Room Recipe: A Scandinavian Dining Room in London

A step-by-step guide to translating inspiration into real life

Welcome back to Room Recipe, a new column on À La Carte where we stare at an image of a room we love for a very long time, then break down its “ingredients” into specific items and themes. The goal is never to copy, but instead to get to the bottom of why certain rooms just *work* and to understand how we can translate that inspiration into real life. Last month I recipe tested Eliza Harris’ wood-paneled living room in Salisbury, Connecticut, if you want to take a peek!

This month’s home of choice, Lucy Williams’ recently renovated Victorian terrace in London, was submitted to me by not one, but two À La Carte readers. I’d be willing to bet that at least 30% of you have one or more images of Williams’ house saved to your Pinterest boards. Truthfully, it was tough to pick just one shot to focus on; each room in her home is a feast for the eyes from every angle. But I decided to focus on one very specific part of the house: her Scandinavian-inspired dining area.

Image by Christoper Horwood.

I often hear from people in the fashion space that they struggle to translate their personal style from their clothes to their homes without the help of a designer. And I get it—it’s one thing to know that you like boot cut jeans and another to know how to bring a bit of a Western flair into your living room. But Lucy Williams seems to do it with ease. Her taste is a perfect blend of British charm, California casual, and Scandinavian cool—a unique perspective you see reflected in both what she wears and where she lives. She writes just as often about interiors in her newsletter, Remotely, as she does about fashion, and having followed along with her reno process on Instagram, it really seems like she has a genuine passion for the design process.

The dining area is actually a part of her kitchen, sitting adjacent to a wall of baby blue cabinetry and a dark brown island. There’s a lot to look at in the room as a whole, so I think it’s interesting that, while quieter than the rest of the room, the dining space is able to hold its own. It’s playful without working too hard at it, informal yet considered, and I think it’s a great example of how to use color with restraint.

PART 1: FURNITURE

There are two heroes in this room doing the heavy lifting: the furniture and the lighting. Because we’re working with a long white wall, light wood flooring, and a bright, airy skylight, it’s the furniture’s job to ground the space a bit. Williams has chosen pieces that vary in wood tone, like 1960s Henning Kjaernulf dining chairs in what is probably oak and two darker toned vintage pieces to create a little seating area on the side. (I’m going to skip the dining table itself because you can’t see it in these images, but almost any medium-toned wood piece would look great.) A lot of us immediately think of generic big-box stores of the early-mid 2010s when we hear the words “mid century modern”, but Scandinavian mid century is a genre unto itself that’s worth setting aside preconceived associations for.

What to look for:

• Danish pieces from the 1940s to 1960s, or designs inspired by them. Finn Juhl, Børge Mogensen, Hans Wegner, Arne Jacobsen, Kaare Klint… all iconic designers whose names make great search terms when cruising Chairish or Facebook Marketplace.

• Geometric cutouts and hard lines juxtaposed with comfy, soft upholstery.

What to avoid:

• Anything that reads “atomic.” The Space Age design movement ran parallel to Danish modernism in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, so I think they often get lumped together… but I’d avoid anything that looks like it’s from “the future” here.

• Brass accents, tapered legs, or anything that feels like it came from the set of Mad Men.

For example:

There are tons of options on Chairish ranging from “I think I could make that work” to “I’d have to sell my car” in price. This set of 6 ash wood chairs (left) falls into the former; these, also by Kjaernulf, (right) fall into the latter.

I’m on the fence about wavy lines, but I think something like these dining chairs from Forom Shop (left) could work thanks to their geometric legs. And I’m not mad at this version from Lulu and Georgia (right)! Although, if I went with either of these, I’d probably use a lighter-toned wood elsewhere to balance things out.

Moving onto lounge chairs, we’re looking for things that feel casual and comfy to sit in. I’m not sure who originally designed Williams’ vintage chair, but the Lawson-Fenning Ojai chair is quite similar:

Or, for a fraction of the price (if you’re in Europe,) this ‘70s Brutalist option (left) is great; on the right, a since-sold Grafton Everest sling chair that we can still use for inspiration:

And lastly, a non-vintage option from Sabai that would need new upholstery, but the bones are there:

Let’s move into stools-turned-side tables. I love these; they’re so useful for candles or plants or lamps, and they’re not that expensive. Search “vintage milking stool,” “wood tripod stool,” or “antique French stool” to find a bunch. Some examples:

French milking stool, Etsy; Tripod stool, Etsy; Hand-carved stool, Etsy; Old wooden stool, Etsy

PART 2: LIGHTING

The light fixtures in this room are what most make it interesting. You’ve got three different pieces in three different styles: a traditional sconce in black by Rose Uniacke, a sculptural pendant with hits of red by Beata Heuman, and a vintage wrought iron floor lamp with a rattan shade. The pendant feels like it’s in direct contrast to the sconces and floor lamp, both in color and in style, and yet somehow they all work together.

What to look for:

• Something modern, something traditional, and ideally, something with rattan. It doesn’t have to be this exact combo; you could do a rattan pendant with a more modern sconce and a traditional floor lamp, for instance. But what’s more important than their material is that there’s…

• Some sort of shared design element between the fixtures. The sconces and the pendant both have this sort of dome-shaped detail, and the floor lamp and the sconces feel similar in weight and material. There’s a curve in the arm of the floor lamp that mimics the curve of the pendant shade, too.

What to avoid:

• Using too many colors. Pick one, (red, like Williams did, or maybe a blue inspired by her cabinetry,) and choose neutrals (black, white, browns) for the rest.

For example:

Starting with modern: I love these pendants from Rewire LA! They come in a bunch of different colors, including a blue that’s very similar to the blue cabinetry in Williams’ kitchen.

This is a great chandelier, too. Colorful without being overpowering!

As far as traditional goes, the Oka Grisewood pendant (left) could be an option if you were to bring the red in elsewhere. Or, I think this Jake Arnold for Crate & Barrel pendant (center) sort of blends all of the vibes together into one, in a way. OR, I also like the idea of using a rattan pendant in that same sort of bell shape Williams’ has, like this one from Alder & Ore (right).

And if you’re really trying to get the look, there’s this Athena Calderone for Crate & Barrel floor lamp that does the job:

PART 3: ART

Williams has a great art collection in her home; it’s varied across mediums and styles and truly feels collected over time. In this particular area of the house we have two pieces: a graphic print by artist Hormazd Narielvalla and a photograph by Williams’ friend Louis Sheridan. Both are still available for purchase, but in case you’re looking for alternatives in the same vein, read on.

What to look for:

• First and foremost, things that you like. Art is so personal and, in my opinion, it should be less about capturing a “vibe” and more about displaying what you love. 

• If you do love what Williams has going on here, look out for something sort of western or horse-related and something else that’s abstract, ideally using the color red.

What to avoid:

• Nothing. Follow your heart.

For example:

In the category of “graphic and abstract”, we’ve got Les Lignes Terrestres by Viriginie Hucher, a quilted wall hanging, Borders 2 by Emily Forgot, and Greek Shell by Kate Roebuck:

Over in the “wild west” section of the gallery, we have Maine Horse by Anna Moller, Maureen Sullivan Standing On a Hill by George Hurrell, and Con Los Apos 8 by Brian Merriam:

And in the “miscellaneous” section, I’m adding a photograph called Alyona 4 by Marc Gabor that I think would just look really cool in the mix.

PART 4: LAST BITS

The last ingredient to this room recipe is not really an ingredient, but more like the last pinch of salt you put on top of the dish. It’s the little details—objects, patterns, colors—that are sprinkled throughout to give it a little flavor. In the case of this room, that includes a Delft candelabra, a grid upholstery pattern, and baskets.

Delft wall candle holder, Etsy; Grid patterned table cloth, H&M; Vintage wooden basket, Etsy; Tall vintage basket, Etsy; Set of 2 double Delft candle holders, Etsy; Red linen grid fabric, Etsy; Brown cotton grid fabric, Etsy; Rustic vintage basket, Etsy; Set of 2 Delft candelabras, Etsy

Bonus: Lucy wrote a newsletter about all of the paint colors she used in her home! You can read that here:

Every Paint Colour I used in my Home

There you have it! Peek at the rest of Lucy Williams’ house in the video below—it’s very fun.

x 

Ali

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