Swedish Country Interiors

by Rhonda Eleish, Edie Van Breems

Overview

Swedish Country Interiors showcases homes that have a wide spectrum of interpretations of Swedish country style—rustic, rural, urban, comfortable, family friendly, elegant, simple, complex, grand, humble, and eclectic. Also found are numerous examples of Swedish country living that the homeowners have embraced and derived inspiration from, including wall decorations, functional furnishings, natural upholstery materials, light, and indoor-outdoor living.

Rhonda Eleish and Edie van Breems opened the doors to Eleish van Breems Antiques in 1998, specializing in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Swedish antiques. Their company, Eleish van Breems Ltd. has expanded to become a full service Nordic design showroom and they are sought out for their interiors featuring the best hallmarks of Scandinavian design. The authors, who first published Swedish Interiors, and their antiques and interiors have been featured in many national publications, including Country Living, Victoria, and House Beautiful, and they have made appearances on Martha Stewart and HGTV Canada. Rhonda resides in Bridgewater, Connecticut with her daughter Kari and husband Buffer. Edie lives with her family in a 1760 colonial home in Fairfield, Connecticut.

As featured in Country Living! Showcases fifteen beautiful homes that highlight the stylish interpretations of Swedish country.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423612421
Publisher:	Smith, Gibbs Publisher
Publication date:	11/26/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

Rhonda Eleish and Edie van Breems are the founders of Eleish van Breems Ltd., a company whose approach to design stems from a modern application and interpretation of historic Scandinavian interiors and form. They are sought out for their clean, elegant, and fresh approach to interiors, all with a Scandinavian essence. Rhonda and Edie are the authors of Swedish Interiors and Swedish Country Interiors and are excited to introduce Reflections on Swedish Interiors as the third book in their best-selling Swedish Interiors series. Their design work has been featured in fine national and international publications such as House Beautiful, Elle Decor, Veranda, Glamour, Country Living, Gods&Goddar, and the New York Times, among others. The pair have made television appearances on This Old House, Martha Stewart Living and HGTV-Canada. Both Rhonda and Edie live with their families in southwest Connecticut and travel extensively in Scandinavia, calling Stockholm their home away from home.

Read an Excerpt

Welcome! Swedish Interiors, our first book, was an overview of the history of Swedish design and how various homeowners and designers have been inspired to use those design elements in their homes. In this book, we are thrilled to have theopportunity to delve further into one style of Swedish design—Swedish country interiors—a subject most close to our hearts. As antiques dealers specializing in Swedish eighteenth- and nineteenth-century furnishings, we have had the pleasure to travel Sweden extensively. In our journeys over the past ten years, we have found ourselves not only inspired but fascinated by the strong beauty of antique Swedish country furnishings and the rhythms of a long-ago way of life. Interviews with Swedish farmers, reminiscences with elderly Swedish relatives, research at the Nordic Museum, and visits to Skansen (Stockholm’s open-air museum) served to whet our appetites formore knowledge of Swedish country furnishings and design.

Before we knew it, we had become obsessed with not just furniture but every dust-covered tool we stumbled upon from this vibrant pre-twentieth-century flax-and-milk-based culture. We spent long hours hand-mixing pigment paints and learningthe secrets, frustrations, and joys of working with natural Swedish materials as we attempted to incorporate what we had seen in Sweden into our own homes and our store, Eleish Van Breems Antiques.

In writing this book we have looked back and considered why the country traditions in particular held so much appeal for us. The stunning formal Gustavian furniture of the cities is what had originally lured us to buy furniture in Sweden, but we clearly had fallen under the spell of the allmoge, a word that translates to “folk” or “of the people.” We both had homes of our own in the Connecticut countryside with children, husbands, and animals to tend to, so one might infer that we found the idea of farm living intellectually relatable. However, it is precisely the differences between our world and that of the Swedish country house that captured our attention. We were truly humbled and in awe of a people who were in tune with the rhythms of nature, and we admired their inventive mastery of precious native materials.

As we began to speak with other collectors and admirers of both provincial and peasant Swedish country style, we were struck by how the Swedish country way of life and the practical yet exciting hallmarks of Swedish eighteenth- and nineteenthcentury decoration are touch points that we could incorporate into our own homes. In Swedish Country Interiors, you will find numerous examples of Swedish country living that the homeowners in this book have embraced and from which they have derived inspiration including wall decorations, functional furnishings, natural upholstery materials, use of light, and indooroutdoor living, to name but a few. Although we are devoted antiquarians, our interest is not in showing pristine pastiches of Swedish folk interiors. What excites us is the opportunity to share how various homeowners live today in our very own countryside and city suburbs, blending within their contemporary homes the very best that Swedish country lifestyle and design has to offer. We thank each one of them for sharing their individual love affairs with Sweden and for allowing us to present the unique beauty of their homes with the world beyond their welcoming garden gates.

Table of Contents

9 o Foreword by Lisa Newsom

11 o Foreword by David Easton

13 o Preface

15 o Introduction

21 o Swedish Mediterranean

33 o The Swedish Mill House

47 o New Hampshire Island Living

57 o Farmhouse Romance

69 o A Swedish-Inspired Cabin

75 o Laguna Light

85 o Neoclassical Living in Atlanta

95 o Seaside: The Swedish Dream

105 o Woodstockholm: The Artist Cottage

119 o Daisyfields: Swedish Splendor

135 o The Swedish Pool Pavilion

143 o White Wisteria

159 o Northern Treasure Chest

171 o A Swedish Country Retreat

181 o Dawn Hill Antiques

187 o Acknowledgments

189 o Resource Guide

9 o Foreword by Lisa Newsom

11 o Foreword by David Easton

13 o Preface

15 o Introduction

21 o Swedish Mediterranean

33 o The Swedish Mill House

47 o New Hampshire Island Living

57 o Farmhouse Romance

69 o A Swedish-Inspired Cabin

75 o Laguna Light

85 o Neoclassical Living in Atlanta

95 o Seaside: The Swedish Dream

105 o Woodstockholm: The Artist Cottage

119 o Daisyfields: Swedish Splendor

135 o The Swedish Pool Pavilion

143 o White Wisteria

159 o Northern Treasure Chest

171 o A Swedish Country Retreat

181 o Dawn Hill Antiques

187 o Acknowledgments

189 o Resource Guide

Editorial Reviews

"Compiled with commentary by Swedish interior design experts Rhonda Eleish and Edie Van Breems, the fifteen American country dwellings showcased in 'Swedish Country Interiors' large country estates to small cottages. Showcasing a variety of interiors, each of whom are superbly photographed, 'Swedish Country Interiors' is an ideal resource for ideas and inspirations. Of special note is a converted Connecticut antique paper factory, and a beach house in Laguna Beach, California, each of which has been crafted to an ideal Swedish country retreat. All this and more make 'Swedish Country Interiors' a 192-page compendium of commentary and images that is especially recommended for academic and community library Interior Design reference collections in general, and the supplemental reading lists for non-specialist general readers seeking interior design ideas in particular."

Midwest Book Review

The authors present a smorgasbord of fifteen locations. … Each home expresses Swedish style in general and Swedish country style in particular. The book offers something visually appetizing for almost everyone.

Veranda

The authors present a smorgasbord of fifteen locations. … Each home expresses Swedish style in general and Swedish country style in particular. The book offers something visually appetizing for almost everyone.

Veranda