Designer Marshall Watson’s Scandinavian Newport Beach Home
This beautiful home is decorated around pops of lemon yellow. Swedish antiques can be seen through out this home, with the classic creamy, distressed finishes. This look is pulled together with checked fabrics, stripes and delicate prints. Photographs were taken by Lisa Romerin. Find designer Marshall Watson here
See more of this project at incollect.com
Decor Mistakes All 20-Somethings Make
Can you see yourself in some of these? Vogue pulls together 12 pieces of advice from design experts showing common mistakes young designers make. See if you think they are correct:
“Horrible throw pillows. I don’t even know where people get some of these. The ones I see are often flat and limp and look like something I’d use as a dog bed.”
—Amanda Gorski, Gimme Shelter Designs
“Twenty-somethings don’t realize the power of framing artwork. Posters taped or pinned on the walls can look crazy unless you have that artistic eye.”
—Danielle Arps, Dani Arps
“Oftentimes, 20-somethings will either try too hard to be cool (with black pleather furniture, neon beer signs, and shag carpet) or just follow the trends. For example, the zigzag pattern is everywhere—on rugs, towels, and sheets. This design is what the younger generation gravitates toward because it’s what they see everywhere, but I prefer more classic patterns that will stand the test of time.”
—Ashley Darryl, interior designer
Read more at Vogue.com
Q&A With Swedish Designers Edie Van Breems and Rhonda Eleish
Q: Clearly, you are scholars on Scandinavian style. For you, what is the essence of it?
A: Recognition of the importance of nature and the impact it has on interiors and overall lifestyles. Light, colors, and the functionality of daily living also play a huge role. In Sweden there is a wordbruskonst, which loosely translates to “useful art.” This respect for economy and intimacy with nature is an integral part of Scandinavia’s design psyche.
Q: Scandinavian antiques are usually made of humble materials, but painted to look like marbles, gilt, and fine woods. How do you make them work in modern spaces?
A: Antique pieces, by virtue of their patina and imperfections, add a depth and soulfulness to rooms that could otherwise be one-note and cold. A rough-hewn, rustic, painted farm table, for example, is going to look amazing with contemporary metal chairs or formal, tailored, upholstered dining chairs by sheer virtue of the contrast. An 18th-century Gustavian chandelier in a barn room or a rustic, painted farm chair in a severe, all-glass or marble contemporary bathroom becomes almost sculptural.
Read more at deringhall.com
Colleen Martin, Founder of Swede Collection Tells Us Her Journey Of How She Began Reproducing Gustavian Furniture
Gustavian Spindle-Back Dining Chair, SC0019
Swedish design in American interiors is at an all-time high. Chosen for its qualities not as a fad or trend. White and light interiors are loved by so many. Today I am talking to Colleen Martin, Founder of Swede Collection, in the hand-crafted segment of the furniture industry, who is living her life passion reproducing Swedish furniture, particularly from the Gustavian and Rococo periods. Colleen was making console tables when the need for new dining chairs for her home arose. When she couldn’t purchase what she wanted nor find anyone to make them for her, necessity being the mother of invention, she decided to make them for her line. Swede Collection is shown at High Point market in April and October. The line can be seen at www.swedefurniture.com.
Q: How did you get smitten and bitten by Swedish style?
Gustavian is my favorite style as it makes my heart sing. To me it is eloquent, romantic and refined with a simplistic beauty. I do like a few Rococo pieces as well. What I love is that Swedish pieces have never gone out of style 200 years and counting. They are lasting, enduring and inheritable due to their design. Because they are not overly embellished, you don’t get tired of the look.
I first decorated my homes in French antiques due to access as that was what was available in antique stores where I lived and as far as I could travel to antique shows. Keep in mind this was pre-Internet years so purchasing access was limited to as far as you could travel. Even though I lived in larger cities, Swedish antiques or reproductions were not available. I loved the straight legs of Louis XVI. I have always been a huge shelter magazine reader so that is where I first saw Swedish pieces and then realized Swedish was where my true love was which was similar to French Louis XVI. When the Internet made access easier, my passion for Swedish design intensified. One could see and purchase Swedish pieces in the US and Sweden easily.
Q: Why do you think people fall in love with the Swedish look?
The colors of white, pale blue/grey and pale aqua are very soothing to the soul. I find people who love Swedish style are deeply devoted to it. Perhaps it is the peaceful feeling people experience in light toned rooms where the furniture is not stark but not overdone either. Swedish pieces have great balance and detail. With the painted frames people get a departure from the brown tones of wood. Today, décor is all about the mix. What is so fabulous about Swedish design is that it fits smoothly in any décor and very surprisingly with contemporary.
Q: Why did you decide to reproduce Swedish pieces?
My mission was to make excellent quality hand-crafted and hand-carved Swedish furniture more accessible for everyone to enjoy in their homes. I traveled to Sweden and purchased antiques which I reproduce both in Gustavian and Rococo style. This is my passion. I wanted to bring back the hand-crafted pieces originally made in the workrooms in Stockholm by the masters. Swede produces unique pieces for interior designers but also has some pieces available to the public in the retail section. We are continuing to add to the website retail section smaller pieces that can be shipped via ground. Access to Swedish design is an important part of our mission.
Some of the master furniture makers that I admire are:
- Erik Ohrmark 1747-1813 who made chairs for Haga castle for Gustav III.
- Carl Fredrik Flodin 1754-1795
- Olof Roslin 1753
- Ephraim Stahl 1767-1820
- Johan Erik Hoglander 1780
- Petter Thunberg
- Johan Hammarstorm 1780
- Erik Holm 1774-1814
Although you read that Gustavian style furniture is credited to king Gustav living at Versailles, loving the French style but having the details relaxed for Swedish pieces in his homeland, I differ from that viewpoint by giving credit not to the king who was not a furniture designer, but credit to the master craftsmen and their apprentices working in their shops all over Sweden. The king may have commissioned their work for the royal properties but I believe the design was the masters’ who presented it to the king for his approval on the commission. I really don’t believe King Gustav came up with all these fabulous designs by himself. Pehr Ljung was a known master carver at the time who was called upon for difficult carvings. There were furniture “architects” and architects who did both buildings and the furniture within. Stockholm was a furniture center with many famous workrooms but these fabulous original designs were not exclusively created in Stockholm. Some masters specialized in making mirrors or clocks. I love researching these makers and am searching for information on women designers.
Q: In your decision to reproduce Swedish antiques, do you make exact copies?
I like to honor the original creator that inspires me but I do change the scale and some details so it is not an exact copy. People were much smaller in body size at that time and particularly their chairs are too small for today’s people to sit in comfortably especially larger men. I didn’t want my husband or a buyer to “perch” on the chair, I wanted him to comfortably sit in it. Comfort is king in what I do. There is no point in making something nobody can sit in. I also produce in Maple, Ash and Cherry not Swedish Pine. I do believe these masters would be proud and thrilled to see that their designs are loved 200 years later by my bringing them back to life for today’s homes. For the most part, I own the original of what I reproduce. There are a few items in my line that my talented crew was able to duplicate just from a photo of the antique.
Q: Can you find these signed original works for sale today?
Yes, in Sweden, England and the United States and it makes my heart pound to find initials carved into the frame. There is also a mark on furniture made for the royal properties. When you see the carved initials IL for example, remember an “I” is a “J” so this could be made by Johan Lindgren. Pieces reproduced 100 years ago of the originals created 200 years ago are fairly available to purchase today.
Although pieces can be found, price is another issue. A chair can run from $4,000 to 7,000. And, you may not be able to sit on it. That is the other reason I decided to reproduce these chairs – to make them affordable. Hand crafted chairs should be inheritable for generations to come and should last another 200 years just like their ancestors.
I made the finishes on Swede Collection pieces blend seamlessly with antique finishes. Unless you have an expert eye, you probably couldn’t tell the difference. Making the new pieces allows me to fill in the blanks smoothly where unattainable pieces can’t be acquired.
Q: Can you give us an example of what reproductions Swede Collection makes?
I fell in love with this chair at Sabylund Manor. Bukowski’s auction house in Stockholm sold a set of these as well. I believe they look identical to ones made by Johan Hammarstrom which my talented team copied.
Above, these Rococo chairs have the original on the left and our newly copied one on the right.
Everyone on Pinterest will recognize this desk in a home in The Netherlands on the left and Swede Collection’s version on the right.
We also went to Jacquemart-Andre museum in Paris and photoed the Nattier portrait which we made into a poster in a larger size.
Here is another example. Antique sofa on right with Swede Collection sofa on left
On the left are demilune tables brought back from Sweden on my 2014 trip and on the right the new Swede Collection one
These Rococo chairs:
Q: What new pieces are you working on?
We made some hand-carved boiserie panels that buyers at market kept asking to be made into sliding doors. For April 2018 High Point market, we are introducing four sliding “barn doors”. What is different about ours is that they are elegant with hand carving on solid wood or antiqued mirror glass inserts in beautiful soft colors. You would never find them on a barn. They are great used between a master bath and bedroom instead of a traditional door. They are beautiful separators of any spaces within the home. And, we are always making more chairs and benches. We are also working on a massive tall candlestick like ones found in European cathedrals. There is a never-ending list of items to make. I am having the thrill of my lifetime making these pieces.
Visit Swedefurniture.com
Visit the 2017 Catalogue Here
Expect To See More Warm Grays, Blues And Creams In Gustavian Decorating
Christine AdamsWood Finishing Technical Writer at General Finishes
2018 is here and it is BOLD. Designers and Brands predict that this year is going to be more vibrant than years before. Below are a few insights into the 2018 home design trends to help you get inspired.
Before we start, remember that CLASSICS ARE ALWAYS IN. Although it’s fun to have that end table glowing in bright red, whites and blacks are the safest colors as these would work for any customer’s home. GF’s top sellers are White, Black and Gray – check some out here in our design Center: http://bit.ly/
2018 IS RICH WITH COLOR. This year, it looks like a vivid start as Pantone named “Ultra Violet” its Color of the Year, while Sherwin Williams selected the striking Oceanside SW 6496. Other colors that appear to be trending are colors such as violet, wine, amethyst and even soft lavenders. You can find some bold colors in GF’s Color Lab here: http://bit.ly/
HEAVY CABINETRY AND STATEMENT STORAGE. The white cabinet trend has faded and Country Living expects to see more warm grays, blues, creams as well as wood grain tones to take purchase in kitchens in 2018. As for storage, Anthropologie’s customer styling director Christina Frederick says “gone are the days of sacrificing style for function… There seems to be a desire for high-end organization in our personal space, a desire for things – and life – to feel pulled together.”
BRASS IS BACK BABY. Whether it be an accent or the drawer pulls on a buffet, this aged finish is making its way back into our homes.
NATURAL ACCENTS. Natural wood, earthy materials and even color iterations of stone are being implemented into designs. Ryan Turf, managing director of CB2 says, “These beautiful, natural materials add texture and depth to any design. Timeless yet very modern and fresh.” Include wood stains in your furniture designs to meet this trend. All GF stains can be compared here: http://bit.ly/
WABI-SABI. Wabi-sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection. For furniture refinishing this means handmade or hand-painted items that retain a deeply personal, organic aesthetic.
GRAY IS THE NEW BLACK. According to Linda Holt, it looks like the cool blue-grays have been replaced with warmer tones of gray, taupe and neutral colors such as brown. REMEMBER: don’t overuse too much neutral or your furniture or it may become so neutral you’ll miss it! Check out GF’s grays at http://bit.ly/
To read more about 2018 predictions, please go to the following links:
Architectural Digest: Sherwin-Williams Reveals its 2018 Color of the Year – https://
Country Living: 10 Trends That Are Taking Over Homes in 2018 – http://
Country Living: Pantone Color of the Year 2018 – http://
Linda Holt: 2018 Color Trends You Want to See Now: https://
Maria Killam: Colour Trends You Need to Know Right Now for 2018: http://
5 Pieces Of Wise Decorating Advice From Tricia Foley
Find her books on Amazon
“I think that many people try to copy what’s trendy rather than trusting their own personal style in decorating a home and then the look doesn’t last. If you’re really not sure about making decorating decisions, keep a file of pictures of favorite rooms culled from books and magazines to help narrow it down” Tricia Foley
“In terms of color for walls, I always do a test patch and live with it to see how the color responds to the light and with the existing furnishings. It’s also important to put it all together and make sure that your color palette is compatible and that you’re not acquiring furniture and accessories in bits and pieces that don’t work together. “Tricia Foley
“It makes sense to follow the architectural style of the space. Determine the function of the room and really think about how you will use it. Then furnish it appropriately for those uses. Finally, layer on your own personal style — not someone else’s. Aim for personal comfort as well as visual appeal level.” Tricia Foley
Go with good classic design in terms of furniture. I always look for multi-purpose pieces, that can be used for other rooms as living conditions change. Set the scene for your own personal style with neutral walls and floors. Then add simple window treatments and bed linens to transform a space with color.” Tricia Foley
“I see children’s rooms as part of the home, not so much a separate world. I would design the space so that it visually belongs to the rest of the family spaces. It should also be a comfort zone for children and a place for them to express themselves with their own things — there are lots of great storage units, armoires, bins, etc. that are perfect for kids rooms in grownup styles but scaled down sizes available from Pottery Barn for kids, for example Traditions and Mitchell Gold make smaller versions of armchairs from leather club chairs to slipcovered pretty cotton wing chairs that suit many styles.” Tricia Foley
Tricia On Pinterest
Glass For Every Occasion Tricia Foley-Found on triciafoley.com
Decorator Tricia Foley’s Signature White Interiors
If you’re drawn to simple, light-filled interiors, you’ll love the work of decorator Tricia Foley. The author of ten design books and a frequent feature in both national and international publications, Foley is known for her refined white-based interiors and her restrained, thoughtful approach to decorating. Her style is timeless rather than trendy—effortless, elegant, and endlessly livable. If you admire crisp Scandinavian-inspired spaces, neutral color schemes, and soft, muted palettes, Tricia Foley’s aesthetic will resonate deeply.
Below are a few signature elements that frequently appear in her interiors:
Stack Clear Glass Plates
Clear glassware and plates are easy to collect and surprisingly affordable at flea markets, thrift shops, and garage sales. Grouping these pieces together is a simple way to elevate a dining room hutch or style open kitchen shelving. Consider installing wood shelves and displaying glassware in the open for a light, layered look.
Embrace All-White China
White porcelain and ironstone create an instant sense of order and calm, no matter how large or small the collection. A few thoughtfully spaced pieces can make an armoire or cabinet feel curated and intentional. White dishware is also one of the easiest thrift-store finds, even in the most rural areas, where simple bowls and platters are almost always available.
Let White Walls Do the Work
White walls provide a flexible backdrop that allows pattern and personality to shine through textiles, furniture, and accessories. This neutral base makes seasonal changes effortless—introduce brighter hues in spring and summer, then transition to richer browns and deeper yellows in the colder months. Swapping pillows, artwork, and linens is an easy way to refresh your space throughout the year.
Soften the Palette with Gray
Pairing antique white with soft, powdery shades of gray creates a soothing, restorative environment. For those with busy or stressful lives, a calm home can feel like a retreat. White surfaces also help spaces feel larger and brighter—painting woodwork or lightly liming natural wood is a beautiful way to open up a room while maintaining warmth.
Tricia Foley Life/Style: Elegant Simplicity at Home-
At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table
Links:
Tricia Foley’s Chicken Coop Found on triciafoley.com
Basket with berries, Found on triciafoleyinthecountry.blogspot.com.au
10 Tips From Interior Designer Furlow Gatewood
Here are a few tips Designer Furlow Gatewood
Wood Boards On The Walls Give An Antique Appearance – “Furlow often uses simple rough boards as panels for a room. This gives texture and character that plain drywall cannot provide. In some cases, the boards run vertically with horizontal boards at the ceiling, chair rail, and base”
Work With Antique Pieces, And The Occasional Modern Upholstered Piece “Generous upholstered pieces are used sparingly”
Buying What You Really Love ” It’s certainly true that fabric houses would never get rich off him. There is not a single curtain in any of his houses he much prefers shutters or blinds. The bulk of his upholstered furniture is slipcovered in simple cotton duck, and rugs, when they exist at all are sisal or Indian dhurries or the odd antique Oriental. But the most salient quality of his “look” is that he only buys what he absolutely loves”
Great Design Doesn’t Have To Be Costly “Finally, for all of Furlow’s knowledge, for all his world travels and world-class stuff, he has never been a snob. One of my very favorite things in the whole Barn is on the drinks tray outside the bedroom where I slept. A blue liner, it fit perfectly inside a handsome silver urn that doubles as an ice bucket, and I assumed it was some fine piece of cobalt glass. Upon further inspection, it was a plastic bowl Furlow said he found at the Dollar Store, a detail that delighted him to repeat.”
Cutting Plywood Can Create Architectural Detail – The stylish entrance hall of the Cuthbert House was created by simply cutting pieces of plywood in six-by-twenty-inch rectangles. The edges of each piece of wood were beveled and installed in a running bond pattern over the drywall. This was a technique often used in American nineteenth-century Federal houses to simulate stone patterns, as dwellings were then built of wood”
Work With Brackets To Display Pictures, Pottery and Collections On The Wall – “………small pictures that are stacked one atop the other, with a bracket above to draw the eye up and accentuate the sense of grandeur.”
Turn Fabric Inside Out…Sometimes It Can Be Nicer On The Back Side ” A Billy Baldwin slipper chair is covered in fabric on the wrong side, a favorite Furlow trick”
Center A Room Around A Soda, And Work Your Other Pieces In “In each living room, the furniture is always arranged in comfortable seating groups consisting of large frame sofas and various frame chairs placed around them. He often implements period sofas and chairs with exposed legs to give the rooms a light, airy quality”
Painted Floors Can Be A Beautiful Solution” Manhattan-based painter John Campbell painted the faux marbre floors, and a grisaille wallpaper panel hangs above the console. A similar gray palate (with white) extends throughout the house. Furlow says he finds the color scheme cooling.”
Use Solid Fabrics On Sofas and Prints With Throws And Pillows To Make Them Interesting. Save Patterned Fabrics For Accent Chairs “Large sofas are covered in a solid fabric and then filled with pillows of different florals, stripes, and checks in a single color scheme. A single chair might have a patterned fabric that blends with the others”
Old Leather Is A Gem Of A Find….If You Stumble Across Old Leather, Leave It Be “If a chair has lovely old leather upholstery, it is left as is”
Additional Links:
– Furlow Gatewood – Porcelain Collection – House Beautiful
– Beautiful Interiors – Furlow Gatewood on Pinterest
– The Exceptional Houses of Furlow Gatewood | Garden and Gun Magazine
– 4.2.14 | One Man’s Folly | New York Social Diary
Investing In Mora Clocks – Expert Advice From Jo From Swedish Interior Design
Swedishinteriordesign.co.uk specializes in Swedish Antique Gustavian, Biedermeier, Rococo and Country Painted, Veneer and Natural Wood Furniture.
In the Homes and Antiques April 2014 Issue, Swedish Interior Design was asked to spill about Mora Clocks. Here is what they had to say:
A grandfather clock by another name?
A Mora clock is specifically a longcase clock made in the town of Mora in central Sweden during the l8th and 19th centuries.
Why there and and why then?
Bad harvests in the 1700s meant that the farmers of Mora, which was a largely rural community,
had to come up with a way to supplement their income. The pendulum clock had been invented by Dutch scientist Christian Muygens in 1656 using the sketches of Galileo so there was already something of a tradition for making clocks of this sort in Scandinavia and the cottage industry quickly developed. Each family in Mora look responsibility for making a certain part: the pendulums, the faces, the brass mechanics and so on.
Tell us about the clock’s defining features…
They are known (or their curvaceous hourglass shapes and are more often than not painted in pale greys, whites or blues as these colours reflected candlelight better on long dark evenings. Sometimes they will have ‘kurbits’ folk art designs – a form of bold, painterly decoration most
recognizable from wooden Dala horses that originate from Dalarnia, the same region that
Mora clocks come from.
How easy are they to come by?
Oddly the largest collection of Mora clocks is here in the UK. It is owned by Jo and Madeleine
Lee who run Swedish Intorior Design and have just moved their business to an old granary near Shoreham where you can find over 50 of the clocks in stock. Look out for ones marked ‘AAS’. They may well be made by the first Mora clockmaker Krang Anders Andersson whose oldest known clock dates to 1792. Be wary though, the moniker has been copied onto later clocks so check for documentary evidence of his craftsmanship.
Jo spills some of his secrets of how he goes about refreshing Swedish antiques that need a facelift.
He discovered this Mora clock about many years ago, and it was one of the first pieces he found in Sweden. He loved the clock but wanted the overall look to fit into their 1886 apartment which was decorated around whites and greys.
The clock was found painted in a “Kirbits Folk Art Style…..
“It was statuesque, superbly proportioned, elegant and painted in reproduction Kurbits Folk Art style. The repaint was probably done in the early 1900s and the colours they had used and the painting style were rather garish. The original Kurbits Folk Art Style was prominent in Sweden in the early part of the 1800s and was a freehand style using feather shapes, swirls and subtle earth tome colors (reds, ochres, yellows, oranges) to create a visually sumptuous but definitely country style. You can see examples of the kurbits painting from the early 1800s by looking at the 360 degree view of the Swedish Interior Design Kitchen where we have freestanding cabinets from 1799, 1803 and so on with the original Kurbits paint.”
Jo tells us how he made this clock look antique with paint:
Step 1 – “Key the entire clock with medium sandpaper (180 grit) to allow the paint to grip and look it over to decide whether there were any bits that needed gluing or fixing. Generally I prefer to leave pieces ‘as is’ if possible rather than fix them up to much as the life they have undergone is part of their character and makes them real”
Step 2 – “Prepare The Tools In this case a variety of brushes of different sizes to allow me to get a fine coat on to the clock without filling up the wonderful crenulations and shapes on the body with excess paint. You can get very carried away with special brushes but actually we generally use pretty standard ones – my brush heads don’t have to include virgin yak tails from Mongolia! In this case I used a Craig and Rose acrylic paint (I used Regency White in the Chalky Emulsion finish), which dries nice and quick and that goes on very smoothly with a nice chalky texture. I didn’t use a primer in this case but you can if you want. Alternatively, any chalk-like paint such as Farrow and Ball’s Estate Emulsion, Chalk or Milk Paint could be used. With Chalk and Milk Paint, you would have to wax the piece and not glaze it as I did, which I will talk about a bit later.”
Step 3 – Base Coat “A nice smooth stroke with a larger headed brush to keep an even spread and smaller headed brushes or ones where I’ve cut them to an angle for getting in and under things! Always be careful not to let the paint pool or drip and consider it from several angles to make sure the coverage is good. Once I’d built up the base coat, I added 2 further coats at a slightly watered down consistency until I liked the visual texture“
Step 4 Sand “Light sand to matte the paint down a bit with 320 sandpaper and then some judicious distressing either in the right places where you would naturally get a lot of use (like the handle in the pendulum door) or for effect (to highlight a special feature). I also use a razor blade too sometimes for a different look”
Step 5 Antiquing. “Now that I like the basic color and the level of distress, I decide how and if I should antique it. When well done, antiquing really adds to the feel of a piece and can highlight its decorative mouldings, giving them a 3D effect. But if overdone or clumsily applied..awful! Many people like to use wax but I prefer to make up my own antiquing fluid using an acrylic glaze as a base. I mix the acrylic glaze with a dark brown, grey, red or yellow paint so I can create an antiquing color that matches the color tones I want to effect and it still looks like the real ‘dirt of ages’. So sometimes it’s greyer, browner, more yellow, ochre or red – whatever you need for a special job. The key is “think” where naturally dirt would accumulate and build it up in layers and once that’s done to see if you want to use it as a special effect to highlight any feature. Another light dusting with 320 sandpaper in places and then stand back and admire the handiwork”
You can see their unique collection of antique mora clocks, and other Swedish furniture by viewing by private appointment 7 days a week.
Call +44 1273734371 or visit the website at www.swedishinteriordesign.co.uk
Also, look up at Swedish Interior Design blog for more tips of how to decorate with Swedish furniture.
Follow Jo on Facebook, follow his wife’s blog Madeleine Lee.com
- Madeleine In their Swedish Home
- Picture Credit- Swedish Interior Design
- Beautiful creamy whites and golds seen in their home
- Pictures taken in their home for a fashion editorial in Coco Indie Magazine, see more at bellakotakphotography.com
- Swedish Interior Design
- Clock 1: Unique Early 1800s antique Swedish mora clock with an incredible original trompe l’oieil wreath motif and a very unusual larger head with stunning roman numeral clock face
- Clock 2: Early 1800s antique Swedish mora clock in original white paint.The mora clock is in good condition and features the makers name ‘Roth of Norkoping’ and elaborate beautiful handpanted gold curlicue designs.
- Clock 3: Very early 1800s Swedish mora clock in original paint. Incredible ribbed crown motif on the hood and very distressed but structurally sound.
- Mora Clocks From Swedish Interior Design
Swedish Reproduction Furniture At Solgarden
House Beautiful Magazine, 2002, Picture Credit solgarden.se
If you are looking for beautiful reproduction Swedish furniture, consider Solgarden. Solgarden has two lines of furniture, one named “classic”, and the other named “vintage”.
Solgarden Classic- This line is manufactured by a Swedish furniture maker and the timber is locally grown in Sweden. This line is inspired after authentic 1700s furniture found in Sweden. Within this line, you will find furniture inspired after gustavian, rococo and baroque styles. All of their furniture is hand painted adjacent to their store.
The pricing of the furniture includes a choice of color within their “Solgård Colours”. Their signature painting is a process that involves nine different applications. While you have the option to paint the furniture, you can also have it finished to a “worn” appearance that also gives the look and feel of antique furniture.
Solgarden Vintage- Here you’ll find beautiful pieces found around Sweden which have been restored and refreshed with paint or new fabric. Often times these pieces are one of a kind, very unique and special. If you are looking for something specific, which you cannot locate yourself, contact them, and they can do their best to locate that item. Solgarden also offers furniture painting, furniture upholstery and sewing services.
About Solgarden
The operation was named Solgarden, and was originally founded out of a yellow house. After a few years, the business grew and moved to Karlavagen 58 in Stockholm. It was in 1998 when the company changed owners, and over the years the business developed a passion for concentrating their efforts in Gustavian styled furniture, and it was there that special pieces were copied and reproduced. The level of painting evolved over the years, and the quality of the furniture just got better over time.
In 2012, Anki and Mary took over, and Solgarden opened the current store on Surbrunnsgatan 28 in Stockholm. Skilled painters and artists continue to paint furniture next to their shop, and they have expanded to also offer add one-of-a-kind older refurbished furniture along side their 1700s reproduction furniture. A customer can also take advantage of their upholstery and sewing services. If you need slipcovers made, upholstery for a chair, or settee, or bedding and drapery to be made, they can do that too.
Contact Solgarden:
- Surbrunnsgatan 28, 113 48 Stockholm
- +46 (0)8-663 93 60
- info@solgarden.se
- www.solgarden.se
This stunning feature was featured in House Beautiful back in 2002. Read all about Marianne von Kantzow’s apartment located on Strandvagen:
“Welcome to my latest love affair,” said the invitation to the launching of Solgarden’s new management four years ago; Marianne von Kantzow just abandoned her post as as a construction executive” to take the helm at one of Sweden’s premier makers of reproduction Gustavian furniture and objects. The daughter of Swedish aristocrats, she was raised in an 18th-century manor in the countryside north of Stockholm where “you could find not just Gustavian furniture but details of the style everywhere—walls decorated with painted canvas in colors such as pearl gray and decorated with swags of flowers in lovely pastels.” she remembers.
At Solgarden she offers furnishings that hark back to the years between 1770 and 1790, a golden age in Sweden during which King Ciustav III had his own love affair—with the fashions of the French court. Solgarden continues to discover antique pieces to reproduce, often with the help of the distinguished decorative arts scholar Lars Sjoberg. The company makes tables and chairs finished in the traditional 18th-century gray paint, but von Kantzow has also modernized the look of her furniture by using what she calls “Solgarden white.” This color, her trademark, is a soft “broken white” la European term for off-white) antiqued in her store’s workshop with eight layers of paint and one of wax.
Von Kantzow also tinkers with tradition in her nine-room apartment on Strandvagen, Stock-
holm’s Fifth Avenue. Divorced after a long marriage that produced five now grown children,
she left a picturesque weekend house on an island in the Stockholm archipelago and now lives
in town full time with her companion, a lawyer. “He and I have the same taste.” she reports,
although her decor is so “un-Swedish” that when she hosted her daughter’s engagement patty,
the young woman’s future mother -in-law expressed fears that her son might have to live with
Marianne von Kantzow’s aesthetic. “Swedes are generally afraid of strong colors on themselves and in their homes,” says von Kantzow. “They walk into my house and stare with their mouths open, and I can see they wish they could be as daring.”
The late 19th-century apartment overlooking the National Museum and the waterfront is decorated with the same colors that von Kantzow has used in all her houses. “I love while with other colors, preferably strong pastel tones of blue and pink.” she says, “They give love and happiness to a room.” Her color palette is both pleasing and practical. “I believe in color schemes that allow a person to move furniture from room to room without having to reupholster everything.
The apartment’s 15-foot ceilings and ample natural light are dramatic and accommodating. The piece de resistance is the drawing room, where against rosy pink walls von Kantzow has arranged two conversation groups, using her collection of signed late-18th-century furniture upholstered in pink velvet and blue period documentary fabrics. Anchoring two opposite walls, she has hung paintings close to her heart, one of her great aunt, the other showing a view of her beloved archipelago.
For the formal dining room she painted a forthright Wedgwood blue on her walls, along with Solgarden white for the panels. Two pieces immediately attract attention: a 19tg century cut-glass chandelier—a copy of one made for the Austrian empress Maria Teresa—and an 13th-century Dutch cabinet housing pan: of von Kamzow’s china and silver collections. Most of the dining chairs are 18th-century originals.
Von Kantzow- shows her playful side in the kitchen and study. The former took its surprising lime and pink accent colors from the heating stove installed at the time of the buildings construction. In the latter, von Kantzow uses a shack of sorts, complete with roof and trompe l’oeil scenery, as a walk in closet.
If only von Kantzow could enjoy her urban oasis more often. Like any good enterprising Swede, she works long hours—sometimes seven-day weeks. Fortunately her soothing yet stimulating shop makes up for it. Customers, she says, “come in and say things like ‘All this whiteness makes me calm,'” and they tend to stay a while, conversing deeply with strangers.
House Beautiful Magazine, 2002, Picture Credit solgarden.se
Pink Gustavian Interior -SKONAHEM
2004 Picture Credit solgarden.se
House Beautiful Magazine, 2002, Picture Credit solgarden.se
House Beautiful Magazine, 2002, Picture Credit solgarden.se
Pink Gustavian Interior -SKONAHEM
2004 Picture Credit solgarden.se
Pink Upholstered Gustavian Chair- GODS & GARDAR
2004 Picture Credit solgarden.se
Gustavian Room – BAZAAR
2002 Picture Credit solgarden.se
Swedish Interior, Designer Marianne von Kantzow Seen In Hem & Gardar Magazine, Featured At solgarden.se
More Picture Credits :
- Baby Swedish Toys In A Nordic Styled Interior – Picture Credit solgarden.se
- Swedish Interior, Designer Marianne von Kantzow Seen In Hem & Gardar Magazine, Featured At solgarden.se
