Finnish Design Shop’s showroom team picks the most interesting products and interior design trends every month. August is the time to enjoy the balmy late summer evenings, go mushroom hunting – and sort out your workstations and lighting to make the transition from lazy summer afternoons as easy as possible.
“AUGUST IS SUMMER AT ITS BEST in Central Europe, but here in the north you can already see the days getting shorter and summer gradually coming to an end as the fall approaches. As the change sets in, it’ll be time to wrap up in a light blanket and enjoy the memorable atmosphere of the darkening but still warm evenings outdoors, with candles flickering in lanterns and mood lights giving a mellow glow in the garden or on the balcony.
As the evenings get darker, your home may need some lighting changes. Our showroom has a broad selection of different types of lighting: beautiful table lamps and floor lamps as well as ceiling and wall lighting for an appealing atmosphere. We’re happy to give advice on the particular characteristics of the various options so you can find lighting designs that brighten up your home even when not in use.”
Setting up your home office
Though we’re all sad to see the summer go, the change of seasons means our thoughts also turn to spending more time indoors. As schools, colleges and workplaces come back to life after the break, it’s time to make sure that your home workstations are in order. Do you have a desk that’s big enough for spreading out papers and books, or would you prefer a small height-adjustable desk that’s the ideal size for a laptop and a small lamp?
Until mid-August, there is still time to look for inspiration at the housing fair in Naantali, southwestern Finland. The fair houses offer a delightfully wide range of solutions, from small corner desks to separate, spacious workrooms. Having a home office has clearly become the norm, and is nowadays part of the home design phase. Increasingly, home offices also feature beautiful furniture designed for this purpose to fit stylistically with the rest of the interior.
• All desks >
• All office chairs >
A place for everything
As well as having an ergonomic desk and office chair for working and studying in comfort, effective storage solutions also make life easier. For folders and textbooks, a wall-mounted or floor-standing shelf at the workstation is a good choice, so they can be easily moved out of the way when not needed.
For storing small items, flexibility and portability are called for.
For storing small items, flexibility and portability are called for. HAY’s Colour Crate containers, made from recycled plastic, and Vitra’s Toolbox organizers are just what you need to keep pens, pencils, erasers, rulers and other essentials within easy reach, yet neatly in their own places.
• HAY Colour Crate containers >
• All storage containers >
Let there be light
As the days get shorter, good lighting is a must. Every home needs a variety of light sources: glare-free lighting for entire rooms and other larger spaces, bright lights that can be focused on a specific area for tasks that require more precision, and low-power spot lighting to create atmosphere and brighten up corners.
For rooms, ceiling-mounted lighting doesn’t have to be the only option. A recent arrival in our showroom is a sculptural masterpiece designed by Daniela Puppa in 1992: the Prima Signora floor lamp, consisting of a giant glass dome resting on a slender chrome tripod. With its powerful bulb and dimmer, the luminaire provides beautifully even light even in large spaces.
• FontanaArte Prima Signora floor lamp >
• All lighting >
Delicacies for the last throes of summer
In late summer, there’s nothing better than treating yourself to irresistible apples and berries, and after rainy days it’s off to the nearby woods to see if you can find delicious mushrooms for the evening meal. In Finland, the mushroom picking season is usually at its best in August.
If you don’t yet have everything you need for your next adventure in the great outdoors, your point of departure should be our showroom. Among so much else, we have beautiful wooden mushroom baskets, handy little brush-headed mushroom knives for cleaning your catch.
• Verso Design Lastu mushroom basket >
• Iris Hantverk mushroom knife >
Cordless flexibility
Small mood lights in different places are perfect for rounding out your home lighting. Imagine you’re a passer-by, admiring the inviting light in the window of a cozy-looking home, or a visitor who feels even more welcome when they step inside into the warm glow of a small lamp on a dresser in the hallway. Sometimes, though, a problem you face when you want to create such an atmosphere is that there’s no nearby power outlet to plug a lamp into.
The solution is a small rechargeable lamp, this year’s undisputed number one lighting trend. They are available from most lighting manufacturers. A single charge can last for several hours. Many models can also be used outdoors, as long as they are not left out in the rain.
• Santa & Cole Cestita Batería lamp >
• All portable lamps >
Summer memories in cozy fall evenings
What could be more wonderful than recalling the fondest moments of the summer gone by in the warm glow of candlelight on a fall evening? Instead of a conventional wick, Hetkinen veggie wax candles have a fine aspen stem running through them. As it burns slowly with a calming flame, its gentle crackle brings to mind a fireplace on a rainy day, a fading bonfire, or the glimmer of light from a sauna stove.
The plant wax used in Hetkinen candles contains spruce resin, and burns cleanly without releasing harmful emissions into the indoor air. Choose a scent that best reflects your favorite summer memory from three delightful options: biofilia, smoke sauna, and spruce resin.
• Hetkinen veggie wax candles >
• All candles >
Interior designer Riikka Soini-Ferraguto, who works at Finnish Design Shop’s showroom, appreciates functional and beautiful design and strives to make long-term choices. Natural materials and vintage finds give any space character and softness.
See also:
• Finnish Design Shop's Showroom >
Text: Riikka Soini-Ferraguto Photos: Finnish Design Shop and manufacturers