Tag: Gustavian Furniture

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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3 Swedish Style Homes Featured In Magazines

Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt's Home In Veranda Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt’s Home In Veranda

I have been holding on to Veranda’s November / December 2011 issue which featured an 18th century manor situated in Sabylund, 2 hours west of Stockholm. Built in 1780’s in the Gustavian aesthetic, the house has stayed virtually intact as it was back in the 18th century.

In the red room, chalky white finished chairs with gilt wood embellishments are covered in Chinese red damask. A Swedish day bed functions as a sofa and a bed, and is accompanied by a table surrounded by Gustavian white painted chairs. A Swedish Kakelugn stove has gold painted garlands on the tile. A number of small rectangular portraits hang on the wall.

In the main room, light blue painted walls are framed with wall moldings, and hand painted garlands add a romantic feel to the walls. Sheer drapery allows the light to come into this room.  A settee and Louis XVI chairs with a blue and white stripe slipcovers form a seating area with a Empire table and crisp white tablecloth.  A pale light blue and white scheme pull together a soft, yet delicate look for this room.  A pink rug, and lighter pink upholstery seen on the backs of the chairs offer up a subdued, yet tender room to lounge in.  Large gilt oval portraits add a historical feel to the room.

A grand library filled with the owners original books offered a taste of the high life.  Books were so much more valuable in the 17th and 18 century, and having a library filled with them, suggests the owners were well off.  A 1799 white stucco medallion mounted on a simple wood frame depicts the houses first owner.  A Dutch or German table centers the room, with English cane chairs backed to the books.  Swedish pewter candlesticks sit on the table, along with a brass telescope for viewing nature.  The shelves are painted in a blue/ gray, houses natural leather books adding such rich contrast.  Furniture is left in it’s natural wood, which adds a rustic effect.

“The most interesting thing about this house is that it has actually been lived in all these years” says Johan who owns the house. His wife Ingrid Lagerfelt and their two children live in this home currently. Their ancestor inherited the house from the original brother and sister who built the home. Johan is a doctor, and his wife Ingrid farms the estates 2,500 acres of land.

More from Veranda:

Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt's Home In Veranda 6

Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt’s Home In Veranda

Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt's Home In Veranda 5

Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt’s Home In Veranda

Johan and Ingrid Lagerfelt's Home In Veranda 4

An Up-close and Detailed Look At The Wall Painting

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5 Ways To Add Life Into Worn-Out Furniture

White Painted Furniture, Gustavian Furniture, Swedish Furniture, Updating Furniture, Swedish Decorating Ideas

Colefax and Fowler

Furniture ages just like everything else…and like with most other things, you don’t notice the small changes that happen to your furniture until one day, a few years (or maybe even a decade or more) down the line, you stop and say, “When did my furniture develop this natural patina?”

Obviously you love your furniture — you wouldn’t have kept it for so long if you didn’t — but loving your furniture doesn’t mean you can’t update it or dress it up a little. What’s more, you can make your updates and do your dressing up for very little cost (which should be a relief since it’s doubtful you’ve got a Steve Wynn-sized bank account to fund these projects).

Here are a few cost-effective ways to do just that.

1. Put on New Hardware

Consider adding a little bit of bling to that old chest that you want to fall back in love with.  Putting on new hardware is a great way to dress up old cabinetry and furniture. For example, maybe instead of having handles on the dresser drawers, you can put pulls on instead. New hardware can completely change (and update) the look of a piece and costs way less than buying a whole new item.

2. Refinish It

That chest sitting in the back of the garage may look nice in it’s all natural elements.  Consider sanding off the old layers of varnish and finish.  Maybe this time you can choose a different paint color, or maybe you’ll leave it all-natural.

Refinishing vintage furniture helps get rid of layers of gunk and grime. It can also remove dings and scratches that might have dampened the appearance of the piece. While it won’t often make the piece look brand new, it can help it look re-energized.

3. Paint

As someone who is undoubtedly into the purity of his or her furniture, the idea of painting over the current finish, stain, or varnish probably turns your stomach. Before you hurl, though, know that light paint colors are very “in” right now (and has been for a while). You don’t have to paint the furniture a garish color if you don’t want to. In fact, one of the best things you can do is paint it white. A coat of white paint helps it keep its integrity while also updating its look.

4. Reupholster It

The simple fact of the matter is that over time, fabric (in spite of your good intentions and good care) starts to rot. Cushions (even with minimal pressure) lose their strength. Reupholstering the seat, sofa, or stool helps maintain its beauty and structural integrity. You can even find antique-looking fabrics fairly cheaply online. Even better — upholstery is something you can easily do yourself, which saves you even more money!

Whatever you choose to do, know this: Updating is not the same as replacing. You can keep the same furniture for decades if you treat it well and give it a facelift now and then!

Erin Steiner is a full-time freelance writer and web content creator.

Country Swedish Furniture, White Painted Furniture, Gustavian Furniture, Swedish Furniture, Updating Furniture, Swedish Decorating Ideas

White Table set ,White Painted Furniture, Gustavian Furniture, Swedish Furniture, Updating Furniture, Swedish Decorating Ideas

Table With 4 Chairs- Live Auctioneers

White Table Set, White Painted Furniture, Gustavian Furniture, Swedish Furniture, Updating Furniture, Swedish Decorating Ideas

Table With 8 Chairs- Live Auctioneers

Texas designer Joe Minton, White Painted Furniture, Gustavian Furniture, Swedish Furniture, Updating Furniture, Swedish Decorating Ideas

Riverhills Game Room- Texas designer Joe Minton sought to create a space that would be well-used. Accordingly, he selected a durable outdoor fabric for the banquette. Its yellow-and-blue, slightly nautical stripe adds playfulness to a room rich in antiques.

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Swedish Furniture From Bukowski Market

Rococo Desk 1700's -Swedish Furniture From Bukowski Market- Gustavian, Gustavian Furniture, Rococo Swedish, Swedish Antiques, Swedish Auction Markets, Swedish Online Furniture AuctionsRococo Desk 1700’s

Bukowski is the leading auction house founded in 1870 by the Polish nobleman Henryk Bukowski. Bukowski Market also happens to be Sweden and Finland’s largest on-line internet site for quality auctions. Bukowski Market offers modern capabilities to the auction experience; one that combines online shopping with spectacular antiques and reliable expertise.

Bukowski pairs together buyers and sellers from around the world and allows antiques to be brought to the public for sale.  All items sold at Bukowski have been reviewed by experts in showrooms in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Helsinki, and Norrköping.   Bukowski offers a large assortment of antiques, design, art and decorative items for all tastes.  Before bidding from Bukowski, be sure to look at their terms of sale, and have your shipping and pick up arrangements set before bidding.

bukowskis.com

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Designers Pick Their Favorite Gray Paints

Picture Credit –Scandinavian Antiques Co On Ebay

House Beautiful Designer Grays

Featured above are the colors, Top Row: Pratt & Lambert’s Argent 1322, Farrow & Ball’s Claydon Blue 87, Farrow & Ball’s Green Blue 84, Middle Row, Farrow & Ball’s Light Blue 22, Benjamin Moore’s Sea Star 2123-30, Benjamin Moore’s Wolf Gray 2127-40 Bottom Row,  Benjamin Moore’s Graytint 1611, Sherwin-Williams’s Magnetic Gray SW-7058,  Benjamin Moore’s Stone Harbor 2111-50

Home Beautiful featured an article on 26 Designers who shared their favorite Grays.  Gray painted interiors can be the perfect color palette for Swedish Gustavian or Rococo antique furniture.  Gray can showcase antiques like no other color, because it is neutral, and doesn’t compete with the furniture and decor. The last thing you want after spending thousands on a piece of furniture, is to have someone notice anything but what you spent your hard earned money on!   Pair your painted gray antiques with a backdrop of white gray interior walls and trim, and add a punch of color with your upholstery, accessories, and flowers.

Many of the designers featured in the article, were those of Richard Gluckman, Stephanie Stokes, David Kleinberg, Tori Golub, Stephen Sills, Phoebe Howard, Steven Gambrel, Gerrie Bremermann, and Sharone Einhorn and Honey Walters.  

Here are just a few of the designer quotes:

“Mesquite is a flattering light moss green without much yellow. I love it because it doesn’t shout ‘I’m green!’ It says, ‘I’m a very beautiful color.'” –Jennifer Garrigues, Benjamin Moore’s Mesquite 501

“Lago Argentino is a glacier lake in Patagonia, and it’s the most amazing color, an aqua, milky because as the ice melts it pulls minerals off the mountain. I stayed in an inn with a stunning view of the Perito Moreno glacier.” –Suzanne Rheinstein , Ralph Lauren Paint’s Blue-Green GH81

“For me, the most appealing colors in summer are not hot but cool. You don’t need to be reminded of the sun and heat — you’re in it. What you want is a cool breeze through the pine trees, like this chalky gray green.” –Frank Roop, Benjamin Moores Soft Fern 2144-40

“In my cutting garden I have morning glories climbing over a lattice obelisk painted this wonderful silvery sage green. It reminds me of lavender leaves.” –Michael Whaley, Benjamin Moores Cedar Grove 444

“I have a big, hugely functional Georgian Revival lawyer’s desk in tired dry mahogany, bought from a tired dry lawyer. I painted it this pale gray-green in an oil-base stain finish, cleanable, very calm, but not so pale that it dies. The gimmick is the old-fashioned desk in an unexpected color. It catches light and makes for a more interesting surface.” –Carey Maloney, Donald Kaufman Color Collections DKC-10

“It’s kind of robin’s egg blue, and with mahogany furniture and neutral upholstery, it looks great. I see dining rooms as mostly evening rooms, and this has life to it. It’s very soothing.” –Mariette Himes Gomez, Benjamin Moore’s Sage Tint 458

“Green is the great neutral, all the way from pond scum to soft sage or pale celery. I recently moved into a new house surrounded by greenery, and when I was thinking of what color I might use for a drapery lining, it came to me to reflect the green that is present year-round right outside that window.” –Barbara Barry – Donald Kaufman Color Collection’s DKC-8

“This is the color of the sky in Old Master paintings, when the varnish has yellowed; it’s luminous. Paint just the floor and you’d feel as if you were floating.” –Thomas Jayne, Benjamin Moore’s Heavenly Blue

“In my cutting garden I have morning glories climbing over a lattice obelisk painted this wonderful silvery sage green. It reminds me of lavender leaves.” –Michael Whaley, Benjamin Moore’s Cedar Grove 444

Gray Painted Swedish FurnitureGray Painted Swedish Furniture – Laserow Antiques

18th Century Swedish Tray Table – Jacqueline Adams Antiques

This mirror would have been part of a room paneling. It features a beautifully hand carved and gilded top panel of a basket with flowers and grape bunches before crossed mallets and grape branches and is surrounded with a square, gilt molded frame. Beneath is a square mirror framed with a beaded, molded edge

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Les Indiennes Fabrics

Elle Decor April 11

Mary Mulcahy’s designs, first developed for her block-printed textiles, now grace the wall with the Les Indiennes collection by IVM Prints. The 12 hand-screened wallpapers include Rayure, left, and Veronique, both in indigo; additional colors are offered, Seen in Elle Decor April 2011

The company Les Indiennes is known for their beautiful hand-blocked textiles. Founder, Mary Mulcahy had a desire to find naturally dyed cotton, with large scale single colored motifs, but was unable to locate fabrics close to what she had in mind, so she created her own.   Her concept started to take form after running into a craftsman in southern India,  who knew exactly what she was after.  In fact, the craftsman was one of the very few artists who still practiced the ancient art of kalamkari, which was an extremely complex and rare method of printing on fabric.

The Kalamkari Process:

1.  Fabric Preparation- Cotton fabric is initially softened and bleached.  This process needs to be done before any printing takes place.  The process involves bales of organic cotton which are repeatedly rinsed and beaten against large rocks, then laid out on the grass to bleach in the sun.   These steps ensure that the fabric will feel soft and luxurious, and so that the color application remains bright and vibrant.

2. Block Printing- After the fabric has been softened and lightened, printing begins.  Craftsmen dip hand-carved wood blocks in dyes and presses them into the cotton.  The dyes are derived from plants, roots, earth, and rock.  One can only imagine the great care, and measurements taken to ensure the patterns are straight and line up with one another.  Today we take for granted large printing machinery, when at one time, much of this work was done by hand.  At Les Indiennes, the fabric is printed by hand, and hours go into each fabric panel.  After the patterns are applied, the printed fabric is air dried for at least two days.

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Go Bold With Red- Part 1 Grand Sophisticated Interiors

French Commode Lacquered Red From Live Auctioneers

The color red is grand, and is a color everyone considers for their home at one time or another. The color red is a symbol of privilege and wealth. Official seals often use the red, as a gesture of confidence and authority. Red can make a statement in your home in a very powerful way, although it can be hard to execute. We show you 5 ways to pull off this color with success.

5 Ways Of Using Red In Your Home

1. Use Red In The Kitchen Or Entry Way

Red is the color of passion and has been known to stimulate blood pressure and heart rate. Red also sparks passion, love, and enthusiasm, so it is color often used in romantic restaurants. What better place to encourage conversation and hunger, than at the dinner table.

Consider painting your dining room table red. Instead of painting the whole table red, leave the top untouched, in it’s natural wood state. To add a Swedish touch, consider painting the details in gold. In this post, you can see how lovely a red can look in a country provincial style.

2. Use Red In A Pattern on Decoupaged Furniture

There are many ways of decorating with red other than painting your walls. One way of doing this is decoupaging furniture. Decoupaging is rather easy, and you can execute the process a number of ways.

One way is to use cut outs. Simply find an image you like from a magazine or on the Internet, and photocopy it several times over, which you can then cut out, and apply it to a piece of furniture. This Swedish tiled stove would be an excellent example of how lovely a red floral pattern would look on a chest.

You can even take fabric and glue it to a chest, with modge podge glue. Add pattern into your home, or finish off a room based around patterns by decoupaging your furniture.

Inspirational Posts On Decoupaged Furniture

How To Decoupage Furniture– The Swedish Furniture

Louis XV Style Red Lacquer Side Table From Hastening Antiques – Provincial Furniture

4 Easy Steps To Decoupage Beautiful Furniture– The White Dresser

Decoupage Is Simple! Update Your Kids Furniture– Kids Room Decor

Swedish Interiors: How To Decorate With The Color Red– The Swedish Furniture

3. Use Red In Acessories

-Add a bit of a modern glam using abstract art with bold touches of red. Consider using a heavy ornate frame with a modern poster. Modern Styled Paintings or Posters would add a modern touch in a home with plenty of antiques.

–Juju wall hats are a perfect way of adding a bold touch of red in a room. You can purchase these hats in a number of vibrant colors, which can be placed above a dresser, a console table to add in a bold touch of color into your room.

-Below you see the Stockholm apartment in Sweden with the red room. Below it shows a picture of the living room based in white with natural wood furniture. If you want a room based in lighter colors, consider a large area rug in red, like they did. An over-sized floor rug can make a bold impression.

– Another way of adding saturated color into your rooms is to accessorize with red wool blankets. Point blankets can add a rustic touch to your home, and can be thrown over the sofa, or used on the bed, or stacked on a shelf.

– Chairs are a great way of implementing red into a room. Chair frames can be painted red, or upholstered in red fabric.

-If red walls are a bit too risky for you to consider then why not consider red and white bedding? Paint your bed-frame red, with touches of gold, and consider getting a comforter, sheets,a pillowcases all in red. Or paint the frame gold and red, and go with an all white sheeting as you see below.

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