The indoor dining room features doors painted by an artist who lived in the home in the 1930s. Wallstreet Journal

It is no doubt that the hottest designers are using distressed Gustavian furniture in their own homes. Designer Daniel Romualdez is one of those designers.  His Montauk, New York home [...]]]>

The indoor dining room features doors painted by an artist who lived in the home
in the 1930s. Wallstreet Journal

It is no doubt that the hottest designers are using distressed Gustavian furniture in their own homes. Designer Daniel Romualdez is one of those designers.  His Montauk, New York home also shows off a captivating white based interior.  Romualdez breathed new life into the home using only splashes of blue, white and black.  The main dining room shows a beautiful collection of seashells in weathered frames.  The room is furnished with 18th century Gustavian furniture with a geometric blue and white upholstery.  Most of all the pictures we picture below are credited to the Wallstreet Journal.  Here are a few links to this homes interior from Corbis.  Here is a picture of the stairway that was installed in limed pine, in line with the Swedish styles found through the house.

Decorating with seashells can add a natural touch to your home.  Here are 10 tips to getting a high end look with seashells:

1.  Paint your walls in soft pastels. Keeping the wall color light will create a serene feel and allow you to play off the colors found in the lighter natural tones of seashells.

The ocean and the sky are both blue, so blue should be incorporated into the color scheme. Borrow looks from Daniel Romualdez's home by choosing upholstery in blue and white.  White based backgrounds for upholstery choices keep within the classic textile choices found in Sweden.

-Light blue or green walls are also great colors for a room decorated with seashell decor.

-If you do use brighter blues, consider using it in an accessory as Daniel Romualdez's does with a vibrant floral centerpiece.  Add layers of duller blues in your rooms with accents of brighter tones of blue sparingly.

2. Mix in reds, oranges, and golden hues within your home decor to provide a contrast to the white walls, and white shells such as what Daniel Romualdez's does with the black hand painted doors, and black frames on the walls.

3. Consider installing wall panelling, which can be stained in a soft cream or white.  Wood adds an organic layer that is commonly found in Swedish decorating. Clean, brilliant white walls make a great backdrop for bold color splashes or natural wood accents.

4.  Sofa or floor pillows incorporate the feeling of comfort.  This Sea Shell Linen Pillow Cover with Jute & Mother Of Pearl Embroidery has both the linen fabrics found in Swedish decorating, as well adds a bit of the pearl shine we find in the sea.

5.  Cover furniture or home decor with shells.  A neoclassical bust with smaller seashells is a sophisticated approach to using shells in your decor.  All you need is a nice looking neoclassical bust, hot glue and a variety of seashells.

-Make a crown for the bust or display it on it's own.

-Here we see a rustic bust, with a seashell crown.

-Here we see a mirror made with hand collected shells and Ikea mirror frame.  All the shells are facing the same direction rather than the sporadic placement that we see with seashell art.

-Here we see a beautiful floral display with an urn decorated in seashells

Alexander the Great Macedonian King Bust- $49

Socrates Greek Philosopher Marble Bust $59

Plaster Busts on Ebay

7.  Consider presenting your collection of shells as a display on your wall with corbels.  Instead of displaying the smaller shells, collect the larger seashells, which can make more of an impact.  Swedish decorating is known for clean, uncluttered looks, so bigger shells are better in a Swedish scheme.  Corbels can be rather expensive, but there are ways of getting corbels that match without spending $300 on each corbel.  Make your own shelves for pennies with concrete molds such as this one from Mold Creations.  Concrete Success has the perfect mold shelf featuring a sea shell in the design, selling for $34 dollars.  This allows you to make endless shelves for your collections, without spending any more than for the mold itself, and the plaster or concrete.

Interesting Finds on Ebay And Amazon

- This square sea shell mold would be a rather interesting texture to cover an entire accent wall in a bathroom with. It has a rather primitive fossil quality to it.

-Silver Tone Decorative Spiny Jewel Nautical Sea Shell Home Decor $27

-Luxury Lane Hand Blown Art Glass Seashell Centerpiece 7.5" tall by 12.5" long $25

-White Pearlized Chambered Nautilus Sea Shell Decor 5" - 6" $25

-100% Real Sea Shell-4.5" Original From Haiwaii,$9

-Small Brass Compass Rose Nautical Wall Plaque $50

-Bathroom Decor- Set of 3 Decorative Clear Glass Bottles with Nautical Sea Shell $71

-Luxury Lane Hand Blown Art Glass Seashell Centerpiece 4.5" tall by 9" long $25

-Aluminum Sea Shell Decor 4"H, 10"W $36

-Round Rustic Wooden Nautical Porthole Mirror- $70

-Set of 2 Seafoam Green and Cream Sea Shell Pattern Rustic Aged Decorative Bowls $110

-Gorgeous Set of 4 Mini Sea Shell Covered Spheres $48

-Decorative Wooden Paddle  $19

-Wooden Nautical Sailboat Yacht Model w/ Shell Sail $24

See our other post Daniel Romualdez's Breathtaking Late-Eighteenth Century Farmhouse

Daniel Romualdez's Montauk Home-www.williamwaldron.com

Another View Of This Room From www.corbisimages.com

You can see the trim was painted blue, and the floors limed.  In addition, the doors were touched up.

Consider Topping A Bust With A Seashell Crown

Swedish Furniture UPCLOSE Wallstreet Journal

Fanciful Sea Shell Bust- www.berkshireantiques.com

Louis XV Console Table Covered in Seashells-chintz-of-darkness.blogspot.com

Corbels holding a collection of seashells-debrahalllifestyle.blogspot.com

Display cabinet with Shell Collection- vine.wisteria.com

Dark Blue, Striped Scotchgarded Outdoor And Indoor Fabric By The Yard - $23

Reversible Floral Upholstery Grade Fabric By The Yard - $29

Fabric for Upholstery Suzani Blue & Beige 54" $19

Daniel Romualdez's Montauk Home- An Outdoor Pergola -Wallstreet Journal

Daniel Romualdez- -Wallstreet Journal

Anh Duong Renovates Her Cliff-Top House In Montauk With the help of Daniel Romualdez

Read More at GQ Magazine

Check out that amazing rug!!

 Anh Duong Renovates Her Cliff-Top House In Montauk With the help of Daniel Romualdez

*Disclaimer*-The pictures contained in this post are to illustrate the BEAUTY of yellow and green paint used in 18th century interiors.  We have no knowledge what so ever of the paint used in the rooms or furniture.  Emerald Green and Yellow colors are absolutely stunning colors to [...]]]> Seglora Church -Relocated From Western Sweden

*Disclaimer*-The pictures contained in this post are to illustrate the BEAUTY of yellow and green paint used in 18th century interiors.  We have no knowledge what so ever of the paint used in the rooms or furniture.  Emerald Green and Yellow colors are absolutely stunning colors to decorate a home around.     

The History Behind Emerald Green

Emerald Green, is the color of the year for 2013, yet what many people don't know is the color "Emerald Green" at one time, killed people.

This brilliant blue-green color was extremely popular in the mid- 1800s, because emerald green paint was cheap to manufacture, and it had such a great depth of color.

In 1814 in Schweinfurt, Germany, two men named Russ and Sattler tried to improve on Scheele’s green, and made a paint made with copper arsenite. The result was a highly toxic pigment called "emerald green". This paint was made with arsenic and verdigris and the bright green color became an instant hit within the design community.

The vibrant color was not only used as artist paint, but as well as household paint amongst other things. Many people at that time didn't know the paint was made with poisonous arsonic, and who is to blame them when we don't know ourselves what kind of unhealthy additives are contained in our foods.  As soon as the color was produced, it was picked up by many companies far and wide. The emerald green dye wasn't only used for paint, but wallpaper and as liquid dyes.

In particular, in damp rooms where mold grew, the arsonic in the wallpaper paste would be turned into a toxic gas which would be deadly for anyone living in the room.  By 1830, wallpaper production had risen to 1 million rolls a year in the UK, and by 30 million in 1870. Tests later revealed that four out of five wallpapers contained arsenic.

Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), a German chemist, suspected in 1815 that wallpaper could poison the atmosphere, that he made several efforts to warn the people in his day to strip their rooms of the paper, and advocated banning Scheele’s green. He noticed that the substance gave off a garlic-like odor when the paper was slightly damp. Experiments at the end of the 19th century proved that arsenic pigments in damp or rotting wallpaper were lethal.  If only they listened to Leopold Gmelin's warnings!

The color "Emerald Green" became so popular and widely used in the cotton industry which used the chemical in pigments and dyes. It was also used by other industries such as glass manufactures as a de-colouriser, and in the production of leather tanning, soaps, lampshades, pharmaceuticals, agriculture for sheep dips, children’s toys, and candles.

Emerald green was also used to color cake decorations. In a few recorded instances, this dye was used to color icing, much like we do today.  In one case,  the industry making the dyes employed hundreds of young girls, who later died from chronic arsenic poisoning.  At a banquet held by the Irish Regiment in London in the 1850’s, sugar leaves that were dyed with the Emerald Green, and used as table decorations.  Many of the guests took the decorations home to give to their children to eat as a treat, whom later died.  Another dinner in 1860, a chef produced a spectacular green sugar dessert, used Scheele’s green and later, three of the diners later died.  If this is shocking, read this up on our modern day Aspartame. It has been proven that this popular sweetener used in coffee is toxic to your brain.  In fact, they say that when aspartame is added to hot waters, exceeding 86 degrees F. the Aspartame converts to Formaldehyde, and then to Formic Acid, which damages the brain..... yet this substance isn't pulled off the market.

The History Cinnabar Red

One of the most difficult to use and costly pigments on the market. Cinnabar red is obtained from a mineral (the principle ore of mercury). The Romans obtained it from the Almaden mines in Spain, which is still today an important locational source of mercury. In order for it to be used as a pigment, the mineral had to be purified, then synthesized and then ground to the correct fineness. If improperly handled, it could turn black.

"Red's hard. There are so many bad ones. They're either too bordello or too raspberry nail polish. Or they're so brown it's like eating in a Southwestern theme restaurant, or so primary and overly frank that you want to ask, 'Where do I put the presidential seal?' I'm always looking for either a juicy pomegranate red, a Chinese lacquer red, or a really good oxblood. Because it's such an important color, red needs nuance, subtlety, and depth, so in those rare instances that I break it out, I like to do it as a glaze, a lacquer, a fabric upholstery, or as red leather walls so there's variation to the tone." —CELERIE KEMBLE

See: The Top Shades Of Red Paint By The Most Famous Designers- The Painted Furniture

The History Behind Lead White

The poisonous qualities of Lead White have been noted since Ancient Rome, when the color was made in Rhodes (Greece ) where workers would put shavings of thin lead over a bowl filled with vinegar. The acid on the thin metal would cause a chemical reaction and leave a white deposit of lead carbonate which was then powdered, flattened and left to dry in the sun. The small amount of lead white still manufactured today follows this same formula.

The History Behind Naples Yellow

The 18th and 19th century saw the discovery and manufacture of synthetic pigments and dyes, which quickly replaced the traditional yellows made from arsenic, cow urine, and other substances. Naples Yellow is one of the oldest synthetic pigments. Naples yellow was essential to the landscape tradition because it has a quality of appearing to recede, making it perfect for capturing the essence of the sun. The genuine pigment is toxic, and it is believed that Vincent van Gogh's mental illness and suicide was a result of his frequent use of true Naples yellow.

Have scientists finally discovered why Van Gogh’s paintings are turning brown? Mail Online

Hope For Today

Today we have a wide variety of organic paints available within reach.  More than ever paint manufacturers are producing low VOC paints as people are looking at safer brands for their homes and health.  Olympic Premium and Benjamin Moore Aura have shown to have lower VOC levels than other tested paints and did a good job in this hiding test, according to Consumer Reports. VOC levels have been toughened because VOCs are linked to respiratory illnesses and memory impairment.

The top paints in the Consumer Report Ratings  had among the highest claimed VOC levels, including Behr Premium Plus Enamel low-luster and flat  and Benjamin Moore Regal semigloss.   They reveal that lowering the VOC levels can affect performance. "When you take out VOCs, you still need strong performance properties, but you have to find other ways to achieve them," says Carl Minchew, product-development director  at Benjamin Moore. Still, some no- and low-VOC paints did well in performance revealed in the Consumer Report Ratings.  Posted in the Consumer Reports Magazine issue: March 2009

See: Green Dreams: Environmentally Friendly Restoration Furniture- The Painted Furniture

This information below comes from www.wetcanvas.com

"PY41 is genuine Naples Yellow (Lead Antimonate), tubed paints come in two yellow versions, Light and Dark (sometimes available in a "red" pigment as well). Available from Vasari, Michael Harding and Robert Doak. Genuine Naples offer a smooth blending mild tinting yellow that works in more delicate situations, like portraiture. Here is a comparison of both Michael Harding genuine Naples Yellows along with others similar colors, including OH's PBr24 imitation Naples Yellow Extra. The lower mixes show the colors tinted with white above, and black below."

NOTE -THESE PICTURES BELOW ARE JUST TO ILLUSTRATE 18th CENTURY INTERIORS IN LIKE COLORS WHICH WE HAVE DISCUSSED- WE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE WHAT PAINT WAS USED IN THESE ROOMS OR ON THESE FURNITURE PIECES

Green Paint Colors Featured On Martha Stewart

Cuba - Michael Eastman

A Swedish Parcel Gilt and Gray Painted Sofa

The Brian Juhos Collection From a Domaine in Southern France- Christies

Picture Credit To Bellis Vintage Blog

The Elegance Of Scandinavian Old World Interiors

Michael Eastman Cuba Mercedes Living Room

Green paint Colors Featured on House Beautiful

Goethe’s house who was one of the first color theorist of the 18th century.- Emerald Green Interiors Blog

Alexander Roslin (July 15, 1718 – July 5, 1793) was a Swedish portrait painter. Many of the colors he used were Carbon Black, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Venetian Red, Yellow Ochre, Lead Tin Yellow, Naples Yellow, Vermilion, Lake, Lead White

Get reproduction paintings of Alexander Roslins work here

 Alexander Roslins Paintings

 Picture Credit To Bellis Vintage Blog

The Elegance Of Scandinavian Old World Interiors

Norway, Sweden, Denmark- Winters In Scandinavia

Paint Colors Featured in Home Beautiful Magazine

Paint Colors Featured in Home Beautiful Magazine-

Pictured, Super White Interior Room  and Little Angel 318  both by Benjamin Moore.

Swedish Architecture Yellow-www.tumblr.com

Mergansers on Djurgarden in the Swedish Maritime Administration in Stockholm

 Picture Credit Flicker

When you think of slipcovers, you may have memories of the 80's clunky furniture covered with slipcovers that were tied with over-sized bows and small scale stuffy florals with outdated colors.  Interior design took a tumble in the 80's and 90's, however, interior design directions haven't ever looked so good as they [...]]]>  Veranda May June 2012

When you think of slipcovers, you may have memories of the 80's clunky furniture covered with slipcovers that were tied with over-sized bows and small scale stuffy florals with outdated colors.  Interior design took a tumble in the 80's and 90's, however, interior design directions haven't ever looked so good as they do now. Today, we are seeing an emergence of the simple raw materials become exciting again. Old weathered barns, which were once eyesores, fetch quite a bit of money, as the wood is recycled and reclaimed furniture fetches top dollar. Simpler interiors and quality materials have become a new way of life, as people throw away the cheap products mass produced overseas and opt for natural, raw, rustic and antique goods. Those who follow the design trends for the home aren't shopping at the big box stores for their furniture, but rather they  are after the unique looks which merge with their individual styles.

Slipcovers have a long history in interior design, because they offer change and functionality in the home. In the 18th century, the slip-cover had become a design tool for wealthy homeowners, who wanted a change from season to season.  Slipcovers were made for furniture,and often coordinated with drapery. Slipcovers have always posed some challenges, mainly that they can be ill-fitting and poorly made. Wrinkled seats and sagging backs produce a careless appearance that gives a lax impression in even the most orderly room. Making slipcovers can be complicated, as they need to fit furniture well, just as a sharply made tailored suit can define a beautiful figure.  If the slipcovers are made poorly, the lines of the furniture can be completely lost.

Slip-covers also posed some challenges with seasonal changes. Many would find the covers too tight, or too loose in different seasons.  To compensate this, linen covers were made a bit larger, which could stretch with summer’s humidity and heat.  The material would then have enough shrink for the change in the dry air for the winter. These difficulties are overcome by accurate measurements, and carefully following the lines of the chair when the pattern is made. Allowing several inches of material for tucking at the back and under the arms, a slipcover can be comfortable throughout the seasons.

Several Professional Tips

- One famous London upholsterer puts a strip of wood across the back of the seat before tucking the material in, to give added firmness.

- Elaborate detailing such as French pleating, cording, ruffles and special buttons add a customized look to any piece of furniture.

- Heavy linen, and cotton canvas have been popular as natural slipcover choices. The French tickings and cotton damasks make great bed covers, drapery and slipcovers. Consider using unbleached muslin with which also can be dyed in soft shades of blue, green, or yellow. Gingham and simple checks can give your room a Swedish, gustavian flair. Stripes lend a sophisticated touch to any room, and wear well, and are especially easy to launder.  Chintz florals are quite attractive to look at, and do a terrific job of keeping the dust out and soil out than other fabrics. Chintz is the most expensive by far, and the most effective material for slip covers. The bold patterns of birds, flowers, and medallions of contrasting colors make it a pattern that is lovely to look at year around.

- Gathers, and wide flat box-plaits add interest to the bottom of slipcovers. These details can be used just below the seat of the chair, probably on a line with the upholstery or seat frame. This style works particularly well with French chairs with beautifully designed cabriole legs which are so decorative in themselves that they do not need to be concealed.

- Consider combining plain fabric colors with a few stripes, and some delightful flowered patterns.

Pamela Pierce - Swedish Chair Natural Fabrics

Swedish Chairs With Linen Slipcovers from Biskops Garden

Dining room slipcovers by Donna Jenkins

Stephen Sills's Holiday Decor - Veranda.com

Slipcovers From brucebarone.com

1.Stunning Wingchair Slipcovered -thebrownshed.com

2. Slipcovers From store.theseasidestyle.com

3.customslipcoversbyshelley.blogspot.com

4. Slipcovers Featured on brabournefarm.blogspot.com

Slipcovers In Neutral Fabrics

1, 3, 4 Unknown - 2.  Slipcovers Featured on stylecourt.blogspot.com

1.Heavy Ruffling From nineandsixteen.blogspot.com

2. Upclose Detail Of French Ticking -michellefritz.blogspot.com

3. Stunning Louis XVI Chair in Pink From Rachel Ashwell

4.farm5.static.flickr.com

Classical Slipcovers At Monticello.  Photography by Charlotte Moss.

Thibaut Ad

Green Gingham Sofa -Tilly's Cottage

1. Green Gingham Slipcover-  Country Home

2.Green Desk Chair Slipcover - flickr.com

3. French Ticking Slipcover- pinkwallpaper.blogspot.com

4. Slip-covered toile Chair - Cathy Kincaid 

Slipcover Your Headboard!  Martha Stewart  

A slipcovered chair, photographed by Russel Sadur.

Dropcloth Slipcover - The Twice Remembered Cottage

Image from Country Home

1.Tips On Making Slipcovers With Drop Cloths- missmustardseed.com

2. Checked Linen Gathered Slipcovers- cotedetexas.blogspot.com

3.Paula & Erika Table Covers etsy.com

4. Knife Pleats Around A Sink- countryliving.com

Jackie Von Tobel- Jackie Blue Home Blog

1.Slipcover With A Beautiful Large Bow- beekeeperscottage.com

2. Beautiful Mahogany Gray Painted Chair With A Toile Slipcover- whendecorating.blogspot.com

3. How To Make Slipcovers- honeybearlane.com

4. Pleated Slipcover- thecottagejournal.com

Slipcovers Over A French Sofa - peekingthruthesunflowers.blogspot.com

French Flour Sack Linen Tablecloth-Jeanne dArc Living Blog

Designer Kelley Proxmire

Most do-it-yourselfers know that adding new hardware to new or existing furniture or cabinetry is a great way to dress it up. These seemingly small touches make a huge impact on the overall appearance of a piece.

You can create the look you want. Hardware [...]]]> Rococo & Empire Pulls- House Of Antique Hardware

Most do-it-yourselfers know that adding new hardware to new or existing furniture or cabinetry is a great way to dress it up. These seemingly small touches make a huge impact on the overall appearance of a piece.

You can create the look you want. Hardware pieces are available in a variety of finishes, designs, and styles. You can walk into any local hardware store and find shiny chrome and brass knobs and handles as well as modern sleek knobs that have clean simple lines.

The only time there seems to be real problems finding the right hardware and accessories is if you want antique hardware. However, the Internet has made it easier to find what you are looking for; this article offers a list of the top five online resources for antique hardware. It’s a list you can refer to time and again.

Antique Hardware & More

Antique Hardware & More provides a great selection of knobs and pulls for all types of furniture and cabinetry. Whether you are looking for antique pulls or knobs to add an elegant touch to your dining room furniture or to bring out the charm on your kitchen cupboards, this place is worth checking out.

The site includes a search feature to make finding what you need easy. Antique Hardware & More also sells the tools and other supplies needed for restoration and antique refinishing projects.

House of Antique Hardware

House of Antique Hardware offers a comprehensive resource of reproduction hardware. You can shop according to type, such as door hardware or cabinet and furniture hardware, and you shop by style and special collections. This online store provides a phone number for questions and assistance. House of Antique Hardware accepts credit cards online, and it is accredited by the BBB.

Kennedy Hardware

With more than 25 years in the business, Kennedy Hardware must be doing something right. This shop offers wholesale prices on restoration hardware. You will find a huge selection of all types of hardware. This includes architectural hardware as well as hardware for furniture and cabinetry. This company can provide skeleton keys, glass knobs and handles, furniture casters, and much more. If you are into antique restoration, Kennedy Hardware is definitely a site you should check out.

Rejuvenation

Rejuvenation has everything from doorknobs to window hardware and light bulbs. Shoppers can search and browse according to category, by room, or style. Styles include such classifications as arts and crafts, colonial revival, deco, mid-century modern, period basics, and Victorian. Rejuvenation provides a phone number as well as a live chat for questions and assistance with orders.

Signature Hardware

Signature Hardware offers a large collection of hardware pieces in a variety of styles. Shoppers can browse according to departments, and the search can further be narrowed down according to specific categories. Signature Hardware offers an online signup for a free catalog and an email newsletter. The site accepts a variety of payment options including PayPal.

Final Thoughts

A replaced hinge and a new knob or handle is all it takes to make an old piece of furniture new again.

This list is not complete. There are other online resources that offer quality products at good prices. If you know about some of those resources, please share them.

Restoring furniture is a fun and cost-effective hobby. It is a way of preserving our heritage and passing on history. And many times, the simple addition of new hardware is the magic that brings furniture back alive again.

If you have an old piece of furniture hidden in the attic or basement, why not give it new life? Add some new hardware and let it live again.

Debbie Allen is an online marketer and professional writer.

House Of Antique Hardware - Swedish Styled Keyholes

A Swedish Gustavian chest of drawers veneered with elm, walnut and amaranth

Antique Hardware & More

Louis XVI Style Matte Black Cabinet Ring Pulls 12 Pulls For $24 Dollars

Rejuvenation

My Swedish Hardware Picks From Kennedy Hardware

Swedish Little Girl, Old Country Door Hardware- Photography by Per Breiehagen

Swedish Chest In Old Red Paint- Ann Koerner Antiques

Cast Iron Wreath Torche Keyholes 6 For $12 Dollars

These don't come in brass, but rather I spray painted mine.

Swedish chest of drawers with original paint and hardware, three drawers, cabriole legs on squared feet. Provenance on top drawer dates piece to 1737.

18th century Swedish Green Painted Chest with finely cast brass handles.

Gustavian Chest of Drawers - Painted Gray

A Swedish Gustavian Painted Commode with a Simulated Marble Top circa 1790

Swedish Bombe Chest of Drawers- Sweden circa 1860 Cupboards & Roses

These beautiful paints  are the result of a recent collaboration between Fired Earth and the National Trust.

Founded in 1983 , Fired Earth began as a Terracotta supplier, and later expanded to offer bathroom and kitchen cabinetry, and hardware.  Although Fired Earth has a wide selection of house products, they are best known for their beautiful paints.

Uppsala Auktionskammare is known to present some of the finest collections of antique furniture. Uppsala Auktionskammare has been known to feature exquisite collections of silver, furniture, and art from Swedish private homes at their auctions. In the spring of 2008, Sweden's most expensive furniture [...]]]>   Rococo Period Clock- The Dial Is Marked Stockholm.

Uppsala Auktionskammare is known to present some of the finest collections of antique furniture. Uppsala Auktionskammare has been known to feature exquisite collections of silver, furniture, and art from Swedish private homes at their auctions. In the spring of 2008, Sweden's most expensive furniture ever was sold at Uppsala Auktionskammare, a unique bureau by Nils Dahlin for 18 million.

They carry a beautiful selection of European art; everything from the Renaissance until the late 19th century.  They are known to collect an array of antiques from mirrors, table clocks, chandeliers, table lamps, candlesticks,bronzes, figurines, and much more.

They are known to carry mirrors, candlesticks and bronzes by the following masters: Burchard Precht, Pierre-Philippe Thomire, Carl Henrik Brolin, Ehrhart Göbel, Johan Åkerblad, Fredrik Ludvig Rung, Niclas Meunier, and others.

Uppsala Auktionskammare features many prominent furniture designers such as Gottlieb Iwersson, George Haupt, Nils Dahlin, Christian Linning, Ephraim Ståhl, Jonas Hultstén, Anders Lundelius, Gustaf Foltiern.

They also are known to feature silver from Pehr Zethelius, Jonas T. Ronander, Petter Eneroth, Gustaf Stafhell, Arvid Floberg, Isak Sauer and Kilian Kelson

Check out some of Gustavian furniture and decorative collections from Uppsala Auktionskammare below.....

A Gustavian Chest of drawers, attributed to Jonas Hultstén.

A Swedish Gustavian Chest Of Drawers, by Nils Petter Stenström.

A Pair of Swedish Gustavian Armchairs.

A pair of Swedish Gustavian Chairs, signed Erik Holm.

A Set of Nine Chairs, Stockholm. So-called "Swedish model". Consisting of nine similar chairs.  Melchior Lundberg worked as a chair maker from 1774 to 1814. Oval openwork back,  fluted legs with rosette carved decoration.

A Swedish Rococo Secretaire, attributed to Olof Martin.

Gustavian Sofa With White Paint and Gold Detailing

Swedish Style Stand- Mahogany Wood

Mikael Nyberg, Stockholm 1798th Gustavian, column shafts, square base plate with lattice rim and ball-feet. Solving candle rings stamped 1795th
A pair of Gustavian candlesticks, by Mikael Nyberg

Swedish Gustavian Wall Mirrors And Clock

A Pair Of Swedish Late Gustavian Armchairs- Bronzed and carved decoration, saber shaped legs.

A pair of Swedish Gustavian Armchairs, signed Ephraim Ståhl.

A pair of Swedish Gustavian Armchairs, signed Johan Erik Höglander.

A Swedish Rococo Tea Table

If you have seen the previews for the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it features a captivating estate many Nordic lovers would instantly recognize as Swedish.  This striking castle featured in the movie is "Yxtaholms Castle", located on an island in Sörmland, just like it is seen in the movie.  Yxtaholms Castle was built in 1753 by Baron [...]]]>

If you have seen the previews for the movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it features a captivating estate many Nordic lovers would instantly recognize as Swedish.  This striking castle featured in the movie is "Yxtaholms Castle", located on an island in Sörmland, just like it is seen in the movie.  Yxtaholms Castle was built in 1753 by Baron Gustaf N. Clodt.

Released in December 2011, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, tells a murder mystery family saga, a love story, and adds political intrigue to produce a multilayered story line.

The movie sets around a charactor- Harriet Vanger, whom is from one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, and had disappeared over forty years ago. Years later in the film, her aged uncle (billionaire Henrik Vanger), continues to seek the truth of her disappearance. He engages Mikael Blomkvist (a journalist ) into his quest to find the truth, by offering to financially back the struggling Millennium magazine if the journalist will solve the mystery.

The thriller, set in Sweden, shows the beauty of the Scandinavian cold winters and elegant interiors, which are highly contrasted by a pierced and tattooed punk Lisbeth Salander, who is a computer hacker with photographic memory.  She joins forces with Blomkvist to uncover the truth about the 40-year-old disappearance.

The Yxtaholms Castle Website tells us that the castle, stables and wings were built in 1753.   Yxtaholm  began to flourish in the 17th century and today it is a modern hotel, restaurant and conference centre.  Design Guy University Blog tells us that the castle is now owned by owned by female Polish millionaire Iwona de Jong who bought the property for $35M in 2010.  Today it functions as a hotel, and has been
updated.  The conference center is now located in the large stable building. Yztaholms castle has 79 rooms and is about an hour and a half drive from Stockholm.

Additional Pictures of Yxtahoms

-A picture of Yxtaholms Castle on Flicker

-Design Guy University Blog- Historical Details on  Yxtaholms with great pictures!

-Lovisas Guldkorn Blog- Showing pictures of the suite in one of the wings, and in the hall where an amazing wooden ceiling is painted.

-Another picture of Yztaholms Exterior- Flicker

-Another look at this hotel from John Haudi's Flicker

-Another picture of Yztaholms Exterior Halsokallan.blogg

Yxtaholms Castle - www.svenskamoten.se

Yxtaholm Slott

Yxtaholms Castle - www.hotelspecials.se

Yxtaholms Slott www.hotelspecials.se

Another look at this dining room from flicker

Sturehov or Sturehof (also spelled Sturehov castle) is a manor house in Botkyrka, Sweden. Sturehov manor is located at Rödstensfjärden, about 3 kilometers west of the old Norsborg.

The name Sturehof, originates from the oldest known individual owner, Svante Sture Stenson whom was killed by King Erik XIV in connection with the so-called [...]]]>

Sturehov or Sturehof (also spelled Sturehov castle) is a manor house in Botkyrka, Sweden. Sturehov manor is located at Rödstensfjärden, about 3 kilometers west of the old Norsborg.

The name Sturehof, originates from the oldest known individual owner, Svante Sture Stenson whom was killed by King Erik XIV in connection with the so-called Sture murders at Uppsala Castle.  His descendants owned the farm for more than half a century. The farm was later purchased in 1778 by Gustaf II's "Finance", Baron Johan Liljencrantz, whom acquired the property in 1778 as a summer residence.  They say a fire burned down the main building, and only the two wings from the 1600s remained standing.  It was then that architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz draw up plans for a new main building. Adelcrantz was famous architect during the time known for his work with the Opera House in Stockholm. The two remaining wings were then modernized with mansard roof, and an update to the exterior paint color was changed from a country red to a prestigious white.

Also See -Swedish Interiors: The Chinese Pavilion

Today visitors can enjoy an afternoon out at Sturhov, where they also have a year around café called Voltaire & Vänner (Voltaire & Friends).  Take a look inside the cafe at The World According To Pia Blog

Sturehof is regarded as one of the country's finest example in the Gustavian decorating style. While a number of skilled craftsmen worked on the house, Interior Designer Louis Masreliez and architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz were to be considered the best in design and architecture of their time.

Swedish Tile Stoves

Johan Liljencrantz owner of the newly constructed main building at Sturehof was also the owner of the famous Marieberg factory.  Today there is a very limited amount of authentic Marieberg Kakelugnar stoves known to be around today.   The stoves that were located differ from the usual 1700s ovens by its white base color, shiny glaze and their bright colors.  Sturehov houses the country's largest collection of Marieberg stoves, a total of 17 pieces. The most magnificent of all the stoves is the "Liljecrantz 'Fireplace'. It is located in the room upstairs, which was supposed to be Liljecrantz 'bedroom.   The tiled stove was  so famous that it was pictured on a Swedish postage stamp.  After Liljencrantz's first wife, Ottiliana, died in 1788 he built Norsborgs mansion, and settled with his new wife, Eleanor.

The Röhsska Museum featured this interior which was drawn by architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz (1716–1796), who was a central figure in 18th century architecture and art history.

The Röhsska Museum featured an exibit called- The Masreliez room whom was named after the artist and decorator Louis Masreliez (1748-1810), who was Gustav III’s architect. The mural was executed by Louis Masreliez in the late Gustavian (Pompeian) style. Masreliez had studied in Rome for a longer period, and seen and been inspired by the ongoing excavations of antiquity’s Pompei. The wallcovering is painted in oil on fabric.

 A late Gustavian late 18th Century console table.

Design by Louis Masreliez and executed by Jean Baptist Masreliez.

Picture Credits

-Thor-Leif Fogelberg- Photo's of Sturehov Castle- PBASE

Additional Links & Pictures

-Sturehof Castle- View from Mälaren- Flicker

-Sturehof Castle- Close Up View Of Exterior - Flicker

-Sturehov Slott- Wikipedia

-Research Symposium:  Louis Masreliez National Museum

-A Stunning Picture of Sturehov in the winter

Sturehov Castle- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

Swedish Interior With A Tiled Wood Stove Sturehofs Slott- boibotkyrka.s

Photo By by RRRmikko For Panoramio.com

Model Sara Hammarbäck Featured At Sturehofs Slott.-

Heli Lehtonen Fashion Sets on Flicker

Here we see the chairs with modern slipcovers keeping with the Gustavian look.

Thor-Leif Fogelberg- pbase

Gustavian Interiors- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

Also Featured in Neoclassicism In The North

The Green Room Wikipedia

The Green Room Wikipedia

Central Room - Wikipedia

Cafe?  Wikipedia

Close Up Look At This Sensational Tile Stove- www.alltomkakelugnar.se

This beautiful stove is in Baroness large bedroom on Sturehof Castle. In the 1700s, considered the bedrooms not particularly private, but I also perform the function of living.

Among the first thing that visitors encounter when going into the company over the floor at Sturehof Castle is the octagonal drawing room and its fireplace in column style. It is a style formation that tries to mimic the columns that held up the ancient temples. This on Srurehof is typical in that it had a square base with a cylindrical top, and tight spot that was tromp l'oeil painted. Tromp l'oeil was very modern at the time and was to be atop the tiles glaze painted decoration that would look as three-dimensional as possible to simulate the ribs and three-dimensional details. - Information From alltomkakelugnar.se

Thor-Leif Fogelberg- pbase

Sturehofs Castle - cotedetexas.blogspot.com

Sturehof Castle Interior -Wikipedia

Another Spectacular Kakelugnar Stove

Model Sara Hammarbäck Featured At Sturehofs Slott.-

Heli Lehtonen Fashion Sets on Flicker

Model Sara Hammarbäck Featured At Sturehofs Slott.-

Heli Lehtonen Fashion Sets on Flicker

Visit Stockholm Blog

The Gustavian Style Of Swedish Interior Designer Louis Masreliez

Thor-Leif Fogelberg- pbase

Liljencrantz 'Fireplace- Wikipedia

Sturehov Castle Featured in The Swedish Room by Lars Sjöberg, Ursula Sjöberg, Ingalill Snitt,

Previewed by Google books here

Sturehov Castle Featured in The Swedish Room by Lars Sjöberg, Ursula Sjöberg, Ingalill Snitt,

Previewed by Google books here

Model Sara Hammarbäck Featured At Sturehofs Slott.-

Heli Lehtonen Fashion Sets on Flicker

Gustavian Interiors- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

These beautiful stoves were first designed in Sweden in the 18th century, as a result of an economic crisis that pushed Swedes to come up with a better way of extending the life of their firewood.  It was then that the famous Swedish [...]]]>

Gustavian Interiors- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

These beautiful stoves were first designed in Sweden in the 18th century, as a result of an economic crisis that pushed Swedes to come up with a better way of extending the life of their firewood.  It was then that the famous Swedish stove “kakelugn” was born.

Early versions of the tile stove date back to the Middle Ages, however, two clever Swedes created smoke channels beneath the tile, that held the heat for an extended amount of time.  They  introduced vents that controlled the burn speed, giving an additional 24 hours of comfortable radiant warmth. With the heat-retaining cast iron core and long multi channel flues, the kakelugns were able to retain heat, keeping rooms warm up to a whole day after the fire is out.

These antique stoves vary in shape.  They are often seen round, rectangular, or columnar, and positioned in a a corner or against a wall.  Heights range from about 5 feet 10 inches up to 9 and 10 feet tall.

In an article written by Stone Mason, they describe these amazing stoves:

"The period between 1500 and 1800 was known as ‘Europe’s little ice age’. In Sweden, where it was even colder than it is nowadays, it was clear that the constant use of fireplaces from morning till night would eventually lead to the total depletion of the nation’s forests. It was most fortunate, then, that in 1776 Adolf Frederik, the King of Sweden, commissioned Carl Johan Cronstedt to develop a stove that would make better usage of the country’s timber resources."

"Cronstedt, an Earl, architect, inventor and scientist, was given the tall order of producing a design that would use much less wood while still heating Swedish homes efficiently. An interesting side effect of this commission was that not only was a model developed that accomplished the King’s request, but it turned out to have other unforeseen environmental benefits."

"Very little smoke is seen coming out of a chimney where these stoves are being used. In the course of the year, a kakelugn regularly used will burn the wood of one medium sized tree"

"One main advantage of the kakelugn is that it burns very hot, typically 1110-1200 C, whereas a standard iron stove burns at around 650-700 C. However, you can safely touch it and feel only warmth"

Stockholms Lans Museum provides us additional information on these stoves:

"The decoration was initially cobalt blue but later extended with yellow, green and brown violet. First with the new colors were Rörstrand factory and from 1758 dominated the all colors. But it was rare for more than three patterns of colors in the same oven."

"In the mid-1700s it was not unusual for dinnerware pattern was used for The Fireplace tiles. The tiles were decorated with repeating patterns where palm branches, Chinese patterns and blomrankor were common motifs. The designs were painted by hand on each tile, always against a white background. "

"Gradually began to Swedish architects interested in the design of the stove. The workshops were to start from pattern drawings made by Swedish architects rather than making use of foreign models. Fireplace Manufacturing became a domestic crafts."

"These fine stoves occurred only in castles, mansions and wealthy burgher.  But even in these environments were those in the representative areas, the easier rooms put you in the cheaper and plain tile usually green or yellow."

Kakelugnar empiremasonryheaters.com

Low Tech Magazine suggests that this old technology should be brought back.

"An oven stove is a very efficient and robust oven that radiates heat all day. In the US it was introduced only 20 years ago, but in Europe the technology is almost one thousand years old. Especially in Russia,Scandinavia and Central Europe the oven stove has a long and rich tradition. In the 18th century, several European governments financed research to improve the technology, as a way to overcome an acute shortage of firewood: ecotech before the term existed."

“traditional Swedish tiled stove (kakelugnar) is so beautiful and iconic.”

Additional Links

-Stunning White Stove Taken By Kasmil on Flicker

-Blue and White Stove From Gissa's Flicker

-A Beautiful Room In Ekebyhovs castle.

-Kakelugn Tiled Stove -Victorious Felines

-Tiled Stove -Victorious Felines

-Swedish Cafe House -Eric Ebel

-Late 19th Century Swedish Ceramic Tiled Stove- KBHS Photostream

-Kakelugnar (Swedish tile stove)

Gustavian Interiors- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

Gustavian Interiors- Swedish Tiled Stove From Michael Perlmutter Photography

Book Review Jocasta Innes Scandinavian Painted Furniture

Stockholms Slott, 18th century Manor Sweden Gustavian Tiled Stove-

a-l-ancien-regime.tumblr.com

Svindersvik -  Richard 9191 Flicker

Notice the tiled stove in the mirror?

Svindersvik -  Richard 9191 Flicker

The kakelugn was invented in 1767 by Carl Johan Cronstedt. Scandinavian Chic Blog shows many beautiful examples .

“It’s not just beautiful on the outside – it’s also energy
efficient, with the highest effect on the wood burning stove market with
a “burn rate” of over 90-98% .”

Swedish Kakelugn Stove- Avolli: Beautiful Interior In Östermalm

Kakelugn Sweden-Image from Sköna Hem

Tile Stoves In Interior Design- interiorholic.com

Contura Swedish tile stoves with modern technology- appliancist.com

Swedish Stoves Picture 1 Stockholms Lans Museum , Pictures 2,3,4 www.alltomkakelugnar.se 

Sturehof Castle Interior -Wikipedia

Kakelugnen or A Swedish Tile Kiln Stove-blissfulb.blogspot.com

Tiled Stove By Jurlacher On Flicker

For rooms symmetry sometimes made pendants to the stoves. In the room opposite corner produced a copy of stove wood that could be fitted with cupboards and drawers. During the empire's chest panels still common. This paper glued and painted flat panel floor and mittelbandslist. Tense cardboard and painted walls with empirebårder.Skansen, Hazelius farm., Photo: Oak, Mattias, 2004- Stockholms Lans Museum

Swedish Room With Tiled Stove- Featured on Live-Like-You Blog

Swedish Stoves- Pinterest

Captures the essence of Nils Karlsson Pysslings.  Dollhouse furniture

Picture Credit- How To Bring The Swedish Decorating Style Into Your Home

Barbo Grandelius  and her husband Göran Peterson's Home

Barbo Grandelius  and her husband Göran Peterson's Home

Swedish Plan Details From csaszkokalyha.blogspot.com

Author of Lily Oake Blog, Paula Arndt has a taste for the Swedish styles. Her most current project is updating an armoire into a faux Swedish tiled stove. She needed a front entry "closet" for her c.1950 Cape Cod "Elinor Cottage" and found the perfect piece on Craiglist.

Unsure of what to do with [...]]]>

Author of Lily Oake Blog, Paula Arndt has a taste for the Swedish styles. Her most current project is updating an armoire into a faux Swedish tiled stove. She needed a front entry "closet" for her c.1950 Cape Cod "Elinor Cottage" and found the perfect piece on Craiglist.

Unsure of what to do with the armoire, she tossed around the idea of hand painting swags, and wallpapering the armoire. She turned to her Swedish decorating books and the classic Swedish tile stoves caught her attention. The idea was perfect!

Paula's Process:

Instead of hand painting every tile, she decided to paint the graphic once, and then scan the image into Photoshop, and apply the paper graphic to the armoire. Here is how she did it:

The process can seem a little complicated. To understand fully how Paula transfered her images, watch this video from Jackson's Art Supplies, which shows how Golden Fluid Matte Medium works.

1. Due to lack of time, she decided to design a pattern and have it printed as wallpaper through Spoonflower, instead of hand painting every tile. The size Spoonflower printed ended up not matching up to the measurements of the armoire, so she decided to design the faux tiles in Photoshop and then use an old method of transferring the image to the painted surface with Golden Fluid Matte Medium and her laser printer.

Her method must be used a laser copy print paper. She uses 28# from Hammermil. The glue used is Golden's acrylic transfer medium.

Simply copy off the image you want to transfer. The image needs to be a mirror image, as it will transfer backwards from what is on the print. Photoshop or GIMP, allows you to change the picture so it will present a mirror image.

Next, coat the surface of where the graphic is to be put with the glue and immediately apply. Place image face down onto the glue. Smooth down thoroughly. A craft roller will come in handy for this project, and can be purchased on Amazon for around $11.

It is important to coat the surface well or the image wont transfer. Once the image is placed into the glue, you cannot reposition the graphic. You must be very accurate in how and where you place it the first time.

Paula suggests letting the image dry over night. In the morning you can take a cup of water and your fingers to wet the surface and rub away the paper - the image will reveal itself on to the painted surface. Jackson's Art Supplies suggests you can lift the graphic off of the surface after three minutes. Either way, the image is then embedded into the new surface.

Paula has a love for the Swedish styles, so do follow her website. She will be revealing the new tiled armoire when it is finished.

Here is part one of her armoire makeover-"Transforming An Armoire into a Faux Swedish Tiled Stove"

-Lily Oak- Swedish Stove Mania

-Paula's Facebook Account

Other Links:

-Join Our Swedish French Decorating Group On Facebook

-Contemporary French Blue & White Tiled Stove with Cast Iron Hearth.

-Master Henriks- Blue and White Swedish Stove

Faux Kakelugn Cabinet From henhurst.blogspot.com

Swedish Stove- Featured On Home Design With Kevin Sharkey

From Book "The Swedish Country House"

Swedish Tile Stove -http://www.alltomkakelugnar.se/

These relics include the Rococo stove, and furniture by Karl Johan-From Book "The Swedish Country House"

This enchanting enfilade in a Swedish Home-From Book "The Swedish Country House"

Close-up of the Tiled Stove

Blue and White Swedish Tiled Stove- completelytotallymadly.blogspot.com

This home was featured in Swedish Magazine Skona Hem

Blue and White Stove

Beautiful tile stove used in the interior design of a Houston home. Interior design: katrincargill.com

Lars Sjobergs house featured in Country Style by Judith Miller

Tile stove in Rundale Palace, the largest & most important baroque
and rococo period architecture & art monument in Latvia.visualtravelguide.com

Beautiful tile oven in the Rundale's Palace. No two tiles are alike.

(Pilsrundale, Bauskas region, the Middle Latvia)

Lars Bolander's Book Scandinavian Design

Russian tile stove- elledecor.com

Tiled Fireplace- interiorstyledesign.tumblr.com

Swedish Tile Stove- houseofturquoise.com

Better Home and Gardens Magazine

Katrin Cargill's Bedtime Stories

Gigi Capone's Ironing Board Wallpaper-riced by the 5 yard roll and sold by the 15 yard triple roll. One roll will cover 33.75 square feet or 3.14 square meters.

Ilse Crawford's Ett Hem Hotel in Stockholm

Outstanding Blue and White Tiled Stairway

Period 18th Century Danish or Swedish Mid-18th Century Pier Mirror

A small Swedish Gustavian giltwood mirror, Late 18th Century

Swedish mirrors have undergone a number of styles since they were introduced in the country in the 1600s.

German glass makers helped to lead the way, and they created [...]]]>

Period 18th Century Danish or Swedish Mid-18th Century Pier Mirror

A small Swedish Gustavian giltwood mirror, Late 18th Century

Swedish mirrors have undergone a number of styles since they were introduced in the country in the 1600s.

German glass makers helped to lead the way, and they created mirrors in the baroque style of their home country. This included carved frames and a single pane of glass. Carvings could be simple or ornate, and frames could be square or rectangle, as seen in this mirror From Cupboards and Roses

Mirrors could also be made more ornate by hanging a curtain over them. This added a bit of flair and formality to the mirror.

A century or so later, more people began acquiring mirrors and the style switched to that of Swedish Rococo. This style featured carvings of shells or arabesques, and the frames were gilded and asymmetrical.

Shortly thereafter, another style evolved. The Gustavian style saw mirrors that were influenced by neoclassical aesthetics. Frames were richly carved and featured intricate leaves, ribbons and crests.

These neoclassical mirrors feature a pair of sphinxes on each mirror on either side of a fruit-bearing
pedestal. 

By the early 19th century, the aesthetic was changing again. Roman and Egyptian influences made themselves known, and mirrors featured carvings of things such as lions, sphinxes, and griffins. The frames also took on a distinctive shape, with semi-circular domes at the top and straight edges along the bottom.

This Swedish pier mirror, shows neoclassical details inspired by Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.

By the middle of the century, mirrors became much more common in everyday households, and production methods became more base. Decoupaged frames became common, or they were veneered.

The style evolution of Swedish antique furniture mirrors was influenced by a number of factors, and it produced some gorgeous mirrors that make excellent collector's items now.

What is your favorite style of Swedish antique furniture mirror? Share your thoughts or your finds in the comments!

About the Author:

Alexis Bonari writes for one of the largest open databases of college funding opportunities. Specific topics like scholarships for cosmetology school are described in detail to provide multiple resources for students.

Lars Bolander's Scandinavian Design

Swedish Transition Rococo/ Gustavian Mirror

Gustavian Mirror

Turn Of The Century Apartment In Sweden- Interior Design Files

This fine Swedish Adolf Fredrik period rococo gilt wood mirror has carved C-scrolls and foliate motifs.

Swedish Rococo Mirror with gold leaf on wood carved frame and a mirrored
inner frame. Stamped NM (Niklas Meunier), active between 1754-1797.

Parlor Table Gustavian Style

Wedding at Trollenas Castle (Trollenäs Slott) in southern Sweden

Swedish neoclassic console and mirror. The console having a veined white marble top above a frieze with carved foliate motifs and a central medallion, sitting on tapered fluted legs.The rectangular mirror having a plate within a robed border surmounting a rectangular top crest and medallion within foliate ribbon.

de Gournay Wallpaper

Danish Rococo Mirror 1750- Dietrich Schäffer, born 1730 in Keyla, Thuringia - died 1778, was a German Royal Court carpenter employed at the Danish Court in Copenhagen in the 18th Century. He was one of the main Rococo furniture artists of the time.

Mirror Attributed Johan Åkerbald -Giltwood mirror made in the transition between the high Gustavian and Late Gustavian period, 1780. The mirror is not signed but attributed to the greatest mirror maker in Sweden during the Gustavian Period (1751-1799). A very similar mirror was made by Niklas Sundström.

Beautiful Period Looks From Ikea- Promoting The RANDLEV Rug

Louis XVI Giltwood Mirror-The rectangular mirror plate within a bead and reel border surmounted by musical instruments and foliage.

Louis XVI Style 18th Century Gilt-Wood Mirror -French Louis XVI style gilt-wood mirror with pierced crest depicting a wreath around arrow heads and feathers from the 1780's with original mercury mirror glass.

Neo-classical-style frame of carved and gilt-wood with large, central antique mirror.  The carved top features a musical trophy, laurel wreath, branches & bell flowers draped over the corners.  Bottom
corners feature carved bulbs

Louis XVI period  carved and gilt wood wall mirror, the pediment of doves of peace fronting a laurel wreath; the sides with trailing bellflowers.

Period Louis XVI Gilt Mirror, Period Louis XVI Gilt wood mirror with original plate

Round French Mirror Featured in Elle Decoration France

Pair of Gustavian Girandoles

Lars Sjöberg and his Swedish manor Ekensberg- World Of Interiors Fall 2008

A Swedish Rococo gitwood mirror, Third Quarter 18th Century, the divided mirror plate surrounded by a molded giltwood frame with a beveled glass  panel, surmounted with a pierced shell, foliate and scrolled crest, the lower section with similar carving.

A Superb Swedish Rococo Gold Gilt Mirror circa 1760

Swedish Interiors- Originally Uploaded From Kristin Fägerskjöld on Pinterest

French Directoire Period Giltwood Trumeau Mirror-A petit French Directoire period giltwood trumeau mirror with sheath of wheat cartouche and other neoclassical detailing (Circa 1790). Nice old mercury glass.

Petit Louis XVI Period Giltwood Trumeau Mirror-A petit French Louis XVI period giltwood mirror with a pair of doves and wreath cartouche, laurel leaves and other neoclassical detailing, and nice old mercury glass ("trumeau de marriage") (Circa 1780).

Swedish Interiors- Originally Uploaded From Kristin Fägerskjöld on Pinterest

Gustaviansk crested with wheat signed Johan Åkerblad, Stockholm circa 1760- Gustavian Mirrors

Trumeau Mirror- Featured on underspanishmoss.com

Trumeau Mirror- Lars Bolander

Tara Shaw Antiques in New Orleans, LA

Trumeau Mirror- Shannon Bowers Veranda Magazine 

Veranda May June 2004

With Neoclassical-style fluted details and a high-gloss finish, this chest is a cross between old and new, says Gambrel—“like a country cabinet dressed up for the city.” Given the playful juxtaposition of form and finish, the 31.5"-tall piece would be at home in a girl’s bedroom. $2,000; chelseatextiles.com

Children dream in vivid [...]]]>

With Neoclassical-style fluted details and a high-gloss finish, this chest is a cross between old and new, says Gambrel—“like a country cabinet dressed up for the city.” Given the playful juxtaposition of form and
finish, the 31.5"-tall piece would be at home in a girl’s bedroom. $2,000; chelseatextiles.com

Children dream in vivid color, and anything is possible to them, so why not create a room fit just for their personalities?  When it comes to decorating your child's room, you simply cannot go wrong, because almost anything is pleasing to them.  Even if you try to create something special, they are overjoyed at your choices!  Children love rooms where they can express themselves, and be creative.  Imagination and playtime, - think of those two concepts while you are gathering ideas for their room, and you will do well with an overall theme.....

Most parents feel they can go a bit more daring in a child's bedroom than what they would do for the rest of the house, which is why it is so darn fun to design kids rooms- you can be a bit crazy and get away with it.

Here are a couple tips to getting a great look for your kids room decor......

1. Invest In A Few Key Pieces- Don't be afraid of buying an expensive piece of furniture for your kids room.  A great chest, or genuine chair can stay in their room for years, and stay in the guest room when they move out and get married.

A great vintage reproduction play table would be a great focal point in a child's room.  Functional pieces that are also visually attractive should be the goal.   This Louis XVI Child's chair would match the Swedish styles quite well.  Consider upholstering it with material that matches your child's drapes and bedspread. This play-table would be great in a little boys room where red, and dark blue would say "I am a Boy".

Get the general look of the Swedish style, by re-purposeing furniture.  Change the hardware, paint furniture, and use a lot of distressing techniques to get the old appeal into the overall look.  Buy transfer-ware tea sets for your little girl, and use a vintage french provincial end table, and re-purpose it with child's chairs.  Add wheels to the bottom of the end table to lift the table higher to give your children's legs room to stretch out. French style play tables aren't so common, so get the look using a vintage french end table.

 Decorating doesn't have to be expensive.  Look out for vintage toys at your local flea markets, antique stores and thrift stores for great looking toys to decorate with.  Wood has always been a signature style of the Swedish look.  Melissa & Doug have great faux food which will make you want to join in for "tea time"

2. Decorate With Vintage Toys- Antique wood furniture can be painted, and roughed up unlike plastic. Greenleaf Doll Houses come in kits which you can set up, and paint.  A vintage nightstand from ebay or craigslist might be a perfect match for a dollhouse. Customize the table to match the dollhouse.

Buy a wood rocking horse, and paint it yourself.  You CAN get these horses for less than $1800!  On ebay some of the vintage horses sell for $150 or so, which would allow you to customize it yourself.  Kids are pretty rough on furniture, so putting genuine antiques in their room, isn't the best of ideas.  Buy something that looks great, but also something that if it gets damaged, you won't be bent out of shape over.  Invest in a few key pieces for their room, such as a bed, or a chest.  The bigger pieces will set the theme, rather than the smaller items.

3.  Invest In Storage Furniture- Kids have a heck of a lot of toys, and spending money on decorating a kids room does no good if there is no place to house their endless play toys.  Ikea has a number of shelving which can be stacked and customized.  The Expedit series has worked well for organizing kids toy collections.  Organize your kids toy collections with shoe boxes.  Buy matching bookshelves which you can devote an entire wall to.  Back your child's bed up to the bookshelves, which costs you only a couple of inches of space, but also save you from walking all over their toys.

For more ideas check out my pinterest page devoted to Children's rooms......

Kids Mark French Chairs

Children Looking Into A Swedish Antique Shop- Credit

This boy is sitting by a lovely Gustavian childs table. The table has hand carved fleur medallions and a hand carved pearl bead border. The small Gustavian childs chair has the same hand carved pearl bead border. -blog.dnevnik.hr

Childrens Room With Swedish Bench

3D wallpaper from an installation by Swedish Deisgn Front Group

This beautiful old house was built in Sweden in 1972 and then renovated with elements of the Gustavian style.  Shades of ivory and white make the interior look light and airy. Restored wooden floors, painted beams and old furniture in combination with white create a simple and elegant atmosphere.  To see the rest of this  renovated 1972 Swedish farmhouse, read the story on the  Inspiring Interiors blog.

Wooden Antique Horse - patmonroeantiques.com

Bedsteads were up in the 19th century used a lot, especially in the rural areas in farms . One of the advantages of a bedstead was that through daytime use, the curtains or doors could be closed, making thius style of furniture open to being in the living room in smaller homes.  Bedsteads also took on the appearance of a closet, where behind closed doors a bed would funtion through the night, while the day time, a working area with table and chairs, sofas could allow a person functional living.   Another advantage was that a bedstead retained heat well.  The small space, or closet locked in the body heat of the sleepers. 

Kids Photography by Nina Say Cheese

Swedish Gustavian Louis XVI period painted chest of drawers with raised
reeded detail , three drawers and dental molding around the top.- Berkshire Home & Antiques

French Commodes - Available Through Cote France

Photo credit: Marie Claire Maison

Gustavian period – Neo-Classical bench seat,Sweden, end of the 18th century.

A hard and softwood bench later partly painted in white, with openwork decoration in the form of acanthus leaves, painted with gold. Dorotheum

25 Ideas Of How To Incorporate Orange, Pink and Coral Into Your Home- French Provincial Furniture

Domino Magazine

Commode Gabriel- Available Through Cote France

Get Some Ideas From These Colorful Gustavian Chairs sold through Brownrigg

A fine set of six, early 19th century, painted Gustavian dining chairs, retaining the original paint, and been recently reupholstered by us in a vintage linen hand dyed in pink, with a double piping contrast vintage  linen, again hand dyed in yellow. Sweden Circa 1800 

Karin Laserow Antiques -Gods & Gårdar

Sasha Waddell -Homes & Antiques  September 2010

Katie Ridder Rooms Available through Amazon- Seen On Peak Of Chic Blog

Swedish Folk Art hung on the wall can add whimsy to a room. 

Consider hanging a colorful handmade quilt on the wall. 

Photo Credit- Project Nursery

Swedish Slipcover Ideas From In My Carport Blog

Norwegian Corner Chair With Salmon Background- Jeff R. Bridgman American Antiques

Nordic Style Bedside Cabinet - Nordin Farm Blog- Orginally Featured at Ville Kulla

A canopy bed by Anthropologie is draped with a Pierre Frey cotton; the side table is by Kartell.

A Perfect Boys Bedroom With Classic Swedish Check By Bibelotte

 The Norwegian paint company Jotun has created a catalog of inspiring children's environments to show exactly how best to use their paints

The Norwegian paint company Jotun

French Commodes - Available Through Cote France

Milk Magazine -Norway Photographed by Sandie Carol Dougnac

Scandinavian style on bedlinen by swedish company plastisock as seen at nordic kids.

Martha Stewarts Very Best 87 Colorful Rooms

Use Vintage Cabinets and Dressers and Make Your Own Standing Dollhouse

In a corner of the living room, a 1940s mercury glass lamp stands on a rough, round Empire-style table next to two 1920s Scandinavian painted chairs. The graceful wing-backed chaise dates from the 1930s and is upholstered in simple white canvas duck, with natural linen pillows from Ruby Beets.- House Beautiful Magazine

Wood has always played an integral part in the Swedish home life. Beech, birch and pine are the most popular woods in the Nordic region. Hardwoods such as mahogany were rarely used in Sweden as they would have to be imported, as well as the blonder woods were native to the land making it [...]]]>

Wood has always played an integral part in the Swedish home life. Beech, birch and pine are the most popular woods in the Nordic region. Hardwoods such as mahogany were rarely used in Sweden as they would have to be imported, as well as the blonder woods were native to the land making it practical to make everything out of wood other than the kitchen sink. Swedish design is known for their use of pale wood, panelling, and solid wood furniture. Furniture was often elaborately painted, or left bare.  In this country home we see this very design; shades of white, minimal design, and outstanding Swedish wood furniture.

Tips From This Interior To Your Home:

1. Add Interest- This Swedish interior is based around whites. They add an interesting floor mat to spice things up. A guitar hangs on the wall, which adds a stamp of personality into the home.  Make your textiles count in a minimal home.  Consider fabrics that have a Swedish styled patterns.  Look for upholstery fabric, slipcovers, tablecloths with a distinct Swedish design.

2. Skip Painting Some Pieces. If you are hoping to decorate around white, add in plenty of untouched wood pieces to the overall scheme. Raw wood furniture can be very beautiful. This directoire style chest is washed with solid paint in a unique way that shows off the wood, but at the same time presents a very rustic edge to the style.  Use the paint technique for your own wood pieces.  Give a Swedish touch to these raw pieces by adding a oil rubbed hardware.... The rustic details won't be overlooked.

3. Hang Swedish Styled Art- Look around for one of a kind art for your walls. Find a local artist who can create dimensional embroidery for your walls. Pick up 9 identical frames, and have the artist create a story or pattern that can be told through the embroidery. Add color into your home through the thread. Opt for brighter reds, yellow or blues.

Carl Gustaf Tessin

In the region of Bettna there are Manor houses abound, the most famous being Åkerö, beautifully positioned on the shores of lake Yngaren. The old mother tree to the famous Åkerö apple still stands in the gardens.    The castle has its own apple variety. The parent tree [...]]]>

Carl Gustaf Tessin

In the region of Bettna there are Manor houses abound, the most famous being Åkerö, beautifully positioned on the shores of lake Yngaren. The old mother tree to the famous Åkerö apple still stands in the gardens.    The castle has its own apple variety. The parent tree was planted in 1759 and still stands in the park and gives fruit every year.  Buildings have been on the property since the 1200s.  Several of the farm's owners have belonged to Sweden's most distinguished noble families;  Natt och Dag, Tott, Sture and Bielke.

In the mid 1500's  a castle was built with turrets and towers that are depicted in Dahlberg's "Suecia Antiqua".  A part of the palace was burned a hundred years later and never refurbished.

The members of the Tessin family have been important in Swedish history. Nicodemus Tessin the Elder arrived there in 1636 and, alongside Jean de Vallée, became the country’s leading architect. His most famous work is Drottningholm Palace, which was completed by his son, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, an even more significant architect whose major work is the Royal Palace in Stockholm. Nicodemus the Younger’s son, Carl Gustaf Tessin, was formally in charge of completing the Royal Palace, but was more noted as a diplomat and politician than as an architect. Carl Gustaf was one of the founders of the Hat Party and became one of the 1700s most important politicians with titles such as councilors, top Marshall and the Office of the President, the latter equal to the prime minister.

Carl-Gustaf Tessin purchased Åkerö in 1748.   Carl-Gustaf Tessin was then superintendent of the Royal Palace . The architect Carl Harleman was good friends with Tessin, and when CG Tessin wanted to retire from political life, they settled on the land and hired Carl Harleman. Harleman then designed the main building and proposed two wings. The result was one of the most beautiful rococo seats were filled with art treasures of Europe's leading artists. As ambassador in Paris and during trips to Italy and Vienna had CG Tessin acquired a sound knowledge of architecture and art.

 Åkerö manor is beautifully surrounded by water from all sides. Beautiful maples, ash and linden trees are planted all around. Wall paintings, mirrors, door lintels, floors and countless antiques fill the space of the castle. .  The National Museum has a large part of Tessin's art collection at the Royal Library in Stockholm. Nowadays, concerts are put on at Åkerö Manor in cooperation with Södermanlands Music & Theater.

There are not many pictures of Akerö, just these three below

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden- Picture 1

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden- Picture 2

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden- Picture 3

Books Available on Amazon:

Nicodemus Tessin the Elder: Architecture in Sweden in the Age of Greatness

Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was an architect, gentleman, and founder of the artistic dynasty that was immensely influential at the Swedish court in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He was architect to the crown, to the nobility, and to the city of Stockholm, and he supplied buildings for a wide range of functions, from palaces to banks, courthouses, and fortifications. His unusually extensive travels in the Netherlands, Italy, France and Germany provided him with a comprehensive picture of contemporary European architecture, which he drew on as he synthesized a new group of buildings that would attract
international attention as models for princely architecture. His productivity required a new approach to architecture, and he was part of the first generation of architects in northern Europe to develop the architectural studio, distinguishing the design process from the business of building, and in the
process recreating himself as the modern architect.

Essays on Scandinavian History

This book examines important aspects of the history of Sweden and its Nordic neighbors between the later eighteenth and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Historian H. Arnold Barton has selected thirteen of the numerous essays  he has published over the past forty years on the history of Scandinavia.

This is a companion volume to Barton's The Old Country and the New, an essay collection on Swedish emigration and the Swedes in America. Included here are studies of the special significance of the eighteenth century in Sweden's history and culture, the relationship of King Gustaf III to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, the impact of the American Revolution in Sweden, and Gustaf III's ambitions in the East Baltic region. Also detailed are the king's early reaction to the French Revolution and his efforts to
organize a European coalition to crush it, a reassessment of the reign and internal reforms of Gustaf IV Adolf, and the Swedish succession crises of 1809 and 1810.

In addition, Barton examines the increasing tension between the Pan-Scandinavian movement and the rising Finnish national movement. He deals with the historians of the Danish Agrarian Reforms of 1784-1814, parallel developments in Finland and Norway between 1808 and 1917, the discovery of Norway abroad, Swedish national romanticism, and Sweden's transition from a warfare state to a welfare
state, now exemplifying the rational and humane ideals of the twentieth century.

Essays on Scandinavian History highlights important topics in the history of the Scandinavian region, which has remained all too little known outside the Nordic lands themselves, while also offering broader perspectives on Europe since the mid-eighteenth century. Twelve keyed-to-text illustrations, a bibliography of Barton's publications on Scandinavian history, essay endnotes, and an index augment this work.

A 'musical' Trompe l'oeil in one of the rooms of Akerö in Södermanland,

Sweden with a Rococo "Bonheur du Jour" Picture Credit -La Pouyette Blog

Akerö in Södermanland, Sweden -Credit

Krusenberg Herrgård is an extravagant hotel beautifully situated by Ekoln, a bay in Lake Mälaren. The estate dates back to the mid-15th century and is now a first-class hotel and conference facility that has retained its genuine style and old charm.

The manor house was built in 1802, and the wings date from the [...]]]>

Krusenberg Herrgård is an extravagant hotel beautifully situated by Ekoln, a bay in Lake Mälaren. The estate dates back to the mid-15th century and is now a first-class hotel and conference facility that has retained its genuine style and old charm.

The manor house was built in 1802, and the wings date from the 18th century. Enjoy a walk through their large park and apple orchard with more than 100 old apple trees. The artist Gustaf Cederström, who grew up on the estate, painted his best-known work,"Karl XII´s likfärd"(The funeral transport of Charles XII) .

About the Hotel:

When staying at Krusenberg you can take the opportunity to take a tour with a canoe or rowboat which is supplied from the hotel. In winter, the situation is ideal for skating. The latest addition Sjöporten is a newly built house with exclusive sauna and spa. The building is right on the water's edge and includes two wood-burning saunas with magnificent views of Lake Mälaren. Upstairs there is a spa area with treatment rooms and relaxdel. The house is built and furnished to suit those who appreciate "the good life".

Manor house accommodates our renowned restaurant serving carefully prepared food in season. The kitchen is home not only cooks but also to their very own pastry chef who bakes fresh bread and pastries for every meal. Meals are served in the main building's beautiful dining rooms. At this hotel you can also take the opportunity to relax in one of the most prestigious salons.

Manorhouse is 25 minutes from the airport and within easy reach of both the Stockholm and Uppsala. The hotel also offers a historical walking tour with a guide.  Active guests will appreciate the petanque court and the tennis court.  Meals are accompanied with wines from the manor’s wine cellar.

Krusenberg Herrgård is only 25 minutes from Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport and conveniently situated for both Stockholm and Uppsala. Uppsala city centre is 20 minute drive away. Sweden’s oldest town, Sigtuna, is 18 km from the Krusenberg Herrgård.

See the official website here

Krusenberg Herrgård Photo Credit

the

Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

Wood floors are one of the most recognized design feature of the Swedish Gustavian look. Rustic planked wood is a top choice for flooring in the design industry. Wood floors are easy to maintain, and they are associated with the utmost quality and taste. Hardwood [...]]]>

Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

Wood floors are one of the most recognized design feature of the Swedish Gustavian look. Rustic planked wood is a top choice for flooring in the design industry. Wood floors are easy to maintain, and they are associated with the utmost quality and taste. Hardwood flooring will outlast carpet in any competition making it a smart investment.

If you have children or pets, carpet gets dirty. Pets that come in and out of the house bring dirt back into the home, and over time, the carpets become soiled. In this situation, carpeting only looks good after they are shampooed. While I am not here to beat up carpet, as there are many styles of carpet that are elegant choices, wood flooring maintains better over the years. Even if you decide to go with one of the less expensive wood alternatives, you are assured that this look is easier to maintain than carpet.

It wasn't until the Baroque Era began, that wood flooring became an option for the home. Before 1625, most European houses continued to have dirt floors. Wealthy families utilized elm or oak boards which were held on joists.   Once wood floors gained popularity, it became known as a more affluent design choice.   Throughout the 17th and 18th century wood flooring flourished.  Solid wood plank flooring, was  installed in many homes, and many trend setting homes painted their floors.  Upscale homes installed the richer designs such as parquet and marquetry wood patterns. Wood flooring today is still the most desired flooring, surpassing stone flooring.

Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

 Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

Gustavian Trågsoffa, via Skona Hem

Svartsjö Palace In Sweden

Svartsjö Palace In Sweden

Svartsjö Palace In Sweden

Svartsjö Palace In Sweden

If you're a do-it-yourself type of person who isn't afraid of tackling renovations, then this is an article is a must-read if you are planning on replacing your flooring. Every home is under a budget when renovations come into play. If are a few inexpensive alternatives for the rich look of hardwood flooring.

Inexpensive [...]]]>

If you're a do-it-yourself type of person who isn't afraid of tackling renovations, then this is an article is a must-read if you are planning on replacing your flooring. Every home is under a budget when renovations come into play. If are a few inexpensive alternatives for the rich look of hardwood flooring.

Inexpensive Options For The Wood Floor Looks

Vinyl Plank "Peel and Stick" Flooring.

Vinyl wood plank floor is a rather new idea that has become popular in the last several years. Everyone is familiar with the "peel and stick tiles", now they have come out with a "peel and stick plank" that replicates plank flooring.  If you want to save some money and install the flooring yourself, this might be an option to consider.

Pros For Vinyl Plank "Peel and Stick Flooring" 

All that is required to install theses floors is a utility knife with a sharp blade and a tape measure.   Peel-n-stick vinyl flooring means the adhesive has already been applied to the back of the vinyl, and all that's required to install the vinyl plank is to peel off the protective paper and firmly press the plank in place.  Unlike wood flooring, vinyl wood plank floors don't require a miter saw to complete the cuts around the room. Vinyl planks can be cut to the appropriate size with nothing more than a good utility knife and a metal ruler.

-Lowes Style Selections put together a very simple video guide of how to install the Peel & stick vinyl plank floor.  These tips will give you a professional look- Here

-In this video, a customer makes a video of how to install plank flooring.  What I love about this video is this customer is an every day person who hasn't installed flooring before.  If you are considering buying this flooring, and are worried about how to install it, this video will put your mind at ease- Here

-One Ladies Kitchen Transformation here

Many companies have mimicked numerous varieties of wood in countless colors. The reason vinyl has become so popular is the material is durable and easy to clean, and anyone can install it. You can spill almost anything on the floor, and not worry if it will stain the flooring like you would with wood.

Traffic Master Vinyl Flooring Colors

Our floor has a large sheet of vinyl flooring that is meant to look like hardwood and it has held up quite well since we have lived in our home.  I could drag a large piece of furniture across the floor, and it likely wouldn't  scratch like laminate would.

Large sheets of vinyl are pretty complicated to install for the average DIY homeowner, where as the individual planks make it easy for any homeowner to install with ease.   You could easily do a room over the weekend yourself, and I suppose you could haul these boxes home in your car compared to rolls of vinyl.

Protile 4" x 36" Vinyl Plank in White Wash -36.-Square Feet per Carton $47

On the Voices Yahoo Site, One Customer gives this product an in-depth review, here are some of the comments I found interesting:

"Seeing our strong interest but still sensing some hesitancy, the Home Depot employee told us that WalMart had been installing this flooring in upgrades to many of its stores. In fact, he suggested that we go visit our own local WalMart to see TrafficMaster Allure flooring in use - they had installed it a year ago. We went, we looked closely, and we were impressed. Regardless of what you think of WalMart as a flooring reference, you know that they get lots of people through their stores and the flooring they use has to hold up. The TrafficMaster Allure flooring looked great in WalMart."

"While on the carport, several hundred dollars worth of Traffic Master Allure was subjected to two bouts of heavy rain that flooded our carport and soaked our boxes of wood vinyl flooring. We were very concerned that we had lost our flooring but we opened the ruined boxes and let the TrafficMaster vinyl planks air dry. Surprisingly, everything seemed to be fine. The vinyl wood planks dried perfectly, the adhesive was still plenty sticky, and there was no warping at all."

"Cost-wise, at $2.39 a square foot, TrafficMaster Allure is about the same price as the average floor tile, comparable in price to Pergo laminate flooring and half the price of hardwood flooring. Additional cost savings can be found because it is entirely possible that you can install this flooring by yourself - even if you aren't an experienced do-it-yourselfer. It is also much quicker to install time-wise than a tile floor. My only complaint would be in selection choices at the store. There were several color choices in stock at Home Depot and no one mentioned that even more choices were readily available online"

Not For Concrete, One Customers Experience

Cons For Peel and Stick Plank Flooring:

Apartment Therapy did up a post called "TrafficMaster Allure Vinyl Flooring" where they posted comments from a Home Depot employee left on their website. Check out the post and look over the dozens of comments left on the article, before purchasing the product.

1.  Peel and Stick Plank Flooring IS Not for Concrete Flooring.

This style of flooring is meant to be used in rooms that are normally kept at room temperature, (65 to 85 degrees). If you are thinking about using it in a basement, or sun room that are rather cold, then vinyl plank flooring is not for you.

On the Buzzillions website, the picture above shows Traffic Master flooring installed over concrete, and it looks horrible.  "I installed my Allure floor in Oct of 2008 over concrete floors (30 year old house, basement, previously I had carpet down with zero water issues) . In the spring of 2008 the below started. I can scrap up the glue and clean up the floor only to see the same thing happen again within 2weeks.... I'm planning to go to them to see what they can offer as a replacement"

2. The Pattern Wears Off

Vinyl wood plank floors cannot be re-finished and have a relatively short life-span compare to solid wood floors.

Depending on the thickness, manufacturer, and foot traffic volume, vinyl wood plank floors might only last a short amount of time.  After the floor has reached the end of its life, it will have to be removed and a new floor installed.

Solid wood floors on the other hand afford the homeowner the ability to re-finish them several times, even allowing for the ability to change stain variations and colors as they re-decorate.

One customer leaves this comment:

"I put it down in my kitchen over a smooth surface (vinyl sheet over plywood), but after a few years the edges turned white as well as several areas where the "wood" surface wore off leaving big areas of white. We use gentle cleaners and there are only a few people living in the house so it doesn't get tons of traffic.  I love the product for the ease and look, but now I have to replace my floor after only a few years!"

3.  Look Closer, It Does Look Like Plastic.

Vinyl hardwood has become quite popular, because people want a nice look for less.  In our modern society, almost everything is faux, and many people are perfectly content with it. Many people aren't snobs about their interior, and aren't particular about the style of furniture, color schemes, matching drapery and so forth.  If you are a person that is rather particular, vinyl floor may bother you because it is plastic, and not real wood.  Vinyl isn't cheap, and yet costs quite a bit of money, and it doesn't even compare to real wood.  So if you think the faux look might bother you, I would suggest getting real wood.

Zoffany’s Wallpaper collection, Gustavus 

 Check Out ALL the colors from Hangzhou Enzo I/E Trading Co., Ltd.

Tundra Laminate Pine Effect Flooring From Ikea

Laminate Floors- Are They Worth The Money? Some would say heck yes!

Laminate flooring is a multi-layer, synthetic flooring product which simulates wood, marble, limestone and granite, using a photograph installed beneath a clear protective layer. This image closely resembles a natural material, but the difference [...]]]>

Tundra Laminate Pine Effect Flooring From Ikea

Laminate Floors- Are They Worth The Money? Some would say heck yes!

Laminate flooring is a multi-layer, synthetic flooring product which simulates wood, marble, limestone and granite, using a photograph installed beneath a clear protective layer. This image closely resembles a natural material, but the difference becomes apparent upon close inspection. Common woods are available such as maple, oak and pine, and more exotic species, such as Brazilian cherry, mahogany and walnut can be purchased. Beneath the photographic layer is an inner core composed of melamine resin and fiberboard materials. Pergo® is the most popular brand of laminate flooring, although other manufacturers include DuPont® and Witex®.

Laminate can look nice as well, but also are subject to failure just like any product choice.  Here are a few disadvantages to the flooring.

- The biggest draw back to laminate is you cannot refinish it.  Dings add to the character of true wood floors, and often times people bang them with chains and gouge them to get the authentic feel of time worn wood floors.  One scratch in laminate floors and you simply cannot fix it.  You must be careful with high heels, kids toys, and moving of furniture to keep your floors in excellent condition.

- Extreme temperature changes can cause the boards to pull away from one another.

-Panels can push up against each other at the joints, creating un-level high points. This is common where the boards were not installed with sufficient expansion space.

- Warping and buckling issues are caused by high humidity or excessive surface moisture, or a lack of a sufficient moisture barrier. Hardwood floors, by contrast, are naturally more resistant to moisture damage, as they will swell and shrink to accommodate changes in moisture

-Mold will occur when excessive moisture is present. Mold is a serious threat to home owners and can cause permanent serious health concerns.

- Patterns sometimes don't always match from package to package.  This can be very obvious and beyond the control of a consumer.

-The inner core can expand because it is made out of high-density fiberboard.  If you have any moisture issues, or even if you didn't lay down a sufficient enough moisture barrier, your flooring will swell and fall apart.

-Formaldehyde-outgassing, which originates from the melamine resin in various laminate floors. Chemically sensitive individuals may have reactions to particular brands of laminate or vinyl flooring.

A customer leaves this comment about Traffic Master:

"My family got very ill after this product was installed in our house. Apparently it was off-gassing causing headaches, body aches, runny noses and more. When we called the manufacturer, they quickly arranged to have the floor removed and reimbursed us in full. Obviously we are not the first ones to have a health issue with this product. It should NOT BE SOLD!"

Laminate floors look great, and can be the ideal choice for nice exotic wood floors without the cost of wood  Many people want the high end looks, and this allows them to get the look for less than the real thing.

The glossy white "Markland" Flooring From Ikea has the glossiest, whitest, lacquered-look flooring you’re going to find.  Ikea gives you this look with no painting required.  The Markland lacquered rubber planks are more durable than a painted surface and will quickly freshen up your space in no time at all.

I stumbled across a DIY trend out there where people are cutting their own "planks" out of plywood.  It seems rather unusual at first, but the results really surprised me.  You get the look of real wood flooring which you can sand, paint, stain, varnish, or white wash, for fractions of the [...]]]>

I stumbled across a DIY trend out there where people are cutting their own "planks" out of plywood.  It seems rather unusual at first, but the results really surprised me.  You get the look of real wood flooring which you can sand, paint, stain, varnish, or white wash, for fractions of the cost.

"We tore up nasty old carpet, then cut grooves in the plywood that was under the carpet to replicate plank flooring with a skill saw - and used a dremel to get closer to the walls. This worked better than the router which was recommended in the web article I got this idea from. We stained and then did three coats of poly. Everyone's amazed that this isn't 'real' plank flooring! We varied the width of the planks, using a 2x4 as a guide."

There are a couple of links I want to share that might move you in the direction of considering this look.

1.  Layers Of Learning Blog Flooring Transformation

Layers Of Learning Blog posted absolutely stunning photos of a room that they used plywood cut into 6″ strips of wood.

They mention in their article that plywood floors allowed them to transform their WHOLE house because of the low cost of the materials.  This certainly a reason to consider this option. Many people can only afford a couple rooms with the other options.  Plywood is so inexpensive, that you can do it yourself, and it is affordable.

Plywood gives you the option to cut wide planks with real grain.  For those of you who want the REAL thing, this would be an affordable way of getting the look for less.

Buying plywood allows you to do one room at a time.  It doesn't matter if your project takes you a couple months to a year to complete, because plywood is practically the same from store to store.    The finishing process allows you to dent, distress, and apply paint or stain which unifies the space.

Another plus to plywood floors is if something is spilled on the floors, which ruins several boards, all they would have to do is rip up the damaged boards, and replace them with the same finishing paint, stain or varnish!

PLY Wood Floors By Layers Of Learning Blog

Here are some of their costs:

Living room - 20′x13′ which equals 260 square feet.

$13.97 each on 9 sheets of 11/32″ “CD” grade plywood = $125.73, See the rest of the break down on their blog Layers Of Learning Blog

Here are some of their tips to consider.

Don't Buy the Premium Brand Of Plywood

"There are different grades of plywood. “A” grade is the nicest, it comes with one very clean and sanded side. This is not what we went with because, as the guy at Lowe’s said, we can sand it ourselves and save big $$$. A sheet of “A” grade plywood costs about $28 in our market, but a sheet of “C” grade plywood is only about $14."

Let The Wood Adjust To The Temperature Of The Room 

" After the plywood is cut, stack it in the room where you’ll be laying it for a couple of days."

2. Quarry Orchard Blog

Quarry Orchard Blog also put together a beautiful floor made from Plywood.  In their "Plywood To Plank Flooring Tutorial"

They decided to tackle a redoing the room above their garage with a square footage of approximately 533.  They decided to go with 6 inch strips that were all 8 feet long.  They were shocked that it only took them an hour and 45 minutes to cut the sheets into the planks.

A Couple Tips From The Quarry Orchard Blog

- They started with the first board and squared it with the wall, leaving a 1/16 inch gap between the first board and the wall.

- Be sure to use a nail punch to make sure that the nails at least flush with the flooring.

- Clean up the look by being sure the nails are all in line and evenly spaced. Have a helper that can measure and mark the wood. They measured every 16 inches for each nail. Consider making a jig to help with the measuring and marking for where the nails are to go. This will enable you to line up the previous board and mark rather than measure for every single nail.

Check out the final pictures of this room!  What a transformation! 

A Break Down Of Their Material Costs:

16 sheets of 15/32 pine plywood @ $16.49 per sheet
9 gigantic tubes of Liquid Nail @ $4.75 each
10 lbs of cut nails (ordered from Tremont Nail Company) @ $69.63 (includes s&h)
4 gallons of Varathane polyurethane @ $37.46 per gallon
2 quarts of stain @ $9.99 each

3.  Tidbits From The Tremaynes Blog

For their stunning transformation they used 4x8 sheets of plywood; cut into 8 inch strips, and laid it like a regular hardwood floor.  They used an old nailgun, some pennies to space out the wood, for the old  farmhouse-style look.  The cost was $60.  Fabulous!!

4.  The Picklee Blog

About to open a shop in Newport, RI, store owner Jordan decided to tackle the outdated carpet flooring that came with the shop.  Being that the shop was a historic home built in the early 1700′s, she wanted something more period appropriate.

She decided to go with the standard 1/2″ thick 4′ x 8′ sheets at a cost of just under $20 each.   In order to have zero waste, she chose to have the boards cut into 8 inch by 8 foot lengths, giving her six planks per sheet of plywood.

When she got back to the shop, she laid them out, and sanded all rough edges and splinters, and decided to white wash them before nailing them down.  She mixed up 1/4 CeCe Caldwells Simply White Chalk Paint and 3/4 water.  She then used a roller attached to a broom handle to apply a coat of the white washed paint to all of the planks.

After all the planks were dry, her fiance Brett, started working on nailing the planks to the flooring.  They used Bostik flooring adhesive to the backs of the plywood planks, which were then laid into place and nailed into the floor.  Brett used 1 1/2″ nails and shot them in on an angle.  The nails were spaced out about every 12″, placing two all along either side of each plank.  Brett used a metal straight edge for a spacing guide, which gave the perfect distance between planks.  As Brett went on nailing down the boards, he used a table saw to cut some of them into different lengths so that the boards would have more of a staggered look.

Some Additional Period Looks To Give You Inspiration:

Stunning Antiques With White Washed Flooring- Unknown Source

THE SWEDISH ROOM by Lars Sjoeberg and Ursula Sjoeberg,  

Photographs by Ingalill Snitt

Classic Swedish Home With Wood Flooring- Painted White Gustavian Bed 

Beautiful Planked Wood Floors White WashedCayetano Rivera Ordóñez & Penelope Cruz in Armani Privé - Made in Spain

Photographed by Annie Leibovitz for US Vogue December 2007

Distressed Wood Flooring- Make your plywood floors aged with translucent glazes

Herringbone floors add personality in Jenna Lyons Brooklyn Townhouse.

Onni Hotelli Kuvia Picture Credit Ranskalainenpatonki.blogspot

Painted wood floors are making a come back, and we believe that painted floors will become even more popular than we see today. In the past, finer homes installed decorative parquet floors and inlaid patterns. In the 17th and 18th century paint [...]]]>

Onni Hotelli Kuvia Picture Credit Ranskalainenpatonki.blogspot

Painted wood floors are making a come back, and we believe that painted floors will become even more popular than we see today. In the past, finer homes installed decorative parquet floors and inlaid patterns. In the 17th and 18th century paint also was the means to create these decorative patterns on the floor, many which mimicked parquetry. Painted wood floors made it possible for more light to enter into the home, as the winter season in Sweden was quite dark. Rustic unfinished wood over time, darkens, and painting the wood just seemed like a practical approach of having a brighter home without spending a bundle.

Raw wood accepts paint so much nicer, and allows the paint to distress beautifully over time. Sanding wood, allows the paint to soak into the wood, compared to painting over varathane floors which may scratch easier with foot traffic. Homeowners with existing floors often have to carefully think carefully about how they go about re-finishing their wood floors,because the process can be pretty involved.   Refinishing wood floors can seem more labourous than painting, and often times it is. Sanding wood floors can be a time-consuming task.

There are a couple steps that cannot be skipped and we list them out below:

1. Prep

This involves removing your furniture from the room. Once you start belt sanding the floors, there will be dust everywhere. It can be a bit time consuming sealing off the house with drop cloths, or plastic tarp, but it is necessary for a great finish.

2. Sanding

The most time labourous part by far is sanding. Using a belt sander will kick up a ton of saw dust, and cleaning up the dust, which ends up everywhere becomes a tedious job. Sanding an entire floor can take up to 4 hours or several days depending on the size of the room.

Renting industrial professional tools saved my husband and I a lot of time when we refinished parquet floors in a rental in Virginia. Drum sanders are large machines that can handle large floors, and are very easy to operate. Drum Sanders can be rented at around $40 to $50 per day. I would highly recommend it than using a small scale sander that you can buy from a Hardware store.

Most homeowners choose to rent the specialty equipment and then purchase the more standard tools at their local hardware stores. Edge or orbital sanders are terrific for sanding the edges of the floor that the drum sanders cannot reach. A handheld power tool lets you tackle the tight corners, and are worth purchasing outright from Home Depot or Amazon. They allow you tools for additional furniture projects in the future.

3. Staining, or Painting

While everyone in the design community has their favorite paint brands, I would highly suggest going with a oil based paint. Oil holds up longer and has a tougher finish than any water based brands.

I would highly suggest sanding your room down to its bare wood, before painting. Painting over an existing paint is always possible, but the extra work pays off when the paint naturally distresses over time, which shows the wood through rather than an unsightly under color.

Sanding down to the natural wood also allows you to pickle the floors. White washed floors in my opinion are much nicer than painting the floors, because the wood gives the room a bit of depth and natural appeal.

In this post I show a photo of the Behr Wood Stain that is highly recommended. The stain is available in a number of colors, and evens out nicer than just paint that is mixed with water. Behr has a number of colors available that are off white, gray, beige that would work nicely with the Swedish interior schemes.  Mixing paint with a bit of water or stain work rather nicely.

Many people suggest applying paint with a professional paint brush which gives a smooth finish, rather than with a roller, which creates a stippled finish. Today you can purchase smooth rollers which can be used with extension pole to apply paint. Rollers are inexpensive ranging from $4 to $7 per pack. A pole will be anywhere from $5 to $40, depending on length and material.

You can choose a variety of different approaches with your paint choices....

If you decide to work with an existing painted floor, a great oil based primer is "Coverstain by Zinsser" This paint can be tinted almost any lighter color, dries very fast, and can be mixed with most other oil paints. Coverstain is in fact a primer that will adhere to almost anything, and would be a fantastic choice for the floors.

One gals review of Coverstain -"Zinsser oiled based primer is like gold"

(Please note that Kilz or Coverstain primers should never be used on concrete floors. Go to Lowes or Home Depot, and buy stain or paint made just for concrete floors. Concrete stain doesn't flake off on concrete like paint does)

As a top coat on your wood floors, you can purchase a Water-based polyurethane clear varnish, to seal in the tinted paint, or purchase water based, or oil based paint for your top coat. I have tinted this paint many shades of gray, blue, green and yellow. It is marvelous on furniture. This primer dries flat, allowing almost any other paint to be applied to it. It serves as your primer and your base paint, allowing you to just then seal the color in with a water based sealant.

If you are working with a previous painted floor, floors need to be sanded for the paint to stick properly. The worst is when you skip sanding, and the first time you move a furniture piece only to have the paint come off in sheets, or scratch. You will have regretted not sanding.

Sand first, and then paint the floors with a paint formulated for the flooring. We had painted our deck with paint formulated for the outside, and we are so glad we spent the extra money, because rain or snow, the paint hasn't chipped.

4. Sealing

Polyurethane is an oil based sealant, that is NOT suggested for lighter colored paints. If you use this over your floors, in a week or a matter of days, the floors will have a tinge of yellow. You might then have to consider re-painting your white floors.

Polyurethane works perfect on unpainted wood, or on darker paint colors such as red, navy, black and so forth. A water based varnish is required for lighter based floor colors such as light gray, white, or cream.

You'll have to wait 6 hours for each coat of polyurethane sealant to dry. It is recommended that most floors require at least 3 coats to achieve best results, and many professionals suggest 24 hours in between each coat of urethane.  It also takes up to 3 days before you can move furniture back into the room and walk on the floors again.

Onni Hotelli Kuvia Picture Credit Ranskalainenpatonki.blogspot

Onni Hotelli Kuvia Picture Credit Ranskalainenpatonki.blogspot

Belle Maison Corbeille Bed- Featured in Swedish Decorated Room With Painted Floors

Blue Painted Wood Stairs 

A Colonial Floor Makeover by Sara Kate

Sara Kate and her husband painted their summer house floors in an oil paint.  Here are some of their remarks........

"Moving the furniture was easy, the problem was working with the paint. I made a big mistake in laying the second coat on too thick and painting on a rainy day. The humidity and the thickness caused the paint to wrinkle, clot and appear dull and matted. I had to work hard to undo my mistake."

They suggest using a Polyurethane based porch and floor enamel.  After cutting the edges with a
brush, roll on a thin coat with a 1/4 inch roller.  Keeping the heat on insures the paint will dry fast.  He then suggests to roll at least two more thin layers and allow at least 24 hours between coats

Here are a couple of tips from the comment section of the article. 

"Three simple lessons from eveyone's paint woes: 1)PRIME- Frankly, no one wants to do this but priming is not a paint company scam - especially on a floor. Primer is NOT paint (anyone who's had the lowly job of brush cleaner -such as I- can tell you that primer is much harder than paint to clean out of a brush. Pros, in my experience, will often designate some brushes for primer only). Think of it as glue that will hold the paint onto whatever's beneath it. (and, yeah, tinting the primer is a nice trick and the paint store should do this). 2)PATIENCE. I assume you are all painting with a gloss finish. 24 hours minimum on this. 3) Relax with the dusting! Dust falls. Your sweet new floors are gonna trap some dust as they dry. "

“An alkyd paint dries overnight, but takes 28 days to cure to maximum hardness.”

"A response to a fainted floors in a rental apartment- I know you didn't want to put down a rug to lighten the floor, but how about painting a floor cloth? You can get a large canvas drop cloth from a home improvement centre, Paint it with any kind of paint you want. After it is dry, put at least 2 coats of polyurethane sealer on, letting dry completely between coats. You are in control of the design, you don't have to worry about putting the floor back to a rental state because you can lift the cloth and take it with you!"

"Katherine - A Painter - To those who asked about painting various surfaces, and those who asked about primer: Sanding and primer are twin keys to getting paint to adhere to almost any surface. Start with a clean surface -- remove grease, wax, and anything chalky. If there's any gloss or if you're concerned about adhesion, do a light sanding with 150 0r 200 sandpaper. On a floor, you can use a floor sander with a screen... available at a rental shop. All you want to do is de-gloss so the primer has something to hold onto. (If you're going over polyurethane, you have to scuff it up diligently, because poly doesn't want to stick to anything.) Then prime with any of the primer-sealers that mention "excellent adhesion" on the label. Kilz, BIN, Bullseye... these are a few of the big names. A water-based primer-sealer is fine. If you're making a drastic color change, look for a primer that is int0 tint-able, and tint it in the direction of your final color, but not necessarily matching the final color. The only time you will have a problem is when the surface is already painted and the existing paint isn't adhering well. There isn't much you can do about that, short of removing that old paint."

"Red paint is difficult because red pigments are transparent therefore they need many more coats to give a good coverage - the purer and clearer the red the more transparent it is - burgundy reds and terracotta reds will cover better as they have other pigments in them which are not transparent"

"When I stained my concrete, I got the acid at B. Moore. Instead of painting concrete, stain it instead. Staining is much prettier. B.Moore has many colors of concrete stains. Regarding the wood floors, they are worth so much more sanded and stained. To cut the cost, only hire out the sanding, and do the staining and sealing yourself. You will save at least half. I discovered this myself when some floor guys failed to return to finish my floors. I had only paid a small deposit, and they had finished the sanding. When I realized how easy and cheap it was going to be to finish the floor myself, I was thrilled they had deserted me."

"All kinds of great coatings for all different applications (floors, countertops, faux stone/granite, etc.) are available at ArmorPoxy.com. I've used several of their products and all with great success. Particularly fabulous is the "For Dummies Bath Refinishing Kit". You can use it on your tub, sink, tile, etc. and it makes everything look like brand new white porcelain. It's truly amazing and easy to use. I did my bathroom more than 2 years ago and it still looks amazing...."

Another interesting comment-

"Concrete can be a tricky beast, especially in a basement or former garage that might have dampness or oily spills on the floor. You'll have to clean and degrease the floor thoroughly, and if it has a very smooth, shiny surface you'll need to etch it with muriatic acid to give it some tooth. There are special primers for concrete floors--use one. It really will make a difference. I painted the workroom floor in my basement without using a concrete primer, and the mineral salts in the concrete came up through the paint. I then had to strip away as much paint as I could, re-prime with concrete primer, and re-paint in order to fix the problem. Don't be me. Use the primer the first time, and save yourself the headache.

Plywood, chipboard, and particle-board subfloors are easy to paint--sand the rough spots, prime, paint. Use an oil-based primer suitable for raw wood in order to keep stains from rising up through the paint.

If you think you might want to change the color every few years or so, don't apply a water-based polyurethane, as it will keep future layers from sticking as well. Just paint the floor, touch it up as needed, and repaint as desired. The higher the paint gloss, the better it holds up, so use either high-gloss or semi-gloss, rather than urethane.

Use oil-based primers, yucky as they are. They block stains far better than latex primers, and provide better adhesion. Given how much wear a floor takes, and how much work it is to re-paint, do it right the first time. You can use latex paint over them, and subsequent paint jobs will not have to be re-primed (unless you've worn through to bare wood, but spot-priming will take care of that). If you have a really stubborn rust or dye stain that bleeds through oil-based primers, pigmented shellac will usually kill it (it's the one thing that keeps the Calcimine often used as an interior finish in old houses at bay, and that stuff is pure evil).

Swedish Flooring Looks From Domino Magazine

Swedish Interiors With White Painted Wood Floors

Swedish Interior With White Painted Floors

Swedish Interior With White Washed Floors

If the Renaissance history is of interest to you, chances are you will love Baroque style.  It is a design style isn't that commonly seen in magazines, because the antiques are harder to find.  If you are thinking about a design that is different and unique, this is certainly it!  Baroque style originated in the [...]]]>

If the Renaissance history is of interest to you, chances are you will love Baroque style.  It is a design style isn't that commonly seen in magazines, because the antiques are harder to find.  If you are thinking about a design that is different and unique, this is certainly it!  Baroque style originated in the 1600s in Italy before spreading throughout the rest of Europe. It originated in Rome, where the style was representative of the Catholic church, and was later adopted in the court of Louis XIV at Versailles.  From there, the style spread to The Netherlands and Britain, and went on for almost two entire centuries, and became a less dramatic by the time the end of the 1700s.

Baroque didn't go out of fashion suddenly. Rococo style was adopted, beginning in France in the late 1720s, especially for interiors, but the Baroque style continued to be used in architecture and interior design until the clean lines of Neoclassicism became the dominant style in the later 18th century.

Baroque style is a very ornamented style.  Characteristics of this furniture are heavy, grand, theatrical, elaborate, and often rich in molding.  The furniture is often very heavy detailed, did we say very heavy detailed?  It is common to find baroque pieces which are intricately hand carved, such as turned legs and twisted columns. Louis XIV style is considered to the most identified example of Baroque style.

Baroque furniture is often larger in size.  Canopy post beds are a good example of this.  They were often grand with an excessive amount of carving. Cabinets, beds and chairs are all common pieces of furniture made in the Baroque style.

Sweden's Strömholm's yellow palace embraces the baroque style.  This palace is a perfect mix between the baroque style with a Swedish flavor that is not at all Italian.  Strömholm is located on the largest of three islands in the Kolbäckså river delta at Lake Mälaren. King Gustav Vasa had a farm on the property during the 1500's.  In 1560 the current castle was built between 1669 and 1681 for Queen Hedvig Eleonare. Strömsholm palace is one of the countries best examples of Baroque style.  The Palace has royal interiors that are well preserved.

Additional Furniture To Admire

- A Swedish Baroque Table with Original Paintwork 1720s

-A mid 18th Century Swedish baroque drop-leaf table with its original blue paint

-A Swedish Baroque Centre Table circa 1750

-In Love With Swedish Baroque Mirrors

-Swedish Baroque drop-leaf table with original paint- Dienst + Dotter Antiques Picture 11

- Swedish Tray Topped Tea Table. Scraped to original blue paint. Beautifully shaped top with edge molding.Balustra shaped base on three legs.

A Swedish late Baroque 18th Century commode, attributed to J. H. Fürloh.

Baroque castle Strömsholm in the Swedish province of Västmanland.

A Swedish late Baroque 18th Century commode, by J H Fürloh.

A Swedish late Baroque 18th Century Commode

Baroque Furniture From Augustus Brandt Antiques- Check out more pictures here

]]> http://theswedishfurniture.com/archives/the-romantic-baroque-style-part-1-stromholm/feed 0 http://theswedishfurniture.com/archives/the-romantic-baroque-style-part-2-king-gustav-vasa http://theswedishfurniture.com/archives/the-romantic-baroque-style-part-2-king-gustav-vasa#comments Tue, 08 Jan 2013 20:05:12 +0000 Meranda http://theswedishfurniture.com/?p=12824

Gustav I of Sweden, born under the name Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496– 29 September 1560), was known one of the most powerful kings in Swedish history.

Gustav was the son of a Swedish senator and of a noble family whom played a prominent part in aristocratic politics of 15th-century Scandinavia. He [...]]]>

Gustav I of Sweden, born under the name Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496– 29 September 1560), was known one of the most powerful kings in Swedish history.

Gustav was the son of a Swedish senator and of a noble family whom played a prominent part in aristocratic politics of 15th-century Scandinavia. He was raised in the courts of Sweden, and participated in the fighting against Denmark. In fact, the connections his family had with the royalty at the time, supplied Sweden with three regents.

Gustav fought in the army of Sten Sture the Younger against Christian II of Denmark in 1517–18. Sweden at that time was a part of a union consisting of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland), but the union was a mess in many ways. The Danish king, Christian II tried to dismantle the union by using brute force. King Christian attacked Sweden in 1520, and the Swedish Regent was killed. It was then that Gustav found himself held hostage in Denmark, but later returned to Sweden when the King promised to show leniency towards those nobles who wanted to fight back.

The Danish king, Christian II then called a "friendly" meeting with all of the officials, but Gustav chose to stay home. Gustav found himself spared because of that decision. Christian II rounded up the nobles, and bishops and had them beheaded in the Great Square in Stockholm. Gustav's father, brother-in-law and uncles were murdered, together with about 75 other men in a mass execution known as "the Blood-bath of Stockholm".

The Vasa family lands were confiscated, and most of Gustav's family were imprisoned. Instead of hiding or running, he rose to the occasion and started fighting back by engaging the people of Sweden to rise up for their country. He started sowing the seeds of rebellion against Christian II . The army of Denmark pursued him, but he managed to escape which many tales of these adventures are told today. He managed to receive backing from the Hanseatic League, which also wanted the Danish king weakened. This union allowed him to gather together a sizeable army, and in 1521 he was elected Regent of Sweden. This army then attacked the Danes in several engagements, and step by step managed to oust the Danish king.

Gustav pushed through to establish Sweden’s independence, and his leadership through this time may have been what was responsible for his election as king. In 1523, at the age of 27, Gustavus was elected King of Sweden. He set about reforming the country, using methods inspired by rulers like Henry VII and Henry VIII of England.

Gustav made Sweden an independent state and gave his country, for the first time in a century, nearly 40 years of stable and intelligent government. Gustav managed to unite Sweden, and also laid the foundation for Sweden's professional army that was to make Sweden into a regional superpower in the 17th century. He managed to shape the foundation for modern Sweden.

Beyond those great achievements, he ranks among the heroes of Swedish history because of his struggle to turn Sweden from a Catholic country to a Renaissance state with a Protestant church. This was by far some of the hardest wars many countries had to battle.

In the documentary A Lamp In The Dark: Untold History of the Bible, goes into great detail the tremendous struggle individuals had to endure throughout the Middle Ages. I highly recommend watching this documentary on You tube to gain a better appreciation for the battle against the Catholic church.

The Catholic church was against having the bible in the hands of the common man, and threatened imprisonment and death to any persons who disobeyed their rule. Valiant warriors of the faith in England such as John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, considered the cost for the sake of sharing the Gospel that salvation IS through Jesus ALONE, not through works, or anything else. They rejected the notion that the Catholic church set forth such as "sacrament" which individuals had to confess their sins to a priest instead of through prayer to our heavenly father to forgive our sins.  (1 John 2:1-2)

The Catholic church positioned itself in control of individuals souls (salvation), and even went as far to ask money from people whose loved ones had died whom could be removed from "Purgatory" (Hell), which they taught every believer goes first, which was contrary to scripture.  The Catholic church's sheer dominance made them extremely wealthy because of the vast amount of people willing to paying money to remove their loved ones from the "Purgatory", and this allowed the Catholic empire to throw their weight around in many countries. Believers also fought ideas brought by the Catholic church that the Pope was Yahweh himself on earth, stated by Pope Leo XIII, Pope Innocent III, and Pope Boniface VIII, which contradicted scripture.  Once the common people were able to read the Bible, through the Protestant Reformation, they could hold the Catholic church accountable by the scriptures themselves.

The Gustavian Family by Ulrika Pasch, 1785,

All the kings from Gustav Vasa to Gustav IV Adolf

Gustav fought hard to ensure the triumph of Lutheranism (named after Martin Luther), and the suppression of Roman Catholic customs. Gustav Vasa has been known as the founder of modern Sweden, and the "father of the nation". Gustav looked up to Moses, whom he believed to have also liberated his people and established a sovereign state. Gustav I's breaking with the Catholic Church is virtually simultaneous with Henry VIII doing the same in England; both kings acted following a similar pattern.

To understand the Baroque period, a person must take into account the religious and political tensions at the time. The Catholic church during this time was a very powerful entity and one of the biggest customers of of art. During the seventeenth century artists were being asked by the Catholic Church to create pieces of art which then could transend a message through which could be then understood by the uneducated common people.

The Catholic Church through this time was going through some major changes known as the period of ‘Counter - Reformation’ which began with institutional changes within the Catholic church as we discussed earlier. The clergy recognized that they could communicate through art by using the more theatrical 'Baroque' interpretation of religious themes. The Church buildings were designed and decorated in such a way which the Catholic church itself was trying to build it's own empire kingdom apart from the Kingdom of God which we are told through the bible was the bodies of his people, not buildings and objects.

The mass amount of wealth church accumulated through using the very word of God in deceptive ways allowed them to buy thousands of paintings, thousands of statues, and buildings that were the best of the best through this time period. They owned the nicest buildings, and the most beautiful art across Europe, so it was no wonder why their style at the time became the design that many copied in architecture, interior design and so forth.

The upper classes ALSO loved to show off their wealth and saw this new style as rich, and unreachable for the common folks, so they embraced it, hoping to stand out. Wood carvings appeared lavish, and obviously was a style that many of the peasants could not afford. Baroque art and architecture was one approch they used to wave their money for the world to see.

From Italy, Baroque quickly spread to essentially every country in Europe. Each country incorporated its own customs and heritage with Baroque. Some were more extravagant and others more conservative with the design style. In Italy we saw tremendous detail in the furniture, where as in Sweden we saw more of a refinement with the style. The overblown carved details were softened, and mimimized. During the middle of the 16th century the Baroque Era gradually gave way to the Rococo, and this wave of style change hit each country at a different time in history.

Gripsholm Castle belongs to the famous castles in Sweden.

This view shows how kings slept in the chamber of Charles IX.

Gripsholm Castle, Stockholm - Home of King Vasa And The Royal Family

Gripsholm interiors - Roof decorations National Museum Stockholm's Flicker

Swedish Baroque Style Seen in The Linnaeus House -Elmar Eye's photostream

National Museum Stockholm's Flicker

Antique Original Painted Swedish Trunk, dated 1848 From Scandinavian Antiques

The reign of continued with Gustav's sons Eric XIV, John III, John's son Sigismund, and finally Gustav's youngest son Charles IX.

Under Eric XIV the Reformation in Sweden proceeded on the same lines as during the reign of his Gustav Vasa, retaining all the old Catholic customs not considered contrary to Scripture.

After 1544, when the Council of Trent had formally been declared, the new teachings set forth by the Catholic church became obvious to that the Christian Bible, and the Catholic church were quite different.  In fact, The Catholic Church created horrible laws at the Council of Trent that made it a death sentence for anyone who said the bread and wine used in Holy Communion were only symbolic.   Sadly this entire history of the Catholic church has been covered up.  Today the laws set forth in the Council of Trent still stand, and are upheld by the current Pope.  The Popes during Vatican II Council have accepted the entire ratification of the entire council on this decree (Council of Trent, Session 13 Chapter VIII, Contradicting Hebrew 9:27-28; 10:11,12, 15)

King Gustav Vasa went on to publish a bible in Swedish for the people of his country.  If he attended the "the Blood-bath of Stockholm" perhaps Sweden wouldn't have Yahweh's holy word, and perhaps never knew what Yeshua (Jesus) did on the cross for them.  The Swedish Bible was published in 1540-41. The men behind the translation were Laurentius Andreae and the Petri brothers Olaus and Laurentius. Of them, Archbishop Laurentius is regarded as the main person. However, had the work not been commissioned by the Swedish King Gustav Vasa, who had in effect broken with the Pope in Rome in the 1520s, the work would not have been possible. The Bible follows the German version by Martin Luther from 1526 closely, not only in language, but in the fonts used and the typography as a whole. The Danish version, printed a few years earlier, also did this.

Charles Spada's Normandy Home- See Part 1 and Part 2

Swedish Skokloster Castle In the Baroque Style

King's Hall in Skokloster Castle, Sweden

Steninge Palace, is called “Sweden’s most beautiful and perfect baroque building” Steninge, another palace located in Sweden stretches back to the 13th century. The palace has had countless owners; the Gyllenstierna (1649-1735) and von Fersen (1736-1839).  In [...]]]>

Swedish Skokloster Castle In the Baroque Style

King's Hall in Skokloster Castle, Sweden

Steninge Palace, is called “Sweden’s most beautiful and perfect baroque building” Steninge, another palace located in Sweden stretches back to the 13th century. The palace has had countless owners; the Gyllenstierna (1649-1735) and von Fersen (1736-1839).  In 1667, Carl Gyllenstierna 1649-1723, inherited the Steninge estate from his mother. His close relationship with the queen allowed him to develop the Steninge estate and the beautiful areas around Mälaren.

In 1680 the well-known architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was asked to design the Palace which were completed in 1705. Tessin was strongly inspired by the Baroque architectural style of Italian and French castles. This castle has only a few very small pictures of the interior, so sadly the interior isn't photographed at large and available to the public. Nicodemus Tessin designed Steninge Palace with a blend of the Italian and French Baroque style with Swedish taste.  It is said later that Tessin the Younger regarded Steninge Palace as his masterpiece.

Skokloster Castle is another castle in Sweden decorated in the Baroque styles, and is said to be one of the most important Baroque castles in Europe. Skokloster Castle was built as a residence between 1654 and 1676, when Sweden was a  great power. Even to 17th century people, the imposing white building with its corner towers made a fairytale, ancient impression.

Steninge Palace Photographed By Keith Samuelson.com

See Information on Steninge Palace Here

Skokloster Castle From Adventures of A Far Traveler Blog

Skokloster Hallway - Photo Credit Richard Aufreiter

Large Swedish Baroque Brass Wall Sconce

Skokloster Castle

Two Door Black Swedish Baroque Cabinet 1770

Swedish Baroque Captain's Arm Chair c. 1750

18th Century Swedish Baroque Painted Pine Commode of 3 shaped drawers
following the design of top, raised bun feet, and original hardware.
Wonderful patina, matte black painted finish.

 Swedish Baroque Cabinet and Chairs From romantiskahem.blog

Black Baroque Cabinet

18th Century,  A Swedish Baroque Drop Leaf Table.

Drawers on each end of the center section. Split-leg support on each side.

The Dienst's Home

A Baroque Wing Chair Upholstered In Gray Linen, sits beside a Baroque Chest

In Sweden, the Middle Ages lasted for approximately 500 years, until Gustav I of Sweden seized power in 1523. Most all of the buildings were constructed out of timer, until the [...]]]>

The Dienst's Home

A Baroque Wing Chair Upholstered In Gray Linen, sits beside a Baroque Chest

In Sweden, the Middle Ages lasted for approximately 500 years, until Gustav I of Sweden seized power in 1523. Most all of the buildings were constructed out of timer, until the 12th century, where stone became the predominant building material for the construction of the churches. Lund Cathedral, and Husaby Church are excellent examples of this style. The Gothic style brought brick to Sweden as a new fashionable building material, and many of the cathedrals were fashioned out of brick, while others were made of limestone. 1,500 of Sweden's 4,000 churches from the Middle Ages survive from this period. The 13th century city walls around Visby are some of the best-preserved medieval city walls in Europe, and in fact, the street layout of Stockholm's Old City still can be seen designed with a medieval flavor.

Sweden rose to a great Power in the 17th century, the privileged class and government began to build again. The idea of the architect and designer was established and the profession developed. During this time works of Simon De la Vallée and Nicodemus Tessin the Elder became well known in Sweden. The work of Nicodemus Tessin the Younger moved the architectural development in Sweden during this time into High Baroque, such as Stockholm Palace.

As we discussed in Part 1, a notable example of the Baroque style in Sweden was seen in Strömholm. In part 2, we discussed King Gustav Vasa, whom was the ruling power at the time, and how the Catholic church dominated the design circles which influenced art across Europe and abroad. In Part 3, we discussed both Skokloster & Steninge Palace as striking examples of the Baroque style, which architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger was responsible for. In part 4 and 5 we hope to inspire you to achieve this look in your own home looking at an example of a collector of Swedish antiques and what they did for their own home working with Baroque Swedish antiques in particular.

Jill Dienst's owner of Dicost + Doner specializes in Scandinavian antiques from the 17th century to the mid-20th century.  Jill Dienst's passion for collecting for her own home over the years paved the way for her success as an antique dealer.   Before opening up her own business, Jill Dienst spent decades at some of the finest institutions in the art, which allowed her to gain an appreciation for antiques and design world.

All images and information from Martha Stewart.

The centerpiece of the living room is a Gustavian sofa, which has been
upholstered in plain linen.

Mid-twentieth-century pieces by Danish designer Poul
Henningsen are mixed into the room

The simple, roll-up window shades are the same kind used in Swedish manor
houses, but these are made from a sheer fabric.

The living room walls and mantel were painted slightly different variations of
the same color. 

The painting is a 1911 portrait of Swedish boys in school uniforms sit above the mantel.

The statues came from a rustic church in southern Sweden.

The candlesticks work beautifully with the gilt portrait of the Swedish boys

A black painted Gustavian chair and Gustavian giltwood console sit in the entryway

The second-floor landing features a large baroque cabinet from Sweden, which
retains its original paint.

In their daughter's room, a nineteenth-century bed has been reupholstered in a
heavy velvet.

French nineteenth-century chair by the bed. Dala horses, a traditional motif of Dalarna, Sweden sit in the window.   The carved chest is German.

Corridor and Niche at Rosersberg Palace From Corbis Images

Rosersberg Palace (Swedish: Rosersbergs slott) is one of the Royal Palaces of Sweden. Situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, on the outskirts of Stockholm, it was built in the 1630s by the Oxenstierna family and [...]]]> Rosersbergs Slott From Lennatt Durehed Photography

Corridor and Niche at Rosersberg Palace From Corbis Images

Rosersberg Palace (Swedish: Rosersbergs slott) is one of the Royal Palaces of Sweden. Situated on the shores of Lake Mälaren, on the outskirts of Stockholm, it was built in the 1630s by the Oxenstierna family and became a royal palace in 1762.  It was then that the state gave it to Duke Karl (later Karl XIII), the younger brother of Gustav III of Sweden.

Today at Rosersberg the rooms remain almost untouched from the 1795-1825 period.  The interior takes you back in time to the authentic royal interior from the turn of the 19th century.

The second half of the 17th century, the Renaissance Palace became to be dated.  Chancery President Bengt Oxenstierna acquired the estate, and renovated the home in the Baroque style that was fashionable at the time.  He sought out the country's leading architect, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, and new wings were added to the building.  The tall Renaissance gables were taken down and the exterior of the building was updated with a new hipped roof.

Then in 1747, Rosersberg was acquired by Baron Erland Broman.  More alterations to the buildings were directed by one of the country's most prominent 18th century architects, Jean Eric Rehn.  On Broman's death in 1757, the property was acquired by the State.

The property was then placed at the disposal of the young Duke Karl (later King Karl XIII) of Södermanland.

When Duke Karl (XIII) moved in around the 1760s, he modernized the palace in late Gustavian style. The interiors at Rosersberg Palace differ from the Gustavian style interiors of other royal palaces in Sweden. At Rosersberg the style has been known to trend after the Empire style.  The palace combines the two styles: Neo-Classicism and the "Empire style".  Get some ideas from this beautiful castle for your own home.

Sweden's Rosersberg PalaceFrom Flicker

Pair of Louis XVI carved and painted Fauteuils. Having oval backs, carved flower crest and apron on stop fluted legs.

Pair Classical Pate-sur-pate Vases Urns & Lids From Vintage Views Ebay

A Swedish Empire Sofa with Classical Gilt Detailing Upholstered by Talisman circa 1790

This room was the reception for the Queen Elizabeth Edvigi Charlotte and King Carl XIV Johan (reigned 1818 -1844). The interior decorated in the Gustavian style.

Photo Taken From Sw-Zamki.Narod.ru

The rectangular top of kolmarden marble with canted corners and breakfront, above four conforming drawers adorned with brass banding and circular escutcheons and pulls, the top drawer opening to reveal a drop front secretary fitted with small drawers, the corners canted and fluted above conforming tapering legs, terminating on brass feet.

Period Style Empire Chair -This period mahogany Empire chair has faces carved in the arms painted with gilt, gilt paw feet, and ormolu detailing.

On the wall is a picture depicts the coronation of Karl XIV Johan.

Photo Taken From Sw-Zamki.Narod.ru

Russian Empire Painted & Gilded Settee

Turn this unfinished international concepts table, sold for $42 dollars into a thousand dollar table with an additional marble top and some paint.  Consider white paint with gold accents for a classic Swedish style.

International Concepts Accent Round Table with Drawer- $104

In this photo, you can see a neoclassical chair painted with a gray paint, outlined in a dark gray with white upholstery.  Use the same color combinations with your painted furniture

International Concepts was founded in 1979 in Greensboro, NC as an unfinished furniture wholesaler, providing furniture to retail stores throughout the Eastern United State

Gustavian Period (1790-1810) Armchairs- Set of 4

Period French Empire Painted & Gilt Stool with Faux Leopard Covered Seat.

A fine pair of French Empire period fauteuils in the manner of Jacob, with carved swan decoration on the arms and paw feet on the front two legs, in light grey paint with dark grey details, the seats and backs recently upholstered in charcoal linen fabric with horsehair stuffing.

Empire Painted Furniture Paint Color Combination Ideas 

Late 18th c. Swedish Gustavian Settee

The Duchess Anna Amalia Library located in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, is world famous for its oval Rococo architecture. The library one of the most breathtaking examples of Rococo design.  The Rococo library houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library is named for Anna Amalia, Duchess of [...]]]>

The Duchess Anna Amalia Library located in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany, is world famous for its oval Rococo architecture. The library one of the most breathtaking examples of Rococo design.  The Rococo library houses a major collection of German literature and historical documents. The Duchess Anna Amalia Library is named for Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, who arranged in 1766 for the courtly book collection to be moved into the library.

In the picture above, a photographer takes a picture of the in the middle of the room with a view of the front door. Three weeks after Candida Höfer had made ​​their shots, a fire caught in the library,  and burned about one million volumes. 50,000 volumes were saved, but many were irreplaceable, and of the 62,000 volumes that were damaged by fire or water, at least 36,000 were restored.   Even though, a substantial amount of books were lost in the fire, there has been no loss of interest in the library.

The sad part of the account was the library was scheduled for the overdue renovation when an electrical fire struck the library in September, 2004, JUST weeks before the collection was to be moved for the renovation.

Thousands of precious books which had been preserved for two centuries, were destroyed by fire by a damaged electrical cable.   The interest in preserving the library drew in almost 14 million dollars for the restoration and repurchasing of the books.

Check out this bm-online.de, link for some of the pictures of the restoration.  The library was reopened in December 2007.

The Rococo hall continues to be one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.  The hall has a narrow floor plan and an astounding ceiling height which leads the eye upward. The reading room is a lofty gilded gallery with busts of poets, paintings and bookcases set against white and blue walls.  A light parquet floor and minimal furnishings create a dramatic contrast to the Rococo Hall which can be seen through the oval opening in the ceiling.

In The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World, writer Jacques Bosser provides a vivid description of the library's interior: “The heart of the building was open, thus creating a vast central room for reading and preservation. It was surmounted by a sizable gallery replete with bookshelves. Encircling the hall, between
it and the castle, is a wide corridor with bookshelves on both sides. Its late-Rococo décor is sober, simple, charming, and functional. The floor is a parquet decorated in dark slats shaped like a carpet. Everywhere are paintings, framed drawings, and white marble busts of the celebrated visitors to this site, which had long been renowned through-out Europe” (Laubier and Bosser, 2003, p. 54).

See additional photos at Baulinks Website, Epoch Times

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Candida Höfer

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