The Light And Airy Furniture Of Sweden

Dawn Hill Antiques

Swedish furniture is in a class of its own. From the exuberant decoration of the Rococo style with an abundance of curves and natural motifs that gave way in the late 1700s to the restrained Gustavian style, Swedish furniture appeals to many. Owing to its clean lines and simplicity, it mixes well with other styles, both traditional and modern.

“You cannot talk about Swedish design without first considering the natural environment of Sweden. It is a country of islands, with the sea on one side and the interior populated by dense forests,” said antique dealer Paulette Peden of Dawn Hill Antiques in New Preston, Conn. “In the winter months there is a very short period of daylight, so the Swedish people craved the light, and created rooms painted with pale colors, and light furniture to make the most of the precious daylight.” The Gustavian style was named for Sweden’s King Gustav III (1746-92), during whose reign the talented craftsmen of the Stockholm Guild made well-designed furniture like chairs, tables, secretaries, cupboards and settees.

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Antique Swedish Dealer Jane Moore’s Home Veranda Magazine

Jane Moore

Veranda featured a wonderfully Swedish home way back in their March 08 issue of a home designed by Jane Moore.  This home was also featured in the book Swedish Country Interiors by Rhonda Eleish & Edie Van Breems which was published in 2009.  Indulge Decor Blog put together a terrific job of comparing the home in each of the publications, and noted what changed and what did not.

This home was decorated in both Swedish and French antiques.  Among all the antiques that stood out were the chairs which were featured in the house.  The chairs sitting in the living room, have detailing paint in light blue, which perfectly contrasts the sandy colored linen.

Swedish rococo chairs are paired with a check upholstered couch and feature a heavily distressed paint finish with colors of green.  In the sitting area, a pale blue rug seems to be the perfect choice to add color amongst simple Swedish rococo chairs.  This room is simple and elegant, and the furniture seems to add so much of the interest in this room.

About Jane Moore:

Those who follow the Swedish and French decorating circles know all about Jane Moore. Her interior designs have been admired for years. Jane Moore is an interior designer and antiques importer from Houston. Early in Jane’s career she imported primarily English antiques. It wasn’t until she traveled to France that she fell in love with the Provence style. Impressed by the cottages and farmhouses, it influenced her whole design compass. She later traveled to Sweden and found more of the humble countryside she saw in France.

Everything was so simple. They copied from the French, but in a more rustic way. I loved that.”

Jane Moore’s work has been published in Veranda Magazine and Southern Accents Magazine more than once. Her work was also included in The Houses of Veranda book by former Veranda editor Lisa Newsom. Jane and Lisa Newsom are now connected by family. Jane’s daughter, Shannon, is married to Lisa’s son, Andrew, and the pair (Lisa and Andrew) own the Wisteria catalog.

Veranda featured an article titled “5 Design Tips To Live By– in which Jane Moore gave her top 5 tips when it comes to decorating.

Consider Your Environment

“One of the most important rules of decorating is to let your environment help you make decisions about your home. For example, I have always lived in Houston, where it is very hot and humid. As a result, I always pick cool colors that come from nature—soft blues, greens, grays—because when I come in out of the heat, I want to be refreshed. Wherever I am, I look outside and bring that in”

Edit Your Home, and Keep Only Things That Work With Your Current Style

“In each stage of life, we have different needs. Many of us want to keep holding on to things from each stage. We feel that if we hold on to what’s safe, we don’t have to deal with what’s changing.It’s hard for a lot of people to get rid of what was given to them or what they bought with their own money in their earlier stages of life. But as we grow and mature, our likes and dislikes change, and that’s okay! Don’t hold onto what doesn’t fit anymore.”

“We all love a lot of different things and different looks. Decide what you love the very most, where you feel the most comfortable, what’s the most peaceful to you. Once you’ve done that, carefully edit out what doesn’t enhance that look or feeling. I started my career doing almost all English, but as I grew to love the Provençal and Swedish aesthetics, I let go of those English things, even though I still loved them. The same goes for people with a lot of bright, colorful pieces who want to transition to something serene and neutral. With each object, ask: ‘Is this going to fit in?”

Be Who YOU Are, and Not Someone Else

“Many of us have things we don’t necessarily love, but we live with them because they have sentimental value: heirlooms, gifts, things we didn’t know how to say ‘no’ to. What I tell my clients is this: Be in the moment as it is right now. ‘It’s your moment. Let’s do what makes you happy, what makes you have a good feeling when you’re home.’ Those before us—grandmothers, mothers, friends—had their time to enjoy what they loved, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we have to love it, too.

Buy things you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

Avoid buying what I call ‘fillers.’ Instead, buy only what you absolutely love, what you simply cannot live without. A good rule of thumb: If you see it, don’t buy it right away. Then if you keep thinking about it, go back and buy it, because you’ll always be sorry if you don’t. Most of the time it costs more than you thought you’d ever spend. Buy it anyway. A few years from now, it will be even harder to find and cost twice as much. For example, I have this 18th-century hand-carved angel on my mantle—it wasn’t anything I was looking for, but when I saw it, it just touched me. I didn’t buy it immediately, though. I thought
about it for 24 hours, and I still just had to have it. At the time, I was trying to rationalize purchasing it, thinking ‘Oh, someday my daughter will love it, or my granddaughter will love it,’ Then I thought, ‘No. I love it, and if they choose not to have it in their homes someday, that’s all right.’

Contact Jane Moore:

2930 Virginia St. Houston, Texas 77098

Phone (713) 526-6113

Jane Moore Interiors On Facebook

Jane Moore

Jane Moore Gustavian Swedish AntiquesUp close look of the neoclassical chairs and pale blue carpet

Featured on Color Outside The Lines Blog

Swedish Jane Moore designchic

A Swedish secretary with clock and Swedish chair.  

Photo from Veranda Magazine via Indulge Decor blog.

 

Antique-Gustavian-Styled-Interiors1-500x641Antique-Gustavian-Styled-Interiors-500x639

A view of the other side of the living room features Swedish barrel back chairs, a Swedish console, and bench.   Photo from Veranda Magazine 

Swedish-Gustavian-Decorating-by-Houstonian-Jane-Moore-Featured-in-Veranda-March-08-4

 Gustavian Room Designed By Jane Moore Featured in Veranda March 08

Also seen on “Houstonian Great Jane Moore”- Cote de Texas

Gustavian Room Designed By Jane Moore

Gustavian Room Designed By Jane Moore

Gustavian Room Designed By Jane Moore

Gustavian Room Designed By Jane Moore

VER-Sept-Oct-cover

Jane Moore’s Townhouse featured in Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore's Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore’s Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane’s family room is home to her collection of French 19th-century tians 

Jane Moore's Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore’s Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore's Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore’s Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore's Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore’s Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

The table is Swedish 19th-c. and also serves as a working island.

Jane Moore's Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore’s Townhouse Veranda Magazine. Dining Area

Jane Moore's Townhouse Veranda Magazine.

Jane Moore’s Townhouse Veranda Magazine- A Look at her wall mirror in the livingroom

Trumeau Mirror Featured On Veranda

 A stunning Trumeau Mirror- Seen On Veranda

A beautiful bedroom decorated by Jane Moore

The Most Beautiful Rococo Library In The World:The Anna Amalia Library

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

holidaycheck.de

Candida Höfer

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vebidoo.de

gaab-weimar.de

kastl.de

germany.travel