The Swedish style is a bright decorating style, in which presents a peaceful, liveable, serene place to live in. The lighter interior looks have always been popular in the Nordic countries for centuries. Pale wall colors, lighter painted furniture, throws and bedding in white, or pastels tended to give the illusion of light, which was particularly welcoming through Sweden’s long winter evenings.
1. Lighter Painted Walls Allow You To Do More With Your Interior
To achieve the Swedish style, consider starting with the foundational walls of your room in a lighter paint tone. Gray, or tones of light green, blue or natural creamy white will complement accessories in touches of warm yellow and gold. Using a neutral base color such as ivory, beige, or light gray will complement additional colors added into the room. Consider soft pink, bold red, for stenciling ribbons, scrolls and gatherings of wheat upon walls.
Like your walls and draperies, keep your floors light and bright. Consider blonde or pale woods, or a lighter hued paint for your floors. If you want to jazz things up, stencil or paint pale designs on the floor’s surface.
- Thinking About Painting Your Floor? Consider These 10 Tips First…. Hersite Blog
- Polish Your Concrete To Make It Look Like Marble- Hersite Blog
- How To Paint Your Wood Subfloor- Hersite Blog
- How To Use Plywood As Wood Flooring- The Swedish Furniture
Floor coverings can make all the difference in a room. Natural fiber rugs, such as berber, jute, sisal rugs are natural and a neutral covering that works with any style and decor choice.
An alternative to painted walls is wallpaper patterns. If you consider wallpaper, work with a neo-classic style with soft colors on a white background. Floral prints, swags, ribbons and bows are a common theme that runs through Gustavian style. A touch of gold gilding is important as an accent, and adds the prestige into your rooms.
- 6 Stencils I have My Eye On- Which One Is Your Favorite? – Hersite Blog
- My Favorite 216 Selections From Wallpaper Direct! The Swedish Furniture
- Wallpaper Used In Svartsjö Palace- The Swedish Furniture
- Spring Summer Checks and Florals For The Swedish Home- The Swedish Furniture
- Buy Floral, Chintz, And Gustavian Wallpaper and Fabrics From My Friend Paula At Lily Oake
2. Pair a Settee At One Side Of Your Dining Table
While many of us may not have the room, a settee at the dining table really looks fabulous if you can pull it off. My friend Stephanie Tuliglowski went for a French Provence look in her house, and paired a large farmhouse table with a French settee. In this photo, you can see she left the settee in it’s natural wood, instead of painting it. It gives the room so much more of a natural, cozy feel.
The “Köksoffa” has been known as the kitchen sofa, and originates from the 1700’s. The idea behind this sofa was it could be used during the day, and then pulled out at night to be used as a bed. Rooms were smaller, and often pieces were created for multi purposes. The sofas were often painted and antique versions often can be seen having a dark patina from the paint aging over time.
3. Rotate Your Collections Through Out The Year
The Nordic style of decorating has always been one to border on minimalism. Invest in pieces that function as storage solutions which can hide away your belongings, while at the same time look decorative.
- Leave Armoire Doors Open- If you have a armoire, paint the inside a different color than the outside, and leave the doors open to display what you have.
- Paint The Inside Of Your Cabinets, Or Bookcases In A Different Color– Spice up your collections by painting the inside of your drawers, or cabinets in a color that will pop. If you are decorating around the creams, consider a darker buff, vanilla, apricot, or saffron for the inside.
- Rotate Your Decorative Accessories through out the year, and mount more of your collections on the wall. If you do collect, consider keeping only the best of what you already own, and discard the rest. Use lighting to draw attention to those items that you want to be seen.
- Group Decorative Items In Pairs, or Collections. Gather your pictures in one spot, and create a collection by using the same frames. Simplify your pictures by working in black and white, or sepia tones. Work with cabinets, bookcases, or wall shelving to give your collections a really upscale look.
- Store Collections In Boxes Which Can Be Painted– In this photo, you can see a picture of Eric Pike’s home office, where magazine boxes, and storage boxes look sophisticated on shelves.
26 Ways To Organize With Shoe Boxes- Kids Room Decor
4. Push Chairs And Side Tables Against The Walls
This is a classic Swedish look that is found in most historical Nordic homes. Chairs and tables were pushed against the wall, creating more space in a room. Furniture was positioned in the center of the room, allowing more room between furniture pieces. Position one chair by itself, or gather your chairs in sets of threes.
5. Redesign Your Closet Space
As soon as my husband and I moved into our new home, I wanted to make the best use of our closet space. You can see some of my closet makeovers at my new website Hersite.
- My Summer Projects, My Garage Makeover-Hersite
Shelving brackets were bought from Home Depot, and wood shelves, which were painted were added to our closets. Paint makes everything so much more inviting.
Why NOT make use of the wall space all the way up to the ceiling? Instead of having one rod in your closet, break the wall up so you can have two rods. Show off those expensive heels you only wear once a year, and coordinate your wardrobe into color schemes. Your closets can look like they were professionally designed.
In this picture of Eric Pike’s home, he transforms an ordinary closet into a beautiful display for his tableware. The interior of the closet is painted in a darker gray, and collections are grouped together.
French Wall Sconces On Ebay
6. Work With Neoclassical Lamps And Mount Wall Sconces For The Classic Swedish Look
Wall sconces can look very romantic in the Swedish setting. We should light candles more often, and working with candles on the wall, than on the table is the safer route to prevent fires from happening.
Decide if you want something simple or ornate in style for wall sconces. Today you can purchase an ornate set of French wall sconces for around $90 dollars on Ebay. Place a set of two sconces on either side of a mirror or painting.
Plain table lamps can be dressed up by recovering plain shades. Purchase simple barrel shades from your local big box store, and re-cover them with the same upholstery material as your accent chairs and slipcovers. Chandeliers and lamps add light to an already bright interior.
- 16 Lamp Updates For My Home In 2 Years- Hersite Blog
Use mirrors to create the illusion of even more open space and to reflect light, and use light colored accents like blue and white china, silver and glass to add shine and style.
Huge Gustavian Hutch Desk , Sweden C. 1800 From Galerie Half
Farrow & Ball Decorating with Colour- Buy This Book On Amazon
Sampler, 1804, Country Living.com
A Swedish Rococo Chest Rococo Period 1750-1775 A beautiful Rococo chest of drawers with amazing inlays and construction. All original hardware and locks, Laserow Antiques
Swedish Rococo Armchair from the Rococo period 1750-1775 A Swedish Rococo armchair with cabriole legs and curved armrests and back. Laserow Antiques, Armchair Rococo period 1750-1775– A lovely armchair from the Rococo period with amazing carvings and curved shapes. Frieze and back splat is decorated with carved flowers and leaves. The scrolled legs and armrests are typical for the Rococo period featured at Laserow Antiques
Mora Clock, from Real Gustavian and the Creamy White Mora Clock with orange detailing is from The Nordic Place.
A gorgeous tablescape. Photography by sandrafazzino.com, Planning by italyinstyletrave… & myspecialguest.co…, Floral & Event Design by foodartgroup.it
Pair of Bombe Swedish Commodes 102-4870 Greenwich Living Ebay
A Gustavian late 18th century longcase clock From Bukowskis, A Swedish Mora Clock From 1820-40, from Lauritz
Nordic Style Furniture Collections
Swedish Interior Seen On Inredningshjälpen Blog
Drink Cabinet $807.75 From Guild Master On Amazon
Pair Of Gustavian Side Tables- Cupboards & Roses Antiques
The Best Designer Paint Suggestions Seen In House Beautiful Magazine
Antique Swedish canape – Augustus Brandt
Found on augustus-brandt-antiques.co.uk
A Passion for Collecting: Decorating with Your Favorite Objects- Caroline Clifton Mogg
We are all born collectors. In childhood we hoard all manner of knick-knacks-marbles, ribbons, toy soldiers-and experience an instinctive thrill in finding the next and even better one. This book explores the ways in which collectibles as diverse as antique maps, ceramics, and seashells can be used in interior design. With lavish illustrations of interiors that make wonderful decorative use of collections, A PASSION FOR COLLECTING reveals the secrets for display that can make an incredible visual impact on the décor of any collector’s home.
Decorating With China and Glass By Caroline Clifton-Mogg
Caroline Clifton-Mogg is a writer and journalist who specializes in interior design and gardens. She is a contributing editor to both Harpers & Queen and Christie’s Magazine and also contributes regularly to magazines and newspapers such as House & Garden, Country Life, and The Financial Times. Her many books include Textile Style (Bulfinch, 2000), The Curtain Book (Bulfinch, 1998), Decorating with Antiques (Bulfinch, 1999), Passion For Collecting (Bulfinch, 2002) and The Bedroom Book (Bulfinch, 2003).
18th century Swedish Secretaire Appley Hoare
The Best Designer Paint Suggestions Seen In House Beautiful Magazine
Gustavian Secretary – Style of The Empire Period From Lief
Gustavian Secretary From Lief
Gustavian Secretary Circa 1800
Gustavian Secretary From Lief
In this bookcase, more than 100 antique jelly molds, in shades of ivory, cream, and white, make a powerful display. Photo: Tria Giovan for Cottage Living) White Ironstone Molds Seen On Cote de Texas Blog
Ralph Lauren Home 18th-century Swedish-Inspired Design
Graham and Green’s Vienna Petite Four Drawer Chest, mango wood chest of drawers with brass accessories and a putty grey wash finish.
Graham and Green opened their first shop in Notting Hill in 1974, and since then Graham and Green has expanded from humble beginnings to a delightfully identifiable, British establishment. Today, Graham and Green have 2 beautiful shops, four catalogues each year and their online store.
“I recently came across an ad for a furniture company based in High Point, North Carolina called Modern History. I am a big proponent of classic furniture styles, whether they be antique or good quality reproductions. I was curious about the line so I went over to their website and took a look around. I fell in love with some of their pieces” Carol Raley Interiors
Pair of carved wood Swedish stools. Upholstered in Rubelli silk. Eighteenth Century.
An Old House in Whitechapel | Spitalfields Life
Swedish Panel – Giannetti Home Visit Providence lt Ddesign
61 Leather Bound Decorative Swedish Books, Debenham Antiques EBAY
70 Swedish Books, Debenham Antiques EBAY
Via Svenska Flicka (Swedish Girl)
Tussah Flower wallpaper from Zoffany
The Best Designer Paint Suggestions Seen In House Beautiful Magazine
Royal Palace, Stockholm. Chimneypiece graces the Blue cabinet in Queen Louisa Ulrika’s study.
The Best Designer Paint Suggestions Seen In House Beautiful Magazine
Swedish Medallion Seen In Veranda 2011
Gustavian Mirror, 1, 2 – Auction Catalogue From Live Auctioneers
Stadsauktion Auction Catalogue #59
The October issue of the UK magazine Livingetc. features the Copenhagen home of the creative director of the fashion brand Day Birger et Mikkelsen, Peter Ingwersen. His rooms have a modern aesthetic, and show a wonderful sense of how to combine antiques along with the new. This wonderful little chair forms part of a decorative design along a wall with a rococo style mirror and modern lamp. From Auction Decorating Blog
Vicki from French Essence showed a picture of her home as she was decorating for the holidays. I couldn’t think of a better statement piece than the over-sized ornate gilt mirror that hangs on her wall at the bottom of her staircase. Not only does it make that area an extra special focal feature, but the mirror is large enough to give a larger view as one is walking down the staircase. Gilt mirrors are masterpieces all on their own.
19th Century French Woman on Canvas
Late 19th or early 20th century French mixed media on canvas portrait of a young maiden adorned with flowers, in carved gilt wood and gesso frame with a pierce carved bow at the crest
Lars Sjoberg- The Style Saloniste
Court Mantua Kensington Palace 1750-1760 From ArtFund
Vintage Views Consigment is selling a very attractive pair of gilded bronze sconces feature highly polished mirror-like center panels and neoclassical motifs including ribbons, bellflowers and acanthus leaves. Each measures 19″ tall. 12″ wide and 14″ deep. Their style will compliment a variety of 18th and 19th century decors. The design is widely seen in Swedish decorating. This pair isn’t cheap. They have them listed at $4300
Manor of Skogaholms- Stockholm Town Blog
Kristinehovs Malmgård – Söder – Stockholm, Sweden- skarn.se
Hoby-Kulle Manor, near Ronneby, Seen At En.konstantik.se
Swedish Gustavian Swedish Decorating Ideas
Collecting White Dinnerware Haute Design By Sarah Klassen