Decorating Styles
So Your Style Is: Swedish
Fresh faced and cheerful, Swedish style marries casualness and elegance with ease. Could its lighter look uplift your home?
What it is: Swedish interior decorating has multiple nuances, from the neoclassical-influenced Gustavian look to the more basic Swedish farmhouse approach. Yet at their root, all of the branches of Swedish decor share common characteristics: a blend of casual, elegant, rustic and refined, a warm and cheerful sensibility, and a fresh-faced appeal that has helped to propel this style to renewed popularity.
Why it works: Swedish style is simple, clean and low maintenance. It's unassuming yet never dull. It draws heavily upon crowd-pleasing elements such as blue and white tones, wide windows and light woods — a recipe for likable, livable style.
You'll love it if ... You can assemble an Ikea bookcase in 10 minutes flat. You crave the peace and solitude of a gray, snowy day. You're a pro at mixing pastels without an Easter egg effect. You captivate your kids with Nordic fairy tales. You read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series in a single sitting.
Why it works: Swedish style is simple, clean and low maintenance. It's unassuming yet never dull. It draws heavily upon crowd-pleasing elements such as blue and white tones, wide windows and light woods — a recipe for likable, livable style.
You'll love it if ... You can assemble an Ikea bookcase in 10 minutes flat. You crave the peace and solitude of a gray, snowy day. You're a pro at mixing pastels without an Easter egg effect. You captivate your kids with Nordic fairy tales. You read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series in a single sitting.
Style Secret: Natural Light
Light can be a precious commodity for much of the year in Sweden. Wide windows, unobscured by heavy draperies or blinds, make the most of what sun there is to stream inside. Hang expansive mirrors and layer in glass and crystal accent pieces to amplify light as much as possible.
How Swede it is: In this living and dining area, windows are mounted at a variety of angles to capture sun exposure from every direction. Sparkling chandeliers add a top note of shimmer that helps to brighten the space, and polished floors reflect the natural illumination.
Light can be a precious commodity for much of the year in Sweden. Wide windows, unobscured by heavy draperies or blinds, make the most of what sun there is to stream inside. Hang expansive mirrors and layer in glass and crystal accent pieces to amplify light as much as possible.
How Swede it is: In this living and dining area, windows are mounted at a variety of angles to capture sun exposure from every direction. Sparkling chandeliers add a top note of shimmer that helps to brighten the space, and polished floors reflect the natural illumination.
Style Secret: Pale Woods
Dark, heavy woods such as walnut and mahogany would drag down the buoyancy of all that white. Instead, go lighter: birch, alder, white pine and other paler species, mixed and matched for flooring, ceiling beams and furniture. Bleached or pickled woods look pitch perfect, or you can use a sheer white stain or paint to get a similar effect. If you like, add a bit of stenciled detailing — a popular accent in Swedish country style.
How Swede it is: This dining room nimbly marries multiple whites, pale browns and light grays for an effect that's quiet but in no way dull.
Dark, heavy woods such as walnut and mahogany would drag down the buoyancy of all that white. Instead, go lighter: birch, alder, white pine and other paler species, mixed and matched for flooring, ceiling beams and furniture. Bleached or pickled woods look pitch perfect, or you can use a sheer white stain or paint to get a similar effect. If you like, add a bit of stenciled detailing — a popular accent in Swedish country style.
How Swede it is: This dining room nimbly marries multiple whites, pale browns and light grays for an effect that's quiet but in no way dull.
Style Secret: Canopied Beds
Gracefully draped beds are a hallmark of Swedish boudoirs. The traditional canopy takes a slightly different form: swags of fabric attached to a coronet or cornice, or hung from the ceiling and parted over the headboard. You can carry this approach beyond the master bedroom, too — it looks just as appropriate over a daybed or an overscale chaise in a guest room or office.
How Swede it is: Swedish beds tend to be crafted of simple, light woods, perhaps with a bit of stenciled or carved detailing, and this one is a classic example. Like many furnishings in this style, it's coated in pastel paint that elevates the look. Plus, the warm yellow tones lend a slice of sunshine that would be welcome in any Scandinavian space.
Gracefully draped beds are a hallmark of Swedish boudoirs. The traditional canopy takes a slightly different form: swags of fabric attached to a coronet or cornice, or hung from the ceiling and parted over the headboard. You can carry this approach beyond the master bedroom, too — it looks just as appropriate over a daybed or an overscale chaise in a guest room or office.
How Swede it is: Swedish beds tend to be crafted of simple, light woods, perhaps with a bit of stenciled or carved detailing, and this one is a classic example. Like many furnishings in this style, it's coated in pastel paint that elevates the look. Plus, the warm yellow tones lend a slice of sunshine that would be welcome in any Scandinavian space.
Style Secret: Open Space
Simplicity drives the Swedish aesthetic. Open space streamlines the overall feel of a home, provides the impression of breathing room and helps to alleviate the oppressive aura that can set in during those dark winters. When warm (well, warmer) weather does arrive and the doors and windows are thrown wide, openness also helps breezes circulate as efficiently as possible.
How Swede it is: The dining room here represents a slightly more modern take on Swedish decor, but its expansive feel is a major reason that it remains true to the style's essence. Ceiling beams painted the same color as the ceiling visually lift the space, while blond wood flooring seems to stretch indefinitely.
Simplicity drives the Swedish aesthetic. Open space streamlines the overall feel of a home, provides the impression of breathing room and helps to alleviate the oppressive aura that can set in during those dark winters. When warm (well, warmer) weather does arrive and the doors and windows are thrown wide, openness also helps breezes circulate as efficiently as possible.
How Swede it is: The dining room here represents a slightly more modern take on Swedish decor, but its expansive feel is a major reason that it remains true to the style's essence. Ceiling beams painted the same color as the ceiling visually lift the space, while blond wood flooring seems to stretch indefinitely.
Style Secret: Mora Clocks
No single piece instantly conveys Swedish style as well as the Mora clock. These charmers have a fanciful backstory: During a tough 18th-century period in the Swedish farm town of Mora, the story goes, the farmers turned their attention from crops to clockmaking in order to scratch out a living. Although their production dropped off as the 19th century waned, they're still ticking away at the heart of Swedish style.
How Swede it is: Mora clocks are as individual as rooms themselves — some are plain, some carved, some painted. Look for them at antiques shops and markets that specialize in Scandinavian goods, or you can even have one custom crafted with the embellishments you'd like.
No single piece instantly conveys Swedish style as well as the Mora clock. These charmers have a fanciful backstory: During a tough 18th-century period in the Swedish farm town of Mora, the story goes, the farmers turned their attention from crops to clockmaking in order to scratch out a living. Although their production dropped off as the 19th century waned, they're still ticking away at the heart of Swedish style.
How Swede it is: Mora clocks are as individual as rooms themselves — some are plain, some carved, some painted. Look for them at antiques shops and markets that specialize in Scandinavian goods, or you can even have one custom crafted with the embellishments you'd like.
Style Secret: Clean-Lined Seating
Swedish furniture has an uncomplicated and low-maintenance, yet still elegant, appeal. Crisp lines and simple profiles predominate, and the pieces that best exemplify the look are traditional upholstered benches and straight-back sofas. Although you might see a few swooping curves or a bit of carved edging, they're never fussy or overblown.
How Swede it is: The restrained settee and bench in this space complement the low, unassuming bed and the subtle melange of patterns. A bolster pillow (another typically Swedish touch) picks up the style of the bed shams and softens the settee.
Swedish furniture has an uncomplicated and low-maintenance, yet still elegant, appeal. Crisp lines and simple profiles predominate, and the pieces that best exemplify the look are traditional upholstered benches and straight-back sofas. Although you might see a few swooping curves or a bit of carved edging, they're never fussy or overblown.
How Swede it is: The restrained settee and bench in this space complement the low, unassuming bed and the subtle melange of patterns. A bolster pillow (another typically Swedish touch) picks up the style of the bed shams and softens the settee.
Style Secret: Authentic Handicrafts
Mora clocks don't have a lock on the Swedish crafting tradition. Cottage industries have boomed all over the country, from painted roosters to braided wheat and whittled wood tchotchkes. Sprinkle these accents throughout your home to cap off the decor with Swedish country-inspired aplomb.
How Swede it is: Rustic, brightly painted Dala horses, shown in this nursery arrangement, have their roots in the Swedish Dalarna region. Traditionally they were intended as children's toys, but their sweetly simple charm translates to every room in a Swedish-style home.
Mora clocks don't have a lock on the Swedish crafting tradition. Cottage industries have boomed all over the country, from painted roosters to braided wheat and whittled wood tchotchkes. Sprinkle these accents throughout your home to cap off the decor with Swedish country-inspired aplomb.
How Swede it is: Rustic, brightly painted Dala horses, shown in this nursery arrangement, have their roots in the Swedish Dalarna region. Traditionally they were intended as children's toys, but their sweetly simple charm translates to every room in a Swedish-style home.
Swedish winters are long, dark and dreary, so is it any wonder that Swedes have historically turned to light, uplifting colors to get them through the cold months? A heavy dose of white and cream, the ultimate Swedish palette, helps to bounce light around and infuse a little artificial summer. Blue runs a close second — dabs of azure, lapis and Wedgwood bring in a hint of the sky and sea. Use them in moderation to preserve the airy feel.
How Swede it is: This room, punctuated with authentic Swedish antiques, typifies the Swedish palette at its best. A touch of blue in the faience fireplace tiles, which themselves are a common design detail, and in the accents lends depth and warmth to the clean white walls and blond woods.