Where: Nordic Heritage Museum

What: What is it about the stylish Swedes, huh? From H&M to Cheap Monday, Acne, Filipa K, and Whyred, everyone’s favorite bargain go-to and some of my favorite boutique brands come from the Scandinavian haven.

The country is also known for smart, minimal home and lifestyle design, as a brief but lovely exhibit in Ballard cleanly, neatly outlines. The show, which features 17 young-ish female designers and was developed by Svensk Form, the Swedish Society of Crafts and Design, in collaboration with the Swedish Embassy and the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation and launched in the US at the Cleveland Institute of Art, arrived in Seattle earlier this month. I walked through it on a recent Thursday afternoon, marveled at the perfect simplicity of minimal white ceramics by Anna Lerinder, loved the bright aprons and housewares by Lotta Kuhlhorn, and left resolving to get more fresh flowers, multi-functional furniture, graphic patterns, and white space in my home and in my life.

The whole of the show is laid out in three small, neatly styled wood-floor rooms (you can’t help but think of an edited, abbreviated, way cooler Ikea) but the combination of lighthearted wit, fresh perspective, and perfect restraint is worth the trip. Check the slideshow here for a brief preview.

When: Now through August 21