Wanna Be-Scandanavian Homes

Clean, but not sterile. Bright, but not glittery. I love the look of Scandinavian homes. One would think with all my Norwegian and Danish blood, a little of the design standards might have made their way to me, but alas, I swim in  a shabby chic, heavy on the shabby, mixed with unoriginal store showroom designed living spaces. I drool over this blog, My Scandinavian Home. Granted, for me, some of the pictures of homes and rooms that are featured move into the sterile category for me, but I long for the rooms with bright walls, simple furnishing, and not a stack of jumbled papers or clothes anywhere. I admit to keeping the Ikea catalogue as a coffee table book to help draw a little inspiration. 

DD2's room is the closest to where I have embraced it, with her white furniture, and pops of color on her bedding. However, still too much stuff and mess (Christmas gift bag still on her desk), and her green and blue walls, her choice, scream American teen. 

Little touches-her pillow from London, peace blanket made by her sis, Rags,her puppy  from childhood, and more books than a typical teen, with many more still boxed up, that she is deciding whether or not to keep.
 

My little office nook, mostly because I can close the cabinet/desk doors on the paperwork clutter, is the simple look I would like to have in the whole house. All the closets in my home are larger than closets from modest homes built before 1984, and from what I can tell from some British home shows, most UK and European homes. Still, I struggle with finding enough storage space. I know this is a stuff problem, more than a design problem, but would like to tackle both. 

 I'm off to take a look at a couple Thrift stores today to see what I might be able to create or re-purpose into a television stand. I think heavy dose of white or Scandinavian inspired colored  paint and sand paper might get me the look I want for cheap. Who else is a Scandinavian design fan? Who has ideas of how, with spending little to no money, I can get some of the look and feel of these spaces?