Swedish Furniture Design – What Makes The 1800’s So Obsessive

Pair of Late Gustavian Neoclassical Chairs

Pair of Late Gustavian / Neoclassical Chairs

Jason Phillips

The Scandinavians are known around the world for creating simple, stylish and functional furniture; its style reflects its origins, furniture and décor which maximized the available light and space. The look is minimal, yet honest with an earthy flavor. It is the perfect style to use when you are looking to revitalize an old, gloomy house and create a contemporary yet practical flare. To really get the 1800s Swedish feel in your home you will need to follow these tips:

Wooden Flooring

The flooring should be light and preferably wood, although a laminate will have the same effect. This allows the sunlight entering the house to bounce around the room and help to create a feeling of space, warmth and light. The bathroom is the only exception to this rule as a darker, warmer color will make the room feel more inviting.

Color Palettes Of Brown And Grey

The original Scandinavian design would be for white walls and a pale grey or light blue; either as a feature wall or as part of the design; the color of the furniture or the accessories. However, there have been several other influences in the Scandinavian scene and it is possible to introduce some bright colors through the accessories or even the flowers in the room. These will draw the eye and make the room feel friendly and inviting. It is also possible to opt for wood on one of the walls; it is a natural material and adds a layer of warmth to the property. If the wood is too yellow for your taste than it can be white washed or you can use grey oil to dilute the color.

Furniture Lines

The handmade designer furniture you use in your Scandinavian room must have clean lines. The majority of Swedish furniture elements will already have the lines you require. This simplistic approach will provide a calm, tranquil room in which to relax.

Functional Furniture

The Swedish pride themselves on providing stylish yet functional furniture. Every piece has a specific purpose and it is well designed for that purpose. This ethic should apply across the entire house; it avoids unnecessary clutter and encourages the simple, minimalistic style. Furniture may have been designed recently or may be genuine antique pieces. Either will work as the elements of design have stayed true throughout time; every Swedish piece has a classic beauty in its simplicity and will sit perfectly in a room today. The way this furniture has been designed allows it to blend with any room, creating a stylish, yet practical living area.

Corner Fire

Swedish winters are generally much colder than those in many other parts of the world. A fire is an essential part of surviving these winters. However, they are not the feature point of the room; they are seen as another piece of furniture. Swedish fires are often tiled and sit in the corner of the room. They are usually very simple in design and may hardly even be noticed with their doors closed. The corner approach also allows the heat to radiate out across the room effectively.

The Environment

The Swedish are well known for adding environmentally friendly features to their houses. This can be as simply as embracing the energy efficient light bulbs, to adding solar panels or a ground source heat pump. Insulation and triple glazing are also standard on new builds and help to create the warm, inviting interior of a Swedish house.

Less is more

Scandinavian design does not incorporate an abundance of ornaments and accessories. The approach is minimalistic in order to keep the clean lines and bright spaces that they desire. Among the few accessories will usually be a plant or bunch of flowers to add a touch of the outside to the décor. Blend your minimalistic approach with natural materials and you will have a beautiful house that you can
actually live in!

Embrace the Swedish home design and transform your home into a welcoming, truly inviting living nest. Choose a dominant color that best lives up to your expectations, and don’t be afraid to improvise. Oversized throw pillows, flower pots with seasonal flowers and custom-made furniture items are everything you need for a Swedish-inspired home.

A Swedish Early Gustavian Period Console Table circa 1770 1st dibs

A Swedish Early Gustavian Period Console Table circa 1770 1st dibs

19th Century Swedish Gustavian Pedestal Table

19th Century Swedish Gustavian Pedestal Table

Set of Four 18th Century Swedish Gustavian Chairs

Set of Four 18th Century Swedish Gustavian Chairs

19th Century Swedish Gustavian Style Bench

19th Century Swedish Gustavian Style Bench

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Living In Norway- Norwegian Life In The 18th & 19th Centuries By Elisabeth Holte

Living In Norway- Norway, Scandinavia, Nordic Style, European Countries, 18th Century, 19th Century Interiors, Norwegians, Viking carpenters, Country Nordic Homes, Norwegian Homes

Living In NorwayLiving in Norway by Elisabeth Holte, is a book you need to look though. This book features 250 lovely photographs of Norwegian interiors which specialize on folk motifs, and countryside homes.  The book is divided into the four seasons: fall, winter, spring and summer.

When it comes to antiques, this book shows them in their historical natural settings.  View homes that look untouched from the 18th and 19th centuries.  Many of the “hytta” or cabins found in Norway have been now turned into bed and breakfasts or museums which have kept much of the traditional interiors intact.

Look through many examples of traditional rosemaling on the walls and on the outside of the shadow box beds that show you the sheer talent of country people in the 19th century.  In this book you will find a rich selection of Norwegian homes, interior and exteriors images, focusing on mostly historical homes, with the exception of one home set in the modern style.

214 pages show a variety of pictures, with a special section at the back featuring a visitors guide.  While this book was published in 1999, this book is breathtaking, and be a classic example of the interiors found a long ago that we never get tired of.

The Kristiana- An Elegant Club in Denmark- Norway, Scandinavia, Nordic Style, European Countries, 18th Century, 19th Century Interiors, Norwegians, Viking carpenters, Country Nordic Homes, Norwegian Homes

The Kristiana- An Elegant Club in Denmark

Quotes I found most interesting:

On The Style Of Houses In Scandinavia “As Far back as ancient times, the Swedes usually constructed lightweight buildings with wooden facades, while the Danes, who claim practically no forests, built their (hatched cottages in stone and clay: the Norwegians built their solid valley farms of logs, one farm often made up of twenty buildings for different uses”

On Dragon Viking Style In Norway – “It was only in 1005 that Norway became a monarchy again with the coronation of the Danish prince Charles (the grandfather of the present King Harald), who came to the throne under the name Haakon VII. A renewed national consciousness was expressed in architecture and furnishings by the adoption of the Dragon style, inspired by a pseudo-Viking nationalism. As a people, therefore, we are both old and young, which explains the dominant rural trait in Norwegian culture”

On The Popularity Of Dragon Style “Dragon chairs that had been banished to the attic are now being brought down for a fresh look. The style originated in Sweden at the beginning of the 19th century and spread to Norway. The Swedes and the Danes tired of it in the 1880’s but Norwegians maintained the Dragon style and used it as a symbol of their ongoing struggle to leave the threadbare union with Sweden, which ended in 1905. Considered a pure Scandinavian tradition, totally independent of what was happening on the continent, the Dragon style was an expression of the pride of the Viking age”

On The North Summer Nights “As the days get longer, nobody wants to go to bed. In the south, it is possible to read outside in the garden until eleven o’clock at night and the sun is already up again by four in the morning. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun doesn’t set at all, creating an almost unreal atmosphere. During those ‘white’ nights of the midnight sun. time seems to stand still. In enjoy the beauty of the midnight sun at its most breathtaking”

On Rose Painting Artists “Rose Painting was distinguished as any of the country’s more widely known cultural representatives. Rose-painting was a rustic art made by local masters who traveled from farm to farm, often spending months in one place carving and painting the most magnificent interiors. The tradition of rose-painting started at the beginning of the 18th century and reached a peak towards the beginning of the l9th, surviving until the middle of the 19th century. For the owners of the houses, rose-painting was a way of expressing new-found prosperity, and farmers and peasants wanted to show off their wealth and their improved social status, much as the prosperous merchants and civil servants in the towns displayed theirs”

Norway’s Coastlines “Along Norway’s southeastern coast the climate is sometimes so mild that even herbs like thyme, cultivated on the terrace to flavour summer meals, survive the winter . One of summer’s highlights on the Sorlandet is the Trebatfestivalen (Wooden Boat Festival)
which takes place in August in the fine little sailboat town of Ris0r, whose harbour is lined with white wooden houses. Timber trade with Holland led to the creation of Risor in the 17th century, and it grew to become an important trade and ship-building port in the 18th century without ever losing its charming small-town atmosphere.”

On Rose Painting Art “Rose-painting was an amalgam of local tradition and personal style. Artists generally knew of the major artistic trends and skilfully incorporated this knowledge into their designs. Although rose-painting lagged behind stylistically in relation to the major artistic trends that were evolving on the continent, you can nonetheless find elements drawn from all the major styles—Renaissance, baroque, rococo and Empire. The leitmotif of rose-painting, the elegant, sweeping baroque tendril, could play different roles within a design, in conjunction with flowers, in elaborate geometric patterns or as a structure for other motifs;. Popular motifs included human figures (the artist might paint the farmers wife if he found her pretty enough), flowers, trees, religious scenes, and soldiers on horseback with little dogs running at their feet. Artists chose pure, bright hues to produce vivid but harmonious effects”

On Popular Antique Furniture “For two or three generations, there has been a craze for antique farm furniture and objects in Norways towns, ranging from fine and costly 18th-century tables and dressers to a more basic lyed farm table or the antique wooden bowl. It is only recently that urban antiques have started to attract attention. Mainly of these come from Sweden, Denmark and Norways southern coast, and are made From birch or old English mahogany in the Empire style. However, bondemobler, or old farm furniture, remains the most sought after type of antique”

On Artist Peder Aadnes “One of the most renowned 18th-century painters in the lowlands to the east was Peder Aadnes.  He created delicate, baroque, floral designs in soft blues, but his style tended to be more urban than that of his fellow masters. When rose-painted furniture attributed to Peder Aadnes or his fellow masters appears on the antique dealer’s circuit in Norway today, you have to be prepared to pay enormous sums for a major item such as a sideboard.  The colors and forms are so beautiful that you could put that sideboard in an empty room and need little else”

On Antiques In The Countryside “Even in the most modern Norwegian homes, it is unusual not to find at least one small remnant of the countries rural heritage —a bowl, a table, a rose-painted chest of drawers, or a painted dresser. (It would also be unusual not to find an example of Norway’s innovative contemporary handblown glass or pottery.) Up until the middle of this century, there was little appreciation of antique farm furniture in the rural areas and much of it was bought up cheaply by city dwellers dealers. These days, most farmers value their heirlooms—their painted beds, massive tables, rose-painted or stenciled walls—and take good care of them. On some farms, whole interiors can be works of art. Because craftsmen not only made furniture but also carved and painted entire rooms, including the bonded timber walls and the ceilings. Baroque tendrils and rococo shells adorn the massive wooden walls and beamed ceilings, while carvings of soldiers or king- with sabres drawn, brings doors to life. Many of these 18th century rooms still survive intact in farmhouses in the valleys and on the lowlands of southern and eastern Norway. Some are still used by the descendants of their original owners. Often, though, the present-day owners have made themselves modern houses next to the old ones, with luxuries such as electricity and plumbing”

Rugs Made From Scraps Of Cloth “Yli farm in Telemark is one of Norway’s finest folk art interiors, with 1797-1807 richly carved box beds and exquisite rose-painting. The lush, colourful rose-painting, rosemaling, by renowned local masters, involved far more than mere flower decorations and usually did not include any roses at all. In many valley’s dialects, rosut (rosy) simply meant decorated; rose-painting was the general name for the luxuriant rural decorative art in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the old days, weaving cotton rag rugs (left) was a way to make use of worn household textiles and clothes.”

Get the book  Living In Norway, By Elizabeth Holte, Photography by Solvi Dos Santos from $12 dollars on Amazon

William Jensen Kilm Cushionside sofa in the bedroom in his Oslo Apartment- Keywords Norway, Scandinavia, Nordic Style, European Countries, 18th Century, 19th Century Interiors, Norwegians, Viking carpenters, Country Nordic Homes, Norwegian Homes

William Jensen displays his Kilm Cushion-side sofa in the bedroom in his Oslo Apartment