Introducing coordination examples for "my favorite Nordic style space"

At Greenwich, we are happy to assist you with interior coordination consultations.
Here are some examples of actual customer consultations.

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This time we would like to introduce Mr. Nakamura, who lives in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture.
We were asked to coordinate the interior of a new home following a move from Tokyo to the client's hometown of Nishinomiya.

Interview with Mr. Nakamura

• The client purchased a used two-story detached house and asked us to coordinate the first floor as a guest space.
• Since this is a space for inviting guests, there is no need for storage; we would like to create a space where people can gather by adding sofas and tables.
• In addition to dinner parties, we also plan to hold work-related study sessions, so we would like a large table that can seat about six people.
• Because the space is large, I would like to place the table in the center of the space, not against the wall. An oval table with a soft look would be good.
• The interior uses natural materials such as wood and plaster, so we wanted the interior to have a gentle, soft feel to match.

At first, Nakamura was modest, saying, "I'm not confident in my own sense, so I'll leave it to you."
Since we were choosing the interior from scratch, we wanted to create a comfortable space surrounded by Nakamura's favorite things! With this in mind, we conducted interviews and consultations in a way that allowed us to discover what Nakamura likes together.

When we asked what kind of space his home would be, how he wanted to spend his time there, etc., his image became increasingly specific, with ideas such as "a soft look would be good," "something that clearly shows the texture of the wood to match the house," and "it would be good if about six people could gather around it." We were then able to suggest interior decor ideas that matched the image of how Nakamura wanted to spend his time there.

Proposed interior

• Based on the original dining table "Aarhus", we semi-ordered it to the desired oval shape. Since it will be seated for six people, we adjusted the position of the legs so that it is easy to sit on from the end (birthday seat). We suggested Louis Poulsen's "PH5" lighting above the dining area to add a Nordic feel.
• We proposed combining four FDB Möbler chairs with an original bench that seats two people. It looks neater and less cramped than lining up six chairs.
• The sofa is an original Luu Sofa, and together with the Luu Table and ottoman in front of it, we created a space in the living room where people can gather and chat.

A combination of original furniture and Scandinavian brands.
In order to fully enjoy the texture of the wood, we did not use flashy colors, but instead focused on natural and calm colors. We used oak for the wood to create a soft impression.
By incorporating semi-customization, we were able to suggest matching furniture to the comfortable lifestyle that the client envisioned, rather than having to make their lifestyle match the furniture.

We visited Nakamura-san at his home.

Once things had calmed down a bit following the delivery, we visited the client's home in Nishinomiya City.
We had a fun chat about our impressions of using the product and what we like about it.

-Please tell us if there is anything you like about the interior design you chose.

I really like the shape of our custom-made dining table.
I like the round shape because it looks good and feels nice to the touch.
They adjusted the table legs so that you could easily put your feet in, so you can sit comfortably anywhere at the table.

The bench was better than I expected. I wondered if it would be easier to sit on a chair, but unlike a chair, I like that I can sit wherever I want. My mother likes benches and always sits here.

-The first floor space that you proposed was intended to be a place for customers to gather.

Actually, because of COVID-19, I haven't been able to invite my friends over yet... But my mother and sister who live nearby often come over to visit. They seem to feel very comfortable here.
When I posted pictures of the room on social media, there was a lot of interest in the lighting above the dining room, and I was surprised by how many people complimented it.

-That's right. Just adding one thing can change the impression, and lighting is highly recommended for creating a space!

And then of course there's the sofa. People are often interested and ask, "What shape is it?"
Everyone who arrives first lies down here, and I myself spend more time sleeping than sitting (laughs).

At first I was thinking of placing it along the window, but then I thought I'd like to project videos onto the wall and lie down while watching them... so now I've placed it this way. Leaning back, watching videos, it really feels like a special seat!

-The appeal of Luu Sofa is that it's not just a place to sit, but also allows you to lie down and expand the possibilities of how you spend your time on the sofa. I'm glad that you've experienced that!

-We were also asked to make curtains to match the sofa. We don't make curtains in-house, but we do have fabric, so we made a special request to a manufacturer and were able to make the order.

I like the color and pattern of the sofa, so I wanted to match the curtains with the same color. I also tried matching the tassel color with the sofa.

-I thought that you, Nakamura-san, were particularly particular about color.

I'm not confident in my own sense of style, and I thought I would feel uneasy being surrounded by stylish interior design, but in reality that wasn't the case at all.
Maybe it's the warmth of the wood or the fact that I chose the color because I like it. It's a very relaxing space.

What was the deciding factor when choosing your home?

I was attracted by the fact that it uses natural materials like wood and plaster, and also by the mysterious feeling that it has a basement (laughs).

In the fall of 2019, before COVID-19, I went to Finland and Denmark for work and fell in love with Scandinavia.
There are lots of forests and nature, the food is delicious, and the people are very kind. So I wanted to make my house Scandinavian style.
The texture of wood can be felt in many places in this house, and I think it is similar to the comfortable feeling I felt when I visited Scandinavia.

The interior of my previous house was chosen from an interior shop that was recommended to me as the place for stylish interiors, without any particular preference.
But when I moved into this house, I thought, "There's something different about being the same as before!" (laughs).
I just felt like something was different.

When I went to Scandinavia, I felt that Scandinavia was a great place, so I chose this house based on that feeling. I thought it would be good to match the interior to Scandinavia,
I wasn't sure what kind of things I liked, but I thought, "If it's Nordic, it's Greenwich," so I consulted them.

I think that as more friends start coming, the number of things they want will increase. I'm already looking forward to that.

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When choosing interior design, it is not a matter of how others see you or whether it is stylish or not.
It's very important to be surrounded by things you like and feel comfortable spending time there.
One of the fun things about choosing interior design is that while thinking about what kind of space would be comfortable, you may discover things you like that you wouldn't normally notice.

Nakamura-san was initially reserved about choosing interior items, but when I heard him say, "I think I'll want more and more things from now on,"
We were not only pleased that Nakamura chose our furniture, but also very pleased that his love for it seemed to have spread through our furniture.

I am excited to see this comfortable space, full of Nakamura's unique style, continue to expand.

Thank you, Nakamura-san.

Greenwich Okada

Photo: Nobuaki Murakami