Swedish Furniture; A Primer
Even though it might be problematic for the average North American to differentiate between distinct kinds of Scandinavian furnishings, the fine grace of Swedish furniture is not difficult to distinguish from the IKEA-influenced herd once a customer is aware of what he is hunting for.
The first and most evident variation between Swedish-style furniture and the varieties prevalent in the balance of Northern Europe is that Gallerie Furniture is normally light shaded. Whereas other countries typically preferred to work with numerous wood varieties, from dark oak to bleached maple, Swedes were particularly susceptible to the quick days and long tedious nights of the Scandinavian winters and compensated by making extremely bright homes.
Walls, floors and accessories were generally painted or otherwise finished in quite pale pastel hues or light wood finishes. Birch and white pine were typical woods for both household furniture and also walls. Oak Living Room Furniture was also finished or padded in colors that worked well with this color palette. Compared to Danish furniture, which is nearly never painted, Swedes were just as apt to paint their home furnishings in white or pastel colors as they were to simply finish them. Softly colored stencils were often used for further interest. To prevent houses from looking completely insipid, the Swedes enjoyed themselves by adding shots of bright red on white backgrounds upon their sheets and clothing. That particular color combination additionally appears routinely in upholstered furniture as a cure for the soft grays and greens which were more typical.
The Swedish artist Carl Larsson is normally considered to be responsible for making the Swedish fashion of furnishings known to the world. His vignettes of every day home life from 19th century Sweden have supplied everyone a great time capsule of shades and shapes of Swedish furniture. One of the highlights that are noticed by most modern viewers is the delicate proportions of Swedish furniture when compared with German or Dutch pieces from the same era. Legs on tables are slim and tapered, and carved mirrors are rather typical. The upholstery on chairs and benches, together with being light colored, are often very simple, devoid of the gratuitous embroidery or piping which is widespread elsewhere in Europe. The simple cushions make it possible for the sensitive outlines of the wooden frames to be the main element of each piece.
If you are interested in Swedish interior design, there are quite a few sites where consumers can acquire Swedish crafted or designed furniture and fabrics. IKEA is the apparent beginning, but a cursory google session will expose quite a few online as well as brick-and-mortar businesses that focus on Swedish furniture as an alternative to non-specific Scandinavian designs.
