finland: Klaus K Hotel, Helsinki
Inspired by Finland’s national epic, the Kalevala, the Klaus K Hotel blends storytelling with design. Its rooms draw on Finnish mythology, while the lobby and restaurant showcase Helsinki’s flair for blending modern style with cultural heritage. It’s a perfect base for design-focused incentive trips, with Artek showrooms just a stroll away.
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🇮🇸Iceland: Ion Adventure Hotel
In the middle of lava fields and with the Northern Lights overhead, the Ion Adventure Hotel is Iceland’s bold answer to sustainable design. Built with recycled materials and geothermal energy, it combines stark modern lines with a setting so otherworldly you half expect elves to check you in.
Because Scandinavian design isn’t just about sitting in a chair. It’s about sitting in a chair — whether it’s carved from ice, standing in a fjord, or placed in Room 606 — and suddenly believing you’re the kind of person who files taxes early, alphabetizes your spice rack, and never loses your keys.
✨ Want a slice of Nordic design magic for your next corporate event or incentive trip? Contact Best of Nordic today, and let us turn your vision into reality.
